Tempest Sub Project Pics (1 Viewer)

[Kerry Hackney]

Here is a link to my web site where I have posted some of the construction pics for the Tempest sub I'm building.
Link Removed
Comments and questions are welcome...

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

I just have to say "damn that's big in comparison with my little ~1 cubic foot 12" DVC project!" Nice work though. I wish my edges lined up that nicely .

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Once the legs are on it should be a 23" cube about 43" tall. Definately not high on the SAF scale if you're planning to put it in the living room of the average house. In my case, the entertainment room is mine, and I can do whatever I want..........as long as she says it's ok.

In reality, my existing sub is about the same footprint just a lot shorter.

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Yeah, WAF factored in almost exclusively in my project parameters. My "theater" is our living room, so I had to constrain the proportions as much as possible... and even then the first time I dry fitted the box together there was the inevitable "wow, that's bigger than I thought it would be" comment . Methinks the next sub project might need to be a IB in the crawlspace .
Good luck finishing your project... I'm just about at that step... hopefully tonight!

 

[JerryW]

Kerry, where in East TN do you live? Anywhere Knoxville?

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Yep, I'm dangerously close to Knoxville. I live in Blount County.

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Good work, Kerry. AND, nice veneer press!

 

[Mike Dr]

where can i get some of that polyfill you used that looks like some high quality stuff.. does it MEOOOOWWWW!!! at certain frequencies?
there's just something amusing about a cat locked inside a big ass subwoofer.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Mike,
Smokeyfil does work great, but beware that you have to deal with 15 year old daughters and the ASPCA. After really loud sessions he tends to wander around like he just left a Greatful Dead concert in 1968.

 

[JerryW]

Maybe sometime I can drop by and listen to your DIY mains and the Tempest, if that's ok? I'm really intrigued with the 281s, they might be exactly what I'm looking for to go with my 2ch system.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Kerry and Jerry,
You guys don't wear that godawful UGLY orange do you? And before you ask, no, I am not a GA Bulldog fan (or any other college team for that matter). I just wanted to give someone some grief today in the name of good clean fun!
Brian

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Jerry,
Absolutely.. just give me a call. I would be happy for you to hear my system. Right now, I have the Tempest driver in a small sealed box. It still works really well, 'specially for music. Bring your favorite CDs and come on down.
Brian,
Hey boy... I didn't know sweatshirts, t-shirts, hats or jackets came in any other colors. What have you seen that I haven't ???

 

[JerryW]

Brian, don't make me open up a can of BIG ORANGE whoop-ass on you!
UT season ticket holder right here... Section S, row 12, seats 24 & 25!
http://www.critterhaven.com/utrockytop.au

 

[JerryW]

Sounds great Kerry, I'll drop you a line and setup a time to come by. It's great to meet people in this area that love HT. Just goes to prove, even in the land ruled by J6P a person can still find true culture.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Jerry,
I just hope you don't have a glass jaw like your boy Manning!
I was in Knoxville a few years ago visiting a friend who was going to UT at the time. I just remember one part of town looking like a big orange blur as we drove by! And I've got a neighbor that's a big UT fan. I'll take him over the GA Tech geek across the street any day!
Brian

 

[Neil Joseph]

How heavy is it and how do you like the sound?

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Neil,

I'm going to weigh it when it's all done but my guess is it will be around 125 lbs. There is one full sheet of 3/4 MDF plus the internal braces and one full sheet of 1/4 Birch plywood. Then there is some oak trim and molding yet to go.

As for the sound of the Tempest. I have it playing in a much smaller sealed box that is not very solid. Even so, the sub is great. I'll do some graphs once I get this enclosure finished just to see how it measures in the room.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Update, Jan 15
Added a couple of pictures of the box with all the veneer on it and the routing process for the edges.
Link Removed

 

[Brian J Dupuis]

Kerry,
Well I'll be... thanks for posting that, the picture of the rabbetting that you did made me finally realize the last step I was missing on my project, and where I can improve the next one.
I initially felt that laminating the plywood onto the MDF for my project before putting it together would be "easier", since that way I could get the 1/4" edge clearance I needed to fit some 1/4" quarter-round into for the edges. That's what I've done, but due to the fact that I have no table saw and had Lowe's perform my cuts with no dust cuts, my MDF is not 100% perfectly square and it would be no mean feat to square them up with the router (some are slightly too big, and some slightly too small). They're not way off... I'm still going to have a well sealed sub with a bit of work, but the plywood veneer isn't going to be meeting with a perfect 1/4" edge left over for 1/4" stock. Conundrum!
After seeing your pictures, I have seen some light! I'll perform a similar rabbet, though mine will be 3/8" (why? primarily because I have a 3/8" rabbett bit and a 3/8" roundover bit in my set ), install some 3/8" stock all around and roundover the 3/8" stock. It should work out quite well!
So, thanks for posting that, it really helped me envision the finish of my own project. And it makes me realize that it would be far easier on so many levels to save the laminating of the plywood veneer until after the main MDF cabinet is together... that way I could use screws in the construction if I wanted, and could use the flush trimming method of side matching. I'm almost tempted to start over . But I won't. Thanks again.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

Brian,
Glad the pictures helped. When you decide to cut your rabbets, make your first passes very light. I find that cutting through the veneer on the plywood can cause some tearout on the crossgrain edges if you don't go easy. Make your first pass less than the finished depth so that you can perfect your technique and clean up any frizz on the finishing cuts. I also think that making these cuts with the rotation of the bit / clockwise / helps. It causes the bit to cut on a downshearing pass so that it doesn't try to lift the edges. In MDF and plywood it isn't too hard to control. Go slow and get a feel for it, the router may feel like it is self propelled.
Oh and be careful where two rabbets meet. Don't let the bearing follow into the rabbet or you'll have a cut you don't want. Don't ask...