[WireNut]

Purple or lavender would be good for the finish color....

Deep Purple 

Black Purple 








Thanks to Bob and Abbie for this thread I've finally decided on what color to paint my DIY MTM's that have been in primer for a couple years now. Black on the sides and deep black purple on the fronts.. 

[Captainhemo]

Wow,  I like that colour WireNut 

Thought Abbie might want to see one of my eice's X LS Encores in purple which  matches the trim in her room



-jay
 

[Bob in St. Louis]

To answer a few questions....
We've got about four hours Saturday morning. That's about all the time we'll have this weekend. The two choices are #1 the artsy painting thing, or #2 finish the electrical aspects, install the inner bracing and assemble the pair for a test run (although, I don't think that's possible for four hours).

Regarding the room remodel, that's far off, and not on the immediate horizon. We may re-arrange furniture to accomidate the speakers, but in the short term there are no major plans for the room itself.

That purple is pretty cool, although we already have $50 worth of yellow, orange and various reds to complete the Phoenix theme.

Bob

[Pete Schumacher]

To answer a few questions....
We've got about four hours Saturday morning. That's about all the time we'll have this weekend. The two choices are #1 the artsy painting thing, or #2 finish the electrical aspects, install the inner bracing and assemble the pair for a test run (although, I don't think that's possible for four hours).

Regarding the room remodel, that's far off, and not on the immediate horizon. We may re-arrange furniture to accomidate the speakers, but in the short term there are no major plans for the room itself.

That purple is pretty cool, although we already have $50 worth of yellow, orange and various reds to complete the Phoenix theme.

Bob

Hold off any painting until you're finished with bracing.  Best not to take a chance at screwing up the finish.

[Bob in St. Louis]

True dat.
Although after painting, and a test run, when all things are 100% complete, I'll take them apart and put several coats of something shiny and durable, then reassemble them.
I "might" do that part all myself.

Ok...that's enough internet time for me this morning. Time to grab a little girl and get in the workshop. 

Bob

[Bob in St. Louis]

Saturday morning results.

- Got the crossovers wired and all the 'lead-outs' attached.
- Got internal cabinet bracing installed
- Got the binding posts drilled and installed on the back panels
- Got all drivers installed.

The plan is to test fit everything, and play some tunes through them. If all is well and we don't have any rattles and the smoke doesn't come out,
then we'll take the electronics back out, do one more volley of sanding and one more layer of priming before we do the fancy artsy stuff.


Twisting wires for the crossover;



Drilling holes for the rear panel speaker jacks;



Installing jacks;





Installing drivers;









Installing side bracing;





She gazes upon the awesomeness she has created;

[WireNut]

Nice 

[raysracing]

My daughter is much like yours.  Loves to build things, solder, use power tools, etc. and loves projects with her dad. I better get this done before she turns 13!

Thanks and great job you two,
Ray

[ctviggen]

What kind of screw driver is that she's using to screw in the drivers?

[JonFo]

Bob, *kudos*,  awesome results in both child-rearing and in speaker construction 

It is inspiring to see someone teach their children the pleasures of this hobby.

I hope she really enjoys the fruits of her labors.

[WireNut]

Next year she'll be cap rolling the crossover's

Ok, now I'm get'n worried her MTM's will smoke mine 

[pumpkinman]

What kind of screw driver is that she's using to screw in the drivers?

[Nick77]

I think we can officially nominate Bob as AC "Father of the year". 

[Bob in St. Louis]

Thanks all for the comments and complements. They are NOT going ignored by the little Miss. 

Pumpkinman found the best example of the tool I'm using.
I bought this many years ago at Sears for about $6. Must have been a real long time ago, because it doesn't even have the "Craftsman" name on it.
........Am I "really" that old? 
The part number on the tool is #41121. I can't find the *exact* tool online, but found many examples of similar tools like Mr. Pumpkin found.

Next year she'll be cap rolling the crossover's

I've been kicking around the idea of having her make the speaker cables. Complete with techflex, adhesive heatshrink and all that jazz.
But for the time being, I think I'll break out some of those $0.99 RCA wires that you get for free when you buy a piece of electronics like a DVD player, VCR, etc.....
Beyond that, we'll see. Of course I'm MORE than willing for her to be a card carrying audiophile at the tender age of nine, but I'll let her tell me what she's ready for.

Oh...I've been meaning to let you all know, that the solder we're using is Cardas Silver Solder Quad Eutectic.   
It was either that, or some big fat lead free stuff I use for plumbing. I've also got some rosin core stuff I'd use to repair a radiator, but given the choices....   

Also... The family is gone for the afternoon. I've been toying with the speakers a bit, but am actually feeling guilty that I'm doing it when she's not here.
Go figure. 
While I sat alone in the workshop, I attached the XO's to the inside of the back baffle. I also soldered the female blade connectors to all of the XO lead-out wires. I've repainted the inside of the vent ports, as some of the white paint had drizzled into the nice pretty black part of the port. I made a trip to the hardware store to buy some rubber feet for the speakers (these will be sitting on her bedroom furniture, so audiophile approved *spikes* will not pass the MAF test*). I've also filled the new nail holes created by the addition of the internal braces.
Of course that means I need to sand the holes, fill them, sand them, and paint them again, fill them, sand them, paint them....

Gee.....I've been tinkering while sh'e not present. I hope nothing was major enough of a change that she'll notice when she comes back.
Spent all afternoon and early evening. So when the family gets home, they'll wonder what I've been doing all day long.... 
(Of course, when she reads the thread, I don't show her the replies I make...."Shhhhh" ....    )

I think we can officially nominate Bob as AC "Father of the year". 

Wow. Certainly not. 

Bob

* MAF = Mom Acceptance Factor

[yeldarb]

gonna flip one of the backs to mirror image?  braided cat 5 makes fine speaker cable.  especially plenum cable with teflon insulation.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Not sure what you mean by, "flipping one of the backs".  Sorry.

I've got a few decent lengths of CAT5e. I'd be more than willing to donate to her project.
Of course, that begs the question of how I'd use the wire.....four runs for '+' and four for '-',
Use the solids for '+' and stripes for '-', ........ or..........??????? 

Bob

[yeldarb]

As photographed, rotate one of the backs 180 degrees before final attachment so that both tweeters can be on the inside of the final speaker location (or outside).  As far as the cat 5e plenum, I have 3 cables braided to my speakers(12 conductors neg. 12 pos.).  Cat 5e still in blue sheath.  Buddy has stripped sheath off his and braided 3 pieces.  Gives you something around 14 gauge.  And it sounds really good.  There are some that believe that the different twist rate of the pair within the sheath may blur the sound but I haven't heard it.  You could take the 2 pairs out of the bundle that match and braid both a left and a right cable. Short runs don't need as much gauge.   I also use an 8 foot length of  cat 5e (1 pair) on my tube amp and it sounds great, and I have twisted pair interconnects on my cd players.  There was an improvement over even decently shielded rca interconnects.  And you can make some braided bracelets with the scraps.    :icon

And let me add that your daughter is remarkable.  She is doing something that most adults don't have the guts to tackle.  Good job, DAD!

TNT-audio has some diy speaker cables and interconnects.

[WireNut]

Bob,

If you need any speaker cable I have plenty of belden brillance 1307A cable I can send you. Just PM me your address and how much you'd like if you need any. It's two OFC 16 awg conductors in a white PVC jacket.  Not Furutech stuff but beats a blank.

http://www.broadbandutopia.com/belden1307a.html

[poseidonsvoice]

I second that. Bob is most certainly DIY Father of the year! Kudos to Abbie for sticking with it. Building a loudspeaker isn't that easy. Super thread.

Keep it up!

Best,
Anand.

[Guy 13]

Hi Bob and all Audio Circle members.
Father -daughter of the year for sure.
On your pictures your daughter look so serious,
she's probably concentrating on her work.
I'm anxious to see her face when the speakers are in her room
and playing.
A smile of satisfaction and proudness.

Guy 13