Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 After 26 years looking at the same speakers, I decided it was time for a change. I thought about building a pair of Jubilees, but I really like the sound of Bob Crites CW1526C and wanted to stay with 15" drivers. I also thought the larger throat allowed a shorter horn for the same mouth and Dana Moore's design for the Jamboree 215 seemed a good choice. But, my garage is overcrowded with junk so the challenge was to build the speakers in the dining room. That meant the WAF was critical. I wanted something different and large veneered mid range horns provided the change for my wife to choose the veneer. Team building hint: let your wife choose the veneer and hardwood and she will actually like the speakers that dominate two corners of the room. You have to have a very understanding wife to allow you to totally destroy the dining room for several months (I am rather busy and this is totally hobby...no financial interests). This is still a work in progress but the speakers are a pleasure to listen to even without the Jamborees getting the cosmetic treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 For a variety of reasons, including I had never tried it before, I choose to use a digital activer crosover and triamped. I put the components in a minirack that I built with leftover baltic birch from the Jamborees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 I learned two things about 3/4" Baltic Birch: 1) a 5' by 5' sheet is very heavy. 2) it is not 3/4" thick. Perhaps those facts are obvious to those experienced in this sort of thing, but when I built my clones in 1983, I think I was smarter. Certainly stronger! The sheets were actually about 17.4 mm thick and assuming they were 3/4" meant that I was off by about 1.6 mm. Fortunately, I checked fit before gluing. To deal with the weight, I paid $1 a cut to have the sheets reduced to pieces I could handle with my 10" Craftsman table saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 I started construction in the dining room. Interlocking mats protected the floor while showing off the saw dust before shop vac did its thing. A portable work bench and lots of kreg clamps were not ideal, but good enough for the job. Lots of jigs like the one on the left provided templates for the router to clean up the edges left by the scrolling saw. At this point, it was not too crowded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 The tops and bottoms really needed a larger workbench, but you make do with what you have. The Kreg Jig made joining pieces relatively easy. With a little planing, the pocket holes were in the voids, not in the holes. The Kreg Jig is a must for non-experts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Checking the fit whenever I could was a priority. The gate to the kitchen was to keep Bogart out of danger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 There was no room for the table saw in the dining room so it stayed in the garage. I had never done a 14 degree cut and had to learn about tenon jigs. The length of the cut would have been 3.1" had the wood been 3/4" thick. I lucked out and the saw was able to make the cut. I built a tenon jig because the grooves were too narrow for a commercial jig. Once I figured it out, it was a lot easier than I thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 After lots of cutting, it is fun to start screwing the pieces together. Remember, no gluing until the whole horn has been fit tested. The front gate is also to keep Bogart out of the mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Bogart learned that the gate was not to be crossed, even when open. In the dining room are one of the speakers taking shape and the shop vac. It was rapidly becoming apparent that there was not going to be enough room! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 The most difficult cut was a 31 degree bevel over 37-1/2" because of the small size of the table saw. Since the safety guard had to be removed, a temporary barrier was clamped in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Back in the dining room, each opening in the brace was lined with straight edges for the router. The first brace was used as a jig for the second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Braces are needed to control vibrations. There shape had to match the bevels and widths of the horns. A sliding mitre saw was purchased after failing to be able to do the job well with the table saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 The splitter used the Kreg jig to great advantage to rigidly hold the various pieces together while the glue cured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nat Denkin Posted February 22, 2011 Author Share Posted February 22, 2011 Having overgrown the dining room, the remaining construction is in the living room. A small dolly holds each bassbin off the floor for easier access. Lots of screws, glue, and clamps continue to be needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I am absolutely impressed. I can believe the Mrs's let you do that in the house. BTW, the speakers look nice also. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greg928gts Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Looks great Nat! Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I am absolutely impressed. I can believe the Mrs's let you do that in the house You got that right.... I think he deserves a standing ovation. Since however, it's 1:47 a.m., perhaps he'll settle for a golf clap as I try to go back to bed. Nat, I think it's cool as beans that you are pulling this off inside like that!! Bogart looks rather put out though [&] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Nice work on the speakers. Your wife is a real princess going along with that! I have been putting down hardwood flooring in my house. I'm looking for what to buy for the kitchen next. Is that maple Bogart is laying on? It has a nice look to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fjd Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I guess you will need to get the grills on the cabinets rather quickly, since now that your wife chose the veneer, she may be getting ready to ask “when will you get those mirrors inlayed so she can actually set up all those figurines?[]” Nice work, they look great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I thought my wife was great for letting me have a full size MCM-3 Grand system in our house, but this takes the cake. I don't know how you pulled it off, and they even look great. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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