First Timer - ZA5.2

[Dave_W]

Some very helpful forum members me gave some good feedback on what to build for my first pair of speakers. Below are some pictures of the construction and final product as well as a video of cutting them on my CNC

Video

I was originally going to veneer them, but my rabbeting didn't turn out as well as I wanted (that's a different story). So I did some filling and sanding and painted them. I think the color goes pretty well with the dark speaker surrounds and silver cone. I'm not sure that the extra work to create the rabbets is worth the effort (even on a CNC).

I'm very happy with the speakers, although I don't have a lot of to reference. I yanked out my old CD's to get some decent quality reference material (most of my music is now MP3). They seem very detailed and sound very natural. The only negative (which I was aware of before building) is the low frequency output. That will be remedied on the next few weeks. I've bought the Bash 500W plate amp when it was on sale. I'm going to pair that with the Dayton RSS390HF. The enclosure is under design now....

[Dave_W]

more pics

[DjDisturbed]

Looks like they turned out very well. I heard those woofers at the Kentucky meet and they sounded really good .

[Paul Carmody]

That video made me green with envy. What I wouldn't give to have a machine do my least favorite part.

[Taterworks]

Hey, what type of CNC machine is that? I paused the video and I noticed that the spindle and motor are the 'motor' part of a Hitachi router, clamped in place. A large part of the cost of a CNC machine like a ShopBot (aside from the control logic) is in the spindle motor and DC power supply, from my understanding, and much less is in the actual physical platform, gantry, ways, servo motors, etc., so somebody with a spare Porter Cable 690 laying around could make your arrangement work well.

Did you build this CNC router yourself? Would you be willing to do work for other PE forum members?

[Dave_W]

Hey, what type of CNC machine is that? I paused the video and I noticed that the spindle and motor are the 'motor' part of a Hitachi router, clamped in place. A large part of the cost of a CNC machine like a ShopBot (aside from the control logic) is in the spindle motor and DC power supply, from my understanding, and much less is in the actual physical platform, gantry, ways, servo motors, etc., so somebody with a spare Porter Cable 690 laying around could make your arrangement work well.

Did you build this CNC router yourself? Would you be willing to do work for other PE forum members?

The machine is based on "Joe's Hybrid" (joescnc.com). The standard model has a working area of 4'x4', but I stretched it out to 4'x8' to handle a full size sheet of ply or MDF. The router body is one of the least expensive parts of the project (I've got twice that amount in bearings alone). Most completed machines come in around the $2500 mark (some a lot more). Read through some of the build logs on cnczone.com under the DIY wood router forum if your interested. It's a challenge to build, but also exceptionally rewarding!

So to answer your question, yes I did build it myself. I would be more than willing to cut cabinets, baffles, or whatever else anybody has in mind.

[Taterworks]

Dave,

I will PM you sometime this weekend. If you can do what I need, there will be some money in it for you over and above the cost of materials.

[707kevin]

You may get better bass out of them if you chamfer the back of the driver opening on the baffle and let the air move as per zaphs recommendations too.

I envy your cnc, do want!

[kornphlake]

CNC is cool, my dad has a 3 axis CNC mill he's had for about a year now I think it's got like 30 inches travel in the x axis and 18 in the y axis, large enough to cut driver cutouts and recesses in an average size baffle but not quite large enough to cut panels. I've been itching to come up with a reason to use it but he's in CA and I'm in OR and don't get to visit as often as I'd like, I'd thought about having him route baffles but the shipping cost isn't worth it, instead I designed a circle jig for my router and had him cut the dozens of holes on his mill. I don't think it really saved me any money over buying a jasper jig, but it looks a little cooler and it was something we did together even though we're 1500 miles apart.

[Dave_W]

You may get better bass out of them if you chamfer the back of the driver opening on the baffle and let the air move as per zaphs recommendations too.

I envy your cnc, do want!

The chamfer has been in the back of my mind. I was in a hurry to get them put together and didn't do it. I've been thinking about banging together a new box and putting a veneer on it instead of the paint.

[Tweaker]

THAT is great!
Even though I won't have the real estate or the need for that much milling, I also liked your method of clamping the work piece down. A simple cam lock in a track! I've been bumping my router into clamps for far too long.
Rockler, here I come!
Regards,

[gowa]

Nice job and nice pics too.

[gvimhoof]

These are your first speakers? Very nice job. Now make sure you have at least another 3 jobs in your head at all times. With a machine like that, you can't just stop at one system!

[Dave_W]

These are your first speakers? Very nice job. Now make sure you have at least another 3 jobs in your head at all times. With a machine like that, you can't just stop at one system!

Thanks!

It's funny you mention more projects. The glue is drying on a sub enclosure as I type this. I'll post some pictures soon.

I've been trying to talk my bro-in-law into building a pair of speakers (Paul Carmody's Core 2-Way most likely). I've also been looking at line arrays, and the center channel, and... oh hell...

I also did this for my sister and other bro-in-law as a birthday gift. It's a custom headboard. He agreed to paint it.

[patrickm]

The chamfer has been in the back of my mind. I was in a hurry to get them put together and didn't do it. I've been thinking about banging together a new box and putting a veneer on it instead of the paint.

if you're careful, you can still get a router bit that will cut some of that away, as long as you keep it away from the hurricane nuts and tape up the front surface so you don't scrape it up. just get a rabbet or a dovetail or something, and go gently. I did one small one for a small speaker and cleaned it out after. it may not end up as deep or as clean as a chamfer or roundover from the inside, but it helps.

[gabel87]

I built a pair of these for my son, sealed as well, and was really impressed with the sound quality. When hooked up as mains to my system with a sub they were plain awesome. Output is very impressive for such a small speaker. After that I ordered up a 5.3t 2.5 way kit for myself :P

edit: I've used rabbets on all the enclosures I've made so far, 7, and the key to rabbeting for me is a good table saw with a good dado set and set up. That and cut all similar width pieces at once and rabbet all pieces at one go once set up properly. I use a deeper rabbet, 3/8", simplifies things as well.