Vintage 10" Sub build - TAKE 2!!

[unclejunebug]

Question regarding acoustic material inside a sub cabinet. I have some acoustic foam panels and some poly-fil stuffing. Would it be wise to use the foam, stuffing, both, or neither?

EDIT: I was planning to at least line the inner walls with the foam.

[unclejunebug]

I finally made some progress on this today. Its been slow going for a few reasons. First I was sick, then I was out of town, then I was sick again. Though if I'm being truly honest? It's mostly because I have been seriously dreading this next step. Before I could continue assembling the cabinet I had to get veneer on the inner side of the outer baffle. I've done veneer a handful of times before but I am by no means an expert. I have never had to do any seams and this side that I needed to veneer is round and doesn't allow for much room to work at all.

I went back and forth about how to approach this part of the project. My initial plan was to cut a strip from the veneer sheet I bought and use rubber cement to attach it. I also considered getting a roll of pre-glued edge banding and using that instead. I decided against this as I couldn't guarantee that the edge banding (even if it was Walnut) would match the veneer I have when finished AND I don't have any kind of rounded iron that could be used to melt the glue. Ultimately I went the rubber cement route with the veneer I have.

I cut a strip of veneer and applied a few coats of rubber cement to the veneer and the cabinet. The cabinet required four coats since it was the cut edge of the MDF so I should have sealed it before applying the rubber cement. While waiting for the cement to dry I got some parchment paper and made a long strip to keep between the glued edges of the cabinet and the veneer. After the cement was ready to go I marked the bottom center of the opening on the cabinet and the middle of the veneer strip and slowly started applying the veneer to the cabinet. I got about halfway around and thought things were going fairly well. It was about here when I realized that I was in trouble.

Apparently tape does not stick very well to parchment paper and the barrier strip I had between the cabinet and glue had come apart, allowing the veneer to make contact with the cabinet in a few spots where it most definitely should not have. I thought at this point I was fairly screwed but luckily I was able to peel the veneer off without damaging it. I figured out a way to let the veneer dangle off the cabinet while I applied a few more coats of cement to the spots where I peeled the veneer off. I was eventually able to get it applied all the way around but boy, it was a struggle.

The seam didn't come out quite as clean as I would like (you can see the small gap in the image below) but I'm going to count this as a win since the result could have been far far worse. I trimmed it up with an Olfa blade where I could fit it and just an ordinary razor in the tight spots. Here's what just the veneer looks like...



And here's a dry fit with the inner baffle in place...



tl;dr - This was a struggle with rubber cement but ultimately came out OK.

[DrewsBrews]

Assuming the seam is at the top of the hole? It'll probably never be seen if it is on the floor.

[unclejunebug]

Assuming the seam is at the top of the hole? It'll probably never be seen if it is on the floor.

Yes, the seam is located at the top of the hole (cabinet is upside down in the pictures) AND the hole will be covered by some acoustic fabric so it will also be covered up.

[unclejunebug]

I was able to get a little done today. I assembled my drill guide and then drilled out holes for the the T nuts. The specs on the T nuts say they're good up to a 1" thick baffle. This is 1 1/4" thick so I used the drill guide again on the back with a 3/4" forstner bit to bore out 1/4" of depth. I've seen people add chamfers and round-overs to the back of baffles to help vent a woofer. I don't know if there's any benefit to doing this with a subwoofer but I added a bit of a round-over just for kicks.

The mounting frame of the subwoofer I'm using is pretty narrow so one side of the T nuts protruded out into the sub cutout, because of this I filed them down with a hand file. Unfortunately I don't have a rotary tool as that would have been much faster and likely more precise.

[unclejunebug]

I got the baffle glued in the other day. It didn't go in quite as I had hoped but it should be fine. You can see a small gap running along the bottom of where the inner baffle butts up to the veneered side of the outer baffle. Not sure exactly why they wouldn't go together but its a small gap and that's actually the top of the cabinet so it won't really be seen...



Yesterday I spent a little time and caulked around the inner seam of what is the top of the cabinet and then got the port glued in. I didn't have a good way to get any clamping force at the bottom of the port so I clamped where I could and then stood a 65lbs box of floor tile on top of it. The two clamps on the left are there to keep the tile from falling over while the glue dried.




Next step is to add in some bracing. I was originally going to do some window panels but have shifted to some regular old 1x2 pine.

[unclejunebug]

Got some bracing in today and then the bottom glued on with a rough cutout for the slot port. The braces are glued and screwed together just for kicks.





While I was wiping off some excess glue around the port I realized I made a mistake with the rough cutout for the port. The opening of the port is 1.5" from the outer wall of the cabinet and I mistakenly marked 1.25" for the hole :( . I was planning to use a flush trim bit to clean out the remainder of the port hole but you can see how the left side of that cutout doesn't completely cover the port opening. I guess I only measured once before I cut which is a bummer. I have a few ideas about how to fix it it's just annoying and will result in unnecessary time to do so.

[unclejunebug]

Routed out some extra material on the affected side, glued in a piece of MDF, then cleaned it up with some flush trim passes. Back in business…

[djg]

Looks pretty solid.

[unclejunebug]

Once I get the veneer on I'll add a round-over and then re-paint the inside of the port. Should work out just fine. Plus, the port will be facing the floor so no one will be inspecting it too closely :D

[unclejunebug]

All sealed up with some glue/water mixture and ready for veneer. I got the top and bottom on. I'm currently mulling over the best approach for the rest of it. I'm aiming to have a single seam in the back which means I'll have a single piece of veneer that's about 6' long wrapping around the entire cabinet. I used rubber cement for the top and bottom and was planning to continue with that method since I have it. I'm currently debating applying glue to the entire run and trying to make that work or doing smaller sections at a time. If anyone has any suggestions I am certainly open to them :D

[Shawn]

You might want to check out Heat Lock veneer glue. Tom Zarbo has a video or two on youtube. Also some veneer softener would prob help

[unclejunebug]

You might want to check out Heat Lock veneer glue. Tom Zarbo has a video or two on youtube. Also some veneer softener would prob help

I do have some veneer softener and I have considered using Heat Lock. I originally decided on rubber cement on the recommendation of Joe from veneersupplies.com and since I've used it before. I'm not against trying Heat Lock but I already have the rubber cement and would prefer to see if I can work out a way to make that work first. If I can avoid the added cost I'd prefer to.