Baby Eidolons

[ReissM]

I've always liked the jeweled facets on the Avalon Eidolon, so I finally decided to make a miniature version using a Tang Band W4-1720 and a Morel MDT-40. I admit the volume is a bit small for the woofer but everything in speaker design is tradeoffs, right?

In this case, I was going for the smallest speaker I could physically create with these two drivers... even if it meant sacrificing some performance. (I even tapered the left and right sides back at a 6 degree angle in an effort to make them look smaller.)


Here's my original "chicken scratch" drawing and the raw panels:



After some assembly:



After routering the holes and countersinks for the drivers:



Test fitting the TB W4-1720 and MDT-40:


more to come..........

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Next up was creating the facets. I cut away most of the corner with a jigsaw set at a 45 degree angle:



Then used a beltsander to finish up my intended angles:



After two large facets were made, it looked like this:



Then I added the third facet at the top of the front face:



Lather, rinse, repeat... and voila, two cabinets ready for primer:



more to come.....................

[6thplanet]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Right on, thats nice! Bet that was fun jig sawing off the corners like that! Belt sanders rule!!

[djkest]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Never knew you could do that with a jig saw. This is going to be a nice project!

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

This has been a fun project. Currently, I'm fighting the typical problem of the MDF edges soaking up crazy amounts of paint. I even used some wood filler to seal them... but 4 coats of primer later they still need another coat.

Maybe I'm just being a perfectionist.

Next up is the Metallic Black paint. I'm going to shoot 3 coats as evenly as I can. Then probably 6 coats of clear. I'll wait a solid week... then some buffing compound and they'll be done, (aesthetically.)

After all the painting is finished I'll focus on the x-over. WT3 and Omnimic will give me the .frd & .zma data that I need for Jeff's Passive Crossover Designer. (One of the best tools that I've ever used... and it's FREE??? Thanks a million Jeff!)

[edgecreek]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Great job Marty!

[2leftthumbs]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Did you reinforce the inside of the corner with some additional mdf?

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

yeah, I thought that I would be cutting it pretty close, so I did this prior to attaching the front baffle:





I had to cut these at 84 degrees to match the 6 degree taper of the left and right sides. Glad that I added these, as you can see in the photos... I just barely poked through when I tapered the front facets.

[Wolf]

Re: Baby Eidolons

I think you should've brushed glue onto the fiber-faces until it was sealed up, and then painted the primer. What sealer did you use?

Later,
Wolf

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

What sealer did you use?

I didn't use a "sealer" per say... just forced some wood putty into the "end" grain then sanded it smooth. Then I used a satin primer.

Next time, I'll buy a specialized wood sealer made for this exact purpose.

[Wolf]

Re: Baby Eidolons

I didn't use a "sealer" per say... just forced some wood putty into the "end" grain then sanded it smooth. Then I used a satin primer.

Next time, I'll buy a specialized wood sealer made for this exact purpose.

Elmer's white-glue is cheaper. That's how I do it.
Later,
Wolf

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

Elmer's white-glue is cheaper. That's how I do it.
Wolf

No kidding? That's great! Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try on my next project.

[ReissM]

Re: Baby Eidolons

I decided to shoot 2 layers of satin black before I put the Metallic Black paint on.

This pic looks a bit closer to the end result (compared to the tan primer):

[greywarden]

Re: Baby Eidolons

I'm going to build a Sentinel one day at least I'll try :D

They look good, can't wait to see them with paint.

[joeybutts]

Re: Baby Eidolons

How are we looking with these as far as crossover work goes? I have a line on a pair of MDT-40's and already have the 1720's....:D

Excited to see this....as it is looking fantastic!