The Version 2 BP10B Rebuild - The Final Stretch

[VR3]

The end is coming CLOSE! I can feel it!

Still gotta do the recesses around the holes - do the lil oval thing around the port holes...

Then apply the foam to the front and back panels - then paint... then gotta get side panels...

THE END IS NEAR!!

Also got some new binding post for my crossovers.... nifty...

[aaharvel]

1"mdf enclosures? sweet.
Foam insulation. Are these diy clones of Definitive Tech speakers?

[VR3]

the front and back panels are 1" thick...

The sides, top are 3/4" thick... (MDF)

The original had 3/4" thick sides (PB) and 1/2" thick top and bottom (PB)

They are exact clones of the BP10B - except a slightly larger interrior to accomodate the 230" of added bracing! :eek:

The foam is just as the original BP10B has... - except mine is more...sonically complete - so to speak

[amulford]

Looking good, kid...

[Schris22]

lots o bracing...

overbuilding is a good thing =P

Keep it up can't wait to see the end result

Chris

[Mazeroth]

Your next project BETTER be a full DiY project. Your cabinetry skills look great, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be building your speakers from scratch :D

[VR3]

You design me a crossover (and build it)...

I'll think about it... ;)

Thanks for all the comments! :)

[audiobliss]

Hey kid...not bad...;)

[VR3]

After about 2.5 hours of free-hand routing... lol

The puddy is to cover up the parts where the router started to go deeper... I eventually figured out why it was doing it.. lol

[amulford]

You didn't start at the middle and work your way out...

[VR3]

Yeah...

The hole is for the port...

and I worked my way out to the lil lines I drew...

The problem was...

The router would "catch" the wood and somehow, magically lower the bit causing it to go deeper. I finally after much arrogance figured out what I was doing wrong and figured I needed to slow down...

As you can see, after the first time I messed up on the 2nd one (right) - I didnt do it anymore... ;)

Now Im in the process of puttying up those crevices... (sp) - about 1 more coat and it should be all good...

[TroyD]

Lookin' GOOD, Sid!

BDT

[amulford]

I Think your router should have a travel stop. Set that the next time. Also don't forget to lock the collar after you set the depth.

[VR3]

Thanks Troy! :)

Amul,
I was using a router from the school's shop - it's a Ryobi ---- to set the depth you loosen this bolt (looks like a T, dont know the proper name) but you set the depth you are looking for then you tighten it back up....

Here it is -
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&BV_SessionID=@@@@1768432601.1136288943@@@@&BV_EngineID=cchdaddgjfliigkcgelceffdfgidgll.0&MID=9876

[VR3]

Holes recessed...

Terminal Hole cut out... (which looks out of square (which it probally is) - but I have enough room to position it square)

Port hole oval recessed...

Every panel is READY TO ROLL...

Tommorow I will start putting them together... (atleast the backs)... then port tubes... then front panel.. then start sanding... then painting... then side panels...

(A pic might help)

[Schris22]

well then the final stretch is coming to it's final stretch =P

big project sid just tell me the differences before and after.

Enjoy!

Chris

[Schris22]

hey sid

random post...

found this at a local store website.

was tempted to jump on it!

bp8b for 200 each sounds good...but who knows

somehow felt compelled to post that in this thread...eh maybe if you live in texas you can get them =P


Chris

[VR3]

200 each new? Thats a really good price...

Sadly, I have never heard the BP8B... hehe

I put on one back panel last night... that was a PAIN with only having two clamps... I need atleast 4 more... I'm surprised the panel is on there as good as it is... I had to use alot of nails to keep it down... that was tiresome, took two hours to put on a panel effectively... it is on there pretty good though, so its all good....

And I glued that port in there...it turned out very good!

[VR3]

Update...

Left speaker is on the road to completion... armed with more clamps (still need about 4 more to do this adequately... lol *sigh*

Here are some pics

First panel/2 clamps = 2 hours
Second panel/6 clamps = 45 minutes..

Possibly going to pick up some Cedar Friday!! w00t w00t...

[VR3]

Well one is ready for paint...

I sanded alot, yet I didnt sand alot - I'm not to worried about the minor stuff - especially since the base coat is going to be truck bed liner... lol

I just wanted everything to be smooth and seamless... :)

[audiobliss]

Awesome.

[VR3]

After going through FIVE, yes FIVE spray on cans to only obtain ONE...yes ONE coat of effing truck bed liner. I broke down and bought the roll on truck bed liner...

and let me go ahead and say it. The roll on... RULES!

In the picture I have only done two coats on the two panels pictured (that side and the back) -- I found that you need a roller for each panel since I can only do two per day (one per speaker) because it takes about 6-7 hours - yes that long - to dry fully... But man it looks so much better than that spray on stuff... lol

I have one more coat to do on each panel (the other side, front and top need two more since i havnt rolled any on there yet) - the back got a really thick coat since I didnt know how the roller would react after being washed out...

And I picked up my cedar... I am currently gluing it up...

Im gluing up the 3rd one now, two are done and are ready to be planed and cut.

You have to love than non-manufactured look of solid wood. Veneer... HA!

[Mazeroth]

Five coats of truck bedliner. Hmmm...did you put on any kind of primer or cheap spray paint first? I did 2 coats of primer on my line arrays and 2 coats of truck bedliner and it looks perfect. I did a 6ft tall speaker, the front only, with about 1/3 can of bedliner

[VR3]

Not five coats, five CANS... five CANS made... ONE** coat... lol

Im only on my 2nd coat (I plan to do three)...

I did 2 coats of spray paint before...

Most of the reason I need to do 3 coats is the side of that MDF *really* soaks up paint/truck bed liner...

[Early B.]

Sid -- I assume you'll be re-installing the drivers and crossovers that you took out. What improvements in sound do you anticipate due to the rebuild?

[VR3]

Well really I rebuilt them for several reasons...

1) It was actually cheaper to build completely new speakers than to buy four new caps... ;)

2) The enclosure just isnt built up to MY standards.

3) Theres only so much cloth + cap you can take after a certain bit

4) I plan on collecting drivers and crossovers over time as they appear cheap - then I'll have two* pairs ;)

What differences? I really expect tighter bass and clearer highs.

The last rebuild I did I heard clearer highs possibly due to the lack of grill cloth (assuming you believe the common knowledge that cloth dampens the highs around 13khz) --- but I didnt brace the last enclosure near to this extent...

So I think alot of the improvements, if there is any will be in the lower midbass and the bass itself and possibly the high end.

I think I may get a change in imaging as well considering my speakers are mirror imaged where-as DTs are not... so I am interested in hearing how they sound... this will be a hit or miss and I am really taking a chance investing the money in completeing them without hearing them first. But really, Im at the point where I HAVE to complete this project regardless... I cant keep doing half way jobs - I need to know how my stuff can look the whole 9 yards...

Anyways, yep I plan to put the midbasses, tweets, etc in there once I am done - I'm expecting around 2 weeks till finished...

6-8 days to finish painting them... then maybe 3 or 4 for clear coating...

[Early B.]

Two weeks? Hurry up, dude, I'm interested in hearing the results.

You may have an interesting business in the works -- rebuilding cabinets. Custom made, higher build quality, better SQ (hopefully), and cheaper than buying new speakers. Hmmmm.

[VR3]

Its not a very fast process...

I could speed up the process - paint them standing up, but this could cause runs and Id rather not even risk it as smoothing out a run in truck bed liner is by far from being a simple task... lol

As for this becoming a business, Id love that! Thatd be so cool...

These are definitely built like a tank... far superrior to the OEM version - heck the bracing along keeps the speaker together... lol

[VR3]

Here they are with the truck bed liner all the way on - they are complete in that sense...

I still gotta sand down/chip off the grit where the panels are going - plane and cut the panels... then glue them on - then about 2 or so days of clear coat...

[VR3]

Well I broke down and finally decided to just go ahead and hook them up.

I also decided Im not going to clear coat the truck bed liner - because I think it looks pretty darn good as is - why mess with it. The Cedar will be clear coated though...

Anyways...

They sound similar to before -- the highs seem much more defined than before, before it seemed like one side was always kind of blurred - which I am going to have to blame on the non-mirror image - because with the mirror image the soundstage is alot clearer and the highs are much more defined...

The bass is great as well, much tighter than before - about the same authority... I can still play my stuff without a sub and get adequate bass...

Overall I think this was a success.

Oh yeah, these enclosures do NOT vibrate! ;)

[Early B.]

It's certainly good to hear you got a better SQ from them -- more defined highs and tighter bass -- that's great. And it's exactly what you anticipated. You're in business.

BTW -- take a couple more days and add the clear coat. You're the one who talked me into doing it for my sub, so I gotta encourage you to do it for your DT's.

[VR3]

I may - I am just not looking forward to taking everything apart again -

The only reason why I did the clear coat before was the spray on a dull grey color...

The roll on is a jet black color and shiney - exactly what the spray on + clear coat looked like...

I am listening to all my CDs again - its hard to point out improvements - particularly in my room, some songs will sound great - others will leave you going eh...

Its hard to say..

BUT - I really like the sound of the mirror imaged speakers - it seems things are much more balanced...

[VR3]

Ok, after listening to a few songs I am very familiar with as far as soundstaging goes -

Im going to have to say that the width is the same, the depth seems similar - that is still way up in the air for me - but my room sucks for that no how...

The biggest differences are the very small things - like I am noticing a few things in the songs I didnt hear before, its just a "cleaner" sound I guess thats the best way to put it...

Will get yall some pics of the finished product in the next few days - still undecided about clear coating the entire enclosure though, will have to see what a gloss cedar panel on a non-clear gloss truck bed liner looks, if it looks weird - I may have to just gloss the whole thing...

OH WELL, I'm in no hurry - there was only so much more of my center + sub I could take before I was about to crack into little itty bitty pieces..

Your center plugged up to just the right channel is NOT a good idea... trust me! ;)

[michael_w]

Nice to see the last bit of work get done and have things work out well.

Do you have any pics of the finish up close? I'm curious because I have a pair of mini voigt pipes I'm working on as well that don't have any finish set out for them yet so I'm open to new ideas.

[VR3]

I tell ya...

the truck bed liner finish looks like... well - a truck bed - just a bit glossier than normal...

I used the plasticoat (sp) from Walmart, the 1 gallon (40 dollars US) roll on

Here is a close up pic...

[michael_w]

Fancy. I'll have to keep that in mind when I go to finish mine. Thanks.

[VR3]

woo - even more pictures!!

[polkatese]

Great craftmanship, Sid! congrats.

[VR3]

Thanks!

My website is finally updated with all this stuff.. lol

I decided to clear coat the whole enclosure - for a few reasons

1) It'll match the side panels with the clear coat
2) It'll seal the "grit" in the truck bed liner and it wont flake off...

I plan to do about 4 coats of clear coat on everything - may be a week or so before I am done I guess...

[VR3]

One side panel on! - well - "attached" it wont be on till tommorow this time...

[VR3]

Last picture to be posted in this thread...

But here is the panel attached permanently, just one - but its at an angle where you wouldnt have seen the other one no how..

[Schris22]

sexy....

Chris

[VR3]

Thanks

Unfortunately I came home today to find that the panel did not stay.... :(

So, I am re-gluing it and putting it back under the clamps! *grrr*

So I guess I will have to put some screws into it... yuck... gonna have to plug some holes now..eff

[burdette]

Thanks

Unfortunately I came home today to find that the panel did not stay.... :(


Did you sand down the bed liner? You could be having two problems - insufficient contact between the bumpy cabinet and the wood, and, the glue unable to bond to the liner. Isn't one of the points of bed liner to protect the bed from 'stuff' like solvents and dings and such? Regluing isn't going to work any better than gluing the first time if the liner is impervious to the glue.

In hindsight, you probably should have masked off the areas where the panels will be. Now, you could possibly take a belt sander to those areas. Otherwise, as you said, sounds like it is time for screws.

[rskarvan]

Hey Sid.... your speakers match my truck bed liner. Impressive work.

[Early B.]

Screws are OK. With a little bit of ingenuity, the screws can enhance the look of the speaker and appear as though you planned it. Use hex screws or something other than regular wood screws for a nicer presentation.

[VR3]

I scraped off all the "grit"...

As for the glue not holding? I dont think thats it as part of the panel actually did hold.... - I think the piece was slightly bowed and it just broke free from pressure against the way it was wanting to go... I think six screws (3 on each side - top, middle, bottom) around each corner would be a sure fire way to hold it...

As for the screws, I plan on counter-sinking them and plugging the holes with cedar plugs... - probally will use 1" sheat rock screws to hold em in there...

The only reason I am regluing it - is I want them to be bonded to the thing, the screws will just keep them from moving... - but the bad part about all of this is the fact I will have to wait a few more days until I can move on with more panels... :(

Thanks for the comments/suggestions! :)

[PoweredByDodge]

bedliner is beautiful stuff... i built an outdoor subwoofer cabinet (outdoor coffee table with a sub in the bottom) -- did the bottom of it with 3 coats of bedliner then one of flat black and one of clear... hit the top with bed liner then rustoleum "craft paint" - that stone accept lookin stuff.... then more clear then i've ever seen in my life. came out allright.... certainly waterproof.

[VR3]

Ok...

So I lied...

This is the last pic in this thread...

Im going to start a new thread when Im done-done...

This is with 3 panels (side, front, top) cleared - the back, other side needs to be cleared. The truck bed liner got 3 coats and I plan to add a fourth coat to the panels later on...

And yes, I used 6 total screws on each panel to keep it on... can you see them??? ;)

[aaharvel]

excellent work there Sid

[VR3]

Thank you sir!