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fEARful Part Twelve (12)
- Thread starter greenboy
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The PL Premium / poly adhesives do horrible things to your skin, so wear gloves if you use it to seal your joints by way of the "caulk bead and finger" method.
On another note, I just gigged out my 15/6-tube last night at a small club where the engineer preferred using a mic on cab to DI, which was fine by me but somewhat unusual. Based on my experience with recording the cab, I asked him for an equal distance between mid & woofer. Don't really know how it sounded in the audience, but hopefully he didn't make much use of it because my stage sound was LOUD and delicious.
This is a grungy hard rock project. On noisy, distorted interludes that called for it, I was able to coax out some great feedback sounds from the cab more easily and with greater control than my previous, traditional cabs.. not sure if this is related at all to the fEarful design, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.
On another note, I just gigged out my 15/6-tube last night at a small club where the engineer preferred using a mic on cab to DI, which was fine by me but somewhat unusual. Based on my experience with recording the cab, I asked him for an equal distance between mid & woofer. Don't really know how it sounded in the audience, but hopefully he didn't make much use of it because my stage sound was LOUD and delicious.
This is a grungy hard rock project. On noisy, distorted interludes that called for it, I was able to coax out some great feedback sounds from the cab more easily and with greater control than my previous, traditional cabs.. not sure if this is related at all to the fEarful design, but I thought it was worth mentioning here.
I did my build with just finishing nails and an expanding PU glue(Bison Timbermax Express), no clamps. The glue I used isn't as nice to work with as PL, foams up too much, but it worked just fine.
It was a bit hard to keep the panels aligned while whacking the nails in, but with a bit of luck and providence it all came together. Would help to have another pair of hands at that stage.
It was a bit hard to keep the panels aligned while whacking the nails in, but with a bit of luck and providence it all came together. Would help to have another pair of hands at that stage.
Anyone else hoping to assemble one of these (or anything else) with finish nails, check this link for a technique I posted in the fEARful 12/6 Flatpack Deluxe Kit From Speaker Hardware Build Thread & Review thread. It makes lining up panels much easier when gluing them, and ensures nothing splits. Extra hands help in the dry-fit pilot hole stage, but a couple of corner clamps or a corner clamping jig plus a few small clamps work pretty well too.
I haven't done it, so I don't really know.
A neighbor is a cabinet maker and he sneers at nails. According to him, his tombstone is gonna say "Glue it and screw it." Don't know how relevant this is here...
I used thin black finishing nails.
I left the heads on and whacked them flush with the surface, then set them in just a touch. That provided enough resistance to the glue expansion so I didn't need clamps, but had to use a bit of body filler afterwards to fill in the slight depressions over the heads.
I found the ply didn't split as long as I got them in straight enough.
Worked fine for MY build, YMMV, etc.
Elmer's woodfiller works well to fill in nail punch dips. I prefer it to bondo because I don't want to have to mix anything. However for anything more substantial the bondo works great.
For the technique I referenced, cutting a nail head off was simply to use one nail as a drill bit for perfect sized pilot holes. You then use a same size finish nail. The nail will fit very snug because the "drill bit" is a shorter than the nail, and the slight bulge of the head. Also since your "drill bit" doesn't have much cutting surface, fewer fibers are cut and removed- they are more or less compressed into the surrounding fibers.
You don't need many nails either- just enough to hold it while the glue sets up. Once the glue is cured, the nails add no strength.
The advantage of screws of course is that they can be easily removed once the glue is set. This makes it much easier to round over the edges with a router and rounding bit.
Ah, I see... good idea to use one as a drill bit, takes away the stress at the point you're about to knock one in wondering if it will go straight enough. Didn't use many nails either, something like 3 or 4 per joint depending on length.
About the rounding, I just used a rasp and file to smooth off the edge instead of making a full roundover, since I don't plan on putting corners on. Also, I don't have a router to do it properly
So, all in all, it worked out nicely. At the painting stage now.Ah, I see... good idea to use one as a drill bit, takes away the stress at the point you're about to knock one in wondering if it will go straight enough. Didn't use many nails either, something like 3 or 4 per joint depending on length.
About the rounding, I just used a rasp and file to smooth off the edge instead of making a full roundover, since I don't plan on putting corners on. Also, I don't have a router to do it properly
I also overlooked the impact of nails / screws on rounding. Good point.
I will use the small Adam Hall corners, internal radius is just 6mm Max. depth of wood to be removed will be 2.5mm from the corner to the inside. That's nice because I will use a rasp and sand paper (no router).
Most other corners have 10 mm radius, this means I'd need to remove almost 3x more wood (even more if there is some allowance for finish or imperfect fitting). This means 3x more work with the rasp / sand paper !
Yep, I tried all that and I found that the panels sliding everywhere left adhesive smeared everywhere. I dry line up, get pilots through the panel to be fitted and slightly into the receiving panel so that when the PL is on the screws pull tight and straight acting like a drift to line the 2 panels up. I wouldn't use a brad nailer if if I was given one. IMO, you still need guide cleats and a sackful of clamps. Nailing is not a time saver for me.
Hi, Quick question... I just got my 12/6 deluxe kit from speaker hardware, and noticed an excess amount of glue on the Alpha 6 midrange driver (see pic). I've never seen this before on a driver. Was someone at the factory sleeping on the job or should I not be concerned with this?
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Well, I tried the cab on a gig tonite, but its still got the same problem (distortion), though, I think its been diminished. I didnt have time to mess with it too much as the band was waiting. Good thing I brought my Barefaced Compact as backup. In my condo I cant play loud enough to hear the cab properly as I dont want to be too loud for my neighbours. I think the issue is the seal around the 15 inch driver. I sent an email to Robby to ask if he used some sort of gasket around the 15 inch driver when he put it together. Perhaps if I put a gasket on there it will help. Also, I put rubber washers in between the screws and the driver:
screw>rubber washer> driver> cab.
However, I can't seem to be able to tighten them all the way. I am not sure if that is because the rubber washer has too much give or maybe its because of the T-Nut? Maybe I should use regular metal lock-washers instead of rubber washers?
I am thinking maybe a cork or rubber gasket for the 3015LF + lock washers might give the best results.
Any other ideas are appreciated.
screw>rubber washer> driver> cab.
However, I can't seem to be able to tighten them all the way. I am not sure if that is because the rubber washer has too much give or maybe its because of the T-Nut? Maybe I should use regular metal lock-washers instead of rubber washers?
I am thinking maybe a cork or rubber gasket for the 3015LF + lock washers might give the best results.
Any other ideas are appreciated.
This is not excess glue. It is to set the tinsel leads into the cone. Generally seen on smaller drivers. All is correct.
2mm thick double sided tape on the back of the driver flange.
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this is white but you can get it in black. The standard factory applied eminence rear "gasket" is inadequate. Paper I think. The first thing I take off.
trim off the excess with a stanley knife after it's all pulled down tight. Use shakeproof washers but not rubber washers. You want a solid screw + washer pulling down tight onto something soft that will bottom out and give an airtight seal.
Black dum dum putty - halfords or other motor store - will also do it. The driver must be airtight as must the rest of the cab. Two golden rules: airtight and braced within an inch of its life. Even inset handles must be airtight, that is, gasket taped. The speakon must be airtight. 6.3mm jacks are for telephone exchanges only. See my 12126 build pics. Slightly overbraced if anything but I'm not bothered to a few pounds. It's the reason why most commercial cabs can't produce fundamentals. A peavey or a hartke 410 braced the way a 12126 fearful is braced would not be commercially viable. So they make a box in 15mm or even 18mm but not braced. Screwed on back on some, no gasket or back panel bracing, no front to back bracing. Most of them NFG.
More pics of my build to follow next few days.
The 3015lf has an integral gasket... dump the rubber washer and crank it down one tight [not too tight]. While you are in there check your wiring and solder points.
Is your mid driver gasketed - the 18sound mid has no integral gasket. Is the wire hole to the mid sealed?
Check for leaks - they whistle. A low level low frequency sine wave makes leaks pretty easy to find. Put a rubber tube in your ear and use it like a stethoscope.
Is your mid driver gasketed - the 18sound mid has no integral gasket. Is the wire hole to the mid sealed?
Check for leaks - they whistle. A low level low frequency sine wave makes leaks pretty easy to find. Put a rubber tube in your ear and use it like a stethoscope.
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