Cabinet Project

[ThatGermanDude]

I'm building my own Cabinet for an independant study project in school and any advice or links to helpful websites would be very much apprediated.

one specific questions is where i could find an empty speaker frame?

 

[ThatGermanDude]

anybody?

 

[fdeck]

What do you mean by an empty frame? A driver with no cone? Or a raw driver? If it is the latter, BLT Sound (www.bltsound.com) has the Eminence product line for good prices.

 

[heath_r_91]

what do you mean by speaker frame?


as for designs, I wouldn't worry about being too specific, just look at designs of some of your favorite cabs and kind of mold them together.

I believe that a lot of getting a good sounding cab isn't by computer programs, it's by trial and error.

make sure to post pics of the different steps you go through! I'm sure there are tons of people on here (including myself) that would like to see it all come together.

 

[ThatGermanDude]

i mean the metal part that holds all the components (cone, voice coil,...) together.
click link for clarification.
http://www.bcae1.com/speaker.htm

 

[fdeck]

The difficult thing is that frame parts are not widely available (at least to individuals) without the rest of the stuff attached. Of course tearing down an existing driver would work.

 

[fdeck]

Perhaps I should elaborate a bit more. Virtually all DIY'ers start with assembled drivers.

 

[Geoff St. Germaine]

Are you planning to make your own cone, surround, spider, voice coil/former, and motor? If you can make all of that stuff surely you can make a frame.

 

[lbwdog]

I've got two 15" frames that need reconing.

1. EVM 15-B (due to Hurricane Katrina)

2. rare! JBL S-15 (was an optional driver for Sunn amps in the '60s, uses D130 recone kit)

PM if interested..... JBL will be pricey due to it's collectibility

 

[will33]

Wish I knew, about a month ago I gave away a pair of 12" and a 15" paper cone and a 15" aluminum cone that were all blown. The two 12's and the paper 15 were eminence OEMs from the 90's with T/S parameters printed out and taped to the back, the aluminum one was a 200 watt Hartke that they use in bass cabs and combo's. Also have an EV 15L that needs reconing but I'm keeping that one. Keep an eye on the Austin and Houston craiglists or post a want ad, should be easy to find blown speakers for next to nothing.

 

[ThatGermanDude]

Are you planning to make your own cone, surround, spider, voice coil/former, and motor? If you can make all of that stuff surely you can make a frame.

yes, i am planning on making all the parts, that might change once i figure out more specifics, but i have a whole year to do it so it should be possible.
Unless i can't find the resources, then i'd have to buy complete parts.

 

[Bryan316]

Hardest part will be finding a supplier for the raw rare earth magnet material, and machining it to shape.

 

[ThatGermanDude]

Hardest part will be finding a supplier for the raw rare earth magnet material, and machining it to shape.

why does it need to be an earth magnet?

 

[Petebass]

yes, i am planning on making all the parts, that might change once i figure out more specifics, but i have a whole year to do it so it should be possible.
Unless i can't find the resources, then i'd have to buy complete parts.

I can give you somewhere to start - have a look at this video of a speaker being made from scratch:-

 

[ThatGermanDude]

^ that's awesome. thanks a bunch

 

[fdeck]

why does it need to be an earth magnet?

It should not be. Machining the rare earth magnet materials can be dangerous. Some of those materials can catch on fire. In any event, most magnetic materials also happen to be un-machinable due to being too brittle. Most are formed to shape by a molding process at high temperature.

You need a donut shaped magnet, but you can achieve the same effect with several smaller magnets arranged in a circle. This would avoid machining the magnet, and would allow you to use off-the-shelf magnets. In fact there have been commercial drivers using this technique.

 

[fdeck]

On another note, for making the spider: Do some research into why it is called a spider, and it will give you an idea how you could make one yourself.

 

[ThatGermanDude]

all the tips are very much appreciated.

 

[Petebass]

You need a donut shaped magnet, but you can achieve the same effect with several smaller magnets arranged in a circle. This would avoid machining the magnet, and would allow you to use off-the-shelf magnets. In fact there have been commercial drivers using this technique.

That's how my Beyma 112Nd/W's are manufactured.

 

[A9X]

Raw frames suitable for reconing can be found at Invalid Link Removed . Excellent prices and service, and the frame you get will be good, but you need to call as they don't do email.