fEARful cabinet build

[rgand]

That really looks good. Nice work so far.  :icon_thumright:

 

[Cagey]

Indeed. That's gonna be a sharp cabinet.

 

[rgand]

Indeed. That's gonna be a sharp cabinet.

Yeah, it gives me ideas I don't need.  :icon_biggrin:

 

[Logrinn]

Looks great.

Not at all like the giant PA-speakers me and my band mates built in our youth. We were really proud of them and thought they looked badass.
Then when we tried to move them from the bass players cellar were we built them, we realized they wouldn't go out the door. They were too big  :toothy12:

 

[Volitions Advocate]

The 2x12/6/1 that I heard pumped out a LOT of volume from one of those tiny Class D bass heads, even with his phone playing some music through it.  If this sounds as good as I'm expecting. I think i'm going to make some more when I have the time.  The non-cube versions with the 12/6/1 setup, plus some 15 inch subs to go with them.  I could get an entire passive setup for a good sized venue for less than $2000.

Then I'd probably biamp them instead of using the passive crossovers, and just paint them rather than deal with the vinyl.  Just a thought but we'll see how it goes once this one is built. 

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Got going with the eggcrate foam.  I have it on every surface inside, including the back of the mid cabinet, but the bottom I have the same foam but just flat for mounting the crossovers onto.
Hard to get a good picture when I have the whole cabinet sealed up, and I forgot to take a bunch while I was doing it anyway, so here's a quick shot I took, explains itself.

Then I decided to do the one thing I was most afraid to try, and that is the smoke test.

Everything is temporarily soldered into place, and the jack I'm using is just a 1/4" instrument jack, but it worked for the test.  I dont' know how to use the crimp things properly, I'm assuming I need to go find a tool for crimping those on the end of the cables, they were pretty loose when I tried putting them on the speaker terminals. (only the mid driver had those style terminals)

The test was successful though. Other than wiring the LPad up backwards, which should be an easy fix (CCW = Volume up, not quite right)
I thought the woofer was a bit quiet, but I'm sure that is due to it sitting on a desk in the open.  Not a great situation for moving air.  I feel okay about that especially since when I turned the music up, it started to walk toward the edge of the desk.  I think it's got all the power it needs.

Just about done.  I"m going to start working on my rack for the amp right away.

Anybody know where to get rack drawers that don't cost a friggen fortune?  I can't believe how expensive they are.

 

[Cagey]

I got my drawer from these guys. Seemed reasonably priced to me. I just had a two-space unit w/ handle and lock; they're $40. They've got a bunch of them you can check out at the link.

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Looks like there's no shipping options to Canada.  Darnit, that means I have to buy more stuff to make a trip to the border more worth while. :turtle:

That's exactly the kind of thing I was looking for Cagey.  I don't know why they can sell a drawer for $150 USD...  It's crazy.

This is a quick mockup of kinda how it will look with a drawer on the bottom.  I'm getting the wood today for the rack.

 

[Cagey]

Interesting.

Since you're a cabinet/enclosure-making kind of guy, another supplier you might be interested in is Reliable Hardware. They sell a wide variety of useful things that are tough to find other places, and I notice that they sell though Amazon Canada, which could solve some problems for you.

Here's a video series showing a road case being built using their stuff.

This is a half-assed shot of a couple 112 cabs I built using their stuff...

 

[rgand]

Thanks for the link to Reliable Hardware. I watched the first few of the videos. They're fairly basic so anyone with basic tools should be able to build a cabinet with their suppplies.

 

[Cagey]

I didn't figure you were going to learn anything about cabinetry from them; you've clearly got your ducks in a row on that front. I just wanted you to see what kinds of things can be built with the hardware they have.

 

[rgand]

Their hardware looks to be good quality. I know where to go for that type of thing now. Again, thanks.

 

[mayfly]

Hey Cagey!  Did you use 1/2 inch ply in those cabinets?  Any issues with cabinet resonance?  Didja use internal bracing?  How close can you get the baffle board to the edge? - looks like you got it 1/2 inch or so away.

 

[Cagey]

No, I used 9 ply 3/4" Birch. The lip(s) had to be milled down to accept the aluminum channel work.

So, they didn't need internal bracing. With wood that thick, dense and layered, resonance was not an issue. The baffle had to be set back 1/2" to allow clearance for the channels.

I built two, designed to fit under a standard 19" rack. They were loaded with Emminence Delta Pro 12A speakers, which are supposed to be their answer to the EVM-12L. So, they ended up being much heavier than I originally thought they'd be at 55lbs covered. On the plus side, I think they could survive a train wreck  :laughing7:

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Pretty tough!

All the greenboy designs use 1/2" birch.  The bracing should keep it strong, that and all the PL.

I never thought of myself as a cabinet builder but I might be turning into one, this is quite fun.

 

[Cagey]

It's pretty satisfying. One of the things I've always enjoyed about DIY projects is the niceties you can add at relatively low cost compared to the commercial versions. Some option or improvement you know only adds a couple bucks to the cost will somehow cost a LOT more from a commercial supplier.

 

[Giger68]

Nice job on the speaker cab!

 

[Volitions Advocate]

So. Here I am.  2 years, one divorce, and a bunch of neglected projects sitting in storage later.  I finally pulled these guys back into my life to finish up.

AAAAnd here I have a little problem.  Apparently Super 77 isn't the amazing be-all/end-all product I heard it was.  This is upsetting because I had stretched everything nicely over the corners with a heat gun and all of my seams were perfect.  I can't salvage this, I don't have enough material to stretch it taught to the right spots.  I was happy with the look, but not the material, the Vinyl wasn't instrument cabinet grade, if there is such a thing. and it got damaged easily.

So what should I do here?  I want to rip it all off. Clean off the shmutz, and do something easier.  Maybe something roll on, or a stain?  I think the rounded edges of the plywood would look weird with a stain.  I wouldn't mind a paint on texture, as long as it isn't so aggressive it takes chunks out of drywall or scrape your knees up.

Anybody have some pointers? I just want to yank the vinyl off, clean it up, and have something quick and easy.

I'm not keeping the rack. I'm rebuilding it. It has problems anyway.  Apparently people don't adhere to the standard 19" rackmount width...

 

[rgand]

Have you thought about truck bed liner?

 

[Volitions Advocate]

Now THAT is an idea!