Anarchy/Dayton TM build - Page 5

Thanks for pointing that out. And of course it can be ordered online, as well. PE stocks it. This could be helpful to others reading this thread. As for myself, I didn't want these ports black, but I thought I might darken them a bit and go for a medium to dark brown. But, the more I look at them, the more I think I like the white ports.

upsman3--I haven't heard them yet, but if you're any where near the Dallas area, you can come and hear them yourself once they're done. Otherwise, you will at least get some listening impressions from me and maybe a few others. By the way, there are a few other designs which use the Anarchy. Do a search and you will find some. CJD's Ansonicas are floor-standers which use 2 Anarchy's per cab and they were voted the one which most people wanted to take home with them at last year's Indiana DIY event. So, you have other options. Also, Danny of GR Research has a mini-monitor design, which uses a 0.5 cubic foot cab (this one uses a 0.75).

Edit: Hey, I just noticed that this is your very first post, upsman3. Welcome aboard, man! I hope you share here often. We all learn from each other.

I added just three drops of Honey-Amber Trans-Tint dye to a quart of the shellac to enhance the cross-grain figure in the Ash wood and to add a little warmth, as well.






A one-gallon can seems a good fit.




I sprayed a coat of untinted shellac on the rest of the cabinet.

FranksAVR--The inner baffle, made from 1/2" plywood, is still in place. I just made pass-through holes in it for the drivers and port. I oversized the woofer pass through a bit, to allow the driver to breathe. I oversized the tweeter pass through as well and that's why you can't see the inner baffle in the pictures after the Ash wood was added. I used a hole saw to cut the tweeter and port pass through holes. I used a router and Jasper circle jig to cut the woofer pass through.

As for curving panels for a taller enclosure, Big Jim can give you a better answer than I can. I hope he is still following the thread. I understand that you can buy taller Curvomatics. Also, you can get extendable versions, which allow you to adjust the height. Take a look at the videos on their web site and you'll see what I mean. I think the extendable version would be a great way to go, for the added versatility.

I hope this answered your question as well, TC.

Now that's interesting.

The tweeter fits, except I need to notch a little for the connectors. I knew that already from my test routes in some scrap.
But, the woofer hole is a little undersized. I guess I must have accidentally marked the wrong pin-hole in the circle jig.

I'm actually glad this happened, because it gives me a chance to demonstrate a solution, which might be useful to others, should this ever happen to anyone else.

I'm not nearly ready to install the drivers, as I've only barely begun on the finish. But, I wanted to mark the screw holes for the drivers.

I may as well go ahead and mark the holes for the tweeters.




And mark the notch locations.

Quick and easy solution.




Now we can mark the screw holes for the woofers.

I almost forgot--here is the Top Bearing Bit I used with the template, to increase the woofer hole size. The operation took about 8 minutes.

Thanks, mtg90.

When I did the tweeter notches on the first cab, I went a little farther than I'd like. I still might have gotten a good seal when I installed the tweeter, but I wanted to be sure. A little epoxy putty hardens in an hour.




Now to mount the cabs on finishing stands.
This gets a 3/4" Black Pipe feed-through hole.




This is a little undersized, so I can use the black pipe to cut threads into it.




This gives you some idea of where I'm heading with this.




I went ahead and routed the epoxy putty flat.




Secure the threaded part to the inside back.




The strips will go under the vertical braces and the square piece will go above them and screws will squeeze them together. This will allow me to loosen and adjust to center as needed.




Mounts are done and the cabs are ready for the finishing stands.




The first coat of MinWax Oil-Modified Water Based Polyurethane.

TC--You're right. Solid wood will expand and contract with changes in humidity and it can stress joints and even ruin a project over time. I'm not concerned about that, since the solid wood baffle is not part of the joinery which makes up the cabinet. It's just glued onto the front. The rest of the cabinet is plywood and MDF (the curved sides). Both are much more stable than solid wood, so the structure of the cabinet should be sound for a long time to come.

A second consideration would be cupping or bowing, but the fronts are glued to 1/2" plywood, which is itself braced reasonably well to prevent movement and the glue has been tested to be stronger than the wood.

The only concern with these small solid wood fronts is the extremely slight amount of movement showing up like a glue-line transmitting through a finish. But since I'm treating the fronts separately anyway with a different color and a clear line of demarcation, I don't think it will detract from the overall effect I am after.

Having said all that, I am spraying a water-based finish on them and I might be in for an unpleasant surprise after all. If so, I will address the issue if need be and chalk it up to a lesson learned.

That was a very good question you had, TC. Thanks for asking.

Beerparty--The expansion/contraction against the drivers if the cutouts are too tight could be a valid concern, but screws have been used in wood joinery for a long time without worry. Pocket screw joinery is popular to this day, especially in solid wood face-frames. So, I'm not worried about the screws. Great ideas though. It's always good to try to anticipate possible problems. Thanks, Chris.

Thanks, man!

I got busy with other things, so no updates yet.
Plus, I had a wisdom tooth pulled yesterday morning, so I probably won't resume work on these until next week. For now, I'm just taking it easy.

Thanks, LTD02!

I did not use the vacuum press on this project, because I wanted to show that you can accomplish not only the bending of the curved sides with the Curvomatic, but also the application of the veneer, and that you can both curve and veneer in a single step. I thought that might be important for anyone trying to decide if the Curvomatic is really worth the investment.

Just to clarify a bit, I curved the first two sides without veneer, just to get a feel for using the Curvomatic, then I curved and veneered in a single step for the second two sides. After that, I veneered the first two sides with the Curvomatic.

For veneering the tops, bottoms and backs, I clamped the cabs together, so each acted as a clamping caul for the other--top to top, bottom to bottom and back to back. A piece of 1/4" MDF separated the cabs and waxed paper acted as a barrier for glue seepage.

Oh cool, I'm international!

I haven't been asked to write up a review, but my experience with the Curvomatic has been very positive. I am very pleased with it.

Ready to scuff-sand and shoot a tint coat.

Thanks, Chris!


Prepping for a tint coat.






I mixed it pretty weak, so I can darken it a little bit at a time in steps. It should take me three coats to get the look I want. Folks, this is the one time when you really don't want any drips, runs or sags, because you will never sand the tint coat evenly enough to make it blend--stripping it off and starting over is your only option.

Also, AVS forum member MaxMercy cautioned that the Trans-Tint dyes are pretty poisonous, so protect your health when you spray.






Ready for action. It's pretty windy today, so I closed the garage and sprayed inside. I'll open the garage and get a photo after it dries. I don't want any pollen or dust to settle into the finish.