New Guy Orders "The Mini"

wgraft5 · « **Reply #20 on:** 10 Jul 2021, 08:54 pm »

Worked on the crossovers. I need to get a soldering iron to continue on.
It has been a long time since I have made/assembled/worked on anything and made a lot of mistakes. I was having an issue with twisting up the leads/wires. Some are stiffer than others and working within the confines of the smallness and so forth, it was challenging.
So here is everything waiting for parts and tools.

Rob Gremley · « **Reply #21 on:** 11 Jul 2021, 12:59 am »

Those crossovers look great! I bought the Minis too. I'll keep you posted how the build goes.

wgraft5 · « **Reply #22 on:** 13 Jul 2021, 09:01 pm »

@Rob Thanks man.

I watched danny's latest vid on the Mini and it was very helpful. And i didnt think about stuffing the cabinets.
I think I saw where people use pillow stuffing? So a Walmart pillow is on the list.
Would NoRez be good to use?
I will be getting several Harbor Freight 12" clamps, maybe 8-10-12 don't know yet lol.

Speaker Challenged · « **Reply #23 on:** 13 Jul 2021, 11:54 pm »

wgraft5. The crossovers look great. You will have a great pair of speakers in the end.

Yes, get the no res if the budget allows and yes still use the white polyfil or fiberglass insulation. If the budget does not then use vinyl floor tiles and self adhesive foam off eBay egg crate type stuff.
I will pay for no res for my next build. 3 step process of cut,peel and stick. You want the sound coming forward and reflections inside the cabinet dampened.
Keep posting on your journey.

Chewbacca · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Jul 2021, 12:40 am »

Really looking forward to hearing the impressions people have of these little beasts! Keep up the great work!

Runar0und · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Jul 2021, 07:05 pm »

Howdy from another new guy that bought the Mini. I'm generally pretty handy and pick things up quickly, but I never done anything like this. I assembled the boxes last weekend (a 1st for me) and built the crossovers last night (another 1st for me, but I've soldered things a few times). Here's a few photos of my progress. I'm planning on doing a veneer, which is yet another thing I've never done before.

Boxes assembled and sanded down the edges

1st crossover assembled and soldered

Both crossovers fully wired up and ready to go

Test fitting all the components with the crossover sitting in the bottom.

This is actually a pretty tight fit with the mid bass drivers. I did go ahead and connect the wires and tested the speaker for a little while to make sure I didn't screw up the crossover. I only did one channel and left the KEF Q350 for the other channel. I adjusted the balance a bit to even out the volume between the different speakers. It's hard to get a real impression this way, but it was at least keeping up with the KEF (which has a much larger set of drivers) and seemed to add more clarity. Again, just a quick check vs critical listening.

wgraft5 · « **Reply #26 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 12:03 am »

Wow nice.

Hmm, My flat pack is not here yet.

I ordered a soldering gun so when that gets here I can finish the crossovers. Also have 8 12" clamps on the way.

I have been thinking about paint while I wait. I am going to use the DuraTex and play with a fine roller to flatten it as it dries. Then I might paint it and go for that crackle look.

From his pic's it looks like it comes with sharp corners. Dang now I have to spend more money to get the corners rounded.

Further down the rabbit hole I go lol

hawkeyejw · « **Reply #27 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 12:58 am »

It’s great to see all the newcomers putting together mini kits. Looking forward to reading about your listening impressions.

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #28 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 01:46 am »

We've had the pair Danny built playing in-house for a little over a week now, and they really sound great. Even the first hour or so were really impressive, and only got better after the first couple days of playing.
Now they're helping burn in both a DAC and a small 9W class A integrated amp.

kenfx · « **Reply #29 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 02:22 am »

Checked the mail today and...
I have a weekend project too!

Runar0und · « **Reply #30 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 02:27 am »

Quote from: wgraft5 on 15 Jul 2021, 12:03 am

From his pic's it looks like it comes with sharp corners. Dang now I have to spend more money to get the corners rounded.

Further down the rabbit hole I go lol

Yeah - the flat pack is squared off. You'll need a router to round them if that's what you are wanting. I was considering rounding the side corners and then doing a single veneer wrap all the way around the sides, but I had decided to just leave them square for now. I'm trying to limit how many tools I buy. Then I just find out that a friend of mine has a really nice table router.... Decisions decisions.

I decided to test assemble my 2nd set and it seems that the 2nd tweeter is DOA. No biggie, I'll give them a call tomorrow. I'm hoping to listen to them for a bit while I sort out the veneer I want to do. I'm trying to find something I like local before I order online.

wgraft5 · « **Reply #31 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 02:37 am »

Mini's taking over!

That is so awesome.

@kenfx, very nice.

slmason · « **Reply #32 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 04:22 am »

Wow. Looks like a fantastic start to a great project. Not sure where the "Minis" came from but I'm sure they'll sound great.

kenfx · « **Reply #33 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 06:40 am »

Just curious if any of you woodworking pro's has a recommendation for the best way to round the edges of the Mini cabinets. I have a friend who is letting me use his router this weekend if I want but I'm just a little hesitant about doing it myself. (he's no expert with it either) I do have a workbench with a large vise and clamps, etc to hold the cabinet down nice an tight but I've been warned that it is pretty easy to cause damage to the corners with a router.

My initial plan was to round off the edges similar to Danny's blue set of Mini's that he recently completed on the GR-Research YouTube channel. I've had a few friends tell me it isn't quite that easy. They warned me that it's very easy to cause the router bit to take a small "divot" on an edge and/or corner.

Any ideas or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
Thx

EdwardT · « **Reply #34 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 12:46 pm »

Take small bites, don’t try to rout the round over in a single pass. And, take a nip out of each corner first before you make the pass along the edge, that'll help prevent chipping at the corners. And go slow, it’s easier to control and less likely to slip and booger the edges you want to keep sharp.

Chewbacca · « **Reply #35 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 01:02 pm »

One thing that may help as well is to start with a smaller bit. If you endup chipping it, you may get lucky and moving up to a larger bit could cover the chip. Just an idea!

I haven't personally rounded off an already rounded corner, so I can't exactly say with issues that itself could cause. But the guide bearing should fall underneath the smaller radius - on the flat side of the cab... So I wouldn't think it would cause any issues??

One thing I can say for sure is... Practice on scrap! Then when you think you got it down, practice some more!

AlexH · « **Reply #36 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 01:21 pm »

If you can find someone with a router table it will make it much easier. Even if it is a cheap router table.

hawkeyejw · « **Reply #37 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 01:29 pm »

If no router table is available, I highly recommend you do some practice passes on scrap wood if you can. With the small mini boxes you’ll need to go slow and be very careful about keeping the router base flat against the box. That’s the main concern, as if you slip and the router leans it changes the angle of the router bit and can make for an edge that is less than perfect. It’s also possible to use wood filler and careful sanding to repair small errors.

mlundy57 · « **Reply #38 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 01:40 pm »

Even with a router table practice pieces is the way to go. Practice on scrap pieces of wood until you are confident in the cut.

Without a router table, if the scrap pieces aren’t big enough to clamp down and have clearance for the router you can use double stick tape like wood turner’s tape to secure it to something large enough to clamp down.

Always practice something new on scrap before doing it on your project. This goes for coloring/finishing as well as cutting

EdwardT · « **Reply #39 on:** 15 Jul 2021, 02:28 pm »

And, if you take a look at Danny's speakers every edge is rounded. Roundover bits have a way of correcting slight mistakes when you round every edge, it’s the transition from rounded to sharp edge that showcases missteps.