Thanks guys! It was a big project for a novice like me but very rewarding. I had constructed a couple of subs previously, but this was a whole lot more complex.
Here's a few photos at various stages of construction for completeness' sake.
First, a test fit before glue-up. Actually the project stayed at about this level from 2002 until earlier this year when I resurrected it. I didn't have a router that could do the roundover and despaired of ever getting the edges square.
The enclosures glued up, rounded over, and sides and back veneered. I actually eventually just paid a local cabinet maker shop to roundover the edges. I had the bit and a plunge router but the bit wouldn't fit through the opening. Being my first veneering job I didn't know how to trim the veneer on the non-perpendicular surfaces. Perpendicular, no sweat: flush-trim bit. Non-perpendicular? Erm... so I used a Dremel tool... which, of course, chewed up too much. Hence the Bondo sitting on the enclosures. That stuff is magical, I swear.
Post Bondo and post veneering the fronts on. Note that this is the first layer of veneer. As mentioned above, there are two.
Basically I completed them then put a finish on it that I hated. I tried to wet-sand the finish off but that made it worse. So I made my mind up to re-veneer, taking the opportunity to level some poor sanding work with new Bondo as well as installing the magnets I'd thought up for attaching the grills. This time I knew the limitations of Dremeling the veneer so I cut them down some with a Dremel then sanded them down the rest of the way flush.
Much better.
Next 2 projects are coming up with some speaker stands for these that compliment them and then a center channel that's worthy of existing with the Sapphires. That one will be a bit trickier given my space limitations: must be less than 11 inches high, less than 21 inches wide, can't be rear-ported. But, I can't wait to start given how well these turned out.
Thanks ACI for the great kit.
