J.4knee Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 You are definitely very fleet of foot on this project. I am impressed, so much so that I am willing to offer a bribe of.....let me see....I have... $.35 and a couple flat beers I would be willing to part with for you to come over and help me with my split La Scala project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Sorry, non-drinker. But the $.35 looks good to me after all the stuff I bought to get this going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Larry, No lacquer. After seeing how well this turned out with the wipe-on poly deal I've lost interest in spraying lacquer (and lacquer thinner) in my garage. Looks like the key is to use oil-base poly, thin it 30%, wipe on very thin coats, lots of them. Parks Pro-Finish available at HD seems to be the current hot ticket. I used like 6 coats of clear high gloss followed by two satin coats to kill the glare a little. Wet-sanded with mineral spirits and and 600 grit between a few of the coats to get rid of nibs and level the finish. It's absolutely unbelieveable to me how this old Mahogany turned out. My digicam has gone completely to pot or I'd try to post some pics of the piece I've got done. Another nice aspect, I can do it a little at a time instead of setting up a big lacquer spray project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwardre Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 Tom....you're getting along fabulously!!! I really admire your gusto. Took me months to get my Belle going because I would come home from work, cut and fit a piece, then a couple of days later do another. Won't be long before you have a fleet. I hear you on the Mahogany! My first '53 was mahogany. A "C" type. Didn't match my all walnut setup but I just could not bring myself to mar the original mahogany so I got a sheet of 1/4" walnut, cut pieces to match (sizewise) every spot that the mahogany showed, and then affixed it via iron on walnut edge veneer! I also converted it to a "B" type by fabricating a collar and another 'top of the bass-bin' piece. Now, if I ever want to return to the Mahogany, a couple of swipes from the iron, peel the edge veneer off and viola!! Meanwhile, the precious mahogany is being preserved in a sealed environment. See attached! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 What holds the grilles into place and from vibration on the bass bin ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 Dale, There's small blocks like glue blocks that the grilles attach to. Velcro is the fastener. The blocks are not in my pics, that's a dry run build, just the big pieces to see how the whole thing goes. It went pretty well, I'm happy to report. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 19, 2004 Share Posted August 19, 2004 It's looking good... and I'd agree that you don't procrastinate. The pictures look good... it would be nice to see the ramps and throat in a mocked fitting when you get to that point. BTW, did you manage to pick up the drivers you'll need to put it together especially the mid horn? I don't know it you are using the plans I posted, but let me know if you see any discrepancies as you build yours. Keep them coming... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 19, 2004 Author Share Posted August 19, 2004 I'm using your plans plus stuff I drew myself. Too bad, my layout sheet for cutting the plywood had an error. For some unknown reason I dimensioned the back panel as 21 x 28 and cut it so. it's really 28.5. Lets see: 30" - 3/4" - 3/4" = 28.5" however you subtract it. Dang. The angle doghouse panels are not that bad. I cut a 30 degree bevel on both ends. they go between the front panel and the motorboard, they don't overlap either. Once the saw was set for a 21" cut I cut the angle pieces, the front panel and woofer motorboard so they would all be exactly the same height. Worked out good. I cut the bass bin side panels to overlap the bottom panel at the bottom, and beveled them at the top to 45 degrees. I beveled both ends of the top of the bass bin and it all fits. The top corner joints of the bass bin meet nicely, no gaps or unevenness. I didn't want an overlapped butt joint there. I spent a bunch of time adjusting the blade, fence and angle stops on that new saw and it was worth it. The panels are square so the joints work. I actually beveled the the sides and top of the bass bin at about 45.5 or so, so the outside corners are tight. I was really pleased when I saw how good it turned out. Your drawings are excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 Glad to see they are coming to some use... keep us updated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 20, 2004 Author Share Posted August 20, 2004 sheesh, woke up in the middle of the night. Bummer. I'm working 12 hr shifts Fri and Sat, have family activity scheduled for Sunday, probably won't be much from me till then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 22, 2004 Share Posted August 22, 2004 UUUGGGHHH POWER!!! Nice saw Tom! Bigger blade and saw deck will give much straighter cuts than the plastic $99 jobbies! Rock on! In the words of Norm Abrams - "remember there is no more important rule that this- always wear safety goggles and ear protection when operating power equipment." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 22, 2004 Share Posted August 22, 2004 Tom, looking very nice so far. WIth the angled joints, are you just glueing, tagging with nail gun, or are you countersinking screws with glue blocks, or using biscuit joining? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 23, 2004 Author Share Posted August 23, 2004 Glue blocks, screwed from the inside. No screw heads visible from the outside on the finished surfaces. The back will be screwed and glued from the outside. The doghouse pieces can be screwed too. There might be a few brads here and there, really helps hold stuff in postion. I bought a new Porter-Cable little brad nailer, it's really nice to use. I've used others before, but this is brand new and acts like it. Nice piece. Hoping to get time to work on this stuff Mon and Tues, I'm off work those days this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edwinr Posted August 23, 2004 Share Posted August 23, 2004 You don't muck around, Tom. Most people would still be in the planning stage. It helps though to have the right tools. That's half the fun in any project - buying the tools so that you can start. I'll be interested in those pics of your Klipschorns when you're able. Edwin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted August 23, 2004 Author Share Posted August 23, 2004 Edwin, I was in the planning stage for over a month while the other thread went on. However, I'm perfectly capable of procratrinating. I bought two Moondog SET 2A3 OPT from another member, still haven't built the amps. It's been at least a year. I'see what I can do about the Khorn pics. Darn digicam has sort of bit the dust, I can only get about 2 or three pics out of it and it crashes, corrupts the last pic, have to pull the batteries out and erase the compact flash memory to get it going again. This was a nice H-P camera too. PITA. I guess I'll have to drag out my 35mm gear, shoot it and get the CD's made at the developing place. I've gotten a scanner up and running, but it's a major PITA to scan all those photos and run them thru Photoshop or whatever program. Eats up too much time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 How's the progress tom ? Still have all your digits ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 Yeah, I'm still in one piece. I've been spending more time on refinishing my KHorns lately. Plus, trying to find a way to make the new African Mahogany veneer at least partially match the 45 year old Honduran Mahogany on the Khorns. Tough deal, mixing stains, doing a sample, rejecting it, trying again. The new veneer is sort of pink, the old stuff is a real rich brown and gold. Also, the digicam I was using took the final swan dive into the trash can and the other one is a POS. Pics look bad. Started using my 35mm stuff, but have to wait for the pic CD's to come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale W Posted September 2, 2004 Share Posted September 2, 2004 I feel for you tom , matching stains and such that have changed over the years can be a real pain in the rear . Cherry has to top the list , you can take new cherry and spray it with clear laquer , it will look much the same as maple but over the years will change to the deep red rich look we all associate with the cherry finish . Tough as hell to try and match and if you do the two woods will never fade at the same rate afterwards anyway . I sprayed a kitchen made of oak with a cherry stain which looks real sharp , i liked it so much i did one of my bathrooms the same . Very rich looking finish , i always wanted to do a pair of speakers the same way. Anyhow , keep having fun and keep us in the loop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted September 2, 2004 Author Share Posted September 2, 2004 That old Mahogany on the Khorns is absolutely gorgeous, but it's funny how it's colored. It took like six or seven strippings to get the old lacquer off, but three more after that keeps pulling a red color off. Even after sanding with 220 garnet paper creating light brown dust, if I rub a rag across it comes off red. This is with mineral spirits. Couple nasty gouge scratches across the top, tried to find some kind of filler, but nothing I can find is remotely close to the right color. I eventually hit on mixing my own from the sanding dust, but it got real dark as soon as I mixed in the clear poly I used as a binder. Still better than anything I could buy. I used a light coat of the oil based wipe on poly first to keep the filler out of the grain around the scratches. Back to the Belle build, I should some more pics soon. I might post a few of the cruddy ones from the spare digicam. Thanks for your continued interest, I know I haven't posted much lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted September 6, 2004 Share Posted September 6, 2004 Tom, Guitar makers have had trouble with Honduran Mahogany forever. Trying to seal the wood to keep it from bleeding red. Maybe you should check out some luthier books on refinishing. Marvel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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