THTLPX2 Build Thread

[Nestor]

With my garage finally insulated, I can now begin my dual THT-LP build.

Naturally, a build thread is useless without pictures, so I'm going to try and take some shots that may be helpful for someone planning or working their own build. Requests are welcome!



Since I'm not a fan of the look of baltic birch, veneer is in order. I fell in love with the zebrawood, but at $250.00/ 4X8 sheet(X4) , I settled on rift-cut red oak (79.00/sheet) instead.





The parallel guides for the Festool saw saves having to manhandle large sheets on a table saw. Pic below shows a couple of modifications to the guides. Drilling a 1/4" hole and swapping the extenders normally mounted at the other end allows for wider repeat cuts of up to 37". (In my case, 35".) A piece of aluminum keeps the weight of the arms from flipping the saw guide on edge.

[mattsk8]

Nice saw, TS 55 . I have the same but don't have the parallel guides. I rely on the grip on the bottom. A couple times I've wished I had the clamps, only on a mildly warped pc of ply. Otherwise it's served me well! Great saws! Saves buying a cabinet saw. If you recently purchased that be careful, once you get a taste for the Festool koolaid it's a complete downward spiral! I now have 2 Festool sanders and a Festool dust collector. My wife hates Festool

Can't wait to watch your build come to fruition!! Post many updates and pics

[Nestor]

Nice saw, TS 55 . I have the same but don't have the parallel guides. I rely on the grip on the bottom. A couple times I've wished I had the clamps, only on a mildly warped pc of ply. Otherwise it's served me well! Great saws! Saves buying a cabinet saw. If you recently purchased that be careful, once you get a taste for the Festool koolaid it's a complete downward spiral! I now have 2 Festool sanders and a Festool dust collector. My wife hates Festool

Can't wait to watch your build come to fruition!! Post many updates and pics

Grip works great, and I seldom use the clamps.

After making the mod to the guides, I was able to make repeatable cuts with no (necessary) measuring. (though I couldn't help breaking out the tape; "measure twice, cut once and all that." ) It sped things up greatly.

Had the saw for a few years now, purchasing a kapex, mft3 table, dust collector, and the guides last spring. Yeah, I got the bug.

Since these cabs are going to be rather large (18X36X72) I may also "need" the rotex RO90DX sander.

I saw your speaker build. I like the hint of burgundy in the dye.

I'm new to veneering, is there any reason not to use latex contact cement for the veneer?

[mattsk8]

Grip works great, and I seldom use the clamps.

After making the mod to the guides, I was able to make repeatable cuts with no (necessary) measuring. (though I couldn't help breaking out the tape; "measure twice, cut once and all that." ) It sped things up greatly.

Had the saw for a few years now, purchasing a kapex, mft3 table, dust collector, and the guides last spring. Yeah, I got the bug.

Since these cabs are going to be rather large (18X36X72) I may also "need" the rotex RO90DX sander.

I saw your speaker build. I like the hint of burgundy in the dye.

I'm new to veneering, is there any reason not to use latex contact cement for the veneer?

Did you mean you have, or are going to buy the Kapex? I'd love that saw but can't justify it because my older 10" Makita slider works so well. By the time you get everything for the Kapex it ends up being over $1800 ! Another awesome saw though. I know guys that have em and LOVE them. The Festool dust collector is awesome too! I have the RO90, that was my first Festool sander and it's phenominal!! I also have the ETS-150 and that's amazing too. My next one will be the RO-150 and that will complete the Festool sander collection for me.

As far as your veneer question, I don't have near enough experiance to answer that. I made my veneer thicker (1/4") so I could use what I had to make it work. I know veneering is an art and there's a lot of very thorough and good write ups on the internet though. I think you either need a vacuum press or I've seen guys make clamping stations for it, but the clamping stations are pretty involved. This is a great forum w/ a lot of guys in the know Woodworking Talk - Woodworkers Forum
I'd join that and post in the general woodworking area. A lot of good knowledge there.

[Nestor]

Did you mean you have, or are going to buy the Kapex? I'd love that saw but can't justify it because my older 10" Makita slider works so well. By the time you get everything for the Kapex it ends up being over $1800 ! Another awesome saw though. I know guys that have em and LOVE them. The Festool dust collector is awesome too! I have the RO90, that was my first Festool sander and it's phenominal!! I also have the ETS-150 and that's amazing too. My next one will be the RO-150 and that will complete the Festool sander collection for me.

As far as your veneer question, I don't have near enough experiance to answer that. I made my veneer thicker (1/4") so I could use what I had to make it work. I know veneering is an art and there's a lot of very thorough and good write ups on the internet though. I think you either need a vacuum press or I've seen guys make clamping stations for it, but the clamping stations are pretty involved. This is a great forum w/ a lot of guys in the know Woodworking Talk - Woodworkers Forum
I'd join that and post in the general woodworking area. A lot of good knowledge there.

Have the Kapex. Haven't bought any accessories for it, other than a larger hose and the dust collector, which has multi uses. The adjustable lasers are awesome and dead on accurate. I was going to buy the crown molding jig, decided on the Kreg system which will let me build a station in my shop.

Was thinking of the vacuum press, but didn't think it would work with such a large cabinet. Thanks for the link!

[Swerd]

I'm new to veneering, is there any reason not to use latex contact cement for the veneer?

I've followed the veneering directions in this tutorial by another DIY speaker builder LouC.

He says this about applying contact cement:

I use the stinky, explosive, solvent based contact cement. The “eco friendly” water based stuff will curl veneer and just won’t stick. If there aren’t warnings about toxic fumes and blowing yourself up, don’t use it. Do take it outside to do. A NIOSH rated respirator is recommended.

Other people have described a different method using wood glue and a hot iron. They first brushed on two coats of wood glue on both the cabinet surface and the veneer back, letting it dry completely between coats. To apply the veneer, heat is applied from a dry iron while using a layer of smooth cloth between the iron and the veneer to prevent scorching. I've never tried it, but it seems to have been done with success by others.

[mattsk8]

+1 to Swerd's reply. I've seen pics of LouC's work and it's worth following for sure.

[Nestor]

Because I am fallible (whodathunk? ) I purchased an extra sheet in case of mistakes. After making said mistake, I cut into the spare sheet and found this...



Supplier is 2 1/2 hours away.

Annoying, but not a show-stopper. I purchased enough wood for two cabs, so I'll continue with the first one. Won't have enough room to assemble two concurrently anyways.

Back to the assembly.

Layout penciled...



As per instructions, sandwich the opposite sheet and drill guide holes. It'll make lining up and nailing/screwing easier, especially when the last sheet is placed since only superman has x-ray vision (as far as I know, anyways).



For assembly, a length of rectangular tubing and two carpenter's squares keep things straight.

Glued, clamped, and nailed...

[Nestor]

More progress today...



Panels 2 & 3...



Diagrams in the plans show where to use the guides, depending on how warped your panels are. Strongly suggest using them. In an effort to minimize nail/screw holes, I tried skipping some of the guides, and ended up with a panel shifting during the glue-up. Glue all over the place!

The small angled panel is important, as it also straightens out the larger panel it's bracing. Instructions say to draw some lines extending from the layout panel to help with alignment. It's not critical that the panel be on the lines, only that it is parallel. As an added measure, I clamped my aluminum guide underneath then added a small brace after measuring the distance at the layout panel to mouth of the cabinet as a reference.



Lousy with a tape measure, but great moral support:



Panel 4...



And panel 5. Long reach into the cabinet!



Don't forget to remove any guide that is in contact with a freshly glued joint. The squeeze-out may bond the guide as well!

Done for today. Time for a beer!

[Nestor]

Finally messing around with the speaker...

First task, cut speaker baffle. Since I'm building two of these beasts, this was a good time to double up...



After cutting the hole, align the speaker, drill the holes for the burr-nuts, and epoxy them in. The cutout diameter has to be small enough to leave enough wood for the burr-nut holes, yet large enough to clear the cone surround during excursion.


Time for a test! No slapping sound means no wood-surround contact. So far so good. Speaker requires a 12 hour burn-in at 10VAC and 25hz. Much quieter to do this with the driver in free-air.



With the driver removed, the baffle can be mounted. The RSS390 doesn't have a front gasket. Fortunately, the instructions mention this, and I included gasket material with my Parts express order.



Next up, bracing for the baffle and final interior panels...