Bantams again...

[tomzarbo]

So I have two co-workers in need of tunes and I think smaller is the right way to go when speaker giving is a surprise. They're both ladies also, and I don't want to be rude.... I'm not sure how much room either would want to devote to a 'stereo' system in their homes.

This is the original 'Bantam' thread from awhile back: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...speaker-system

Rut-Row.... I think my cat likes to sniff glue? That explains a lot really...

I just used tape in place of clamps as per a recent thread on Tech Talk for assembling mitered cabinets...

More...

[tomzarbo]

...The baffle will be glued on afterwards and will have rounded sides like the .04 cu. ft. Denovo cabs PE sells. I'm thinking I may wrap the veneer around the sides and front like Matt did on his recent 'passive aggressive' small speakers, it's a real nice look.

That was easy. I had parts for 5 of these cut out and gluing up in under 3 hours! One is a test box because I cut a few too many panels.

I'm planning on pairing them with a few of the little buyout PR subwoofers in striped ebony I finished a few weeks ago: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/fo...66#post1368066

...And PE's new 2.1 bluetooth amp: https://www.parts-express.com/dayton...pply--300-3830
Kevin has been letting me borrow this for a few weeks and it really makes the Bantams and subwoofer sing very nicely. I've actually watched a few movies with this exact setup and didn't miss my "big" HT system at all really.

Small speakers like these are pretty cool because you can get 'exotic' with the veneers. I have a bunch of 'fancy' veneers in 8" by 3' long pieces, time to pick a nice one... what fun!

TomZ

[Paul K.]

Cats definitely are curious. Our cat, B.J., always knows when something has been relocated or is new in a room, doing exactly what your cat is doing in your photo, Tom. When I bring up a couple or more new bottles of wine from the basement and place them on the rack in the dining room, B.J. has to go smell them just to make sure they're "okay" apparently. Nothing gets by him and if the new item looks odd, B.J. will sneak up on it out of concern.
Paul

[ceiol]

wow, you are exact with those cuts. that must be to within 1/64" or 1/32" of an inch.

nice work!

[tomzarbo]

wow, you are exact with those cuts. that must be to within 1/64" or 1/32" of an inch.

nice work!

Thanks!
I have a good table saw and I take my time getting my angles right.
And I never trust the miter gauge -- I use a square to make sure the saw angle is correct. I've made that mistake before.
TomZ

[KEtheredge87]

Well done sir! Taped miters are the best things ever! I used them to make some soundbar cabinets for Brandon a while back... I'd much rather do something Bantam sized though! making a ~50" long x 5" tall miter box from 1/2" MDF was...interesting.

You always have some interesting veneer choices too. Can't wait to see where these end up!

[Kevin K.]

I still haven't seen one of these up close but it looks tiny compared to kitty cat.

[tomzarbo]

The front baffles are glued on and profiled...

I did a 1/2" roundover on the sides and just a part of a 1.25" roundover to shallowly radius the top and bottom. I thought it would be a cool look.
I'm going to wrap one piece of veneer around the sides and front. So I'll veneer, in order... back, front/sides, then top/bottom. Trimming the top/bottom is pretty standard with a trimming bit and a steady hand. It will be a bit tricky to trim the front where the shallow curve is, so I'll do that before the top and bottom so I don't bugger them up.

One pair is going to be done in striped ebony to match the subwoofer, and the other pair will be waterfall bubinga. These little buggers make good use of all the veneer scraps that I tend to save.

I think I'll let these sit for a few weeks before proceeding just to let the wood move a bit. I can work on the crossovers in the meantime since I have the passive radiators/crossover mounting panels already in house.

Keith, I can't imagine gluing up a cabinet that big with tape... that must've been fun!
Yeah, Kevin, these things are kind of tiny. 6.5" tall... the whole cabinet is hardly as big as a proper woofer! They sure boogie, though.

TomZ