New CLS Frames

[C.A.P]

Chris, do you mean a naked Soundlab ?

Naked sound lab with better looks. Kind of like the whole package. NO BAG NEEDED!:ROFL:


Thanks Tim! Those were nice , I was a bit lost when I sold them. But My CLS far surpass them in sonic detail.

Brad, How do the SOUND ????

 

[Brad225]

I'd love to see an "Iron Audiophile" competition (a la Iron Chef)... pitting Brad against JonFo in a workshop with assorted woodworking tools, ML panels, and parts, and see what they conjure up!

Someone always has to stir the pot and cause trouble.

I think I will leave the technical electrical stuff to JonFo and Cap.
My most memorable electrical story has to do with shorting out an electrical breaker panel at a friends house, blowing up the transformer on the pole and darkening the neighborhood. My wife will never let me forget that each time I start to work on our home.

 

[Brad225]

Naked sound lab with better looks. Kind of like the whole package. NO BAG NEEDED!:ROFL:


Thanks Tim! Those were nice , I was a bit lost when I sold them. But My CLS far surpass them in sonic detail.

Brad, How do the SOUND ????

That is one thing that sets ML's apart is the open appearance. Most other speakers you see that normally have a sock over them are not very attractive when removed.

As to the sound, the first surprise was that they actually worked when I turned my equipment on. Next came the wow does this sound bad listening to tube pre & amps, CDP and speakers powered up for the first time in a month.
After about half an hour I was able to stop pouring down glasses of wine to kill the painful sound.
I was only able to listen for about 20 min. once things started to sound better. The image placement and separation of sounds seemed much different and very pleasing. I am sure most of that is due to them being in a bit different position than before and also not having heard them in a month. I will say they sounded great though. I'll post more after I listen for a longer period.

 

[Oxford]

Very, very nice! The size is very well proportioned and eliminates the patio "gate" look.

I was always curious on how strong is the CLS frame since it is not constructed as a box frame with a support back. With your design frame being much taller, how strong is the lateral and rotational stiffness? I guess the panel itself must add to the stiffness?

Please include some construction shots.

BTW, you also have a very nice looking workshop!

 

[Brad225]

I discovered that I am missing the pictures from the fabrication of parts. I'm sure they are somewhere in my computer but I have had no luck finding them. I re-shot a few of pics of the process of making some parts even though it won't be of the real part you'll get the idea.

I will try to just separate the text so you can figure out which pic it connects to.

I started with a piece of foam core board like you would mount posters or pictures on. The foam core has a heavy paper almost smooth cardboard over foam and in this case is 1/4" thick. It was just a matter of setting it on the top of the curved panel that sticks out from the frame that holds it and draw with a marker against the panel. This gave me the curve the panel needed to have when finished to keep the 30 degree dispersion pattern I believe all ML's have. I just cut on the line with a razor knife and that was the curve that would be used to calculate all of the others.
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I transfered that to a larger piece of foam core and with the use of a compass that would extend to 48" and with the process of elimination I kept adjusting it until I found the radius of the front of the panel from my original patterns curve.
Once that was established I was able to layout the full scale plan on the foam.
This is where I really worked out the details of how large the verticals would be and how much larger the base and other 2 horizontal member would be in relation to each other. I realize it is hard to see in the pic but you get the idea.

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Close up of the layout. You can see that the most outside line that represented the base is not what I ended up building. I realized it looked to chunky and needed to follow the curve of the front.

 

[Brad225]

I chose Oak for my frames for a couple of reason. 1st the grain would look simular to the Ash of the Depth I's I had recently pruchased. 2nd I had Red Oak leftover from another project on a cart in the shop and if this didn't work I hadn't spent more money.

 

[Brad225]

This is how the parts looks when they were machined and approaching staining. You can see the shape of each piece. The base as well as the top rail had a rectangular mortise cut into it to hold the vertical rail in place.
I used 1/4" #20 thread furniture bolts (this bolt has a large head like a washer and you use an Allen wrench to tighten them) to hold pieces together. You can see the hole in the middle of the mortise where the bolts come through from the bottom on the base. There is a corresponding steel insert that is threaded into the bottom of the vertical frame members that the furniture bolt threads into.
The other 3 holes in the base is for a bolt that will thread into spikes. I think it is easier to adjust them from the top and you really don't see them when finished.

 

[C.A.P]

Nice shop. Did you use aniline dye to stain them black? Did you spray the final top coats ?

 

[Brad225]

This is where I'm missing some pics so I used scraps of wood to explain a couple of steps.

To machine the curves on the wood there are a number of ways this can be accomplished. I just happened to pick this one for no particular reason. I generally choose the easiest and stopped making jigs that would last forever. In 30 years of furniture making I have seldom used one over.

What you see is a Plunge Router mounted on a piece of plywood to create a compass that you can cut a curve with. This is like any other router but with a lever on the back side that allows you to easily raised and lowered the cutting bit easily and accurately. This process can be performed with any router but with more time involved.
The curved piece of wood represents one of the frame members that would have a curve on it. The wood here is not attached to the bench but should be securely held in place with screws through it or blocks to hold it in place while milling it. Behind that is a scrap of wood the same thickness as the piece of the frame being milled so the router compass will set flat on the work piece.
To determine the arc that is being cut you measure your full size pattern for the radius you want to cut. Then measure from your router bit back along the center line of the plywood and drill a small hole. Once you have lined up the bit on top of the piece of wood you are machining you can put a screw into the back block of wood through the hole you drilled and that will set the radius. Depending on whether you are cutting the curve on the front side of the wood as in the picture or the back side will determined which side of the router bit you would measure from.

You will want to test it with a scrap to be sure it matches your full size plan before you continue. Unlike what you see on This Old House and that furniture show with Norm. When they cut a piece and it almost always fits perfectly the first time. That's editing, sometimes you get lucky but not a often as you would like.
You then can then make a number of passes back and forth until you achieve the depth you need. Be aware that you need to hold on tight to the router because it will pull you around the curve if you are not ready. Also the smaller the cut you take each time the less chance of tearing out a piece of the grain as it changes along the board.

I have had that router pull me across that same work table more that once by not paying attention.

 

[Brad225]

For cutting the mortises in the top rail and base along with the dado (groove) to hold the middle horizontal rail. I used another router with a collar to rub against the side of a plywood jig sized to make the recess you are looking for.

Scrap of wood showing the mortise that was cut and the jig.

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Router upside down with the bit sticking through the collar. I don't recommend duct tape repairs for electrical but it was an old job site accident and it has held up for years so why bother.


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The jig with the router collar rubbing against the jig. As you can see I made the jig opening to large and had to add a piece to make it the right size. The distance you have the bit below the plywood jig is how deep the mortise will be.


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You clamp the jig and wood together and run the router back and forth until you have cut out the wood to form the recessed rectangle. After that you just have to cut the corners square that were left with a radius by the router bit. That mortise is a bit rough but it was more for size than beauty.

 

[Brad225]

This is the first time I assembled the frame with and without the panels.

Without panels I was deciding whether to use wood (larger) or steel. The wood was to large even though the steel fabrication was more involved

 

[Brad225]

Now comes one of my weaknesses welding or as I like to call it melting metal to one another.



I made a jig to hold pieces somewhere near the same 4 times. They came out closer than I had thought they would.

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This was probably my best weld after it was ground. Needless to say the welds were so ugly I could not bring my self to photograph one of them.

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Every one of us old car repair guys closest friend Bondo.

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It is amazing what some body filler, sand paper and primer can do.

 

[Brad225]

Yes I did CAP, I figured you would recognize that flat appearance.

Here I sprayed Aniline dye on first.


You can see the dado cut in the piece with the curve the went in the middle. The dado held the top of the bottom non active panel since it was a cut edge.

On the tall frame rail you can see the dado for the middle rail and the dado that ran the length of it to hold the panels.

 

[Brad225]

OK last one.

After the Aniline was sprayed I sprayed 2 coats of sanding sealer This seals the pours of the wood and the dye and provides a material that is easy to sand to smooth out for a base to the top coats.

Instead of using clear topcoat I used a Black precatilized lacquer that I mixed to be in between flat and satin. I decided to put the dye under the lacquer so if it gets chipped it won't show as much. And it also means I only had to put 2 coats of lacquer that will cure quicker and covered much better. It is still a bit shiner than my Depth i's but I can always rub it down it it bothers me.

My brother in law came over just as I was getting ready to start spraying the dye and about had a heart attack because I was going to spray the Oak black. He ask why I would do that and I told him that it is a well know fact that if your main speakers match subs they will sound better. It took him a minute but he figured I was kidding. I am not sure that subconsciously I probably don't think it can't hurt anyway.

 

[twich54]

Brad, you are one talented son-of-a-gun !!!!

 

[C.A.P]

I love Aniline dyes. I use a lot of Behelens and Trans Tint . I spray it and use it on my gun stocks. It works wonders on Maple and Beech.

 

[eckertdj]

Wow, I had your first DIY post bookmarked because I really liked the other stands you had and hoped to make something similar if I ever got unlazy. You certainly just raised the bar! Very impressive.

 

[Oxford]

Thanks for posting all the construction photos. You did a wonderful job!

One question, what is the square opening in the middle of the base for?

 

[Brad225]

I love Aniline dyes. I use a lot of Behelens and Trans Tint . I spray it and use it on my gun stocks. It works wonders on Maple and Beech.

I agree they apply and cover so much easier that oil based products. Once I learned to respect their ability to turn any body part you splash on another color for weeks I liked them more. They are great for tight grained woods that don't want to accept surface stains.
I have used Behlens products they are very good quality. On this I used Campbell's for the first time. They were available locally from one of cabinet shop suppliers.

Put up some pics of your gun stocks. I have never made a gun stock or grip. I'm planing on making a bit larger grip for my wife's S&W 38 any tips?

 

[Brad225]

Thanks for posting all the construction photos. You did a wonderful job!

One question, what is the square opening in the middle of the base for?

By using one large piece of wood that expands and contracts quite a bit with the seasonal humidity change it would be much less stable structurally.
Using pieces jointed at 90 degrees to each other it helps stabilize all of the pieces.

As for the exact size for the opening in the base. My boards were 9" wide so it seemed like a nice size hole to leave. Sorry no secret mathematical/structural reason.
I actually think may things are built based on the size of a board available without gluing pieces together.Plus the electronics box is now covering it any way.

I will post finished pics in the room as soon as I can get one that descent.