Speakers are finished
My speakers are finally done. And they turned out great.
After reading up on speaker design, I got the impression that the hard part of speaker design wasn't the cabinet construction, but rather the crossover (which splits the sound between the woofer and the tweeter). Armed with that knowledge, and a good sale on the recession buster driver/crossover set, I decided that a kit would be the easier way to go.
I'd read that bamboo plywood makes an excellent speaker cabinet (and is used by some high-end speaker companies). Also, bamboo is much more renewable than hardwood plywoods, would not involve learning to veneer, would look pretty awesome, and wouldn't involve MDF dust. The MDF dust from my subwoofer project was pretty annoying.
Bamboo decision made, I needed to find a supplier, which isn't trivial. While bamboo flooring is common enough, getting a 4'x8' sheet of bamboo (enough for my 7 speakers with mere inches to spare) was a bit of an unusual request. The first place I contacted originally said that they'd be happy to make 6 or so line cuts on a table saw and implied that it would be free. Later, when I actually called to buy it, they wanted to charge $50 for the privilege. No one else seemed to carry the 4'x8' sheet, so I bought a many-toothed sawblade and borrowed a van and picked up the wood (on my way to pick up my parents from the airport).
My dad and I made the 6 long cuts with a circular saw, which wasn't too bad, though in retrospect, with having to use a van, it seems easier to have paid the $50. The next step was to cut the hojillion short cuts, which luckily I could do on my chop saw. Except for the sides, which required more circular saw action.
Then I cut the driver holes (with a scroll saw which may have been a bad or at least slow idea) and routed the port entrance. Then I attached the crossover and began the assembly process.
After I assembled (via glue and clamps) a pair of speakers, I'd finish them, which involves applying a polyacrylic coat, wiring the drivers, stuffing the cabinet with polyfill, and screwing in the drivers.
And tonight, I finished the last pair.
After reading up on speaker design, I got the impression that the hard part of speaker design wasn't the cabinet construction, but rather the crossover (which splits the sound between the woofer and the tweeter). Armed with that knowledge, and a good sale on the recession buster driver/crossover set, I decided that a kit would be the easier way to go.
I'd read that bamboo plywood makes an excellent speaker cabinet (and is used by some high-end speaker companies). Also, bamboo is much more renewable than hardwood plywoods, would not involve learning to veneer, would look pretty awesome, and wouldn't involve MDF dust. The MDF dust from my subwoofer project was pretty annoying.
Bamboo decision made, I needed to find a supplier, which isn't trivial. While bamboo flooring is common enough, getting a 4'x8' sheet of bamboo (enough for my 7 speakers with mere inches to spare) was a bit of an unusual request. The first place I contacted originally said that they'd be happy to make 6 or so line cuts on a table saw and implied that it would be free. Later, when I actually called to buy it, they wanted to charge $50 for the privilege. No one else seemed to carry the 4'x8' sheet, so I bought a many-toothed sawblade and borrowed a van and picked up the wood (on my way to pick up my parents from the airport).
My dad and I made the 6 long cuts with a circular saw, which wasn't too bad, though in retrospect, with having to use a van, it seems easier to have paid the $50. The next step was to cut the hojillion short cuts, which luckily I could do on my chop saw. Except for the sides, which required more circular saw action.
Then I cut the driver holes (with a scroll saw which may have been a bad or at least slow idea) and routed the port entrance. Then I attached the crossover and began the assembly process.
After I assembled (via glue and clamps) a pair of speakers, I'd finish them, which involves applying a polyacrylic coat, wiring the drivers, stuffing the cabinet with polyfill, and screwing in the drivers.
And tonight, I finished the last pair.