on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

[nick650]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Alright. I will do the glue/water mixture then. I will have to buy more glue then. Would any glue work? Like the Elmers white glue stuff?

[XtremeRevolution]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

I got latex paint readily available and don't have to pay for it.

Do you have any idea how many coats of paint you have to put on MDF before it stops absorbing it? Has it occured to you that the raw edges will also absorb more than the flat edges? You should also already have the glue if you're building the cabinets. Its one very small step to prevent a whole lot more work.

Seal the MDF first to prevent headaches. Trust me, you don't want to be sitting there having to apply a dozen coats of paint wondering why the end result looks like garbage all because you didn't want to mix some wood glue with water and brush it on.

[nick650]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

I got latex paint readily available and don't have to pay for it.

[XtremeRevolution]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Not even funny how long it has bin since I posted back here. Cap broke, resister broke (leads inside them), horrible with dimensions and cutting.

I got all my parts cut and ready to be glued tomorrow. I also got my crossover mounted and ready to go. Once the gluing is done, I will prime the snot out of the MDF and then off to spray paint it semi gloss black. I will have one done but still need more material for the other speaker. I will post picks later on. The crossovers have bin heavily upgraded and my NTN's came to a total of $230.

Don't prime the snot out of them. You will waste a LOT of primer and lot of time.

Instead, make a mixture of 50/50 wood glue and water, and brush it on. The MDF will absorb it and it will dry and harden to a very hard eggshell surface that can be very easily sanded. It seals the MDF perfectly. Otherwise, you may get a very splotchy finish that will not be even, and will be a nightmare to sand smooth. Trust me, it works.

[nick650]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Not even funny how long it has bin since I posted back here. Cap broke, resister broke (leads inside them), horrible with dimensions and cutting.

I got all my parts cut and ready to be glued tomorrow. I also got my crossover mounted and ready to go. Once the gluing is done, I will prime the snot out of the MDF and then off to spray paint it semi gloss black. I will have one done but still need more material for the other speaker. I will post picks later on. The crossovers have bin heavily upgraded and my NTN's came to a total of $230.

[Soundslike]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Herman Trivilino -- Maybe if I'd used a natural bristle brush instead of nylon I'd have had better luck?

The dump gun runs $119 -- that's quite a bit to dump (excuse the pun) into something you're not sure you'll use, or even like. But, I'll probably do it to further my shop capabilities. Fiberglass methods have a lot to offer speaker builders and open up a whole new range of possibilities. Here's what they look like:




I guess the special capability they have is that they can handle heavy (thick) liquid materials, and cleanup is minimized by the throw-away cup, and external mixing. We shall see...

Regarding brushing of primer, I purchased a book I'd seen quoted elsewhere on the forum called, "Flexner on Finishing." Lots of good info in it, from a down-to-earth, practical perspective. He doesn't address brushing primer specifically, but here's what I gleaned from a brief reading of related topics. He says brush quality has nothing to do with brush strokes left on the surface. A cheap brush will leave no more brush strokes on the surface, than will an expensive one. But, bristle brushes soften in water, and become too soft if you're using a water based product. Cheap brushes also lose a lot of bristles, which of course end up on your project. I've seen them leave other debris as well. What does effect brush strokes is the drying time of the product you're using. Anything that dries fast will be hard to brush on flat and smooth, because it doesn't have time to flow out before it begins to set. And, the faster it dries, the more difficult it is to keep a wet edge.

[Herman Trivilino]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

I asked for input about how to avoid clogging sandpaper and the feedback I got was that sanding could be avoided if the resin was sprayed on smoothly (as opposed to brushing, which leaves brush marks) using something called a dump gun.

That makes sense. I brushed on a primer once, followed by a sprayed-on finish coat. Even though I sanded in between coats, the brush marks still showed through. Maybe if I'd used a natural bristle brush instead of nylon I'd have had better luck?

[JustinL42]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Justin,
My compliments on your build -- they really look like they belong where you've placed them. You should have no problems with SAF. I can relate to the difficulties you've experienced with black paint, but you persisted and ended up with something you can be proud of.

Ron

Thanks! They are at my dads place. It's amazing how well they blend with his sub. They go pretty deep. I was considering flush mounting the woofers when I made my pair of nano neos but I didn't. Have any pics with the drivers dry fit yet?

JustinL42

[Soundslike]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Are you in a high-humidity environment? I've not used fiber glass resin, but I thought it was supposed to be a fast drying affair!

It couldn't be much drier, where I'm at in the greater Phoenix area. And of course, it's warm too. I checked with the experts on the Fiberglass Forum, and from what I can tell, the problem I've described is not unusual. I asked for input about how to avoid clogging sandpaper and the feedback I got was that sanding could be avoided if the resin was sprayed on smoothly (as opposed to brushing, which leaves brush marks) using something called a dump gun. That's followed by a poly primer that can be readily sanded. Or, you can wait several days for the resin to dry before sanding.

The instructions printed on the can advise that the resin requires a minimum of six hours to harden. It's a polyester resin finishing resin, which, according to the forum members over at the Fiberglass Forum, is formulated with wax to make it easier to sand. I'll probably acquire a dump gun.

[Herman Trivilino]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

I then applied fiber glass resin diluted with acetone to 50% to the entire enclosure, to strengthen and seal it. I very much like the end result, but a fairly long drying time is necessary. Try to sand before several days have passed, and the somewhat sticky resin will clog the sandpaper.

Are you in a high-humidity environment? I've not used fiber glass resin, but I thought it was supposed to be a fast drying affair!

[Soundslike]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Continuing with where I left off, here's a close-up of the recesses for both drivers. As you can see, the closeness of the two drivers leaves very little material between the two recesses. That area will need reinforcement.



In the next photo, the cabinet has been assembled. The crossover network will be installed through the driver openings.

The assembly sequence I followed was to first create a five-sided assembly, install the cross brace, glue in dampening material, then add the the remaining side. I laid one side flat, and then added the baffle, back, top, and bottom. The second side was dry-fitted into the opening while the assembly dried, in order to improve squareness and to make sure it would fit into the opening without modification once it came time to install it. I go into a bit more detail in my Duellati build string where I describe how and why I dry-fitted, marked where glue was to be applied, and used a spreader. I'll add a link to that string below my signature for anyone who might be interested.

I glued in mattress topper for dampening, using spray on contact adhesive.



This next photo pretty much shows where I am today. I rounded over the front baffle and port, using the same process described in my Duellati build. I also flush trimed the panels with a flush-trim bit. I then brushed-on fiber glass resin diluted 50% with acetone to the entire enclosure , to strengthen and seal it. I very much like the end result, but a fairly long drying time is necessary. Try to sand before several days have passed, and the somewhat sticky resin will clog the sandpaper.

[Soundslike]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Justin,
My compliments on your build -- they really look like they belong where you've placed them. You should have no problems with SAF. I can relate to the difficulties you've experienced with black paint, but you persisted and ended up with something you can be proud of.

Ron

[JustinL42]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Justin, what did you use for the feet? They look really nice.

I used these part# 240-670

It was nice, they came with everything needed to install!

Soundslike,

Can't wait to see those finished!

JustinL42

[Soundslike]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

Thanks Mikers -- that's a great compliment from a builder like you...

[Mikers]

Re: on Sale - $55/pr (drivers & XO)

"I bored to a depth of 1/2" and then glued the PVC in with epoxy. I then made reinforcement rings from scrap MDF to compensate for the lost 1/4" of glue surface area." <---:D this is great, I like how you consider things like the 1/4" of gluing area.

Great work, I don't even think I'd bother flush mounting those devils. Very nice indeed, they will look awesome.