X-SLS & X-CS Encore, AV-1RS Build

Danny Richie · « **Reply #40 on:** 4 Dec 2011, 06:35 pm »

Quote from: Peter J on 4 Dec 2011, 06:17 pm

Danny, somewhere in my memory I stored the concept of imagining the radiation pattern of drivers expanding like a bubble from the driver forward, like blowing a bubble with gum. Sorta simplistic but is it accurate in your experience?

The radiation pattern varies with frequency but is more like a rock dropped into a pond.

Any tall or flat surface sticking up on the edges of the speakers baffle are a problem. If the edges are curved then the effect of the grill frame is lessened considerably.

Peter J · « **Reply #41 on:** 7 Dec 2011, 05:14 am »

Moving on...

The last of the woodwork... inserts for cones on SLS

I'm not crazy about dark stains in general, but it's in fashion now and what daughter wanted, so I'll make the most of it. We have an old mahogany piano that I'm using as reference.

I started with a non-pigmented dye for base color.

And followed up with a custom mixed wiping stain left over from a recent job

Turned out a little cool to my eye and could stand to lighten color depth a little, so I mixed some lemon yellow toner into clear stain base to warm it up some and gave everything two wipe on/off coats. Wiping over pigmented stain has the side effect of removing some of the previous color, so it lightens things a little.

Here's a shot of rears to better see some of the progression. Left is dye only and right is after staining

Here's center and rears after the yellow treatment

Next up will be sealer and lacquer.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #42 on:** 7 Dec 2011, 04:01 pm »

Man those look good!

skeeter99 · « **Reply #43 on:** 7 Dec 2011, 04:35 pm »

Quote from: Danny Richie on 7 Dec 2011, 04:01 pm

Man those look good!

Yeah no kidding! AV123 always had great finishes but this is really taking these guys to a whole new level. Very cool!!

Peter J · « **Reply #44 on:** 9 Dec 2011, 11:05 pm »

Onto finishing now.

Anybody tired of looking at pictures yet?

I'll follow all the way through if there's interest.

In the raw, in the booth

Three coats of sealer, sand after coat 1 and coat 3

The dusty part

Three coats of lacquer, sand between coat two and three

Out of the booth...some curing time

Next on the list will be rubbing and buffing the lacquer, speaker assembly and grill cloth. Shall I keep going?

Danny Richie · « **Reply #45 on:** 9 Dec 2011, 11:24 pm »

Oh yeah. We love the pics!

DeeJayBump · « **Reply #46 on:** 9 Dec 2011, 11:55 pm »

Love the pics, keep posting the progression of the build and finish.

HT cOz · « **Reply #47 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 12:54 am »

Wow keep'em coming!

skeeter99 · « **Reply #48 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 01:31 am »

Quote from: HT cOz on 10 Dec 2011, 12:54 am

Wow keep'em coming!

Dang those look stunning! Keep up the good work. Is that booth at your house??

Peter J · « **Reply #49 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 03:12 am »

Quote from: skeeter99 on 10 Dec 2011, 01:31 am

Is that booth at your house??

Oh man, I wish... I'd almost give up --- for it. But sadly no, it's in a friend's body shop not far from our house. This booth was his dream...it's incredible to work in. Even has bake capability, but with a 1,500,000 btu dedicated furnace, it eats large quantities of natural gas. Gas pipe's as big as my arm!
He got so jazzed when he saw these, he wants me to make him some. Nothing to power them with, knows little about home theater... doesn't even have a DVD player. Said he'd just put them in his living room and look at them...pretty funny.

jeffh · « **Reply #50 on:** 10 Dec 2011, 11:27 pm »

Nice work. Keep the pictures coming.

Randall Kepley · « **Reply #51 on:** 11 Dec 2011, 05:54 am »

You've got my vote! Keep those pix coming! R.K.

Peter J · « **Reply #52 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 07:07 am »

Onward we go then, y'all!

Moving right along to some details that I imagine nobody will care about but me...painting bottom of SLS and back of RS. My ocd compels me...I'm powerless

Remember the boat plug? See how nice it looks there now with the paint. The bugs that crawl under it will appreciate the view, I'm sure...

And now grills. I staple 'em, not a grill gluer, I guess

Wrap around opposite side pull a little tension in fabric. This is Parts Express's better grill cloth.

Tension, staple, tension, staple, tension, staple around and around till they're like this:

Trim it with razor blade and in this case added the grill clips. FWIW, I broke several of these pegs before I figured out the holes are just too small. I drilled 'em out a smidgen which worked better on the Baltic Birch. Might work ok with what they call for on MDF.

Here's my cut and buff supplies. I shot these with satin lacquer, so not looking for super glossy finish, just want to get smooth and protected. I knock off any overspray with 0000 steel wool and then buff with white scotch brite.

After the scotch brite I put a coat of wax on mostly just for protection. Although it does bring the gloss up a little that will dull back down with time and use.

Final result

And another

The block off that I taped in earlier comes out

I let the No Rez cover these holes untill now, keeps crap out...and you know by now I like my No Rez pure...

Crossover goes in for last time

Hooked up the binding post plate

Drivers get installed

And an arty shot, SLS's on bench, one with grill on, one naked, and if you look above you see another Danny design.

I hooked 'em up, turned on the amp, and the magic happened. The whole shop went into a foggy haze... it was surreal

go figure...

gijogeo · « **Reply #53 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 08:05 am »

Light years before I could dream of building something close. That finish is really something else.

You really ought to go professional...
Gijo

Ron · « **Reply #54 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 11:20 am »

Your completed speakers look very nice! Very professional looking. Also, thanks for posting pictures for everyone to see. Great job!

Danny Richie · « **Reply #55 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 02:36 pm »

Simply incredible.

Peter J · « **Reply #56 on:** 14 Dec 2011, 03:18 pm »

Thanks for the compliments. I did go back and edit my post a little...it was late last night and it showed!

Although I have a great time building stuff like this, there is much pleasure in sharing it as well...both here and ultimately with dear daughter and family. And since I won't be leaving any stacks of cash when I leave this earth, I guess it's my legacy.

I'll post a few more pics as I get the rest completed and perhaps a summation of what I'd do differently next time. I'll be happy to fill in any blanks I've left.

Best of the holidays to everyone.

cody69 · « **Reply #57 on:** 15 Dec 2011, 12:51 am »

I enjoyed following this build and certainly learned a few things. In particular, I never felt proud about my speaker grills -- they look fine on the speaker but were nothing to write home about when you take them off and look at the backside. This thread has given me some hints to make my next pair look a bit neater and more professional. Thanks!

TomS · « **Reply #58 on:** 15 Dec 2011, 02:29 am »

So Dad, do you need my address to send them to for Christmas?

Beautiful work and thanks for taking time to share the process with us

Tom

celebrat · « **Reply #59 on:** 16 Dec 2011, 10:11 pm »

Wow
Those look incredible. Formidible woodworking skills

Thanks for showing how it is done.

***X-SLS & X-CS Encore, AV-1RS Build***

X-SLS & X-CS Encore, AV-1RS Build