Overnight Sensation CC Curved

[bungelow_ed]

Due to family commitments I have not been working in the shop much this winter. About 3 weeks ago I did start my OS Center Channel to match the OS MTMs I built last year. Without the need to provide a flat surface to mount ports the CC was designed as an ~1/2 ellipse.



The shape lends itself to layered 1/8 inch poplar plywood, except for the tightest part of the ellipse. Bending 1/8 inch ply resulted in breakage at the center line of the cabinet back. Neither kerf cut MDF nor skateboard maple veneers were able to make the bend. My solution was to build this section with strips of poplar ply. Staples were used to hold the strips in place until the glue dried. Staples were pulled with a pair of pliers after the glue had cured. The last layer was sanded and smoothed with Bondo. The following pictures show the strips and tweeter x-over as well as 3/8 inch dowel used to align the braces. The low pass is mounted on the other side of the center brace.




The veneers are Wenge for the cabinet and Imbuya for the baffle. Currently I am waiting for the baffle to cabinet glue to dry before installing drivers. The last step is to build a 4 leg stand from Wenge so that the speaker can be angled up or down depending on listener height.



My thanks to Paul Carmody for another OS design and to the folks at PE for hosting Tech Talk.

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

OK, ready for duty. Just need to add the stand.

[[email protected]]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

that looks great ED

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Thanks Arlis. It was a fun build and forced me to try different technique; strip building and all heat lock veneer. Both my older son and wife commented on clearer and intelligible the vocals are.

[andykriech]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Hi Ed, nice build.

Can you elaborate a bit more on the build technique? You used strips cut at a slight angle and how did you do the end cap?

Andy.

[Ryan]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

This makes me want to get back into the shop! Great work!

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Hi Ed, nice build.

Can you elaborate a bit more on the build technique? You used strips cut at a slight angle and how did you do the end cap?

Andy.

Hi Keith. To get the overall width I used a 3/8" hardwood dowel running through the braces for the back and two plywood strips glued in place at the front of the MDF braces.

Most of the strips used to build up the cabinet are 1" wide by the length/width of the cabinet. No need to bevel edges because the next layer overlaps the previous layer by 1/2". The final strip at the apex of the ellipse is cut to width to fit the space. A cabinet scraper or long board is used to smooth any high spots, followed by bondo. The beauty of this technique is you don't have to commit to a larger panel and limited open time. Each strip takes far less time to apply, you can apply both sides in sequence and you can add new strips as you progress. The only limiting factor is the need to pull staples before starting the next layer.

If by end caps you are referring to the ends of the cabinet, they are MDF with 1/8" plywood glued on to hide any swelling or contraction of the MDF and plywood ends.

Hopefully I answered your questions. If not, let me know.

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

This makes me want to get back into the shop! Great work!

Thanks Ryan. If you could see my shop right now you'd wonder how I could build anything. Tools all over the place, all covered in sawdust. Now that the weather is drying up around here it's time to clean house.

[kanemack]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

another idea would be to try to use a steambox when the plywood gets hot it bends easily. just a thought.

[ReissM]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

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Wow... great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

another idea would be to try to use a steambox when the plywood gets hot it bends easily. just a thought.

Yes steaming it would work assuming the glue between plys does not fail. Hmm, might be a good experiment!

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Wow... great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks! My small contribution to the knowledge shared here

[Leroy R]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Another fine work of craftsmanship Ed.

[bungelow_ed]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

Another fine work of craftsmanship Ed.

Hey Leroy, I see you have been busy lately. Love the look of the wood, elm I think?

[Leroy R]

Re: Overnight Sensation CC Curved

It's called wormy chestnut and I used an English chestnut stain on them. I like how they turned out. I'm always nervous when I have to use stain, but I tried the minwax prestain wood conditioner and it worked well, no splotchiness.

I have enough wood cut for enough speakers to keep me busy on the weekends for at least the rest of the summer, possibly the rest of the year.