Swopes 5.0

[tyger23]

Re: Swopes 5.0

I'm not sure I could accomplish anything in that shop - it's way too clean. But, it sure is purdy. And ingenious.

Call me a pig, but for some reason I prefer my shop to look like a back-woods Carolina BBQ shop with sawdust all over the floor ;).

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Look at Mr. Planner here: figuring out where a crossover will go BEFORE he actually puts the speaker together!

Not like me who makes a board small enough for the woofer hole, and hopes for the best (and slashes his hands up trying to screw the thing down)

I am a project manager by trade, it can be a curse. I feel the urge and need to plan ahead for the plan. It drives my wife crazy. I also think it should look as good on the inside as it does the outside because you know…nobody will know it but me. See below response about my OCD

It looks like the threaded inserts were put in from the front, but would it have been better to put them in from the back to reduce the risk of them tearing out of the MDF when tightening down the woofer?

Yep, I addressed and more explanation is needed. They were installed on the front so when they are finally installed from the back they will be in fresh MDF. The caveat to this is driver size. 4” or lower front install, 5” or larger driver back install. I have wrenched these down on 4” drivers and never had an issue. They will also be glued in and installed before the box is assembled.

Most folks use T nuts. To be honest, I hate T nuts. They never thread smoothly on the first try and are expensive. You can get 100 of the EZLOC inserts on Amazon for $5. All you need is a 4mm allen driver to install them. I have a separate 4mm driver that I use just for these (hand tool not drill). It could not be any easier. Now for larger woofers like 8” and up I will begrudgingly use T Nuts.

I'm not sure I could accomplish anything in that shop - it's way too clean. But, it sure is purdy. And ingenious.

Call me a pig, but for some reason I prefer my shop to look like a back-woods Carolina BBQ shop with sawdust all over the floor ;).

It is such a small space if it does not stay clean my OCD gets out of control. Being from Austin, would it be more appropriate to be non-backwoods BBQ shop like Franklins? I just cant make myself drive downtown to wait in line. On a serious note, dirty shops are not safe and MDF dust might as well be asbestos. I used to blow gallons of that stuff out of my garage and coat all the cars on my side of the block. So, being clean is safer. I mitigated my risk of losing an appendage with my SawStop table saw. See planning comment above. This doom and gloom argument (well planned and thought out) is what I used to justify a new dust collection system and new table saw with my wife. It worked

[tyger23]

Re: Swopes 5.0

I've lived in Austin for 15 years and I've never been to franklins. I refuse to wait hours for BBQ when I can fabulous Q at Rudy's with little to no wait.

Granted, I've never been in a Texas Q shop with sawdust on the floor. Growing up in the Carolinas, though, that was everywhere - almost a requisite for good Q in the Carolinas in the 70s and 80s.

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

I've lived in Austin for 15 years and I've never been to franklins. I refuse to wait hours for BBQ when I can fabulous Q at Rudy's with little to no wait.

^This.

I have been here 14, Rudy's is up the road from me and is my go to. I could not agree with you anymore. For those reading this that may question, we take our brisket very seriously. #gasstationBBQ

[marscoast]

Re: Swopes 5.0

That shop could pass muster as an outpatient surgical center... it's SO clean! Your woodshop has high WAF!

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Got the 2nd TM crossover finished up. I was missing the terminal strip for the mid-tweet outputs. A trip to Altex rectified the issue and forward progress was made. I also started the glue up of the TMs. Nothing warms my heart more than to see my precision square flush with both surfaces.

[joshuass1467]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Amen brother!

I feel the same way. Looking good!

[Ithaca]

Re: Swopes 5.0

I've lived in Austin for 15 years and I've never been to franklins. I refuse to wait hours for BBQ when I can fabulous Q at Rudy's with little to no wait.

Granted, I've never been in a Texas Q shop with sawdust on the floor. Growing up in the Carolinas, though, that was everywhere - almost a requisite for good Q in the Carolinas in the 70s and 80s.

Then you know too that there is no good Q in a place that considers it a verb. Or uses ketchup :-)

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

More progress was made last night. I have almost all of the glue up but am still waiting on the parts to build the L/C/R crossovers. Once those are built and fitted I will close those boxes up. I have acoustic foam coming as well and will have to cut that. I built a custom table top wire foam cutter a few years ago to cut out shapes in my gun cases. It allows some pretty good accuracy and detail. I will have to cut out the ports for the MTMs as well.

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

And as I check in all the parts, I realize I left off 2 caps and 2 coils... I can still design the boards but won't be able to hear there them this weekend.

[tashspop]

Re: Swopes 5.0

ah man thats a bummer. build looks awsome so far.

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Got a few things done today. The foam for the inside of the MTMs is cut and fitted. I cut the hole for the ports of the MTMs as well. I decided to make a change to the veneer as I was going to do maple. Walnut is now the wood of choice. Since I have (had) 70" of rough cut walnut I began making the stands. It planed down and cleaned up nicely. There was not enough to finish the stands but I am still working out how they will look. The floor base and the base that the speaker sits on is done. The stand will only be 16"-18" tall. I also go to use my foam cutter as well and that is a plus. I made it a few years ago and it works pretty well.

[Carbon13]

Re: Swopes 5.0

OK, that foam cutter is ridiculously awesome!! You got plans for that?

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

OK, that foam cutter is ridiculously awesome!! You got plans for that?

Zero plans. Made it up as I went along. There was a long thread over on AR15.com and a lot of folks built them to cut foam in their Pelican cases for rifles. I cut a few cases and threw it up in the attic. It uses a transformer from radio shack that they don't sell anymore (I have an extra) and a fan on/off/motor control switch. This allows for a fine adjustment of current to the wire. It is essentially a dead short on the wire and the wire heats up. The wire is a stainless fishing leader. Here are some more pics.

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Have you ever accidentally touched the wire?