[mlundy57]

Thanks

[bdp24]

I love Hot Rod Black, which is offered by quite a few companies. The stuff I went with is John Deere's Blitz Black, in a rattle can. It has a sheen less glossy than satin, but not quite as flat as matte.

[Syrah]

Has anyone ever tried (well, I'm sure someone has) making some kind of sandwich of MDF - like maybe MDF/Sheet Aluminum/MDF, and building speakers with that, or thin granite tile material sandwiched (i.e. www.lazygranite.com)?

If dead and stiff is the goal, wouldn't that achieve the goal better than MDF alone?

[walkern]

A LONG time ago folks used to pour sand into sandwiches of MDF (i.e. between two layers).  Stuff was very inert and dead sounding (minimal resonances) but it weighed a lot. Even bookshelf sized speakers were heavy.

[Danny Richie]

I can make it real easy for you guys exploring cabinet materials. Well braced MDF and No Rez.

http://gr-research.com/norez24x27sheet.aspx

[bdp24]

A LONG time ago folks used to pour sand into sandwiches of MDF (i.e. between two layers).  Stuff was very inert and dead sounding (minimal resonances) but it weighed a lot. Even bookshelf sized speakers were heavy.

In the 1950's and 60's, some of the original WWII-generation speaker designers offered huge bass-reflex loudspeakers with built-in chambers for filling with sand, to damp the large, unbraced enclosure walls. Bozak was the best known of the type, but there were others. Danny Richie has designed a double-walled, sand-filled sub enclosure, the build plans for which are pictured in the details of the GR research 12" driver for sealed-enclosure use.

[Captainhemo]

I lke em Peter, very cool although, I was kind of disappointed you didn't  just  whip out the   sword brushes 
Looking forward to the next   set  !

jay

[Folsom]

Sand isn't that great. It doesn't even really do anything in a lot of applications, and in speaker walls it's one of those low returns for effort.

[Danny Richie]

Sand isn't that great. It doesn't even really do anything in a lot of applications, and in speaker walls it's one of those low returns for effort.

Actually it is really hard to transmit any kind of resonance through sand. It just dissipates into the sand rather than transmitting it. I'd have to say that in many applications it is an excellent return for the effort.

[mlundy57]

But it sure is heavy 

[Peter J]

Round three.
My vision was to have these look like photos I've seen of lava flows where it's black on the surface and the molten lava is visible through cracks. While not quite what my mind's eye saw, they still look pretty striking. These are all somewhat experimental anyway...

What shall we call these? Magmas? Cracked Up? Bad Trip? Y'all tell me...

Primed white so red would be bright as possible







Then red...RF RED, you figure it out






Hard to see here, but I mixed some yellow pigment into red lacquer to move color more towards orange and shot the corners only fading into red field






Then yellow and a touch of orange pigment in clear shot right at corner






Black primer in Crackle Lacquer. First time I've used this stuff other than samples leading up to it. It's a little bizarre to watch thing unfold and the results are difficult to control







The yellow didn't turn out quite like I wanted, looked more like a dying dandelion than lava.  So I decided to tint clear lacquer to shift it toward red/orange to see if I could change it a little. Two coats of tinted made it mo betta. I'll let this dry for a day or so and give it a coat or two of clear. Close up better shows what they look like, wrong time of day to photograph and getting reflection that kinda washes things out.

[TrungT]

Awesome job. 

[Early B.]

Very cool!

[Danny Richie]

Man, you're good.

[ebag4]

Very cool Peter.

Best,
Ed

[Peter J]

And yet more fuel for the (slow burning) fire!

 I never posted photos of completed speakers given to grandson.





And after staring at them and wondering about if for a long time, I figured I had nothing to loose by spraying over the decals on these. As is often the case with me, curiosity drove the train and I sprayed three additional coats of conversion varnish on them. Nibbed the decal between coats and am really pleased about results. I like these so much, I'm keeping them. Who knows, maybe I'll even build them out!

[Captainhemo]

Alway's impressive  Peter   
I  recall  the start of this  build and the talk of the  decals, pretty  col

jay

[Peter J]

Yet another X-LS chapter. This one about cutting out cabs on CNC router. Much talk on the forum about CNC these days, but I thought y'all might be interested in more detail on the process. Also, this old dog is getting his feet wet on YouTube video...wonders never cease!

Screenshot of cab parts drawn in V Carve Pro. White rectangle represents Sheet of MDF




And another after "nesting". Nesting is about optimizing material use and minimizing machine movement.




This is a simulation after tool paths have be calculated. Tool paths or vectors are essentially the instructions the machine follows to accomplish desired tasks. Machine is nothing without software to direct it. A kinda new concept for an old analog guy.




And finally my first use of a camera to record video other than by accident. Also my first YouTube video and speaker cabinet cutting on CNC. I muddled through, but am convinced there must be something better than HD Movie Maker PRO for processing video. It's partly me, I'm sure, but it sure seemed glitchy, and frustrating as a result. Critiques and recommendations appreciated. At this stage, I'm not looking for an all out assault, but rather a competent, easy to implement solution.

https://youtu.be/6vXcba7ED30

I edited this to make more watchable (I hope). Using a different video editor, ShotCut. I'll delete original so above link will be dead.

https://youtu.be/9qDnnBp_NQ8

[Danny Richie]

Very,very cool.

If you program the cutting of our kits so that you can whip out flat packs then I can send you a lot of business.

[mlundy57]

Good video. Interesting.

Mike