[jeffh]

Guess what my daughter put on her Christmas list?  Speakers!  So I ordered a X-LS mini-monitor kit from Danny yesterday. I've been wanting to try this and now I have a reason to do it.

Last night while searching on cragslist for building supplies to use on the build, I found a local shop with with a huge amount of 1 1/8" thick MDF cutouts left over from a large job they are doing.  Guess what, they are just big enough to use for this build and they were FREE. They're big enough to cut out a 13"x 20" or 12' x 24" board.




So here is my first question.  Since these MDF boards are 1 1/8" thick instead of the 3/4" called for in the plans, I am going to have to make some adjustments.  I'm not sure which dimensions are OK to change and which ones are off limits.  I assume the front baffle width is off limits, right? Can I just make the speaker sides deeper so the internal volume stays the same?  Hope this makes sense.

p.s. anybody North of Atlanta that would like to pick up some of the boards, PM and I will give you the details.  He has hundreds of them available.

[johnzm]

i have a feeling the adjustments will be minimal. on a side note, those suckers are gonna be heavy as crap!

i sent you a pm. good luck with the project

[Rightbrained]

I havent seen the plans for this specific speaker but generally you want to keep the front baffle width the same as original. Height and depth can be altered.

[jeffh]

I made a little progress today










Now I have to figure out how to cut the holes in the front baffle.

[django11]

I don't know if this would interest you but you could sand your tablesaw top a bit and then apply a coat of neutral shoe wax.  It will protect it from rusting, slide better and it is not suppose to transfer to the wood.

[mcgsxr]

Welcome to the fun world of building your own, take care as it seems to be addictive!

[jeffh]

I don't know if this would interest you but you could sand your tablesaw top a bit and then apply a coat of neutral shoe wax.  It will protect it from rusting, slide better and it is not suppose to transfer to the wood.

Thanks for the tip.  I will do that.  The saw had not been used in years. My dad use to build things all the time, but in recent years he has stopped.  So, I made him come out of retirement and help me. He is 81. It was great.

[MLS]

Bowling Alley wax is also good on top of table saws.

Scott

[jeffh]

It's going slow. 

Here are the parts that come in the kit



The Crossovers



The Woofers



Here are the cabinets with the back glued up.  The hole is for the port.  I'm using some different binding post than what came in the kit.  I plan to drill those holes after I veneer.



I'm working on the baffles now.  It took me a week to find a plunge router that would work with the circle jig.  Finally found a deal on craigslist.  The Jasper circle jig is awesome, but there was(is) a learning curve for me.  I practiced on some scrap wood, and still messed up one of the baffles.  I hope to cut another one tomorrow.

[django11]

Have you considered putting NoRez in the box.  I did in mine and, no doubt about it, it was a worthy upgrade...

[jeffh]

Have you considered putting NoRez in the box.  I did in mine and, no doubt about it, it was a worthy upgrade...

I'm going to use the cheap and cheeful solution on this speaker.

[jeffh]

I'm making great progress.  I'll post pictures soon.  I have one speaker finished except for the finish.  I'm missing a resistor on the second crossover so I'm waiting for it to arrive before I attach the front baffle.  I have a couple of questions.

1. The kit did not come with gaskets for the woofer, tweeter or port.  Do I need it and what can I use that I could get locally at Home Depot or Lowes?

2. I cut the speaker holes in the baffle before I applied the veneer.  It's no problem cutting the woofer out after veneer, but how do you guys cut the veneer back on the tweeter hole since it is recessed?

Thanks and Merry Christmas to all.

Jeff

[Danny Richie]

1. The kit did not come with gaskets for the woofer, tweeter or port.  Do I need it and what can I use that I could get locally at Home Depot or Lowes?

All of the woofers and tweeters have gaskets already mounted on them. The port is a pressed fit that can be sealed with Silicone.

2. I cut the speaker holes in the baffle before I applied the veneer.  It's no problem cutting the woofer out after veneer, but how do you guys cut the veneer back on the tweeter hole since it is recessed?

I have a special bit for that. It is a flush trim bit with a real shallow flat shank at the end. If all you were doing is two tweeter holes then you can get good results with an Exacto knife and just taking your time to gentle slice through it.

[jeffh]

All of the woofers and tweeters have gaskets already mounted on them. The port is a pressed fit that can be sealed with Silicone.

You are absolutely right.  All the gaskets are there.  Guess I did not look too close 

[jeffh]

Here are a few more pictures.  I was able to finish one of the cabinets earlier today.

Here is a closeup of how I installed the the magnets to the baffle that will hold the grill.
Drilled the hole with a forstner bit.



Used epoxy to keep it there.



All four installed on the baffle.  They are flush with the board surface, so the veneer will cover them.



Here are a few with all the veneer installed.  I used red oak.

[r08ert209cali]

Looks great so far...

[jeffh]

Here are a few pictures of the finished product. I learned a lot on this build, so the next one should be better. 
They sound very good.  I think they are an incredible value. 
Thanks Danny.

[Ron]

 Your finished speakers look great. Nice job! 
What type of damping material did you use inside?

[MaxCast]

Those look great, Jeff.
Can you or someone point me to the cabinet dimensions of the x-ls mm?  Standard .75" walls.

[django11]

Nice job!

 I always like the black oak and it is surprisingly easy to do.