lynnm Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 Nice work Tom ! Looking at that warped panel it appears to me that the problem is not with your veneering but with the panel itself. From the pic it looks as if the plies are delaminating. Hopefully the bracing you added will suffice but if at some point you start getting buzzes or rattles that would be the first place you should look sideways at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 23, 2004 Author Share Posted October 23, 2004 Lynn, There's no delam involved. This particular birch Plywood from Home Depot is very nice. Were you looking at the shot where the piece of riser is clamped down on one end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted October 23, 2004 Share Posted October 23, 2004 I was likely mistaking "blade burn" marks on the edge of the panel for cracking in the ply. The pic is the one entitled cupping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swells Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 HI Tom, Nice work. You got me thinking about starting my own project. I started "DIY" almost a year ago. I built myself a subwoofer, which works great with the Heresy, and a couple pair of speakers, one Back loaded horn and one QWT. I would love to build a Belle of a Khorn for that mater, but dismissed it because of a couple of reasons. One is it possible to get a decent set of plans. And second, is it possible to get the drivers. Thanks to formica I think the plans are taken care or, but how about the drivers. Did you find drivers for your project yet and where? I assume that the drivers were made specifically for Klispch so can you order them from them or is it possible to find something with similar specs. It sure sound like fun if I could find the equipment to put in the box. I wonder though, if it were possible to find drivers, I think I would have to go on a quest for plans the khorn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 24, 2004 Author Share Posted October 24, 2004 Hi swells--- The Belle plans in the other Belles thread are very good. People here co-operated in measuring a factory Belle and producing these drawings. Formica's efforts are top-drawer, his drawings are excellent. Khorn plans are also commonly available, one guy here even converted them to using all 3/4" plywood instead of 1/2". The K-33 bass drivers are available from Klipsch for only $130 delivered, an excellent value since this driver is heavily optimized for the application. The K-401 horn is only about $50 from Klipsch, another no-brainer. The metal K-400 version is available used on ebay or here. The Belle K-505 horn is available from Klipsch, but it's more money. The K-55 and K-77 drivers are easily available from people here or used on ebay. You can buy them new from Klipsch also, but they're not cheap at all. Buying the crossovers from Klipsch is expensive but there are several options for that too. Plans are available here to build your own or there are two or three guys who can do it for you. Their stuff is thought to be actually superior to the factory offerings. LaScala's and Belles are not real difficult to build if you have any real woodworking background. Khorns are a serious challenge for even experienced woodworkers due to the mitered and tapered pieces involved in the woofer chamber. The cuts are tricky and the tolerences tight, tighter than most other woodworking projects. I remember somebody claiming the tolerance for those parts is 1/64", but I haven't tried that myself. Ask around here, keep an eye on ebay for parts, you can do it. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swells Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Thank's Tom, I figured that there were schematics around for the crossover and the parts should be readily available. My big concern is picking up the drivers, but if I can, in the end, order them directly from the parts department that would make the project possible. For some reason I thought that you could only order replacement parts from them. Ebay doesnt seam to be for me, besides never knowing if what you want will come up or even if I can make the winning bid, I a little nervous about what I might get in the end. I would rather pay a little more and order it. It sounds like there are lots of spare parts in the states, they seam to be rare around here. The Belle has always been one of my favorites, not that I have ever heard them. I would be surprised if there is a pair of Belle or khorns within a 14 hour drive. I have read here that the Khorn is very difficult to build, so may I should start with the Belle. I just figure that it will be a six maybe ever a twelve month process so why not try the Khorn. Doesnt the Belle and Khorn share the same driver, just a different bass bin and crossover. In that case I could try to build the Khorn. The more the challenge the more the reward I suppose. I would love to support and buy the whole unit from them, but that will probably never happen, sort of like willing the lottery. If I did win though, I have to say that Klipschorns are on the top of my list. The crossover, are you buying yours or are you going to build that your self. If you build one, can you let me know what you used and how it turns out? Well, let us all know how the whole project turns out, which I know you will. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigdnfay Posted October 24, 2004 Share Posted October 24, 2004 Hi Tom, Your Belle project looks like its coming along nicely. I built Khorns about two years ago, so I know what your going through. Keep up the good work and keep those pictures coming. Big D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 more progress, got the bass bins veneered and sanded, ready to start finishing. a few pics, these were taken after the veneer was aplied but before any sanding or filling, the raw product, so to speak. Veneering went well, no major screw-ups on my part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 other side Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 25, 2004 Author Share Posted October 25, 2004 better shot of the veneer, the is the stuff I got from Certainly Wood, easy to work with, no backing, just the wood, and it's thick enough to sand on. I using the iron-on method, works pretty good, at least with this veneer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted October 26, 2004 Share Posted October 26, 2004 Thanks for the photo update. The mahogany looks great. I'm guessing the underside of the top piece got veneered as well? And the inside of the sides will get painted black... right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 Nah, the underside of the top piece will be black. If you look at the last pic you'll see that I didn't veneer the whole top of the top piece either. After the upper cabinet is assembled only the 3/4" or so around the outside of the riser can be seen. It's just too much work to finish all that area that will never be visible again, so I did a 3" area around the edge. I wasn't worried about the panel cupping, so the bottom will be flat black. A LOT of this work wouldn't be necessary at all if I was working with Walnut or Cherry or whatever plywood. But if a guy wants something a little different, like Mahogany or Zebrawood or Teak or something that's not commonly available in plywood then he's gotta roll his own, so to speak. Works for me, I'll probably have the only Mahogany Belle on the planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 busy,busy. got some time to work today, good. start with bassbin, now with stain but no finish. The blue masking tape is to keep the finish off the area where I'm going to glue down the top riser. Some of the other pieces I had to sand the finish carefully so glue could get a good bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 another view Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 oops, this is the one I wanted to post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 After getting a couple coats of wipe-on poly on it I set it around on the sidewalk to get some afternoon sun, went back in the garage. After a bit I went back out, late afternoon sunshining in Phx, saw this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 from the porch, quite a looker. a couple walking by enjoying the weather saw it stopped to ask me about it. Their comment:"I thought mahogany was red and real dark." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 moving right along, starting on the top riser. These are just 1" strips of the same 3/4" birch plywood. I wanted to do the grain vertical, so the veneer strips are lying there along with the plywood strips. The wood and the veneer are already glued, ready to go. You can barely see the iron at top right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 another view, the veneer is taped together, it's all ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Mobley Posted October 26, 2004 Author Share Posted October 26, 2004 a little closer. that table saw makes a real nice work table. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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