Tin Turtle

The guys came over and did the measurement for me. We also were able to listen to some very nice speakers that were brought in for comparison. A really great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2013%2f1%2fmeasure1.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2013%2f1%2fmeasure4.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2013%2f1%2fmeasure2.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2013%2f1%2fGraph_CornscalaFR.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2013%2f1%2fGraph_CornscalaIMP.jpg

If you want to keep them exactly as they are, you can get them as clean as possible and use Renaissance Micro-Crystalline Wax with a soft cloth. Be advised though that you have zero protection. Not a problem if you never put anything on it (ie a glass, plant etc) that would leak water or cause a water ring. And never clean them with anything but a clean damp cloth and rewax every so often. For a bit more durability (not much) but some nicer color you can use Tung Oil, or boiled linseed oil and then the wax. Finally, if you want some decent durability and good color you can use General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin for like two to three coats, sand with 800 and use the wwax. It will give you a killer finish, but it will be darker than the natural birch you see now. Best to just get a piece of birch ply cheap and experiment if you want to be sure. If it was me and I wanted that finish (which is kind of cool) I would probably test shoot a piece with Chemcraft Varicure laquer. It is awesome stuff, great durability and virtually no color change. But virtually no is not the same thing as none, so you would have to see if it was what you wanted. And you need either a HVLP gun or get a cabinet shop to shoot it for you. I don't think it would be very expensive to have done if you pull the components and prep.

I tried two techniques for doing the textures for the Cornscala's. I knew that the textured area would be problematic for cleaning, and I wanted to try and solve that. I also was looking at what the difference would be like between using a truck bed liner versus a pebble spray. And last I had to make sure the various layers of products would all be compatible, especially as the assembly would be complete and irreversible before the final laquer process. This picture shows the sample piece, with the pebble spray texture on the left, and the truck bed liner on the right. This sample sat in the corner of the shop while I finished spraying the Cornscala's, so it was covered in dust and grime. I wiped it down with a regular paper towel and Endust. It came away completely clean with very minimal fuzzing from the towel. The products and order of application is below: Rustoleum Protective Enamel in flat black, applied with a from brush. One coat. The left side was then sprayed with two coats of Rustoleum Multi-Color Texture in aged iron. The right side was sprayed with two coats of Rustoleum Truck Bed Coating The final steps were the same for both sides as well as the choice I made for the speakers. Two coats of Rustoleum UltraCover 2X in flat black. The last part used two products from Chemcraft's Pre-Catalyzed lacquer line and was applied with a HVLP gun. First was two coats of the Variseal sealer. That was followed by two coats of the Varicure. I chose to use the textured paint for the speakers. A couple of things to think about. Doing it again I would go to 3 coats and maybe 4 of the Multi-Color Texture. The whole idea is to get a uniformity of texture and color so it has a nice finished look and feel. You get a much nicer even look by doing multiple light coats of the texture. The Varicure is tough as heck, and will stand up to a lot of household cleaners even though it is a laquer. I don't know that I would go wiping it off every day, but for normal cleaning I would think it should last for a very, very long time. The truck bed liner is a good option, but it is hard to notice the texture without angled light. It ends up just looking like flat black paint from a distance. I tend to want a more grainy surface and now that I am comfortable with being able to clean it this is a good choice for me.

The drivers and crossover from Bob Crites.

Thanks guys. The cherry on those cabinets will match that trestle table stand and coffee table in another 3 years. Those pieces are about 6 years old and were finished similar to the speakers, but without the laquer. That cherry ages nice over time.

Ok, they are assembled, in place and being broke in. I still need to build grills, but for now this is how they set. I will do a more detailed writeup to finish this thread off when I have that done, and I have had some time to listen to them. The detail is really good, but I need to listen to them across a wide variety of recordings. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fAssembled_NoGrill_AllFront_.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fAssembled_NoGrill_SideView_.jpg The brass screws are really a nice touch. The speakers have this old school, vintage look that I have come to like, but they will still tear your face off. I started out with Etta James - Love Songs and the detail is really amazing, so much that I was startled. And a quick listen to Black Sabbath - Hole in the Sky was a lot of fun. I will say this - I have all the volume I will ever need. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fAssembled_NoGrill_Back_smal.jpg And the little audio rack came out pretty nice too. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fAssembled_MiniAudioRack_sma.jpg

I just finished the final spray on the speakers and they will be ready for assembly tomorrow. I am excited to hear them. The finish went down really, really well and it was the first time I used the Chemcraft Varicure product. It is freakishly durable to everything, household chemicals, 409 - whatever. The guys over at Chicagoland Finishing Materialswere a huge help and really know their stuff. The order of finish was: 1) 1 coat of boiled linseed oil (hand rubbed) 2) 3 coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal (hand rubbed and then cured for 1 week). Sand with 320 and then 400. 3) 1 coat of Chemcraft Variseal. Sand with 400. 4) 2 coats of Chemcraft Varicure Satin. Sand with 600 before final coat. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2ftopsfinalspray.jpg The mini audio stand for the two components is done too. Curly cherry and walnut, and walnut pins for the bottom shelf. The bottom shelf will hold my Hafler 9303 Transnova amp, so it needed to be a bit sturdier. The order of finish was: 1) 1 coat of tung oil (hand rubbed and cured for 48 hours) 2) 1 coat of Chemcraft Variseal 3) 2 coats of Chemcraft Varicure Satin Everything will get rubbed out with a coat of Renaissance Wax tomorrow after it cures out. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fminiaudiostand.jpg

Finished installing the motorboards in the upper cabinets, added reinforcement to the tops and the brace supports are in. After they get sprayed I will put in the braces. The dampening is done for these, and they are ready to spray. I will be glad when these are done. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fuppercab_prespray1.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fuppercab_top.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fuppercab_dampening.jpg

Here are a few more pictures from this evening. The first shows the bottom and how it overlaps the **** joint on the lower part of the cabinet. This helps reinforce that joint that is holding all the weight of everything above it. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2ffooter_feet.jpg Then a picture of the front of the upper cab with the textured side panels in place. This shows how far back the panels extend to reinforce those vertical walls. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fuppercab_sidepanels.jpg Then a shot of the final bit of work this evening. I took the spare motorboard that I blew up with the router and used it to test fit the horn. Now I can build the support in the back to hold that driver. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fuppercab_horntest.jpg

I finished everything the lower cabs needed to be ready for laquer tomorrow. The footer is attached, the motorboard is in place and the seperator/brace is screwed to the top. The backs were put in place and the hardwood batting predrilled for #6 brass screws. They will get sanded down later to prep for tomorrow. The ubiquitous Bigbys Pour House glass is primed with a Southern Tier Creme Brulee just below freezing. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fbasscab_readytospray.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fbasscab_backs.jpg

I hear you, it has been a month or so since I blew up my JBL's No music, no decent movies and a new Anthem MX500 that I have never heard. I am going crazy, but at this point I feel like a few more days is worth it to get something cool. The funny thing is hand tools save a lot of time. Thats why I built the shop, I always wanted to be an old school American furniture maker in the method sense, but style wise I like anything.

I have a space issue because these things are monsters. In order for everything to fit, I need to eliminate my rack. I can fit two pieces under the tv for now, but I need to be able to fit two pieces to the side. I was digging around the wood rack and found two pieces of heavily figured cherry and walnut that I have had for 6 years or more. This seemed like a good time to use them, and build something to match the Cornscala's. Here's a pic of the cherry rough sawn. Cool figure, but a lot of minerals. I had an idea about what I wanted, and to really work with the curl I like to use hand tools. I broke out the block plane and spoke shave to carve me out a set of legs. Then the panels were laid up and hand scraped. I lost a full day blowing up one of the motor boards for the upper cab. All the way to the final milling op, and I took a chance that cost me the entire piece. I wanted to shoot the Cornscala tomorrow, but now there is no way. I have to say the texture on the side panels is excellent. Now I just have to recreate it for the motorboards.

Awesome, thanks for the pictures. I will look at bracing some more, I do not have a volume problem, in fact I am at the upper threshold, so additional bracing will not hurt me. I was thinking since my cabinets are smaller (19.5" inside height) that the sides would be ok with minimal bracing. I will take some more pictures today. Plus I have to deal with the driver issue and what kind of room I have once they are mounted. They will weigh a ton anyway, so a few pounds more is not a big deal.

You need to help me out with the "h bracing". What are you describing? A link where I can read up is good too -- not trying to be lazy just need some guidance. BTW.. new upgrade today.... Anthem MRX-500 to serve as a pre and drive the surround and center channels when I get them built next year.

This is what I was thinking of doing. 1) Upper back panel is an easy one, I just double the back with a full sheet of MDF, that gives it a 1.5" thickness. Then dampen it the same was as the lower cab. 2) Lower back panels is a bit more tricky as the crossover takes up almost the full vertical length about 5 inches wide. On either side of that I do strips of MDF and dampen. 3) The lower sides I am not too worried about, Those vent boxes take up 60 - 70% of the surface area, I built them sturdy, siliconed and screwed them to the sides. 4) The lower bottom has a footer panel of mdf that covers almost the entire area, so that is 1.5" thick. 5) The top of the lower cabinet is the weak point but there is the middle piece/seperator that goes between the cabs. That gets glued and screwed, then the top cabinets bottom gets glued and screwed. So the cutouts are large, but the middle section is 2.25 inches thick. Then the batting on the bottom goes all the way across, 1.25 inches tall by about .75 thick, and solid walnut. That is front and back. The batting in the top is the same dimension but solid beech. I am thinking it will be ok, but feel free to comment. 6) The top cabinet sides have MDF panels that slide in from the front and go back about 60% of the depth, full surface, and will get glued and screwed. I will add in enough to cover it full surface (1.5" thick). Dampen like the bottoms 7) The top will get some additional panels of MDF, not sure just what yet, but something that will both brace and break up that big surface area. I figure the sound is coming straight up those holes, so I want to have something that will break up any reflections. It will be a heavy sob, but I don't plan on moving it. I did get some large flat cabinet feet to lift it off my hardwood floor, but I am getting nervous about that. These things may weigh enough to mar the floor with the feet.

Outstanding.

I finished milling the motorboard assembly for the lower cabinet. It was not that difficult. I use double sided tape to attach the waste backing board to the MDF. This way it doesn't come loose when the final cut is taken and bind into router or other nastiness. Then I use a Jasper Circle Guide to cut out the 4 speaker holes. Here are the final parts. Everything gets screwed together and test fitted both to the speaker and the cabinet.

The lower enclosures were dampened with carpet padding and automotive headliner fabric. Just some minor dampening to breakup any resonance that might happen, and help to clean up things for a little more clarity. Final sanding prep using 400 grit and these cabinets are really looking great. I did a quick stacking of the components to check proportions and get some idea as to what they will look like complete. The most noteworthy part of the evening was the Goose Island Night Stalker. I've never seen this one before, and it was incredible.

Thanks guys, I hope they turn out well. Finished assembly on the upper cabs that will hold the tweeter and squawker horns. As an interesting aside I am posting a picture that shows the difference between solar kiln dried and a commercial kiln dried piece of walnut. Typically the large commercial kilns will use steam on their walnut to blend the colors and givea more uniform appearance. That makes builders happy. Unfortunately that process also dulls the walnut, and can make it almost grey. The piece you see here (vertical) came from my normal supplier who is a local guy and dries his in a solar kiln. Nice browns, banding.. thats what I like. The horizontal piece I picked up at the yard and was done the typical commercial way, thats why it looks duller.

Worked on a finish that I have used before and it seems nice on the backs. Boiled linseed oil that sits for 24 hours. Then 3 coats of hand rubbed General Finish Arm-R-Seal gloss, steel wool between each coat. Then sand with 320 and apply 2 more coats of Arm-R-Seal semi-gloss. Accompanied by a Pipeworks Hyperdog. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fbacks.jpg The bottom cabinets have the ports to the upper chamber cut, as well as the middle piece. A template was made from mdf and then the final dimension was cut with a pattern bit. I truly hate mdf, it is a complete mess. I have not done a project with it in a long time, and I had forgotten how much I hated it. I had to wear a respirator to mill this stuff, and once this project is done it will take a full day to clean out the shop. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f12%2fbasscap_port.jpg

Further progress fueled by Dragon's Milk... bass cabinets are clamped and the shells done. Prebuilt some bracing and they will get sanded for some preliminary finishing. Backs are done and the access hole for the cross over is done. Finishing started on those today. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fbasscab_clampup2.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fbasscab_clampup.jpg

Here is a shot of the coffee table I am trying to match. There are a few other cherry pieces in this room too, but the walnut strips in this will be close to where the speakers are.

I use a Festool Domino for my quick and dirty joinery. I still have a biscuit joiner, and I use it when I need something sloppy and moveable, but the Domino rules for strength and precision. All MDF faces get a double coat of Titebond III, mortises are filled and 8x40MM dominos are used. Clamped under pressure for 4 hours each. You really only need 2, but there was other things to do anyway, so why not. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fpanel_domino.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fpanelclamp.jpg

I struggled with whether or not to build a set of prototypes from MDF. I had a friend who wanted a pair, but in the end I wanted them quick so I went off the deep end and milled the real stuff first. I wanted to pay homage to the Klipsch heritage, but I could not stomach bare edged plywood. Since I build guitar cabinets I relate to resonance, and in fact I mill my solid wood cabs to 5/8" to cater to it. But for me, I want my hifi cabs to be MDF. All of the internal parts are MDF, motor board is MDF and some external parts are raw MDF. For cabinetry I took a while to think about what I wanted. I decided I wanted the **** joints similar to the old Klipsch, but with edge banding. There were some options in veneer core ply, but I chose A1 cherry over 3/4 MDF. With a little design tweaking I kept it down to 2 sheets of cherry, and 2 sheets of 3/4 MDF. Total for wood was $260. I chopped up the raw MDF parts first, and then went to the lumber yard and picked up 2 sheets of cherry. Pulled them onto my workbench and started the rough breakdown, then final dimensions on the table saw. http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fpaneltable.jpg http://www.tinturtle.com/image.axd?picture=2012%2f11%2fpanels.jpg

My JBL's lost the foam surrounds last year and I had them rebuilt, plus paid to upgrade the crossovers. After about 6 months of use they died. Weird, both of them lost the woofers at almost the same time. Anyway, I decided it was time for a change. I have never owned horns and I've often wondered about Klipsch, so I looked into a couple of pair. I also looked at Zaph's 12.3 and was almost ready to start cutting the cabinets when I went off on a tangent and ended up with Cornscala's instead. I wanted to modify the design some to allow for a split cabinet. After talking to Bob Crites on the phone he gave me some ideas and I went back to draw some more. I loaded everything into CutList and checked design for precuts at the yard and for an idea how much these things would cost.