[hempy]

I recently was trying out white rustoleum appliance epoxy and managed to screw up the finish on a set a computer speakers I was building for a while. The speakers were completely sealed, and I wasn't all that attached to them, so I decided to scrap that project and repurpose the components. I may just cut them so that I can make a removable back panel. But anyway...

I'm essentially making a standalone ipod/mp3 system, using 2 3" buyout drivers from PE that I'm now guessing were prototypes or an early run of Dayton's version of the NS3, the ND-90 . I haven't seen them since I made the original boxes for them, but I think they have that same curved terminal thing, and they both have a silver/bronze colored motor. The amp will be one of the little JBL 12w boards that I bought a long time ago. I used it the other day to run my 3" mtms, and it sounded really great. Better than the Ratshack I've been using, even after making some improvements by removing the preamp. If I didn't have an extra it would be harder to let it go.

I think this'll be the first build I do with the intention of selling, although I'm pretty sure I'll be content to keep it if I have to. I'll probably be selling it through Etsy, as I think it'll be most appealing there. And I believe things like this would be more valuable in an artistic setting.

I'm gonna call it Bonsai for obvious reasons. The tree silhouette will be birch ply, probably two layers together, with grooves routed on the inside of each for wires, and a single volume pot near the base. The two 3" drivers will be in mdf "pods" on each side, modeled after the ns3 mtm. They will probably be painted an olive color, with a flat/satin clearcoat. I'm thinking a mix between a dark walnut and a cherry maple(?) for color on the tree.

There will be a single knob in the middle of the base area of the tree, although I may have to add the bass knob that comes on the amp too. I might try to bypass it somehow. I had a friend whose dad turned knurled wood into gorgeous bowls and such. I may try to get some knobs made. I have some beads that he made that are really sweet. I'm not sure if they're actually "knurled" wood, but the wood he uses has veins of black due to some sort of fungus or bacteria in the wood. Gorgeous stuff. I'll have to get pictures.

As of right now I have to run the thing on the router table with the flush trim bit and get the sides all vertically cut. The jigsaw tends to lean on me when i cut curves. I've been playing around with cleaning up the edge of this birch ply and it cleans up nicely. I do have a void to fill, but I think I will do that after staining but before clear so I can match the color.

And so, on to cellphone pics...










I think you can kinda get the idea from those. The amp will be in the "pot," which will be mdf cut with the compound miter. Kinda like this. I think I'll probably do satin or gloss black. I may have feet, but I'm not sure just yet. I don't really know how hot these things can get. I would love to just throw a bigger heatsink on it and not worry about it, but I'd have to buy something or hack up one I have. Which are both possible.

I was also thinking about using casting resin to cement pebbles into a recess in the "pot".

I really really hope that it's balanced. I think I'm going to test the shape with some eights today. I think if I have to I can add weight in the base.

[hempy]

I cut out the second plywood panel with a jigsaw, then attached a bunch of double-sided foam tape. i ran the whole thing on the router table with a big new 1/2" flush trim bit.














I also cut out a few of the circles that will make up the speaker bodies, and mocked them up.

[punosion]

Hempy, he's so hot right now...

[joeybutts]

Hahaha ha ha ha...

Lookin good man. Mad props to yo' crazy stylez....

[hempy]

Originally Posted by joeybutts

Hahaha ha ha ha...

Lookin good man. Mad props to yo' crazy stylez....

Well, thank you. And word to your mother.


More pics. I'll put descriptions up later I think. Also, anyone know if Photobucket will let you just keep opening accounts when one fills up? I think I may fill it very soon, and I already had to friggin pay ransom once before to get my hotlinks back. ****ers.

Wait... now it's back down. My album size went from like 75% to 14%. I think maybe when you upload pics as a premium user or whatever they call it, it saves them at full resolution/size. Hmm.

Edit: I got a bit done yesterday. I cut out all of the circles for the pods, and this time I decided to route the baffles out and round them over as a doubled up piece. This made the roundover easier, and I was able to cut them cleanly, although I was to the very limit of how deep I could cut with the jasper jig and the upspiral bit. I glued them up with the centering pin in, then removed it after clamping. I had some scary spot where I thought I would be cutting the pin out, as I only had 1/4" to grab sometimes with the vice grips. I had to unclamp one, and move the pin out a bit. Not fun. Gotta move quick with drying glue.

[votblindub]

AWESOME!
Can I borrow some woodworking tools, mate?

[hempy]

Originally Posted by votblindub

AWESOME!
Can I borrow some woodworking tools, mate?

Sure! I've always wanted to drive an Audi. =D

Comparison with the old boxes




Clamping 4th layer on




All cut except backs




A little bondo




Who needs fancy tabletop sanders?






Worked out really nice






Sweet

[MODEAN]

that gonna look sweet!

[blitzdemon]

u sir r the roxzors

[hempy]

I finally figured out the easiest way to cut and route the back panels w/ usig any of that foam tape, as it leaves a gap when using it with the roundover. I decided to route out a raised circular bit to hold the panel in place while routing. I had to drum sand the inside of the enclosures a bit, but otherwise it worked perfectly.






I also cut out a guide to cut the wire grooves in the tree. I used my new bushing set, and it worked flawlessly.








Now comes the interesting part of yesterday's work. The drivers i am using for this build were in another unfinished project. The enclosures were completely sealed, and were made from 3/4" mdf. Getting them out was interesting to say the least.

And so, I give you: The Extraction

I cut off the back of one, using tape and everything, trying to see if I could just make the backs removable and keep the enclosures.




Wasn't going to work. I remembered I had glued the sides on over the drivers, requiring me to destroy the enclosures. I also have to worry about the fact that the baskets are stamped and not very strong. The best way seemed to be to knock out the baffle in front of the speaker.






Nice in his new home

[spl152db]

you are really outdoing yourself. those are amazing.

[alexlindeman]

Does that hurt anything for off axis response with the drivers being recessed that far, or is it not a concern due to the application?

[black300zx]

Coming along nicely! I bet encasing the speakers in your last project seemed like a great idea at the time.

[joeybutts]

I LOVE the look of them being interior mounted but just wonder how that effects sound......

[hempy]

The only thing I've noticed is that they are very directional, and definitely have a sweet spot depending on where they are located in a room. Basically you either have to be near-field, or have them pointed at you. Otherwise, I haven't noticed any adverse effects. That being said, I've never gone at these things with a calibrated mic, etc.

However, i just can't bring myself to mount these things on the front. They are just too facking ugly.

[hempy]

Progress! Well, a little. Picked up a drill press from Harbor Freight for $40, so now I can get this thing (and a bunch of other projects) finished.

I'll have some time this week with the couple of days we get off, and once finals are over I'll have whole days to plow through this. Plus the shop will be slow, so I can use the paint room over the break.

[joeybutts]

Is that for the base?

[hempy]

Originally Posted by joeybutts

Is that for the base?

Yup. I wanna make sure it's solid, so I'm using a bunch of screws on every joint (between mdf and ply)


Updates!

Traced the tree on the pods and marked the holes I will be using to keep the pod screwed to the tree. I'll be using glue, but I want to be sure this thing stays put for a long time.




Getting the pods on the drill press was a royal pita at first. There was pretty much no way to keep them stable and clamped and still have the drill where I want it. Then I figured out that I could just clamp the piece to the bottom of the work plate, since it has a wide groove that kept the circle straight. Clamping was much easier too.








I also cut out the base, with an 18* angle to the sides. It will drop into the "pot" and I will probably have it screwed down from beneath.






I wasn't really sure where to put the knobs (I decided I should just keep both), as I was originally planning on only having one. I figured the center of the biggest part of the base would be best, but I wasn't sure if should have them flow with the shape of the tree, farther up the trunk. I eventually decided not to, because it would screw with the knot that I really like. The spots might be hard to see.




Whilst I was finishing that up, I was also working on the amp board. I bought a desoldering tool from ratshack (the desoldering braid was $3 vs the desoldering tool which was $10), since desoldering braid is a royal pos. It's much easier and I wouldn't have been able to do it without.




I removed the two potentiometers (one for volume, one for bass), 7 pins each and two prongs to hold it in. The sucker worked really well and I had them out in a few minutes. Then I used some ethernet cable and soldered them into place. I then realized that I needed to do the pots first because I had to glue the two halves of the tree together first. I desoldered them, as they were ugly anyway.





Then I drilled out the pilot holes for the pots and routed out the back of the piece to accomodate the pots.








I glued in the pots, the speaker wire, and filled the groove so that they wouldn't shift and make any noise, then I glued the two together with a billion friggin clamps.












And a dry-fit (what it looks like right now)

[votblindub]

Sweet!

[z-lite]

Hempy, where did you get those little black pegs?

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c2...s/IMAG0141.jpg