Swopes 5.0

[kiteflyer]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Inspirational build! The swopes are on my list as well.
I'd like to know if you considered building the swope towers?

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Inspirational build! The swopes are on my list as well.
I'd like to know if you considered building the swope towers?

Yes I did consider it but that quickly wained. The room these are in is very small 10x11. Anything more than what I building would be too much. In fact what I am building may be to much. The Infinity towers I have now have some kick but it is not clean or crisp. They also have more speakers than the MTM Swopes. But if the Swopes are remotely like the OSs I will be blown away.

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Well I got my feet wet in veneering today. I only sanded through one corner. I blame it on the brand new piece of sand paper I was using. Veneering is not that hard. Take your time, be patient and use the right tools. The DAP Gel contact cement is perfect for this applicaiton and spreads easily with a mini foam roller. It is really not that messy and I cannot imagine using a cold press method. It is time consuming as I only got about half way through the enclosures today.

I am very glad I purchased the Dewalt DWP611 trim router. It makes it very easy to go around all of the edges and is not as cumbersome to use as my larger Bosch router. It is very easy to change bits and has a great depth adjustment system. I like it so much I might consider selling my Bosch plunge/fixed router and replace it with a Dewalt. I loath the plunge/fixed change out and bit change process.

[Derekj]

Re: Swopes 5.0

These are coming along very nicely! Did you trim the walnut out around the speaker openings with the router?

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

These are coming along very nicely! Did you trim the walnut out around the speaker openings with the router?

Yes, some folks use a special 1/4" non-bearing bit to do this but I really don't like to use a router bit without a bearing. First, I used a flush cut bit to clean out the larger circle and then followed it with the same router bit I used for the countersink. The difference is I set the depth just enough for the bearing to roll against the larger hole and just enough to trim the veneer. This way the original countersunk depth was not touched. It worked very well I just to it slow around the area where the mid and tweet meet.

[Wolf]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Yes, some folks use a special 1/4" non-bearing bit to do this but I really don't like to use a router bit without a bearing. First, I used a flush cut bit to clean out the larger circle and then followed it with the same router bit I used for the countersink. The difference is I set the depth just enough for the bearing to roll against the larger hole and just enough to trim the veneer. This way the original countersunk depth was not touched. It worked very well I just to it slow around the area where the mid and tweet meet.

So how did you trim the rebate back without gouges?
Wolf

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

So how did you trim the rebate back without gouges?
Wolf

I think you are referring to removing the veneer material so it is flush with and cleaned away from the recessed area of the speaker hole. I used the same 1/2" and 7/16" rabbit bit on my router that I used to make the recess. I just went back over it to clean it up. The bit was lowered enough to trim the veneer and for the bearing to ride along the speaker cut out so it did not increase the depth of the recess any more. Essentially routing it a second time. I am not sure why there would be gouges if the router bit is sharp enough and the router is spinning fast enough. In this case, 30k RPM.

[kiteflyer]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Yes I did consider it but that quickly wained. The room these are in is very small 10x11. Anything more than what I building would be too much. In fact what I am building may be to much. The Infinity towers I have now have some kick but it is not clean or crisp. They also have more speakers than the MTM Swopes. But if the Swopes are remotely like the OSs I will be blown away.

Ah. Very well. My room is a big basement family room. 17x23. I'm leaning towards the swope towers.

I can't wait to see how that walnut finishes!
Keep up the good work!

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

My goal today was to get everything ready for finish. I decided I am going to stick with my tried and true satin lacquer finish. It is easy and always looks good when it is done. But today did not go as planned. I had two router mishaps that took 1.5 hours out of my day preventing me from meeting that goal. The mishaps also were on the center channel the speaker that you have to look at all the time because it is in front of you.

I was able to fix both with the magic of bondo but ended up having to put a second layer of veneer on the front of the center channel to cover up the second router attack. None can be seen and all the enclosures need is to be sanded with 320 and they are ready to go.















Adding pic of repaired veneer
















I was super worried about this very thin piece. But with 2 layers of veneer both routed perfectly.

[Gordy]

Re: Swopes 5.0

I also got the MTMs done today. I finished the veneer yesterday and just needed to do the final sanding with some 220 and route out the speaker holes.




I first use the flush cut but to remove the larger portion of the hole.




Then come back in with the same rabbit bits I used to make the recess for the drivers and clean up the veneer.




I found the holes for the speaker connections and the 4 holes on the bottom of the MTMs that will attach the speaker to the stand. I used an awl and punched a hole from the inside out to mark them the drilled them out from the bottom.




As I stated earlier, the tweeter would not drop right in. Using a 1-11/16" forester bit to drill the hole followed by a 7/16" rabbit bit routed out for the recess, the tweeter fits perfectly. The 1-11/16" hole just needs to be filed some to accommodate the tweeter. This is done very last of course.








These will be approximatly 1" taller with the speaker feet on the bottom of the stands.

[Wolf]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Augh! The flush-trim in the driver rebate- I do that all the time!!!
Glad you know how to fix it. I used a filler for mine too.

Later,
Wolf

[Derekj]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Good job on the repair!

[lowpolyjoe]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Great recovery!

I've dipped the flush trim bit in the driver hole a couple of times myself :(. I don't think any of my repairs looked that good. Awesome work

[Mike220]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Awesome thread, i have enjoyed tracking your progress. I have Paul C. Sending me a speedster center channel design i wonder how the swopes and speedsters would compare! Anyway, The build looks excellent your shop is immaculate and great work even on your opps!

[kiteflyer]

Re: Swopes 5.0

Awesome thread, i have enjoyed tracking your progress. I have Paul C. Sending me a speedster center channel design i wonder how the swopes and speedsters would compare! Anyway, The build looks excellent your shop is immaculate and great work even on your opps!

Would you mind posting the speedster center design when you get it?

Have you built the speedster towers?