[mlundy57]

Normally H-Frames have the amps housed in separate amp boxes that sit on the floor. I have a commission to build a pair of triple 8" H-Frames with the amps installed in the cabinets. These are not going to be used as stands so height is not a limiting factor.

The amps are going to be A370XLR2s housed in a fourth chamber under the bottom driver.






I'm building these with dadoes for the baffles and cross braces. Here is a shot dry fitted. The black dots are going to be holes for wiring to pass through. All three drivers will face forward so I only need wire holes on the back.



Main part of cabinet being glued up



Gluing on a bottom



Jig for flush trimming the tops and bottoms across the openings



The jig works pretty well



Normally the front and back of H-Frames are left open. However, since these are going to have an amp in the back, and therefore a corresponding cavity in the front, these sections need to be covered so I have a surface for the veneer. At first I thought I'd add pieces inside the openings but it soon became evident I couldn't do this in such a way that I could be sure the veneer had a flat surface.

To fix this I decided to add a solid piece of MDF the front and back as face frames.

Ahhh clamps, love those clamps



Stay tuned, more to come.

Mike

[pwag]

I like that concept. Going higher is easier often than reserving extra floor space and looks less cluttered. Do you expect any issues with the center of gravity lifted up due to the weight of the drivers?

[ebag4]

Nice clean work as always Mike.  Please keep the pics coming.

Best,
Ed

[mlundy57]

I like that concept. Going higher is easier often than reserving extra floor space and looks less cluttered. Do you expect any issues with the center of gravity lifted up due to the weight of the drivers?

Not really. These are heavy, the cabinets are going to weigh in around 100 pounds each without the drivers and amps. The weight of the amps will help in the back and I am installing boat drain plugs in the bottom of the lower front cavity. That way additional ballast can be added down low if needed.

Nice clean work as always Mike.  Please keep the pics coming.

Best,
Ed

Ed,

Will do

Mike

[Captainhemo]

Cool Mike
Dadoes sure help in assembly huh  ?
what veneer will you be using ?

Keep the pics coming   !
jay

[mlundy57]

Cool Mike
Dadoes sure help in assembly huh  ?
what veneer will you be using ?

Keep the pics coming   !
jay

Jay,

Yep they sure do.

The client hasn't picked a veneer yet. We are somewhat limited due to the height of these cabinets. To get a continuous piece up one side, over the top and down the other side I need a 4' x 10' sheet of veneer. This limits the choices. Originally he wanted curly figured black cherry. I couldn't get it in 10' lengths with a flexible backer (to roll over the top edges) so he is currently deciding between the options I have been able to find.

Mike

[poseidonsvoice]

Nice 

Just one problem Mike...too many clamps 

Happy New Year fellas.

Best,
Anand.

[mlundy57]

Nice 

Just one problem Mike...too many clamps 

Happy New Year fellas.

Best,
Anand.

Blasphemy !!!!!!!  or is it Heresy? I always get those two mixed up

[mlundy57]

Off topic but they had a tad bit of chilly weather back in my home town before Christmas





Mike

[revg1952]

Mike
 once again Mother Nature does her incredible artwork
saw this on MSN, saved the picture
and hats off to the incredible creations  of yours
Happy New Yard
Gary / Revg1952

[revg1952]

duh fat fingrz sorry happy New Year

[Odal3]

Think you have a little bit more room for some additional clamps... 

Looks great. Looking fwd to seeing the final result

[mlundy57]

Time for some more pics:

Front and rear facer boards glued on and ready to be trimmed.


Flush trimming, especially when there is a decent overhang to remove, makes one heck of a dusty mess. That's why I usually do it outside. Unfortunately the weather has been a bit brisk (OK so 4 degrees F is a little more than brisk) so I needed to come up with a way to do the trimming in the garage without creating a cloud of sawdust. This jig works very well. The main port by the bit is connected to a dust collector and the through port for the router is connected to a shop vac. Between the two 99% of the dust is captured.









Here is a cabinet after the flush trimming



Next I laid out where the openings were



Then drilled relief holes in the corners of each section



For the jigsaw



All openings rough cut with jigsaw



Now I had to flush trim the openings. Unfortunately the jig wouldn't work. for one thing, it was too small to span the openings and keep the router from tipping. I picked up a piece of phenolic board and made a large subbase for the router.



With the addition of a palm router with a pattern bit for one edge of the amp opening that did not have a sidewall I got all the openings cleaned up





I also got the grill frames cut out













I have also recently acquired a few, new to me, pieces of equipment. First is a Walker-Turner cabinet saw. Older than I am, solid as a tank, smooth running, quite and with enough torque to cleanly crosscut 8/4 walnut like butter with a full kerf blade.




A Jet 8" helical head jointer




A Jet 15" helical head planner




Ana a Delta drum sander




Now I need a bigger garage 

Mike

[Folsom]

I'm going to start coming over on weekend!

What you really need is a HEPA quality or external exhaust collection, sawdust&chip collector, for your health.

[mlundy57]

I'm going to start coming over on weekend!

What you really need is a HEPA quality or external exhaust collection, sawdust&chip collector, for your health.

Jeremy,

I have a HEPA air cleaner mounted to the ceiling and use a HEPA filter in the shop vac. I also have most of the parts needed to build a cyclone style extractor. I just have to get off my butt and build it.

External exhaust would be nice except for two minor issues. First, no matter which wall I went through there would be a problem. On one side are my air conditioning compressors and the other side is my front sidewalk. Second, the garage exterior (as well as the whole first floor of the house) is stone.

I'm dreaming of a new workshop... 

Mike

[Captainhemo]

Now I need a bigger garage 

Mike

As i was reading  the post and admiring your new acquisitions I was thinking exactly the same thing
Nice problem to have 

Cabinets are looking  good too man

jay

[Folsom]

Jeremy,

I have a HEPA air cleaner mounted to the ceiling and use a HEPA filter in the shop vac. I also have most of the parts needed to build a cyclone style extractor. I just have to get off my butt and build it.

External exhaust would be nice except for two minor issues. First, no matter which wall I went through there would be a problem. On one side are my air conditioning compressors and the other side is my front sidewalk. Second, the garage exterior (as well as the whole first floor of the house) is stone.

I'm dreaming of a new workshop... 

Mike

It can be a big challenge. For awhile at a place I worked at I wanted to make it so we opened a garage door to vent, whenever we were running the huge collector. Basically making a false wall right behind the garage door, and then we'd just pull the truck up to it to load from a bin instead of bags. It never happened so I wore a f'ing mask 70% of the time I was in the place.

That tablesaw looks pretty nice. A good fence is the world! And being able to cut wide... but I'm with you, more space is best. I prefer almost a 10' square to have the tablesaw mounted into so I can run sheets & big stuff through it like it's no thing.

[mlundy57]

I picked up one of the lift tables from Harbor Freight yesterday. It only lifts up to 34" so I still have to pick the cabinets up six inches to get them on the router table. That's not too difficult. The lift table that would have allowed me to slide them straight onto the router table was almost twice the price ($500 vs $270).

With this I was able to put 3/4" roundovers on the cabinet edges without much strain. I also was able to get the roundovers done on the grill frames before the rain came in. 

Here is a shot of the back of one of the cabinets. The driver wells have been dyed black. The A370 XLR2 amp is set in position so I could line up the grill frame. Once I had the frame taped into position I drilled pilot holes through the frame and into the cabinet to mark the magnet locations.





Mike

[mlundy57]

A little more progress:

Magnets installed for the for the rear grill frame shown in the previous post




Here are some pics of the overall progress:









If you look closely at the right hand cabinet in the last pic you can see some black circles. These are the magnets epoxied in.

Mike
 

[jimbones]

Very nice work Mike. How were you able to get 8 inch drivers? I spoke to Danny a couple of months ago and he didn't have any and he didn't know when he would have them in the future. I'd like to get the 8's.