My N3 Build, WITH PHOTOS

bprochford · « **on:** 6 May 2011, 08:48 pm »

I'm getting close to finishing the build of my N3 towers, so I thought I'd share a few photos of the process so far. It's required patience and focus, and I'm pleased with how the construction has progressed . Comments and useful criticism are welcome, and if you see something that I've really messed up on, by all means speak up. Thanks.

nickd · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 May 2011, 08:55 pm »

Nice build pics.
Those are going to be tight indeed.

Man I wish we had basements out west. Cool and dry, nice place to glue MDF.

Danny Richie · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 May 2011, 08:59 pm »

Yeah, nice job.

I wish I had all of those clamps.

bprochford · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 May 2011, 11:05 pm »

Quote from: Danny on 6 May 2011, 08:59 pm

I wish I had all of those clamps.

The 12" clamps are cheapies from Harbor Freight (like four bucks apiece), and for this project, they got the job done perfectly. A nice set of Besseys would be great but I'll have to build a few more pieces of nice furniture before I can justify the price. Buy 'em as you need 'em, right?

Thanks,

Brad

Ron · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 May 2011, 12:55 am »

Really nice looking construction work and great pictures too. Thanks for posting the pictures for others to see. Keep us updated with additional pictures and comments.

jparkhur · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 May 2011, 02:11 am »

What are your pals for the finish? Veneer scares me, so I am interested to see how yours goes. They look great

dangerbird · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 May 2011, 02:25 am »

Wow,, what an outstanding piece of work sir. Please keep us posted,, beautiful,,,indeed.

jeffh · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 May 2011, 03:45 am »

Very nice build

hotjt133 · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 May 2011, 05:50 am »

Quote from: bprochford on 6 May 2011, 11:05 pm

The 12" clamps are cheapies from Harbor Freight (like four bucks apiece), and for this project, they got the job done perfectly. A nice set of Besseys would be great but I'll have to build a few more pieces of nice furniture before I can justify the price. Buy 'em as you need 'em, right?

Thanks,

Brad

Something is ridiculously cheap in the states. Here I'd spend several times more to get these clamps.

Not sure the round corners on the rear port will have any effects. I'd further cut to a straight corner using a jig saw.

HT cOz · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 May 2011, 02:02 pm »

Wow those are looking great. You are going to enjoy some great tunes on those!

bprochford · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 May 2011, 04:03 pm »

Quote from: jparkhur on 7 May 2011, 02:11 am

What are your pals for the finish? Veneer scares me, so I am interested to see how yours goes. They look great

Veneer scares me too, but I'm going for it. Walnut veneer with a Danish oil finish and a few coats of wipe on poly. Instead of full bases, I'm thinking walnut or painted MDF outriggers. Thanks for the kind words.

bprochford · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 May 2011, 05:14 pm »

Quote from: hotjt133 on 7 May 2011, 05:50 am

Not sure the round corners on the rear port will have any effects. I'd further cut to a straight corner using a jig saw.

I used a flush trim bit to cut the rear ports, thus the curved corners. If I veneer the inside of the port, then I'll cut the corners square, so the veneer will lay flat. If I paint the insides of the ports, then I'll leave the corners curved. I don't so much mind the look.

bprochford · « **Reply #12 on:** 8 May 2011, 02:16 am »

One quick tip on my build: I found a great way to cut No Rez that seriously worked like a charm. I don't have a table saw, which certainly would have made the process pretty straight forward, and I was a bit leery of using my circular or jig saw.

So, I used a heavy straight edge (I have a 1/4" thick piece of aluminum about 2 feet long) and a utility knife with a brand new blade to cut just through the asphalt layer on the No Rez. Then, I used a serrated bread knife to slice through the foam. Make repeated scores on the damping layer until you get a clean cut all the way through. Then, fit the bread knife in the cut and slowly slice back and forth until you get through the foam. It will help to do this on a surface you don't mind marring up a bit - I used an old piece of thin mdf board.

The cuts are clean and straight, with none of the choppiness and pull out you get when trying to do this with just a utility knife. Make sure you use a heavier straight edge as the smooth paper backing on the No Rez is wicked slippery, and you don't want the knife to slip because your straight edge moved.

Hope this is of use to the next guy without a table saw.

Best,
Brad

JfTM · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 May 2011, 11:50 am »

Great work!

One question. Did you use biscuits on the internal braces or butt them?

HT cOz · « **Reply #14 on:** 10 May 2011, 01:20 pm »

Quote from: bprochford on 7 May 2011, 04:03 pm

Veneer scares me too, but I'm going for it. Walnut veneer with a Danish oil finish and a few coats of wipe on poly. Instead of full bases, I'm thinking walnut or painted MDF outriggers. Thanks for the kind words.

Hey guys don't be scared of veneer at all. I was a total noob,,, think no power tools only owned a hand saw and I figured it out. It is actually very easy.

Get a good source of paper backed veneer. I used formwood and they are fantastic! Look at their over stock section. They have 4 foot by 8 foot sheets of figured veneer for ~$60 it's a true bargan. http://shop.formwood.com/inventory.asp

A buy some of the Heatlock glue and a trim router and you guys are money. Finish doesn't have to be hard. I promise this is not hard.

Good Luck
Robert

bprochford · « **Reply #15 on:** 10 May 2011, 01:43 pm »

Quote from: JfTM on 10 May 2011, 11:50 am

One question. Did you use biscuits on the internal braces or butt them?

Just butt joints, clamped and glued. Strong as a house. If there were minor misalignments where pieces met, they were easily fixed with a flush trim bit and a block plane.

Ron · « **Reply #16 on:** 10 May 2011, 03:56 pm »

I agree with bprochford. I use the same construction method and it has always worked well for me.

dvenardos · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 May 2011, 04:32 pm »

+1 The iron on method is very easy to work with. If I can do it anyone can.

I found working with the veneer to be very fun.

Quote from: HT cOz on 10 May 2011, 01:20 pm

Hey guys don't be scared of veneer at all. I was a total noob,,, think no power tools only owned a hand saw and I figured it out. It is actually very easy.

bprochford · « **Reply #18 on:** 14 May 2011, 04:20 pm »

I'm getting ready to glue the front panels on my N3s, and I have a question before I close 'em up. Do I need to somehow secure, to the inside of the cabinet, the cables running from the speaker inputs to the crossover, or is it sufficient to let them hang freely?

Also, does anyone have any favorites w/r/t acoustic stuffing? Is AcouStuff really better than fiberglass (ithcy, no thanks) or standard poly stuffing? Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Brad

Ron · « **Reply #19 on:** 14 May 2011, 07:16 pm »

Brad,

You don't need to secure the wires going from the crossovers to the speaker inputs. Just let them hang free.

I have used both Acousti-Stuf and Poly Fil. Acousti-Stuf works well but can make the bass sound a little over damped if you use too much. I normally just lightly fill the area behind the woofers and tweeter with Poly-Fil which works just fine. Also, I always cover the interior walls with No-Rez too.

Ron