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Starting to climb the mountain. (Read 19284 times)
Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Starting to climb the mountain.
09/21/05 at 13:27:16
 
Well, it's on. I obtained a supply of 18mm HD chip board,
A grade and cheap. It helps if you have a mate who works
in the chip board factory.

Now, now, I realise that chip, is not the ideal substrate
to use, and 18mm is not exactly 19.05mm (3/4"), but I
will adjust the various cuts accordingly, with the object
being to maintain the speaker chamber size and the horn
dimensions. Obviously, the finished product will be a smidge
smaller than the Decware plans.

I have cut the 10 braces for the speaker chamber, and am
quite pleased to find that all 10 are within a shave of being
identical.

You should notice that I've added a www to my profile.
It's a fairly basic site that my son and I put together and
not all that user friendly. It's  my first attempt at using html
and I promise I'll clean it up as soon as I've stopped building the Imperials (or in my case - the 'Metrics').

In the www you'll find a cat, a dog, my son's skateboard
stuff, and a couple of speakers that I have built. I will
start adding Imperial construction pics shortly.

Comments welcome. Smiley

Cheers

Gary
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gexter
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #1 - 09/21/05 at 15:42:26
 
"I'll clean it up as soon as I've stopped building the Imperials (or in my case - the 'Metrics')."

thats a good one. we are metric in Canada but we get lot of Imperial stuff ( I call it standard).
My cars are a mix of metric and standard what a mess. so is our wood.
the MDF I buy is dead on in standard measurments. Too bad Home Depot can't cut a straight line with there $15000 saw.
but then it can't be to easy can it?

looking forward to hear you progress Smiley

Gex
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DirtDawg
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #2 - 09/21/05 at 16:25:38
 
Yeah, I like that "Metrics" bit, good for a chortle.


Looking forward to some "Metrics" pics
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #3 - 09/28/05 at 14:11:25
 
Have cut all the tops, sides, backs and have cut lengths of
board for the speaker chamber panels, i.e. 3 ft wide board (oh, okay, make that 914mm wide). So, just about ready for
assembly). Smiley

Trouble! The Imperials are for Jake, my daughters boyfriend,
who by all accounts is soon to become an ex-boyfriend.

Thats life I guess, and there is no hard feelings towards the
lad. I'll do a few more cuts, and then hand the material over to Jake for final assembly. Sad

So it appears I may not get the chance to hear my work of
art Cry

Such are the dynamics of the situation, and it's Jakes project
after all, I was only too happy to help.

Not now, but soon, I can see myself building my own Imperials. Grin My darling wife might relent, if only to get me out of my funk.

Will chat more soon.

Cheers,

Gazman.
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #4 - 10/06/05 at 00:42:43
 
Hey all, just lettin' ya know that the Imperial project is
still a goer. Jake was down last weekend and we have all
but cut all the main panels, tops, bottoms, sides and tops.
Yesterday, I cut the 10 triangles for the the top brace.
It's a good feeling when you run them through the saw and see that all 10 are identical and to the correct (that is,
metrisized) size.

Jake is in Perth at the moment i.e. 2 hours drive north of here.
I have his 4, 15 inch drivers here......hmmmm. With good
weather - it's been a really wet winter, here in south western
Oz, and I like to the main of my cutting outside the shed - I may get the big fellows up and running this week.

Okay, I'll try and post some pics on my website next week, but
really, all you'll see is pics of panels. We have some good ideas for the finish though, stay tuned.

I'm looking to using 3 main braces in the rear of the box, nice
timber beams/

Trying to decide what song will be the first to bellow from the
throats of these babes, no doubt a few beers will assit in the
choice. I'll set them up on the back lawn (if the rain holds
off), grab a chair and play.

Any ideas for a first song? ???

I will bi-amp the Imperials with my homebuilt Arrays, but cross
the Arrays and Imperials over at around 1000 Htz.

I have a homebuilt amp, very clean, a Playmaster III, which
pumps 240 odd watts RMS per channel into 4 ohms, not bad for starters Grin

Sorry for the long winded chat,  :D but I know you can feel the excitement building Wink

Like I say, any ideas for a nice peice of music to send through
them first time  ???

Cheers,

Gazman.
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #5 - 10/06/05 at 00:47:16
 
Aint it terrible to mash into a letter, post it an see all the terrible mistakes  ::) Have a VERY good day.
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gexter
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #6 - 10/06/05 at 05:50:44
 
I Never noticed any mistakes and if anyone did so what?

Have you ever read any of mine. they are always good for a laugh.
I am looking forward to hearing ( about) and seeing your Imperial. I am glad that you went ahead with it.
I don't know the situation but I like the oppurtunity to work with the youth in a postivie atmosphere.
The was I look at it you are doing something more important that the Imperial.
when I worked with youth it was not until years later that I learned the positive impact I had. And it goes for young adults too!

As far as music, I was listening to big band music in my car today,  Instead of my typical blues program and I thought of an imperial right off for some reason.

The run on sentence above was to make you feel better.

Gex
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jj420
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #7 - 10/07/05 at 18:05:34
 
first song thru an imp huh?

hmmmmmm, lesseeee here...

"Toccatta and Fugue in D minor" comes to mind, organ music has such wide range and presence, i bet it would sound sweeeeet, though you may have the neighbors telling you it isnt hallowe'en for another few weeks LOL.

The audiophile mix of Bjork's "Hunter" would prolly sound nice as well...

AC/DC, "hells bells"? or maybe Finger Eleven "Good Times"

yep, beers would help in this decision

dont forget some "bass" music, techmaster, quad maximus, Bass mekanik, those ones will mess with your breath.

tell us how it goes please.
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #8 - 10/08/05 at 12:22:33
 
Thanks Gex, you're right about working with youth. I don't know what it is about many audio folk, especially those that create a bit of sawdust, but it seems that the music keeps them whole, and young(er) at heart and hopefully sane.

Not to be to self congratulatory, but I work with people in a lab situation who are half my age (42) and I'm partial to anything the 'kids' put through our oh so poor, but better than nothing, CD player at  in the morning - hell, their parents are my age and no doubt would be telling them to turn the 'garbage ' off! I'm teling the kids to turn it up.

I coach kids soccer, I feel it is my small way of hopefully making a better person at the end of the day!

Oops, probably the wrong forum for this philosophy. All I need to cut now, is what Jake and I call the 'bottom - bottom' and of course the various braces and panels, which should be a cinch, as the panels are small and easier to pass through the saw.

As for music, jj420, 'Tocatta and Fugue in D minor', good call, not in my collection, but........I do have J.S's PRAELUDIUM IN G MAJOR, a superb recording on my Denon Digital Audio Check CD (still one of my favourite CD's).

Yeh, check (real quiet like), channel and phase - its early morning in the suburbs, right. Then, with shaking hand, turn the volume knob, a good twist to the right. You can see the beads of sweat forming on this man's brow. And finally, almost with a air of resignation, a slight pause before nemesis, press play.
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gexter
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #9 - 10/09/05 at 02:38:18
 
Cool
thanks,

Your a good man you gain my respect even before that last post.

"And finally, almost with a air of resignation, a slight pause before nemesis, press play."

well what happened!!!! ahhhhhh talk about a cliffhanger off the edge of a 60+ inch speaker.

Gex
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hellagood
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #10 - 10/09/05 at 03:36:56
 
perhaps you could coat it with fiberglas resin if later you realize it is to weak. I've done that with lighter woods and got good results. Just use a brush, but I would suspect you would need about 4 quarts to do an Imperial..

..keep us posted.
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #11 - 10/11/05 at 14:33:54
 
Thanks for the advice hellagood, we'll play this one by ear so to speak. The rear of the cabinet does appear to be a weak point, that and the fact we wont be setting up with the braces in the mouth of the horn - unless absolutely neccesary.

Certainly, playing by ear is the point of this exercise, and I expect to be able to inform you all whether or not 18mm Aquatite chip is an alternative build material. Hell(agood) I was blown away by cardboard Imperials and no doubt all sorts of Imperials exist out there.

Well, progress has been very good. I have almost completed the back braces. I have cut the four BIG holes in the front panel. Tomorrow, my Dad should be popping around in the morning and we may even get the Imperials at least half together.

Let me say that if I just wanted to knock up a couple of boxes, it could be done in a full day I'm sure. But I have to eat sometimes! And these will be 'boxes' to be proud of and will hopefully last a life time.

Some pics tomorrow maybe! I'll try, but I also have a home brew beer to bottle before going back to work, and it's pleasure before pleasure when it comes to a good home brew.
Wink  Cheers,

Gary.
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DirtDawg
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #12 - 10/11/05 at 15:11:23
 
I'm planning a pair of Imperials in the spring, but I want to use heavy stiff plywood for the largest panels. I can get 7 ply oak for $122/sheet and it is VERY substantial.
I'm wondering if saving $200 by using birch at less than half the price of oak for the smaller panels would have a detrimental effect. I've used MDF inside and birch outside in "W" PA bins before and it worked fine, but I want to use a more hi-fi approach to my Imperial cabs.
Anyone have a comment about mixing wood types in the same cabinet? Good idea? Bad Idea?

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JimP
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #13 - 10/11/05 at 19:11:47
 
I say mix away.  The birch vs oak is only the outermost verneer which is inconsequential as far as mass and stiffness are concerned.  Some of the best plywood out there is birch.  Be sure that the inner plys are void free and good grades of plywood will specify that.  If you don't see the piece (ie it doesn't need to match the oak) go ahead and use birch.  

Jim P
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richard03
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #14 - 10/12/05 at 21:42:52
 
reccomended test music as its a youth, download some squarepusher , more specifically an album called go plastic, that will  put a smile on your faces , whilst listening try to remember that most of the bass is played on an actual bass aswell
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #15 - 10/13/05 at 13:15:41
 
Ah, some Imperial pics. Once again, apologies for
the helter skelter web page. Maybe when I finish the
Imperials, I'll clean up my site, but for now, open up
the Barklay Construction page, scroll down to  'Fun With Horns' and click. Scroll down some more - presto.

Cheers,

Gazman
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Valiant_ap6
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #16 - 10/13/05 at 13:41:28
 
Oops Embarrassed Try The Barklays are born page.

Gaz
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DirtDawg
Ex Member



Re: Starting to climb the mountain.
Reply #17 - 10/13/05 at 16:27:01
 
JimP,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. The material I'm looking at is all oak, no birch smell at all. Yesterday I went for a closer look after your comment. The inner plies are white oak, which is cheaper and not quite as hard, with all the voids filled. The outer Facia (he called it) is beautiful red oak with no fills larger than 1/2" (his standard) at all. So, I guess my question is dumb since, it is already a composite material. It is very heavy and 7 ply. At $478 for the wood, birch and oak plywood, I can see why so many people have made a practice Imperial with cardboard first! Grin That sounds very smart.

The mountain is becoming visible in the distance, through the haze. ???
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