I've been putting together a Deluxe pkg over the last few weekends and thought I'd post some pics to show how it's going... very impressed with the way the kits have come together - simple construction, solid build, great foundation for some superb speakers.
Anyway, on to the photos...
The C6 and TL6 towers. We ran each side over the planer to ensure totally flat surfaces.
The rear of the C6 and TL6 towers.
One veneered D4 with the others and the TL6 towers. The pink rings you see in the rebates for the TL6 is MDF primer.
Both of the other D4s veneered - holes for drivers not yet cut out.
One of the TL6s and the C6 with rebates blackened.
The C6 all veneered - no driver holes cut out.
Cutting through the veneer from the centre of the driver hole to each edge. Carefully push against the veneer, hard on the edge of the driver hole to form the curved edge where the veneer will crack and bend. Once all quarters have been pushed in, with a round file, file away into the driver hole against the edge of the MDF to remove the veneer quarters.
A completed driver hole on the C6. The blackening looks pretty ragged, so we checked fitment of the driver into the rebate - very very snug, we may have to sand back the rebate ever so slightly to get it to drop in nicely. Very slim chance you would see any MDF showing through at the edges. Will look fullyshmick.
I bought three sheets of the paper-backed Jarrah veneer (2450x1250 per sheet) from TimberTraders in Bibra Lake (Bazza_Perth has the hot tip - they had a massive selection - I'm talking about half a warehouse stacked to the roof!) These cost me a total of $473 with gst. One sheet will easily cover all the D4s and the C6 with some good size left overs. Another whole sheet will cover the TL6s (front, back, top and sides) and one more sheet will cover the S350 with plenty to spare (all offcuts will be used on a matching coffee table.)
I simply marked out the panels onto the veneers and cut with a sturdy, sharp pair of scissors, leaving about 10mm margin at each side.
Two cans of 3M spray contact adhesive (this stuff is pricey, $30 per can from Bunnings, but is well worth it) should be good for the lot, but I suspect I'll be getting another can this week just in case. For super strong bonds of decorative laminate (that will still adhere after prolonged exposure to 71?C!), they recommend two coats on each surface, 1 minute or so to tack, then simply lay onto the speaker and roll from the centre out with a rolling-pin. I placed a good deal of pressure as I ran the pin across the edges - this is critical if you dont want the veneer to lift - make sure when spraying the adhesive to get a good coat on all edges. Also remember, being contact adhesive, once the sheet is in place, there aint no moving or repositioning it!
I've managed to get this far in just 3 weekends (so 6 days), next weekend I hope to assemble and veneer the S350 and and get the TL6s done.
As for the finish, I'm torn between going the whole yard and French polishing the lot or having them marine varnished.
The French option ("A Polishers Handbook", Neil J Ellis, 4th ed. 2002 - TAFE coursebook - very good read!) looks like it's going to be a lot of work but might yield the best results, otherwise the marine varnish option, with a few rubdowns between coats (steelwool or wet-n-dry?) should result in an almost glass-like finish.
I'll post more pics after next weekend! To say I'm more excited than Big Kev is an understatement! Can't wait to hear how they sound..... :d/
Quote:Walshy wrote:
Well, considering he died last year, that's not exactly difficult...
ehehe very true but being so excited is obviously a health risk! eheh
Quote:Walshy wrote:
I note a few chips out of the veneer on the front edge of the underside of your C6. Was that an aberration or something? The first surface you veneered, as a trial run?
One word - use very sharp blades! My stanley trimmer was becoming more and more blunt - so crossing the grain, when cutting (with strong pressure) resulted in a couple of splinters on the edge. You can eliminate the chance of this happening by cutting along the line lightly, many times (or by cutting through the front of the veneered side, though finding your line will be trickier.)
I left my scalpel and blades at home which is what I would've prefered to use. Pop into Jacksons or any art shop and they'll have a range of non-surgical scalpel handles and matching blades. However, the great thing about a Stanley knife is that the blades flex, so you can push them up against the edge of the box and get a very close cut prior to any sanding. Ideally I'd use one blade for every edge!
With some light sanding, and some proper surface treatment prior to the varnish/polishing, I expect the chips to become invisible (note that these are very small, ~2/3mm) and show up easily in the raw veneer.
Overall the joins on the edges of the veneer are very sheer - it is practically imperceptible on the D4s, so once the final finish is done, I expect they will seriously look tha bidness!
Will definitely pos some pics next week!
Well I ran out of time on Saturday and was in no way gonna sweat it out in the garage on Sunday in that heat, so I've only got some pics of the TL6s half veneered...
TL6s with side veneer completed - next up will be the top and back, and finally the front, so if any edges from the side veneer are visible, they will be covered for that superschmicko stylee.
TL6 right hand side - the actual veneer process was relatively simple but i wouldn't try it without some assistance. after spray coating each surface with contact adhesive, and with two persons pulling on the corners, CAREFULLY line up the veneer with some overhang AROUND ALL EDGES. we were working with only ~7mm either side, so margin for error was very narrow too! then flatten out from centre with wooden rolling pin (thanks mum!! )
This shot gives you a good idea of the jarrah colour and pattern - this is raw, lightly sanded and unfinished. if you think this looks good now, it should look ohsosweet when finished!
And speaking of finish, I've decided against French Polishing all seven speakers (a total of 40 surfaces!) and opted for "Danish Oil". This is a clear finish recommended for interior furniture and is about the easiest way to get a durable, good looking finish without knowing a tome of polishers knowledge. it also looks bloody good too.
What is Danish Oil anyway? you ask; it's an abrasion resistant oil finish that penetrates into the wood and hardens making the surface of the wood much tougher (so resistant to scratches and knocks), while giving a soft, lustrous, hand-rubbed effect, and brings out the rich colours in the grain of the timber.
Preparation of surface being the most important thing here, sand with 280+ grit and 400+ grit wet'n'dry paper suited for Danish oil. Apply with good quality brush and sand lightly between coats to remove grain raise and imperfections. Two coats should do the trick. Lightly buff final coat for a gleaming finish! w00t!
Quote:Here's what I actually ended up doing... I used a couple of clean rags saturated in Danish Oil (I was stuffing the rag through the neck of the tin and soaking up as much as I could with the rag each time) then slapping it onto the surface and wiping it into and with the direction of the grain (for your first coats, you want a lot of oil to soak into the veneer - this is what ultimately hardens and toughens the wood.) Then I moved onto the next cabinet. Once all surfaces were oiled I'd then re-sand with 1200g wet'n'dry (doesn't matter if the surface is still wet, you want to build up a fine paste of oil and sawdust - with jarrah this results in a rich, reddish coloured oil that will ruin anything you don't want to stain!) Once sanded, again with the oil soaked rag, wipe across the grain and push the paste into it. This helps to remove fine imperfections in the surface by filling the valleys of the grain. Once this second coat has been done, you can leave them to dry. You'll notice the slick oily sheen start to dull over a few hours, dust might even fall on the pieces, and then it will start to sheen again - when it's dry the dust can be wiped straight off - this is one of the single best things about Danish Oil! There are no, none, zero, nix, nill dust flecks or marks on my cabinets - the oil does not require a dust free environment as you would for gloss varnishes, paint and so on! I let the cabinets dry overnight, then gave them all another go with the orbital sander (1200g wet'n'dry) and a final coat of what Danish Oil I had left. They then dried for a week in the garage - when I returned they had developed a beuatiful soft sheen. I then swapped the 1200grit on the orbital sander for lint free cloth (an old business shirt) and buffed each surface again to bring up the shine further. The finishing took less time than the veneering.
I'll be grabbing all the finishing stuff this week so will post more progress next week!
A heap of shots of this weekends progress... 56k users might want to go get a cuppa (and maybe sign up for broadband too)... aaaanyway!
Don't want those cables disappearing into the depths of the speaker... note very carefuly measured hole in veneer for wire loop - you do not want attempt to measure and mark this while your adhesive goes tacky...
I've used some stiff wire to form a hook that I can pop into the screw holes for the terminal mounting...
...and heres the contact adhesive waiting to tack.
Voila. Front three-quarter view of the TL6s dressed in jarrah veneer
The TL6s, right-hand side and fronts.
The S350 - here my trusty assistant measures (with a clamp?) just how big the bass is gonna be...
...and here it is assembled.
The unassuming front of The Weapon of Bass Destruction aka the S350, veneered in jarrah...
Back of the S350, showing the cutout for the amp module. That brown substance on the inside edges is where we've sealed the enclosure using Liquid Nails. Aint no air esaping from this badbwoy.
The gaping cutout on the bottom for the big Dayton "Molecular Disassembler" or more commonly referred to as a freakin'big woofer.
I decided the wooden legs just wouldn't suit this 'tree of bass', so on Aaron's hot tip, I picked up 4 80mm nickel finish square feet for it from Bunnings - very shmick, just $7 each. I only realised I haven't got any pics when I got home, so I'll get my brother to take a snap and post it in the next day or two. They look so good, and will really finish off the subby.
So that's the lot finally veneered - and it only took 4!! (egads) cans of spray adhesive - but $120 well spent for a lifetime of good bonding (not me and the speakers, I mean the MDF and the veneer.)
Now for the Danish Oil finish - I brought a sample home to give it a go before I put anything on the speakers. And so far, with mere hand rubbing (no power tools here ) I am very impressed. But enough with words, let's see some pics!
Before and after shot on the sample of veneer... you can see a slight reflection off the soft sheen in the wood. A high-speed buff will shine this up to a bright finish.
Another angle with a short depth of field. This is a great example of the colour and grain after oiling... for the curious, here is a large version (~400kb) with minimal compression, where you can really see the details in the veneer.
As you can imagine, I'm pretty pleased with this, and it should look just spectacular once the drivers go in and the volume goes up! So next Saturday I'll be oiling all the speakers, hopefully get two coats done, and then apply the third on Sunday, and leave for a week for the oil to polymerise and harden in the wood.
So stay tuned, I'll be posting more pics next week!
Woohooo!! Finally, all speakers have now been oiled! I was only able to fit the pair of TL6s and the C6 into my car for the journey home (you try putting a deluxe pkg into a 2 door laser...) so I'm hoping to pick up the S350 and the D4s this evening and will post pics of them soon.
"Grrrease me oop woman! Ahm gooin' in!" Oiling the TL6 - working quickly, in the direction of the grain, using a clean rag to wipe on a coat of oil, and then wipe off the excess. Quite possbily the simplest finish I've ever tried - after the first coat had dried from last weekend, all I did was give each speaker another sanding (with 1200 wet n dry on an orbital sander) and then applied the second coat of oil. Too easy.
Here are the TL6s with their last coat of Danish Oil - when you first apply the oil it gives the appearance of a slick, wet finish. As the oil dries, it starts to appear flat and dull and becomes slightly tacky to the touch. After an hour or so, this tackiness goes away (and any dust that has settled on the piece can be blown or wiped off - marvellous!) and the oil starts to get that 'hand rubbed' shine once again as it hardens in the wood. This sheen can be brightened further with some high-speed buffing.
Here's the S350 and the C6 drying. These have been standing for about an hour and you can see the sheen starting to return on the C6.
The front of the S350 behind the D4s which are waiting for their second coat of oil.
The rear of the S350, amp cutout - the oil really does deepen the colour of the wood and reveals the pattern in the grain. In fact, the S350 looks so good, I'm thinking of making a feature of it and turning it into a coffee table, and placing it smack in the middle of the lounge. teehehehe!
Here's a side, 3-quarter and front view of the TL6 and C6, showing off that lovely deep jarrah colour and the hand rubbed sheen of the Danish Oil. The finish is quite lovely to the touch; it doesn't have that cold, plasticy feel typical of varnish or laquer.
Here's the completed right TL6. Note spikes attached to the base of the speaker so that it appears to float above the plinth. I finished these in metallic charcoal (offsets the jarrah beautifully) and made 4 small rebates on each to accomodate the spike bases and to stop them from moving. Do be careful when using these spikes - with each TL6 weighing ~26kg, it'd be quite easy to put a spike through your foot.
Here's a detail shot showing the spikes (and dust already gathering!)
Detail of the TL6 drivers. The screws for the tweeters were the perfect length, but I earned a callous in the middle of my palm putting in all the other screws, which were twice as long as they need to be and had to be driven into the MDF with some severe force. If I'd had a power screwdriver maybe it wouldn't have been so traumatic, but imho, the screws were too long for the job.
Here's a detail shot of the C6. All the drivers fit firmly, and very snugly into their rebates. I didn't get a shot of the terminal binding posts on the rear - these look sweet in gold against the jarrah.
And there you have it - so how do they sound??
So far I've been running them off an old Sony stereo amp (nothing fancy) and I am very impressed. I've been listening to some Deep Dish, Frankie Knuckles, and some oldskool choonz at moderate volume until the drivers are broken in. The imaging is incredible and the bass, while not 'upfront' is actually all encompassing, adding a warm depth to the sound. Vocals are so clear you can fault the quality of the recording. I haven't even tried the C6 yet (waiting on a 6.1 AV receiver) but already the dialogue on television is so much better.
What has really impressed me is how they perform with some drum n bass. Dieselboy, Klute, Marcus Intalex, even LTJ Bukem, all sound f%&kn massive and ever so tight! I'm hearing changes in the basslines I never even knew were there! The low frequencies from these badbwoys is just phenomenal (to be honest, I'm starting to get a bit scared of that S350...) and the midrange and high frequencies are so crisp I've had to tone the treble back a touch while I get used to how my CDs are supposed to sound!
Very very impressed. As soon as I can get the D4s and the S350 home, I'll throw up a few more pics and showoff the whole package! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to put some tunes on....
Okay wow, all done (barring a crimp tag and 4" driver that needs attention) but the whole lot is pretty much complete! I took a couple of photos last night (with the flash) and some today in daylight - the differences in the colouring gives you a good idea of the jarrah veneer finish.
S350 subwoofer with the TL6 - night shot with flash.
Night shot with flash.
The colour and texture as it appears in daylight.
Closeup shot during the day (with flash)...
