At this stage I'll only have biscuits on two sides of the baffle, and trimming it will take away all or most of the second side. What I might do, though, is set up the other side wall at the same time as the baffle so that wall also helps get the baffle in the correct position.
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Build thread: fEARful 15 sub
- Thread starter lucas303
- Start date
Although the biscuits probably do provide some structural support, I think they mostly just serve to locate the baffle board -- as long as you've got at least some depth, you should probably be OK. If you have yellow carpenters glue, I'd use that on the biscuits and slots rather than PL adhesive, but maybe that's just me.
Edit: You do get that you'll need to trim the biscuit too, right? Good.
Edit: You do get that you'll need to trim the biscuit too, right? Good.
From what I've read the biscuits are purely to make assembly easier and they aren't for structural support at all. Also because PL is what's recommended, I'm sticking (no pun intended) with that. From my experience already it seems to be very strong stuff!
Once again I'm going to try not to jinx myself...this time by declaring that the baffle and the other side wall are in place.
The top is just sitting on there, so I could put some weight on it for downward pressure on the side wall that's still curing. I could've used clamps if I'd been a bit more patient and waited for the baffle to cure before installing that other side wall, but it feels like things are solidly in place so I'm going with it. Also I wanted to install that wall with the baffle because I mostly lost the lower biscuits on the baffle when trimming it. That second wall helps keep the baffle properly aligned.
I erred on the side of caution when trimming the baffle with the band saw. After getting it home I went at it with coarse sanding paper to finish it off. There is still a tiny amount of overhang at the top (less than a mm) and I'll sand that even once the baffle is fully cured.
As I look ahead to upcoming steps, I notice that the notches where the bracing pieces fit together have a fair amount of play to them. Should I just leave them like that, fill in the (sizable) gaps with PL, or something else?
The top is just sitting on there, so I could put some weight on it for downward pressure on the side wall that's still curing. I could've used clamps if I'd been a bit more patient and waited for the baffle to cure before installing that other side wall, but it feels like things are solidly in place so I'm going with it. Also I wanted to install that wall with the baffle because I mostly lost the lower biscuits on the baffle when trimming it. That second wall helps keep the baffle properly aligned.
I erred on the side of caution when trimming the baffle with the band saw. After getting it home I went at it with coarse sanding paper to finish it off. There is still a tiny amount of overhang at the top (less than a mm) and I'll sand that even once the baffle is fully cured.
As I look ahead to upcoming steps, I notice that the notches where the bracing pieces fit together have a fair amount of play to them. Should I just leave them like that, fill in the (sizable) gaps with PL, or something else?
Hmmmm....The 15 Sub uses a driver with huge Xmax that is tuned unusually deep. The driver has somewhat jagged response between about 1K and 1.8K, and then it rolls of drastically from there. Also if the OP is totally true to the design, it will have an LPF to roll of the highs at about 800-850hz; presumably this is to avoid the nastiness between 1K and 1.8K. Yes I think it will sound a bit different than a regular 115 bass cab.
I expect a FF sub kit from Speaker Hardware would include the LPF to be labelled a FF product.
I believe it depends, since you order off a menu with various options.
Here is the page for the 15 Sub Deluxe Kit, so you can view the menu for yourself: greenboy fEARful 15sub subwoofer DIY speaker kit. Your own custom bass guitar or PA subwoofer cabinet
I see. If you order no crossover it is correctly described as PA sub.
It's a 15/6 minus the 6 chamber. If they did the job to the nth degree it will have a few mm of height removed to compensate for the volume of the 6 chamber.
Attached the rear panel this evening.
This is the first part that has me a little nervous. The far side just finished its 24 hour cure, and now I've got weight on it. Granted it's not a ton of weight, and it felt like it was solidly set, but nevertheless the paranoid part of me expects to hear a crashing sound from that room at any moment, or go in later and see the side wall tilted askew. I'm virtually certain it will be fine though. This part would've likely been a good time to use screws to help, but I've come this far without screws so...oh well.
Once the rear is all set I'll do the bracing. I might wait an extra day to do the bracing just to let everything get really rock solid first. We'll see. I have to wait for Speakerhardware to send me the parts they forgot to include in my kit before I can finish everything anyway, so giving the walls a "rest day" isn't going to create any additional delay.
This is the first part that has me a little nervous. The far side just finished its 24 hour cure, and now I've got weight on it. Granted it's not a ton of weight, and it felt like it was solidly set, but nevertheless the paranoid part of me expects to hear a crashing sound from that room at any moment, or go in later and see the side wall tilted askew. I'm virtually certain it will be fine though. This part would've likely been a good time to use screws to help, but I've come this far without screws so...oh well.
Once the rear is all set I'll do the bracing. I might wait an extra day to do the bracing just to let everything get really rock solid first. We'll see. I have to wait for Speakerhardware to send me the parts they forgot to include in my kit before I can finish everything anyway, so giving the walls a "rest day" isn't going to create any additional delay.
I believe its the same cab and tuning minus the mid driver and associated HPF section. The absence of these components should be fairly noticeable as the 3015LF starts rolling the highs off below 2khz. The usable HF cutoff is listed is 1.5khz, so the last peak in the frequency response may be a nasty resonance.
The Kappalite 3015 lists the HF cutoff as 4khz, but the highs start rolling off about 3.5khz. Different T/S parameters and much smaller Xmax than the 3015LF, so you would probably need to adjust the porting a bit and de-rate the mechanical power handling below 100hz.
Here's a post that compares the 3015 and 3015LF: Kappalite 3015 - to LF or not to LF? actually that's the point of the entire thread...injoy!
The rear panel isn't done curing yet, but everything appears to have stayed in place so I think it will be fine. My plan for tonight is to attach the handles and connector dish, and clean up dried PL where necessary to accommodate the internal bracing (I'm not going to worry about cleaning up all the dried PL from the outside until later on down the road). If I have time I'll dry fit the internal bracing as well and plan out exactly where each piece will go.
I'm going to apply some latex caulk to the inside edges where the handles and connector dish meet the wood. It may not be strictly necessary, but I've already got the caulk so I figure why not. I'm not going to use PL because it's unnecessary there, and I figure why glue something on permanently when it's not absolutely necessary. I'll likely pick up a second tube of PL, though, because I'm about halfway through the tube I have and I'd rather err on the side of using too much PL.
This should put me on track for installing the internal bracing tomorrow (on the side walls, at least). The missing pieces for the baffle bracing haven't shipped yet, so that's still holding up finishing the cab anyway.
I'm going to apply some latex caulk to the inside edges where the handles and connector dish meet the wood. It may not be strictly necessary, but I've already got the caulk so I figure why not. I'm not going to use PL because it's unnecessary there, and I figure why glue something on permanently when it's not absolutely necessary. I'll likely pick up a second tube of PL, though, because I'm about halfway through the tube I have and I'd rather err on the side of using too much PL.
This should put me on track for installing the internal bracing tomorrow (on the side walls, at least). The missing pieces for the baffle bracing haven't shipped yet, so that's still holding up finishing the cab anyway.
Taking care of a little task while I wait...
I think this is how the speaker wire is supposed to attach to the Speakon jack:
It sure would help to have instructions. As a first-timer I don't really have a point of reference for seemingly simple things like how the wires connect to the Speakon jack. I did some searching online and found some information totally unrelated to speaker building that led me to believe that this is (hopefully) what I'm supposed to be doing. I gave the wires a tug and they feel pretty secure in those clip things (though I did waste two of the clips in failed attempts to get them to crimp properly). Hopefully I don't end up needing those other two clip things.
Now to take all the clamps and stuff off the box and install the handles and connector dish...
I think this is how the speaker wire is supposed to attach to the Speakon jack:
It sure would help to have instructions. As a first-timer I don't really have a point of reference for seemingly simple things like how the wires connect to the Speakon jack. I did some searching online and found some information totally unrelated to speaker building that led me to believe that this is (hopefully) what I'm supposed to be doing. I gave the wires a tug and they feel pretty secure in those clip things (though I did waste two of the clips in failed attempts to get them to crimp properly). Hopefully I don't end up needing those other two clip things.
Now to take all the clamps and stuff off the box and install the handles and connector dish...
I did a test fit of the top and other than some additional minor adjustment of the baffle that will need to be done it fits like a glove:
It's really starting to look like a cab!
I drilled 7/64" pilot holes for the screws that attach the handles and connector dish. Those are now in place:
I haven't caulked the inside edges of them yet. It's possible I might not do that at all...we'll see how things go.
Itching to get more done, I decided to attach one of the pieces that braces the baffle. First I had to shave away dried PL, which actually wasn't that bad using just a putty knife.
No one can accuse me of using too little PL.
With that I'm done for the night.
It's really starting to look like a cab!
I drilled 7/64" pilot holes for the screws that attach the handles and connector dish. Those are now in place:
I haven't caulked the inside edges of them yet. It's possible I might not do that at all...we'll see how things go.
Itching to get more done, I decided to attach one of the pieces that braces the baffle. First I had to shave away dried PL, which actually wasn't that bad using just a putty knife.
No one can accuse me of using too little PL.
With that I'm done for the night.
Last edited:
