[Badd99]

Hi all,

Contemplating having some nx otica cabinets cnc water jet out of a large 5'x10' slab of Granite. Would have to double up the front baffle but I already have flat packs from Jay glued up but not finshed for the nx otica and I have yet to build my triple servo sub pair BUT what do you guys think? I can get both done and cut perfectly for $1300 and have had custom work done by him before and it turns out phenomenal. Here is the color and my music room build so the colors would match well.

I'd take my nx otica unfinshed towers and have the guy mirror it with his cnc.







Would you do it? Worth it? I don't care about the weight of the finshed speaker as a bad thing I can move it no problem and it's going on thick carpet colors just like the slab with memory foam 8lb pad ontop of concrete floors so no worries there.

Thanks for your input!

[Kaiju2189]

Man I would love to see it if you do it.

My wife already thinks I’m crazy for having my cables off the floor. I’m not sure I could pull off granite cabinets…. At least before I redid our bathroom counters😁

[Peter J]

Some food for thought.

What's pictured sure doesn't look like any granite I've seen. I suspect it's engineered stone aka Quartz. Typically comes in two or three centimeter thick slabs.

 A water jet alone could not duplicate the flat pack. The 10° rabbet on side of baffle would need to be machined as would the rabbets. Stone (engineered or natural) requires diamond tooling and water to control dust and keep tooling cool.

Although it would be novel, I don't think there would be any sonic benefit, but I guess you decide whether it's worth it.

Reading your post and looking at photo makes me thing this is some kind of overlay that's offered as countertop resurfacing material. I used to do business with a company called Granite Transformations that offered similar. About 3/8" thick, and had origins in the commercial flooring world. Here's a table I had them cut.

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

We use granite in the elevator business all the time.

You got a pair, my friend, to take on the task. Based on my experience with granite: too heavy, too costly and too fragile. Be very careful when moving too. Otherwise the cabinet will crack in half, like a egg!
I've seen some beautiful granite slabs, so you'll have a wide selection to choose.

Gotta love a risk taker!   It will be sorta like having a Ferrari wrapped in gold leaf! Pray nothing hits it! 

All jokes aside, I wish you good luck, if you decide to pursue the project.

[EdwardT]

If it were me I’d be planning a stone cabinet with the walnut front offered at the point of sale. No waveguide to cut and lots of long glue joints to hide in the stone.

4/30 5pm: Then I read the OP and realized they’re not NX Studios….

[Woodsage]

Hard pass.

[E-Zee]

Don't do it.  So many things can go wrong. You could be 80% or even 100% complete and suffer a catastrophic failure.  I wouldn't trust granite for that particular speaker. Granite has a lot of strengths, but it likes to be supported from all directions to prevent movement. Movement equals breakage, and large open baffle wings would concern me.

By all means, build a speaker with granite, but let it be something smaller.  There's less glory in a granite bookshelf since it's been done many times, but it could still be enjoyable.

[Tyson]

Aluminum would be better than granite.

[WGH]

Richlite is a man-made material almost as dense and heavy as granite and naturally non-resonant. Richlite is available in thicknesses from ¼” (6mm) to 3” (75mm). Making the NX-Otica with 1-1/2" thick Richlite will challenge any builder but the sound would be stunning. The material can be cut and shaped using industrial grade woodworking tools with carbide saw blades and router bits.



I have played with Richlite for a few projects. Cutting 1-1/2" thick Richlite will require a 5 hp - 3 phase table saw with a new 12" 60-80 tooth triple chip blade and still it will be real slow going and slightly scary. Using a lesser table saw will trip your breaker. The wave guide can be routed in with a 3-1/4" hp router, I use a Porter Cable Model 7518, it's a beast and unfortunately no longer made.

Cut edges can be sanded and polished down to the micron level using a random orbit sander. An industrial air powered sander like 12,000 rpm Dynabrade sander would be ideal, note that most hobby compressors will not put out the required 19 SCFM. The 1-1/4" Diameter Mini-Dynorbital Extreme would be ideal for sanding the wave guide and it only needs 5 SCFM.

Assembly is with biscuits for alignment and epoxy, fun stuff that gets everywhere.

Richlite has a sample pack with sizes and colors

Ready for a challenge?