[TheLaw612]

So I purchased the X-LS Encore kit with the full upgrades from Danny a while back and I have been slowly working on it. And I mean slowly... I've got all the cuts done and have started gluing up the cabinets. I will start to upgrade the crossovers sometime in the next few days. Here are a couple pics.











This is the first time I've ever done anything like this so hopefully it comes out halfway decent.

I did do the roundover on the backside of the woofer holes however I noticed that some people did it in portions and not all the way around like I did. Will this matter? Will the screws for the woofer still have enough wood to drill into?

As far as finish I plan on doing a basic black rattle can - maybe satin or textured. Any tips/pointers from the experts is greatly appreciated.

I will hopefully be getting some more work done on these this weekend.

- Brad

[jcotner]

Looks good to me.
I'm not an expert, but do a lot of woodworking.
One thing I see is a lot of burning on your cuts.
Either your blade is dull or your saw is binding somehow.
There are various opinions on this but to me I was
never really satisfied with a burned surface when
doing glue work. I was always told the glazed
surface didn't allow for as strong of a joint.
Like I said this is from old time kitchen cabinet
guys that I hang around with.
It may be fine but if you can avoid burning the wood
during a cut I think that's better.

[TheLaw612]

Yeah that burning was one of the first cuts I did. After I saw it I went out and bought a new blade from HD and it worked great. I don't think the blade had been changed out in years haha.

[lacro]

Looks good to me.
I'm not an expert, but do a lot of woodworking.
One thing I see is a lot of burning on your cuts.
Either your blade is dull or your saw is binding somehow.
There are various opinions on this but to me I was
never really satisfied with a burned surface when
doing glue work. I was always told the glazed
surface didn't allow for as strong of a joint.
Like I said this is from old time kitchen cabinet
guys that I hang around with.
It may be fine but if you can avoid burning the wood
during a cut I think that's better.

+1

 Plus a few more comments: I always try to "work clean" by removing excess glue with a damp rag before it hardens. It will be more difficult to sand off later. Also, I would use more than 3 clamps  for the length of those glue joints.


 

[Danny Richie]

I did do the roundover on the backside of the woofer holes however I noticed that some people did it in portions and not all the way around like I did. Will this matter? Will the screws for the woofer still have enough wood to drill into?

What you did was ideal and there is plenty of wood thickness left for the screws.

[TheLaw612]

OK so I'm finally getting around to finishing this build - I've had limited time and plenty of set backs throughout the process but the finish line is in sight... I absolutely have to finish in the next two weeks as my wife and I are expecting our first child any day now...

So, to all who have finished one of these kits - what is the best way to mount the crossover board to the cabinet? I noticed on my used X-CS Encore that it was screwed directly into the cabinet. Is that still ok? Or should I go about it a different way... Thanks.

- Brad

[mlundy57]

I drill holes in the crossover boards large enough for screws to barely pass through then glue a 60 durometer standoff to to the bottom of the crossover board at each screw hole. The standoffs are a hard rubberish (I'm not really sure what they are made of) washer that is about 1/8" thick. Your boards may have standoffs built in. I'm not sure about that because I didn't use the stock boards in my X-LS Encores.

I use SPAX screws http://www.spax.us/ to mount the boards to the bottom of the cabinet. You can use any screw that will hold in MDF. I find SPAX screws the easiest because they are self drilling/tapping. This means you don't have to drill pilot holes for them.



I use a flexible screwdriver to install the boards. It makes reaching the rear screws a lot easier.



Mike

[TheLaw612]

Thanks Mike. I do have a flexible screwdriver - its what I used to remove the crossover in the X-CS Encore. Sounds like I'll be fine screwing the crossovers right into the cabinet.

- Brad