[birdyblabla]

Beautiful work!

[Kaiju2189]

New to the group but had to comment on Mike’s work. Top notch. I will be reaching out once I realize I don’t want my first build to look like a DIY project!

[mlundy57]

I have started the ball rolling on building a new workshop. Once completed I'll have three times the work space I have now. This will allow me to work on more than one project at a time; have dedicated areas for cutting, routing, assembly, and finishing; move from one operation to the next without having to rearrange the shop; and get the work table out of the living room, which will please my wife.

Hopefully it will be up and running sometime this summer.

[Early B.]

I have started the ball rolling on building a new workshop. Once completed I'll have three times the work space I have now. This will allow me to work on more than one project at a time; have dedicated areas for cutting, routing, assembly, and finishing; move from one operation to the next without having to rearrange the shop; and get the work table out of the living room, which will please my wife.

Hopefully it will be up and running sometime this summer.

You gonna provide build pics?

[TF1216]

Might you have a CNC machine?

[mlundy57]

You gonna provide build pics?

Hadn’t thought about it but sure I can document it with pics

[mlundy57]

Might you have a CNC machine?

Yep, definitely going to be one. Of course then I’ll have to learn how to use it.

[Prisoner]

Gorgeous builds.  This makes me want to hire Mike Lundy. I'm pretty handy, but I would be happier looking at his end result, as opposed to my own.

[mlundy57]

Gorgeous builds.  This makes me want to hire Mike Lundy. I'm pretty handy, but I would be happier looking at his end result, as opposed to my own.

Thanks

So far the weather is keeping progress on the new shop slow. As of now a 60ft cottonwood that was in the way has been taken down and a new 12' x 14' storage building placed and leveled in the backyard. Waiting on better weather to get the fence back up that had to be removed to get the building in and get a useful ramp installed. Due to the slope of the ground, the building had to be elevated to get it level. This put the building plenty high enough to not be in any danger of flooding but the 3' long ramp is way too short. It reaches the ground but at a steep incline so I need a different type of ramp.

Once the fence is back up and an appropriate ramp installed I can empty the existing storage shed that is sitting where the new shop will be and get it moved out of the way so the footing for the shop can be dug.

I'll post pictures once there is enough progress to show something.

[Jaytor]

I've been meaning to post some photos of my new NX-Studios for a while now. Mike built the cabinets for me, and I assembled the crossovers and installed the drivers. These were for my bedroom system.

This system is pretty simple, using an Auralic Vega G2 as the source (Roon Endpoint) feeding a DIY Purifi amp https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=171798.msg1869116#msg1869116.

Mike did a beautiful job building the cabinets (much better than I'd be able to do), and they are sounding very nice in this system.

[jmc207]

Wow, those are gorgeous! Congratulations to you and Mike Lundy.

[jmc207]

...

[mlundy57]

Jay,

Glad to see you got yours up and running. One of these days, or maybe sometime this year, I'll get my NX-Studios finished. This is as far as I've got on them and they've been this way for the past six months 




Projects for myself always take a back seat when new commissions come in. I'm currently working on two pair of NX-Oticas so the studios get to sit awhile longer

[MarkShields]

I recently ran across this site and am starting on my first build.  I see most all the builds are with MDF.  I was wondering if there is any sound difference with MDF and solid lumber.  Woodworking is my hobby, so I know there are issues with expansion and contraction with lumber.  But what about the affect of sound quality between the two?  This topic has probably been covered, but new user so can't search.  Thanks.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

I recently ran across this site and am starting on my first build.  I see most all the builds are with MDF.  I was wondering if there is any sound difference with MDF and solid lumber.  Woodworking is my hobby, so I know there are issues with expansion and contraction with lumber.  But what about the affect of sound quality between the two?  This topic has probably been covered, but new user so can't search.  Thanks.

Hardwood is more resonant than MDF or quality plywood. So best tip would be to use 1/4" hardwood over 1/2" MDF. It'll give you a nice solid cabinet without the resonance issues of bare hardwood.

[WGH]

So best tip would be to use 1/4" hardwood over 1/2" MDF.

1/4" hardwood may work on small speakers but I wouldn't try it. 1/4" veneer acts like solid wood and expands and contracts with humidity changes. 1/2" MDF doesn't move the same way so there will always be opposing forces. I have seen strange thing happen to projects laminated with 1/4" wood.

1/8" wood acts like veneer, the substrate is strong enough to keep the veneer locked in place. I would also use either 3/4" or 1" MDF. I make my own 1/8" veneer and have laminated 100's of projects from exterior entry doors to furniture with zero failures. Two factors contribute to a successful lamination: glue and clamping.

I use Titebond Cold Press Veneer Glue for interior projects and West Epoxy for exterior. My mesquite veneered speakers use the Titebond veneer glue and the laminations are still perfect after 11 years.
The original Titebond will work too (it sets up too fast for large panels) but avoid Titebond II and III. The waterproof Titebond glues are more flexible which aid in keeping joints secure in wet conditions when wood swells but that flexibility also creates a raised glue line during periods of high humidity. Sanding down the raised glue line doesn't help, it will re-appear, the Titebond II and III glues creep too much for fine furniture use.

Even clamping is essential. I use a vacuum bag veneer press. The clamping pressure is even and veneers come out flat as a pool table top. Clamping using thick platens and cauls can work but I can always feel ripples in the finished veneer where the cauls were placed. For me that is totally unacceptable. The ripples would definitively be seen with a high gloss finish.

The doors for the Mesa Community College Art Gallery below was one of my more complicated veneer projects, each door is 4' x 8" with over 200 pieces of veneer. The architect wanted a random looking patchwork design but actually there in nothing random in the layout and the inside and outside are mirror images.

The mesquite veneer is first filled with black tinted West epoxy.


The sanded pieces are held together with masking tape ready to lay on the core


One of the finished doors ready for delivery, not a ripple can be seen or felt and no raised glue lines, this project used West epoxy as the glue.

[Dhananjeyan]

Hi, Mike how much to build a pair of NX Oticas with high gloss black paint? how long is the leadtime?

[kenreau]

Jay - Beautiful speakers and set up!

I've been meaning to post some photos of my new NX-Studios for a while now. Mike built the cabinets for me, and I assembled the crossovers and installed the drivers. These were for my bedroom system.

Mike did a beautiful job building the cabinets (much better than I'd be able to do), and they are sounding very nice in this system.

[kenreau]

Wow, beautiful craftsmanship!

Kenreau

One of the finished doors ready for delivery, not a ripple can be seen or felt and no raised glue lines, this project used West epoxy as the glue.

[mlundy57]

The new workshop is moving slowly. Still working on getting ready to dig the foundation.

Phase 1: a large cottonwood, the existing garden shed, and a fence are where the new workshop is going to go. They all have to be removed and/or relocated. It begins with the removal of the large cottonwood seen on the left side of the picture










The old garden shed is really too small so a larger shed was purchased and put in the back yard. This required removal and re-installation of the fence as the building was too wide to go through the gate.




Due to the slope of the ground, the building had to be set higher than normal. This made the ramp too small to be effective. I have replaced it with three pairs of ramps designed for use with pickups. To make them work, I had to build a ledger on the shed, screw the ramps to the ledger then bolt the six individual pieces together into one piece. I'll get a pic of that this weekend.

The next steps are to move everything out of the old shed, put up a temporary fence to keep the dogs in the yard, remove the front fence, then move the old shed to a different location. Then I'll be ready to layout the foundation.

In the meantime I've purchased Vetric Aspire CAD software and am working through an online course to learn how to use it. My current computer works, but isn't happy so I've ordered a new computer designed to run CAD software.

I've been researching CNC machines and had narrowed it down to either an AVID Pro 4' x 4' or a ShopSabre 23. At 30" x 40" the working area of the 23 is considerably smaller but everything else about it is better for my needs. So today I bit the bullet and ordered a ShopSabre 23 CNC. It's going to 4 months or so to build. The building should be done by then.




To keep the initial cost somewhat within my budget, initially mine will have a 3.5HP router instead of the spindle in the picture and will not have the 4th axis lathe shown on the right side of the machine. It will have a vacuum hold-down system that is not in the picture.

Tomorrow I empty out the old shed.