Thanks for starting the thread!  We will move it to the DHF forum once it gets created.  Meanwhile, I plan to make a stand for the speakers soon and will report back.

Steve

DJF - I'm really interested in where this project goes. Great call on getting some ideas from the hot rod show. I know that chrome on my bike is a beautiful thing, but being married to an interior designer there is not a lick of chrome inside our house. As far as the feet, I ended up using IsoAcoustic GAIA feet for our Omega floorstanders (Not 150 lbs each) and had one of the guys at work modify some all thread to allow a lot of tilt flexibility...they work great in our room and on our floor. Keep us posted (pun intended) and happy listening, Chris.

Thanks guys on color thoughts and feet suggestions.

Going to the car show was a good idea. Looking at all that chrome and the colors surrounding it gave me some ideas.
The Lii P10 is a work of art but from another planet. The material colors are challenging.
The tan leather colored cone, the thick black surround and the shinny diffuser in the center is making the artist in me work overtime.

The amazing cars at the Syracuse Nationals showed me what works with chrome. For contrasting  and bold compositions, Black and red work very well but I was looking for something less alpha. What I found was, shiny chrome also work well with subtle pastels, like the photos below. I like the soft creamy greens and blues, teal and turquoise, could they work with a 60" behemoth? Maybe.

I also appreciate the soft vintage silver grey paint on the grey car. If I could do that on HDF with a very subtle gain, I might do it.
I know that I also have to pick up the tone of the tan speaker cone so I will adjust the cabinet color's temperature and tint to fit. I am tidderdering towards a pastel turquoise with a satin finish. This should
make the cabinet size less "large looking". The DFH speaker sound is dominate enough.

So, on the way home, my car swerved into the guitar store because there is a lot of chrome there.
I entered, within moments, utterly bedazzled with the chrome color and texture combinations,
I suddenly realized that i am building a pair of musical instrument just like all the guitars, basses, drums and pianos we love so much. Now I know my goal...a DFH musical instrument with the perfect zen of art and design applied. Like Steve does.
]I also am thinking of installing the GIZMO2 magnetic crossover/ TX's in each cabinet, with a knob and bypass switch.
I have decided to name my build YOLO (You Only Live Once).


https://ibb.co/Y73fkkP
https://ibb.co/z8YCFM8
https://ibb.co/q7T5ygH [img][/img]

As my design develops, I'm seeing the need to be able to move the 140 lb. speakers. I like Steve's dolly but was thinking of using the magic sliders and adding side mounted recessed handles.
The kind of handles that are on the sides of Marshall amps seem like a good choice.

https://www.mojotone.com/Metal-Recessed-Cabinet-Handle-Older-Cabs-Lg?srsltid=Afm...

They would detract from the pure aesthetic beauty but would allow movement of the boxes.
I don't want to imagine trying to lift 140 lbs and then accidently dropping and smashing a corner.
Function over form in this case. There are also recessed stainless steel lifts available.

Yeah, the drivers have arrived! Got to get down to the wood shop and start building.

Quote:


I used MDF from Menards because I wanted to make it easy for the DIY speaker builders to exactly duplicate my results.  Of course you could make it from whatever you want.  It. does not require anything stiffer, as the design is self bracing.

I did however dramatically strengthen the MDF by using an oil based primer which I talked about in the DFH10 thread.

As for the machined ring, the baffle itself which is small, should be made from cabinet grade plywood.  MDF or any other material will not work.  I found that using washers was adequate with the plywood.

Steve

Thanks DJ, I ordered mine about a week ago so we will see. This is my first speaker build! So I think I'll be following the instructions as carefully as I can and I'm sure I'll need some tips and guidance from anyone with more experience. The only thing custom that I picture doing is the paint color. Although, I am certainly open to ideas and suggestions. Good luck on your build as well.

Lol Donnie. I want to see pictures of your red speakers! I hope they're shiny. I will have to look up Koa veneer.

Wow! Thanks for the pics Donnie. Those look like awesome speaker builds and high quality finish. I really like the Koa veneer. Red is a little too flashy for me but very cool combination. Kind of like your signature trademark finish. Are you going to try a dFH 10 build?

Steve said that he shopped at Menard's to make it easy for others to duplicate his results with commonly available products.

Our Menard's store stocks two types of MDF. One is 3/4" and the other is 1/4".  
I am pretty sure that the pics Steve published shows 3/4" materials.

I should point out that if I go to Lowe's to buy MDF, they stock 19mm, which is just a tad shy of 3/4" and will make some of your measurements off by a slight hair.

Before committing to several sheets of material, I might bring along a small pocket scale with metric and standard markings, just to know from the beginning what you are buying.
Sometimes composite products are marked specifically, but for "construction purposes" many consider 19mm and 3/4" to be effectively the same. For flooring, they are, but precision cabinetry usually requires a  better fit.

I am not sure that the thickness dimension was ever specified, however.

Good Luck. I am anxious to see some build these to completion "in the wild."


Who knows, maybe he'll chime on here and tell us that his Menard's stocks 19mm materials and to shut up about all that.

While that would be true if 19mm always measured exactly 19mm, but it almost never does as you begin to fit them all together.
Just offering something to think about as buying materials can be a caveat emptor prospect.

It often depends for me if I am doing dados.
Most of the old school reproductions I have done to recreate/clone studio monitors from the past include dados and precise rabbets. They were made with 3/4" materials of fairly high precision.
You can not follow the published blueprints exactly!
I couple of wobbly thousanths here and there makes for a loose joint and an out of square box. Those would not pass inspection.
Not the same as keeping it tight.

I am not trying to bitch this up, just offering things to watch for and keep in mind as you measure and set tooling, nothing more.

As I mentioned before, those dimensions, 19mm and 3/4"  are considered equal for some projects.

Thanks for the heads up on material sizing! I will check my supplier. I get my wood from Mennonite's in PA, they have quality wood. I can use cherry or maple but at a higher cost.

I put self-stick crafting felt on the back side of the removable baffle to create the seal.  To install the baffle once the driver is bolted to it, you set it on the bottom of the opening and tip it back into the cabinet.  Keep your hand on the bottom so it doesn't fall out until you have one of the bolts threaded in.

Project update:

My first choice to cut the parts informed me it would be February before they could cut the pieces.
It must be nice to be so busy. So, I looked around for others with CNC machines and may have found a company that can deliver by end of November! These guys are genuinely excited about the project.
They will modify the plans and program the machines to cut in rabbet / dado slots to ease assembly.

We will use Trupan High Plus MDF and white oak for the speaker panel and the elephant ears.
I have received the round wood pillows and the binding posts.

So, the excitement is building and we may have the speakers finished by Christmas! A very nice Christmas present I think.

Is anyone else making progress on their builds?

Note to Dave... no my P-10 do not have a chemical smell or scratches. The pillows, I purchased from AliExpress, received in 10 days. I should try my P-10's in their shipping boxes to start the burn-in.

Dave,

How is your build going? I have committed to a CNC shop for $2000 each finished and painted cabinet. You should shop around if you can. One wood shop quoted me $18481.04, unpainted. I must have had stupid or stupid/ rich on my face.