Project #3: (Insert Name Here)

[tomzarbo]

Very nice sir! Waiting to see how they finish!

Thanks, Me Too!

Beautiful. Have you ball-parked a crossover yet?

Nope. Faith or Stupidity, you be the judge.

I don't anticipate any big issues, but you never know. I'm about 4 days out from having these things in measurement/testing, and I'm off for a few weeks, so I have lots of time to devote to getting these things dialed in just right. Hopefully. I should have a big enough stash of crossover bits to be able to mock up anything I need without needing to buy anything between now and MWAF.

TomZ

[Kevin K.]

I guess your line arrays wouldn't have been very feasible without CNC. On the other hand, IIRC, there was a ton manual fit and finish. Nothing to be ashamed of using all the resources at your disposal ... especially given the output of "competitors" like Zarbo Speaker Works.

Exactly! And the CNC still doesn't level the playing field, Tom's talents never cease to amaze. I do like the name of his company, very marketable.

[tomzarbo]

Exactly! And the CNC still doesn't level the playing field, Tom's talents never cease to amaze. I do like the name of his company, very marketable.

Thanks, Brother!
Aside from church and lunch at Taco Bell afterwards I've been on these things all day.





The port and tweeter recesses are too deep, but I knew that. I had to make them deep enough to be able to use my little veneer trimming bit in the router. I'll gasket them up during assembly.

The woofers gave me fits tonight. I have four of them obviously... but one of them is about 1/16" smaller in diameter than the other three... and don't you know that I used the smaller one to size up all my driver openings. :( Doh'!

Nothing a half hour of careful sanding didn't fix, though.
I have a few buggers to fill tomorrow morning, then it's off to Polysville!

Time for a shower and some sleep.

TomZ

[Kevin K.]

Wow!!! You scored big time with that veneer, awesome stuff! Any veneer that looks that good dry is gonna rock after applying finish. Thanks for sharing the info/headache on the woofer size, I'll check mine to make sure they are both the same size before starting a build with them. Ever get that feeling everything goes wrong when you can least afford it to happen? Seems like that's been the theme for me for the last two years trying to get ready for MWAF. Hopefully the woofers will be your last set back and everything goes smooth for you from here on out. Good luck man.

[6thplanet]

No doubt, that's some nice veneer!

[scottvalentin]

Very beautiful already can't wait to see what happens with the first coats of poly!

[Navy Guy]

Looking forward to seeing and hearing these in person at MWAF. I still haven't even been able to get started on my third project yet. You seem to just keep knocking them out. I don't know how you keep up with that kind of pace.

[Kevin K.]

Looking forward to seeing and hearing these in person at MWAF. I still haven't even been able to get started on my third project yet. You seem to just keep knocking them out. I don't know how you keep up with that kind of pace.

Zarbo Speaker Works is cutting edge! They've incorporated robotics for everything but the crossovers. The owner likes to do those himself, kind of a signature thingy.

[tomzarbo]

The robots and I love to see the first few coats of finish go on, it's very rewarding.



This Bubinga veneer is kind of funny with it's different grain patterns... some areas appear sealed and shiny where other areas are still dull, I guess those are the more porous areas.

These pics are with 2 coats of rub-on poly. I have 4 coats on now so it's a bit more even now.



It usually seems to take me about 5-6 coats before the wood is completely sealed up and 'plasticized' (my word for when the entire surface is sealed and building thickness layers) So the next few coats should start to see more shine and evenness I hope.

I hear the clocking ticking ever louder...

TomZ

[dst]

Most impressive!

[tomzarbo]

Ooof, I'm tired, but happy.

Several days of mostly all-day thrashing on these has gotten me here...




I'm still waiting for a few crossover bits from PE... hopefully they come Monday... if not I'll go with the bits I have. I didn't want to use buyout parts for the crossover in case anyone did eventually want to build these, and for the write-up... but oh well.

Everything is mostly ready, just needs to be soldered up and away I go!

I ended up putting two coats of brush-on Poly, followed with a few coats of rub-on to even things out. The finish isn't perfect, but it's uniformly shiny and looks pretty good from 5 feet. We don't usually listen closer than that anyway right?

Whew, I'm going to sleep well tonight... especially now that the polyurethane fumes have subsided.

Packing up the speaks Monday afternoon/evening and we're off for Kentucky/Ohio early Tuesday morning.

The MWAF excitement builds....

TomZ

[Kevin K.]

Stunning! Looking forward to hearing these bad boys.

[KEtheredge87]

MAN THOSE LOOK GOOD! Are you bringing a couple posts and some velvet rope to protect them? That bubinga is such an amazing figure. Can't wait to see and hear these in person!

[scottvalentin]

Tom those really turned out well! Beautiful wood and well done getting it to look it's best!

[PassingInterest]

Wow! These are a Masterpiece, Tom!