longdrive03 Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Finally committed to this project and started cutting Saturday morning. I'm using 1.25" birch ply I have for the sides of the bas cabinet. I've seen 1" mdf or layered sides. I've built a couple of sets of Lascala' and Speakerlab K (in the 70's.) This will be a marathon build. I got my bass bin sides cut and veneered on the inside (using cherry veneer and Fastlock glue) and the two bottom pieces of the bass bin cutout and the motor board 3" x 13" slot routed. I'm letting the 1.25" sides clamp overnight. I've read quite a few threads about building a Belle and have a few questions. Some plans for the Belle or LaScala only use four Tnuts to attached the woofer to the motor board? Does anyone recommeing using eight? I realize it won't be easy to get to the far side of the woofer to install/remove one of the screws. Any suggestions? Also, I plan on building the bass bins for now and will see how that goes and the top mid/hf cabinet later depending on which mid horn I use. I'll start with the EV SM120A which has been highly touted. Don't know if I'll go two or three way either. It appears that the woofer terminal is mounted on top of the bass bin. Has anyone ever placed the bass terminal on the rear of the cabinet? Looks like a small hole could be drilled above the woofer in the doghous through the back for terminal placement. Anyonr tried this? I know the connection would need to be air tight (use silicone maybe) Here is the monster 4 x 8 sheet of the 1.25" ply. Too big to rip by myself so i had to rip with jigsaw then final rip on the tablesaw. Any suggestions would be considered. Hope I can move this around (casters will be used for sure)..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeybadger Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Nice, I will be following this thread, so post lots of pics. How did you cut the motor board, looks clean. HB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobsky Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 If it's not too late,consider scalloping out some of the motor board to be allow the woofer to excuse or alternatively, build a circular spacer of the dime skins as the speaker gasket . I haven't yet bothered to do this on my "belle-ish" 2 way clone .. but then I haven't run it through its paces yet PS That 18 sound waveguide really needs to be covered up by a grille 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 5 hours ago, zobsky said: PS That 18 sound waveguide really needs to be covered up by a grille Agree 1000% especially with the gray board behind. Very nice though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totalcomfort Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Looking good, these should sound great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Honeybadger and Zobsky, Thanks for the replies. On the 3 x 13 cutout I marked it on the motor board then used a jig saw to cut just inside the line then lined up straight edges all around and used a flush trim bit. Zobsky, I can't understand your reply - please explain. Maybe I'm just not understanding today. I just mounted the K-33 to see how it fit and I'm running 30hz through it to loosen it up. I can undo the screws with no problem. BTW your 2 way looks great! What mid driver are you using? Did you use 3/4" mdf and/or plywood for your bass bin sides/top/bottom? Can't tell the thickness from the angle in the pic. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobsky Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 34 minutes ago, longdrive03 said: Honeybadger and Zobsky, Thanks for the replies. On the 3 x 13 cutout I marked it on the motor board then used a jig saw to cut just inside the line then lined up straight edges all around and used a flush trim bit. Zobsky, I can't understand your reply - please explain. Maybe I'm just not understanding today. I just mounted the K-33 to see how it fit and I'm running 30hz through it to loosen it up. I can undo the screws with no problem. BTW your 2 way looks great! What mid driver are you using? Did you use 3/4" mdf and/or plywood for your bass bin sides/top/bottom? Can't tell the thickness from the angle in the pic. Thanks. Does this make sense? Alternatively, use a 1/4 or 1/8 MDF donut to space the surround from the motor board I plan to use eminence kappa15c It's all 3/4" Baltic birch with doubled up sides on both the top and bottom cabs The top cab is detached from the bottom with the option to couple /isolate their volumes and has twin 7" ports if I want to run the Belle in ported mode The top cab is somewhat larger than normal to accommodate the xt1464 waveguide/faital hf146 or whatever else I want ( the gray baffle is detachable too) Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 Zobsky, got it now. Use a spacer to add distance from K-33 cone/surround to the motorboard. Great idea. So I'll just cut a big donut the same size as the gasket and seal it with sealant. Is your woofer opening larger than the 3 x 13" called for in the plans? Looks like your triangle diffuser is also large than the plans I've seen? Do you have any problems getting to all eight of the screws through the woofer access opening? Is it better to use the tnuts/threaded nuts driven in from the front of the motor board (side away from woofer) of from the woofer side. I'm planning on using stainless steel 10/24 bolts with allen head to screw down from the woofer side. Any downsides to that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 Regarding eight or four T-nuts. I used eight screws but then again I was using a motor board. I'll say you should use eight because otherwise you'll be waking up in the middle of the night wondering, "Maybe I should have used eight rather than four." That was my reasoning to myself in many things. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zobsky Posted September 6, 2016 Share Posted September 6, 2016 26 minutes ago, longdrive03 said: Zobsky, got it now. Use a spacer to add distance from K-33 cone/surround to the motorboard. Great idea. So I'll just cut a big donut the same size as the gasket and seal it with sealant. Is your woofer opening larger than the 3 x 13" called for in the plans? Looks like your triangle diffuser is also large than the plans I've seen? Do you have any problems getting to all eight of the screws through the woofer access opening? Is it better to use the tnuts/threaded nuts driven in from the front of the motor board (side away from woofer) of from the woofer side. I'm planning on using stainless steel 10/24 bolts with allen head to screw down from the woofer side. Any downsides to that? Actually, cut a donut that starts just inwards of the gasket matching the profile of the woofer surround (since the surround is the only piece that can hit the motor board). That's not my pic, ..I snagged it off the web (I think it is DJK's) . I prefer to use hurricane nuts for plywood. They are "the cat's whiskers" for this kind of application. I install them from the side away from the woofer (I coated them with a bit of 5 minute epoxy and used a bolt and an allen key to pull them in) . I dont mess with T-nuts anymore after trying these. Caution. use with a bit of caution in MDF and NEVER with particle board. They will destroy the substrate. Plywood, OTOH is perfect for them. http://www.parts-express.com/parts-express-1-4-20-hurricane-nuts-50-pcs--081-1084 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 6, 2016 Author Share Posted September 6, 2016 I misspoke when I said Tnuts. I'm using threaded screw in nuts that use an allen wrench to screw in. Good idea on using epoxy. Used that before with the t nuts which really need it. Gil, I'm like you I want to sleep at night for 8 it is!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 The "sleep at night" actually comes from Bruce Edgar, PhD in rocket science. He said he used plenty of caulking on his bass bin chamber so he can sleep at night without analyzing whether it is necessary. This was not a technical matter entirely. It makes sense to do the best job possible in areas you will not be able to easily change. Further, this is your baby and there is no reason to avoid overkill even if no one else will ever know. But you know that I'm sure. Smile. I even painted the inside of my bass bins. Only the speaker gremlins and I will ever know. But dang, I just wanted to. WMcD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwgorman Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Very cool! Why did I ever sell my belles, why? Something special about Belles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BamaMike Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 Nice. Definitely want to follow the progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted September 7, 2016 Share Posted September 7, 2016 21 hours ago, zobsky said: That's not my pic, ..I snagged it off the web (I think it is DJK's) . That is actually the inside of a Peavey FH1. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 7, 2016 Author Share Posted September 7, 2016 Gil, There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night wondering if you filed an answer in a lawsuit. That will make you get up and go to office (or on computer to check). Sage advise. I plan on painting the parts that aren't veneered especially the triangle diverter wedge. Got a little down last night. Cherry veneer applied to the 1.25" thick sides. Sprayed a little alcohol on it to show color and grain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeybadger Posted September 8, 2016 Share Posted September 8, 2016 Looking good, keep up the fine work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 9, 2016 Author Share Posted September 9, 2016 I should get a lot of work done this weekend even though I ran out of Heatlock veneer glue and won't get that till Monday. Hope to have one bass bin assembled this weekend and veneer pieces cut and ready to attach. Will send more pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted September 10, 2016 Author Share Posted September 10, 2016 I read Claudes thread on using a Kappa woofer instead of the K-33 and just posted a reply in that thread. I'll raise my question here also - I've got access to some Eminence woofers with specs very close to the K-33 but they are 8 ohm (Re 4.9ohm). If I used these in the Belles will that result in lower bass output compared to the K-33 which has a 3.39 ohm RE? I know I will have to change the woofer xover components. Any help appreciated? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honeybadger Posted September 10, 2016 Share Posted September 10, 2016 If the woofer you are referring to is the 15c, it should be a suitable replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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