[randog]

Well, I just got a surprise email from Darren chock full of pictures of my walnut 1801's and AV-1's nearing completion. Man oh man are they beautiful!  

In addition to his beautiful woodworking skills, Darren has gone *way* out of his way to satisfy my pie-in-the-sky desire for figured walnut when there seemingly wasn't any to be found (I know... I spent 2 days on the phone and online trying to locate some). And finally, his professionalism and responsiveness is icing on the cake and not something that you can find around any old corner these days.

Dave, since I realize that these are many of the same traits you posess in your business it's nice to know there's someone else out there who can represent your babies well.

Randy

[David Ellis]

Darren sent me some pictures of the walnut he purchased from a guy in California.  I was pleased.  

Many of the guys who purvey "figured" walnut don't really have figured walnut.  There are merely a few good flecks in the board, so they call it figured.  Such is often a very sad representation for figured walnut.  Darrens boards are the real deal - good stuff.

There are a many reasons why I am very happy to recommend Darrens cabinet work.  One of them is certainly a high degree of applied skill.  This is readily evidenced by the quality of his work AND his eagerness to seek better ways of doing things.  Darren and I corrsponded about lacquer rubbing and lacquer products at some length.  His methods were very solid (equal to mine), but he wanted to do better.  He is critical of his work, and this is very good.  His critical demeanor also shows that Darren has an active mind about such matters.  I believe an active mind is key to a high level of performance with any endeavor.  There were other reasons for my endorsement too, but these were certainly among them.  I am sure you will be very pleased with his work.

And finally, his professionalism and responsiveness is icing on the cake and not something that you can find around any old corner these days.

This is also very true.  I'll also add that Darren's character and product warrant significantly greater $ than what you are paying him.  Darren is the kind of guy that does this for fun - like me.  If you had to pay Darren what he is commercially worth - ouch!  Darren is "good people" with a high "fun" motive and a small profit motive when building cabinets.  There are other very sharp guys in hifi too.  Most of them will eventually find a $ equilibrium in labor market.  This is why I don't have a Rowland amplifier.  I didn't find Jeff Rowland before he reached equilibrium.

On the soap-box...

[Darren Thomas]

Awe geeze guys  

It sure is nice to be appreciated. As was said, I do enjoy putting my two favorite hobbies together. For some people the one barrier to DIY audio is the woodworking, not everyone has the experience or the tools to build a high quality cabinet. I like knowing I'm helping people get past that barrier. Sheesh, I sound like a wuss don't I  

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Darren

[Darren Thomas]

Here are a few pics of the progress. I have one coat of oil on the 1801's so far, should have a couple coats of oil on all by Monday.

[EProvenzano]

Darren shame on you  
What would your mother say if she knew you kept pictures of half naked hotties...err, girls... in your shop?  

Nice figure by the way.....of course I mean the Walnut!

[Darren Thomas]

Darren shame on you  
What would your mother say if she knew you kept pictures of half naked hotties...err, girls... in your shop?  

Nice figure by the way.....of course I mean the Walnut!

Doh! Didn't see that in the photo until you pointed it out. My brother-in-law owns a sports bar and I get all the hottie posters for my shop

[droliver]

Darren,

gorgeous wood(!) & really nice work you've got going on there. Did the walnut cost extra or is it the same cost as your other woods you use (maple,cherry,mahogany,bubina,etc....)? BTW, just curious, which woods cost the most that are used for these enclosures?

[Darren Thomas]

Darren,

gorgeous wood(!) & really nice work you've got going on there. Did the walnut cost extra or is it the same cost as your other woods you use (maple,cherry,mahogany,bubina,etc....)? BTW, just curious, which woods cost the most that are used for these enclosures?

Thanks! Yes, the curly/burled walnut costs a bit more and it all depends on which species and where I can find it. I will use pretty much any wood you like as long as I can obtain it reasonbly and we have a matching veneer. It is best to find a veneer you like then see if we can get matching hardwood. The limiting factors are availability and sometimes the price factor. Finding figured walnut like the ones pictured is no easy task. I was lucky and found 3 boards out of several thousand board feet that had enough figure without cracks and loose knots that would work.  

The hardwood price is not the main consideration when deciding on the species. The veneer is what makes up most of the enclosure and can affect the cost drastically. Take for instance, burled walnut, burled elm, or birdseye maple veneer, they can add $230.00 to the cost of a pair of speakers because of the price of the veneer alone. It sure looks good though and even with that extra $230.00 the enclosures are a steal compared to mass marketed speakers.

Let me know if you have any more questions. I'd be hapy to answer them!

Take care!

[droliver]

Darren,

your & Dave Ellis' beautiful walnut cabinets have really gotten me interested in that wood for speaker enclosures. I was surprised to find out that there is an extremely busy section on Ebay trading in woodstock like this (some beautiful pieces of wood there!)

Do you have any finished pictures of randog's cabinets available yet?

[Darren Thomas]

Darren,

your & Dave Ellis' beautiful walnut cabinets have really gotten me interested in that wood for speaker enclosures. I was surprised to find out that there is an extremely busy section on Ebay trading in woodstock like this (some beautiful pieces of wood there!)

Do you have any finished pictures of randog's cabinets available yet?

Unfortunately I don't have pics of the finished product yet, we decided to upgrade the finish a bit so I should have pics very soon though! I am completing the crossover assemblies now and rubbing the finish out to it's final sheen. I'll definately post pics very soon.

Oh, be careful with those ebay wood auctions. Most of the "figured" wood I saw there wasn't figured at all. Lots of people just think a prominent grain is figure...not true. Figure is a disturbance in the wood iself, it is a defect that creates a beautiful rayfleck pattern or quilting. A prominent grain is nothing more than a nice stick of standard walnut.

Darren

[Darren Thomas]

Here are a few pics of the finish prior to rub out:

[JoshK]

Beautiful!  That is some nice system you are going to have!  Excellent work.

[randog]

< s l u r p ! >  

Thanks for the tease Darren... nice!
Now I know why your initials are DT!  

[George W]

Darren,

Great work on the speakers, they look fabulous.  I have seen the finished product and I'm curious what you used to rub out the finish; steel wool or something else?  Thanks,

Georeg

[Darren Thomas]

Darren,

Great work on the speakers, they look fabulous.  I have seen the finished product and I'm curious what you used to rub out the finish; steel wool or something else?  Thanks,

Georeg

Hi George,

Thanks! I rubbed them out initially with 0000 steel wool, then rubbed them out again with pumice stone. After I got an even sheen with that I polished them up with paste wax. If you want a higher gloss you can go one more step to rottenstone and then wax.

Darren

[George W]

Thanks Darren.

[audiojerry]

Beautiful work, Darren, very sensual

Do you ever finish in piano black lacquer?

[Darren Thomas]

Beautiful work, Darren, very sensual

Do you ever finish in piano black lacquer?

I have never attempted a piano black lacquer finish... I've thought of attempting it but haven't had the time to play much.