Sprite in Solid Cherry

[Carbon13]

Yeah, I know I'm not supposed to build speakers from solid wood but I've never really been one to do what I'm "supposed" to do...yes, I've had to learn my lessons the hard way ;)

Anyway, here's my little sprite build that I did for my wife's office. First time she's ever asked me to build a speaker so I figured I better stop everything and do it! Made some mistakes but it was definitely a learning experience and I'm pretty happy with the final product.

I tried box joints for the first time, inspired by Cajun Jeff's build (here: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...ghlight=sprite). Jeff's build is in a different league and I have even more admiration for it now that I tried a similar build. The big thing I learned with the box joints is that there is very little margin for error. I slapped together a home-made jig that was less than perfect. If you're considering this route, either buy a store bought jig or take your time and build a really solid one (lot's of good plans on the internet - I like the one stumpy nubs built and may try it if I do another build like this).

Here's the pic's of the final product:



How does it sound? LOTS of Bass!! I was shocked at just how much boom this boombox has. However, I found that I can't push it too hard or I start to get distortion (I'm guessing a limitation of a 3" driver). But given my wife doesn't have too many dance parties in the office (that I know of...); I think it's got more than enough "umph" for this purpose. A huge upgrade from computer speakers.

And once again: Thanks Paul for another brilliant design!! My wife only kinda hates you now :p

[matt996]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

That looks incredible.. love the box joints!

[lowpolyjoe]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Looks great!

[Carbon13]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Thanks guys!

I'm hoping the cherry will get a bit richer over time. I also sanded through the finish in a couple of spots but my wife said it wasn't that noticeable and would rather enjoy it now than wait a few more weeks for me to refinish it. I would have refinished it...oh well. Maybe once it darkens up a bit she'll want it refinished.

I've been listening to it all day in our kitchen and I'm really enjoying it. It really is surprising how much sound comes out of this little box.

[bazzz]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

I believe sunlight will darken cherry over time, you just don't want to dry the wood out too fast and have it crack. Good luck,

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Absolutely beautiful. Maybe you got the lighting just right ;) but your box joints look professional to me.

I hope your wife likes them!

[robertcottiers]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Stunning...."The road not taken" has worked out well for you,and they will darken nicely over the next few months.

[kenmcculloch]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Carbon, that is a beautiful speaker. I love the cherry grain! Didn't you cut the joints with a paring knife!!!! Did a great job!!! It will not fall apart. You should be fine on the splitting issue if it is in a climate controlled area. I built two MTM's some out of one inch walnut and the only problem I had was splitting in the narrow space between the tweeter and woofers. Had to clamp them together while epoxy cured and I got a metal strap screwed in. Worked great.

Great project and pics. The cherry will definitely darken over time. If you want it darker quick wet a towel with Drano ( wearing rubber gloves) and wipe it on and off. This accelerates the darkening and make is stain darker.

[donradick]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Beautiful work!
You are correct about the volume thing. IME, the NS3 sounds great and has solid bass as you crank it up,
and suddenly doesn't sound quite so good (distortion). Yep, there's only so much you can get out of a 3 inch driver.

I"m really getting into solid wood these days, and your joints are killer.

Two questions - looks like you put an amp inside? Yes ? which one?
What's the finish?


Very nice pics. Looks like you setup cross-lighting.

[Carbon13]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Absolutely beautiful. Maybe you got the lighting just right ;) but your box joints look professional to me.

I hope your wife likes them!

Thanks Paul! And yes, she does really like them.

Full disclosure: I did choose the best angles to show. Actually, most of the mistakes are buried on the bottom of the box. I had to patch a couple of the box joints but it's one of those things that seems glaring to me but no one else will probably ever see it. Thanks again for another sweet design!

[Carbon13]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

donradick,

Thanks for the kind words! Yes, I'm big into the solid wood too. First because I love the look and second because it's so much nicer to work with than MDF...I hate that stuff.

Yes, internal amp. It's the Dayton DTA-2, same as what Paul had on his website. To be honest, if it was my speaker I would have just used a separate Lepai amp. The DTA-2 is great but it's a lot more work than I initially thought. Lots of finicky soldering and then you have to make leads for the power and stereo jacks; it pushed the limits of my electronics skills (which are next to zero). And of course I had a bad solder that I had to then track down during testing...good times. But since it's for the wife's office, I figured I better make it simple and user friendly, which the DTA-2 definitely does - just plug in power, connect phone/computer/mp3 player and away you go.

For the finish, I started with shellac (which I've also been big on recently with the solid wood). I love how it goes on and dries super fast. And it looks great. It also seals the wood really well. I then decided to add a couple coats of varathane. I know that you're not supposed to do this unless using dewaxed shellac but the woodwhisperer did an empirical test of this and found no ill effects. The only thing I did wrong is that I should have built up more layers as I ended up sanding through the finish in some spots (particularly roundovers and corners).

I also experimented with glazes but ended up not going that route. I was surprised but a little suntanning of the cherry did a lot to bring out the richness of the wood that I was hoping for. I'm hoping that continues over time.

As for the pics, no special effects ;) That's the natural lighting in my kitchen but it does have 2 skylights that could give a cross-lighting effect.

[donradick]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Thanks Carbon13 -

Ditto the shellac - I've settled into using several coats of thinned shellac, sometimes covered with Minwax wipe-on poly.
My problem has always been that after 5-6 coats or so, I get impatient and finish it up one way or another.

[Gordy]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

This is just a great build. Great job! I have not yet ventured into box joints but have the Incra jig on my short list.

[patrickm]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

The DTA-2 is great but it's a lot more work than I initially thought. Lots of finicky soldering and then you have to make leads for the power and stereo jacks; it pushed the limits of my electronics skills (which are next to zero). And of course I had a bad solder that I had to then track down during testing...good times.

one trick is to get a short shielded 1/8" stereo extension cord, plug the male end into the DTA-2 and just use an adhesive to sink the female end into the back of the speaker as an external jack. (shielded=mandatory). you can do the same for power, and they sell screw-on male and female terminals, so you can adjust the length of the extension. i did that for a build last year and it saved me a boatload of time when troubleshooting.

[Carbon13]

Re: Sprite in Solid Cherry

Thanks Gordy! I'm a big fan of your builds so I'd love to see that build with the incra jig (probably work a lot better than my slapped together sketchy homemade jig...learned my lesson for next time...;)