Pictures of my first DIY speaker project. (AV-1s) (2 Viewers)

[Ronnie Ferrell]

UPDATE:
Well I finally finished my AV-1s Sunday night. Link Removed I am really happy with the way they look. I have not had any REAL time to listen to them but I think I am going to really like them!
take care,
Ronnie Ferrell
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I posted this over at Harmonicdiscord a few days ago but thought I would post it here too since I got a lot of my info here and my favorite thing to do is look at other people's handiwork! You get a lot of ideas that way!
These pictures were taken Saturday about 45 min. after the first coat of Behlen 100% pure tung oil mixed 1 part oil to 3 parts mineral spirits.
Link Removed
Take care,
Ronnie

 

[Darren_T]

Nice work Ronnie!

Those boxes look perfect. Very precise attention to detail. I assume you laid the sides, baffle, and back with one sheet first, then laid the top and bottom? Or was it reversed? Did you overlap the seam in back then cut both pieces to get such a tight seam?

Beautiful enclosures!

Darren

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Did you overlap the seam in back then cut both pieces to get such a tight seam?

Yes to both!
I followed Brian Bunge's recipe found here:
Brian Bunge's veneer wrap 101
The only thing I did different form Brian was to use another piece of wax paper on the back. I put the first piece of wax paper down, the pressed down one of the back pieces. I then placed another piece of wax paper about 2 inches wide on the seam before pressing down the other back side of veneer. I did not do this on the first one and it almost because a piece of firewood because the contact cement on the trimmed piece stuck to the edge of the piece it was just cut off of. It was only touching in one very small spot and was easily removed with a Sharpe utility knife, but I got REALLY lucky!
rf

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Ronnie, lookin' good! Keep up the good work. Maybe a center, surrounds and sub are next...

 

[Cam S]

Nice work Ronnie, be sure to show us the final product when it is all said and done.

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

UPDATE:
Well I finally finished my AV-1s Sunday night. Link Removed I am really happy with the way they look. I have not had any REAL time to listen to them but I think I am going to really like them!
take care,
Ronnie Ferrell

 

[Martice]

HOT HOT HOT!!! Now for the most important question, HOW DO THEY SOUND!?!?!

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

My initial thoughts on how they sound are here:
http://www.harmonicdiscord.com/forum...pic.php?t=7335
It is the 5th response down. I am too lazy to type it again but the following might make more sense if you read the post above first.
Anyway, like usual, things have change since my first "hook them up to see if they blow-up" listening session.
I have had them playing for about 27 hours to get them broken in some. When I got home tonight, I cleaned my listening room up a bit, added sand and spikes to my stands, and attached the speakers to the stands with generic "Blu-Tack" form Staples.
All I can say is WOW! I don't know if it has anything to do with what I did to the stands/speakers, cleaning up the room, or if I cleaned out some ear wax this morning, but the hi end sounded much better. It was not as laid back as the night before.
I am going to keep them playing 24/7 for the next few days. When I get some time on them, I will write a in-depth review.
Take care,
Ronnie

 

[Geoff L]

Ronnie
Absoulty & Astounding fit and finish.
The contrasting black stands I might have thought would not be the way to go, BUT after viewing them, they look fantastic together!
Are those stands DIY?
Or possibly Sanus or what?
Any problems with the porting that you've noticed during your higher spl listening sessions?
Is that the "supplied port or your selection"?
Would have thought a larger flair would be approprite....?
Maybe not nessessary due to it's tuning point...?
Very very nice, and so pretty. I'd be doing my fanned peacock dance after completion of those beauties.
Regards
Geoff

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Goeff--

Is that the "supplied port or your selection"?
Would have thought a larger flair would be appropriate....?
Maybe not necessary due to it's tuning point...?

Everything is stock with these speakers and is included in the kit EXCEPT the terminals. I also installed BlackHole-5. I went overboard and ordered Cardas terminals for these speakers. Don't know if it made any difference in sound but it did improve the looks IMHO. The Cardas terminals are made to be soldered after they are installed and were a pain in the tookus to install and solder in these small enclosures. I did install them after soldering and shrink wrapping, but my fingers are still numb from getting the nut threaded over the heatshrink. Also it took forever to get the solder to flow and stick to the terminals because they are so thick. I really needed a higher watt soldering iron. I like the look but probably not worth the time, money and effort. I would not suggest using these terminals for the AV-1s unless you are REALLY patience! Cardas makes a newer terminal that is made for soldering outside the enclosure and looks easier to install.
Ronnie

 

[Darren_T]

Beautiful enclosures Ronnie! Those drivers sure are pretty against the wood grain. I'm thinking I'll do a very similar design with a pair of AV1+'s I just ordered. Those sure look good!

Darren

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Simply beautiful, Ronnie . May I ask what kind of veneer you actually wound up using on the project? NBL? Paper backed? Whatever?
I've got a set of ACI Sapphire parts sitting around waiting to be built, and that veneer and your's and Brian's approach to the "wrap" will be invaluable for me.
BTW, I might even have to "borrow" those stand plans... I've been trying to come up with a design, but why reinvent the wheel when there are helpful folks like yourself to provide complete plans .

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

BTW, I might even have to "borrow" those stand plans... I've been trying to come up with a design, but why reinvent the wheel when there are helpful folks like yourself to provide complete plans

Let me know how they turn out if you do! I just dreamed them up. Be sure to tweak the height to what ever you need. That is why I decided to build stands instead of buy some. I measured my ear height while seated on my couch and positioned the tweeter right below that.
rf

 

[Brian Bunge]

Ronnie,

A sanding sealer probably would have helped close up those pours in the grain and saved some of the weeping you're talking about. I actually just use a water-based pre-stain made by Minwax. It seems to work nicely.

Brian,

The veneer wrap could be a real bitch with the Sapphires since they have sloped fronts. I've never tried it on anything like that.

Brian

 

[Ronnie Ferrell]

Brian B--

I was not sure about using a sealer with natural penetrating oil. I read on some wood working forum that a sealer would hinder the penetration and the finish would not be as nice if used with a 100% pure oil. They said it was fine for a stain. I do not know this for fact, it is just something I read.



rf

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

The veneer wrap could be a real bitch with the Sapphires since they have sloped fronts. I've never tried it on anything like that.

Yeah, it'll definitely be interesting. Note, though, that the actual wrap goes around the top and sides of these guys, not the sloped front. But yeah, it's an additional difficulty for certain. I'll certainly let you guys know how it comes out.

 

[MikeAcc]

How do you venner a bouble round over...both sides and top and bottom rounded over 1/2"??

I guess you cannot wrap the veneer due to the top and bottom having the rounded edge.

Any advice??

 

[Brian Bunge]

Brian,

I forgot about the wrap going around the top and bottom instead of front and back. I was never a fan of the older Sapphire III cabinets. I like the LE look much better for them.

Brian

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

I forgot about the wrap going around the top and bottom instead of front and back. I was never a fan of the older Sapphire III cabinets. I like the LE look much better for them.

Now don't go pickin' on my cabinets before I even build 'em, you here?

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

Solid wood veneer wraps around rounded/curved edges can be done. I've seen it done at my friends work and what they do sometimes is use steam to help bend the thin sheets of wood around any curved edges. They also use steam to bend actual sheets of MDF into molds.

I've found that veneers (after time) peel if not properly attached to the surfaces. I've seen a cure for this at the shop where they used this vacuum press machine to permanently stamp veneers on sheets of MDF. The even better alternative to this is buying factory laminated MDF sheets because both sides are laminated with solid wood so no warping can occur.

Use yellow glue or epoxy (better) for veneer on rounded edges. Spray adhesives work for flat surfaces only because it's hard to get a roller on those rounded edges. The best part about using solid wood veneers is that you can sand mistakes easily unlike fake veneers. But even with a roller and a spray adhesive you still could get bubbles trapped underneath which is another reason to use laminates.

I believe if you used laminate + solid wood edges, or solid wood veneer you could eliminate plastic/overlapped looking edges and have a professional look that will last.

Those boxes look great, I'm not trying to be a skeptic here. Just trying to add some food for thought.

Also, I was told to never oil veneer because veneer is so thin that it can starting doing stuff to the glue underneath or just cause problems. You can only finish or lightly oil veneer but generally leave the oil for the solid woods.