Finalist speakers, Tower version. Advice needed concerning TL vs Ported

[Paperweight]

I have the braces in place. Next time I may just go with 3/4" width on the braces. One inch looks too thick once you place it inside the cabinet. Now I'm afraid it will use up more volume than I intended. Hey, at least it's solid.

Found a not quite one inch diameter dowel rod to try.

[Chris Roemer]

3/4" or 1" dowels (or spare square stock - or NOT square, even).
Staggered spacing is best. You want to end up (ideally) with slightly different sized "resonant areas" in the end (not all the same size).
I typically use 5min epoxy to set mine - after construction is done.

[Paperweight]

After having a couple of days to sleep on it, dowels would seem like a very easy implementation of bracing. I did not expect to be able to get the center panel so well glued and placed without braces to hold it in the correct position, but I did.

Any suggestions for the diameter of dowel rods and wood or material composition to span a 6 3/8" X 9 1/2" space?

[Paperweight]

Got the woofer section front panel installed and the center divider glued and clamped in place. It took a minute to figure out how to apply pressure to the center panel but I got it eventually.

This went together way better than expected considering I didn't have the braces in the mix to keep it from falling over. Thankfully, with a hand plane and shooting board, I put nice clean edges on the panel so it stood up square. The pin nails kept it from moving as the clamps were applied.

When I bought the BB ply from The Hardwood Store last year, I picked up a Titebond silicone glue brush. That thing makes a real difference when spreading the glue around. Love my Glu Bot too. The answer to all your problems really is buy more tools.

Fun fact, the BB ply made in Russia has doubled in price since I purchased this last year. Also, I just discovered Appleply is no longer taking orders for their high-end plywood products. Good thing I got a 4' x 4' sheet of 1/2" walnut for the fronts when I did.

Now to trim the braces for a snug fit and glue up on Wednesday.

[bassman_soundking]

Those braces look nice

[Chris Roemer]

Therapy can be good !
We all build cabs differently.
Your braces look nice ;-) .

[djg]

# hashtag braces.

[Paperweight]

No dowels handy but I did have lots of scrap ply after the failed first cabinet kit. These were experimental so they came out chunkier than I intended. Just rounding over the edges after I pare the thickness down in places. I don't want them to eat up too much of the internal box volume and I don't want to find out what air speed causes whistling through one of the holes.

With the braces all in one piece, I have some confidence I can get the woofer section glued up without too many mishaps.

Gotta remember, I'm just some random dummy that doesn't know what he is doing so I'm winging it. I've worked a retail job for over two decades. I'm a masochist and some quiet time using hand tools is calming and very satisfying.

[Paul K.]

Not only that but rounding over all those edges will have zero effect on the sound, but if it makes Paperweight sleep better at night, that's fine.
Paul

[Chris Roemer]

Many folks would just replace one of your # braces with a pair (or 2) of dowels.

[Steve Lee]

Its a shame all that old-world skill and effort is going to be hidden and never seen again . . .

Impressive work.

[Paperweight]

Here are two out of four mostly completed. I'm afraid I'm going to wear the rasp out before I get this done. I'd like to get a French hand stitched rasp sometime in the future. Maybe a coarse number 4 or 5. An 80 grit sanding belt split in half makes quick work of rounding off the edges after a rough out.

I found the round mallet laying around in a shed. Huh this looks like a chisel mallet. Come to find out it was used for making sauerkraut and belonged to my paternal grandparents. I sealed a crack with superglue and gave it a wax and oil finish. I believe it is made of beech like most old school wooden tools.

[Paperweight]

Okay, I think I have a brace scheme I believe will work with minimal fuss. I did end up going with a # shaped brace. I used 3/4" BB ply and cut the outside pieces with a bandsaw. It went well. I punched out most of the center with a 3/4" drill bit in a drill press. The leftover bits were chopped out with a sharp chisel. I'm going over all of them with a 16 TPI rasp to round over all the edges.

So far, I like how they are turning out. I'll post pictures Wednesday on my day off when I get at least one fully completed.

[Steve Lee]

Had a similar Christmas myself so I understand - take care, get well and carry-on, Sir.

Keep us posted of your progress.

I just got a big 14" Rikon bandsaw delivered and then reconfigured some speakers in the recording room today.

Gotta keep going!

[Paperweight]

Well things went and got crazy in early November and it didn't stop from there. I spent 3 days in the hospital and got released on Christmas day. I'm on the mend thankfully. Maybe these speakers are cursed lol. The guy Paul K. designed this ML-TL for ended up with damage to his house.

As soon as it warms up enough to work in my shed/shop again, I want to get these done. I got stuck on how to make the 4 internal braces. I have a tendancy to overthink everything.

In the meantime, I rebuilt and modded a TOTL for 1990 Technics RS-B965 cassette deck that features direct drive, dual capstans and amorphous heads. Cassettes were never what you would call hi-fi but it is interesting how close they can come to it. I forgot how much I enjoyed some of these tapes when I was younger and still had hair. Listening to them through a pair of TriTrix towers that started this whole speaker building mess.