Rob Wright 27 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 I can't say because I have never done it the way you are and not sure of your product. I have taken timber to almost mirror finish then used steel wool between coats. On the very last coat of clear I have not sanded. Yours will likely end up much nicer. Link to post Share on other sites
PKay 2,279 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Hugh, not sure why you have diluted the gloss so much on the last coat? I would have thought the last coat should be undiluted and definitely don't sand it, all that will do is take off the sheen. Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 13 Author Share Posted January 13 (edited) This guy gets a great result using an orbital sander. The diluted poly definitely gives a better gloss than the undiluted due to my inability to apply without leaving brushmarks. The gloss isn't diluted by the turps, if anything i'd say it's improved. The thing with the gloss is, it's shiny but still a bit uneven if left untreated. I had this idea that i could polish it to be a very smooth and even finish. I can leave it, but it's only 90% where i want it to be.. Maybe i'm just expecting too much? Edited January 13 by Janus77 Link to post Share on other sites
PKay 2,279 Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 Most likely the uneven layers are from your earlier coats. If you want to get it perfect you may need to take more finish off with a coarser sandpaper but that would be a bit risky as you could go through to the stain. Give the finish a few days to dry and try the polish that may even things out a bit. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
PKay 2,279 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 2 minutes ago, Janus77 said: Looks great - time to move on to putting things together. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 1 minute ago, PKay said: Looks great - time to move on to putting things together. I'm getting there, all felt now installed. I've put another coat of poly on the rear baffle, once dry i'll screw on the crossovers and solder on wires for binding posts etc. I need to borrow a soldering iron again, hopefully get my hands on one this evening after work. Need to do another 400 grit sand of the cabinets to ensure they're smooth for vinyl application. VInyl is a big job to get right, and once it's on i need to be very careful not to damage the edges when i'm installing the baffles. will put some towels on the work horses. So damn close i can almost taste it. Oh wait that's polyurethane. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Hmm, forgot the cable stripper I used for the crossovers was returned to the office. Was going to solder but now I think I’ll kick ok with vinyl instead. This is almost as scary as gluing up the boxes! Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 Anyone notice anything wrong with this picture? Link to post Share on other sites
Sub Sonic 1,086 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 Have the cross braces pulled out of their routed slots? Good work with the project by the way, I’m impressed!! SS Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 14 Author Share Posted January 14 21 minutes ago, Sub Sonic said: Have the cross braces pulled out of their routed slots? Good work with the project by the way, I’m impressed!! SS nope they’re ok, I forgot to make a cut out in the felt for the tweeter box. Scraped it out, that vinyl glue is strong. was about to start the vinyl then realised it was getting late and decided to leave it for another day. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 (edited) To finish the first speaker i need to: 1. Cut the vinyl so it's the correct width front to back to fold into the rebates, then stick it on and try not to muck it up. 2. Solder binding posts tabs and crossover wires, solder on driver wires and female plugs for the tabs on the mid and tweeter. 3. Install acoustic foam in rear sections, glue in rear baffle. 4. Install castors 5. More acoustic foam in front sections, and sheep wool in mid box, glue on front baffle. 6. Screw in speakers. Think i'll wait and drill the grills once i have both speakers completed, have a feeling i'll need to shave back the top section of the grill frame so it fits above the mid driver. How many plugs do i need? 3 across the top and 5 down the sides? (45cm x 96cm). Getting there, let's hope i've got 1 done by Sunday. Edited January 15 by Janus77 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 (edited) 18 hours ago, Sub Sonic said: Edited January 15 by Janus77 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Stoked people. So close now. Bit of soldering and final assembly. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
PKay 2,279 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 1 minute ago, Janus77 said: Stoked people. So close now. Bit of soldering and final assembly. looking amazing. I'm sure that they are going to be stunning when finished. Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 Thanks. Feeling very excited to have the vinyl done on one cab. Will try to get it put together tonight. Link to post Share on other sites
aris 247 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 The vinyl looks great! Have been waiting to see how you go before deciding which way to go myself! Hmmmm. Aris 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BioBrian 744 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 That vinyl is certainly a mood-changer. It does seem like cheating, not having all the mess and drama of sanding and painting for days on end. Looking serious now! I didn't see "gluing in the tweeter boxes" on the list. Would it not be easier to fit them after fitting front baffle, before the rear one? All coming together very suddenly. Not surprised you're a bit excited, Hugh. You may not be alone! Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 15 Author Share Posted January 15 43 minutes ago, BioBrian said: That vinyl is certainly a mood-changer. It does seem like cheating, not having all the mess and drama of sanding and painting for days on end. Looking serious now! I didn't see "gluing in the tweeter boxes" on the list. Would it not be easier to fit them after fitting front baffle, before the rear one? All coming together very suddenly. Not surprised you're a bit excited, Hugh. You may not be alone! Good to hear from you Brian yep tweeter boxes after gluing in front baffles. Planning to do the rear baffle first then the front baffle, that way crossovers are in and all I need to do is thread the wire through the tweeter box and attach to tweeter. the vinyl is a bit of a cheat, but in some cases it’s the destination, not the journey 1 Link to post Share on other sites
BioBrian 744 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 1 hour ago, Janus77 said: the vinyl is a bit of a cheat, but in some cases it’s the destination, not the journey Gentle dig noted and appreciated; let's talk about that one after the honeymoon 🤫 🤣. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
aris 247 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 Seriously though, BB plywood is a PITA to finish off naturally. I think you’ve done superbly well! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
crtexcnndrm99 629 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 7 hours ago, aris said: Seriously though, BB plywood is a PITA to finish off naturally. I think you’ve done superbly well! That it is (a PITA). Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 These are shaping up to be a speaker of both immense power and beauty. Can you do a video of them playing when they are done? Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 38 minutes ago, Rob Wright said: These are shaping up to be a speaker of both immense power and beauty. Can you do a video of them playing when they are done? definitely. I only have an iPhone though, no high quality microphones. My friend who runs the recording studio across the road (sound engineer) advises me against using the castors. I’ve decided to leave them off for now, will listen for a while then install them and try to work out if there’s any impact on performance. I’m not a great one for taking advice, but I think it’s finally sunk in - plenty of members following this thread have advised against them too .. Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 He will certainly be able to hear them from across the road. My mate has a set of 96dB 15 inch. If you feed them with a 200w amp it is as loud as a disco at the local tavern 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 1 minute ago, Rob Wright said: He will certainly be able to hear them from across the road. My mate has a set of 96dB 15 inch. If you feed them with a 200w amp it is as loud as a disco at the local tavern He’ll hear them from his apartment across the hallway too, though maybe not over his Duntech princess’. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 12 minutes ago, Janus77 said: My friend who runs the recording studio across the road (sound engineer) advises me against using the castors. I’ve decided to leave them off for now, will listen for a while then install them and try to work out if there’s any impact on performance. They may benefit from some RHS stands around a foot high Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 What’s an RHS stand? Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Rectangle steel tube Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Wires to binding posts done, still need to wire up cables for drivers. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Too heavy to lift by myself off the workhorses. Need to turn it over so I can: 1. Tighten biding post bolts and attach wires. 2 install additional acoustic foam and wool 3. install tweeter box 4. plug in drivers! Should be able to plug it in for a test run today hopefully. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Wow. Was there much trouble involved in doing the vinyl? Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 16 Author Share Posted January 16 Just now, Rob Wright said: Wow. Was there much trouble involved in doing the vinyl? Hi Rob I’d practiced the corner cuts a few times so they went well, main thing was ensuring it stayed aligned with the speaker as I wrapped it around. Was glad it went smoothly without any huge hiccups. I dry fitted the front baffles to allow me to clamp the rear when gluing. The box is too heavy to lift off the front baffle for me now. Woke up at 5:30 keen to get them finished and reluctantly returned home for a coffee after realising I need help to lift them. my wife’s probably not going to be too impressed with being woken up for heavy lifting. I’ll give her another 15.. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Rob Wright 27 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I just sold my Bose 901 V1 I bought new 26 years ago. The vinyl had only just started to peel up off a couple of the edges over the past 12 months. I wanted to re vinyl them but could never work out how to 1. get the old stuff off and 2. get the cabinets apart enough to do a decent job of it. I couldn't trust myself so I left it alone. 25 years isn't a bad run though. Take her in a cup of coffee and some toast. She won't even realise your buttering her up until it's too late. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Janus77 387 Posted January 17 Author Share Posted January 17 (edited) Edited January 17 by Janus77 2 Link to post Share on other sites
aris 247 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 18 minutes ago, Janus77 said: 1 Link to post Share on other sites
aris 247 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 No more teasing! How does it sound???!!! Link to post Share on other sites
PKay 2,279 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 25 minutes ago, Janus77 said: I'm going to have a nice whisky tonight to celebrate your progress. These are looking awesome... Link to post Share on other sites
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