Subwoofer Driver: SI SQL-15... any experience?

[highfigh]

As someone who spent 12 years in a professional woodshop on a high level of production I can add that every thing you say is true . 3/4 of the battle with wood working is proper calibration of the tools you have table saws are a problem for most people to get right out of the box they will all cut but 90% don’t cut true most don’t know or know how to calabrate a saw or any tools like big saws , planers ,table shapers . Actually being the tune up guy in this shop was a cool job we had very close tolerances on production lathes we had 3 thousandths to play with over on diameters and boring holes on table saws it was 0 . We had our own drying kilns , sawmill and imported some really cool wood and expensive wood and we used some veneer on some jobs too most of our finishing was done by spray and them guys knew what they were doing but none of it was quick .

And even at .003" tolerance, a machinist would say that was like working in the Stone Age, with clubs and crude hand tools. For that matter, just a change in humidity in an uncontrolled-environment shop can mean that the cuts/routs made one day will make the parts impossible to assemble the next day (been there).

I thought my planer and jointer were set pretty well until I re-installed the knives after sharpening. Iset the height on both and my test cuts were much smoother than before and it wasn't a matter of sharpness, it was a matter of being more patient the second time. I occasionally measure from fence to blade on my table saw, but that's rare- I set the fence, make the cuts and if I measure the parts, even that's fairly rare- it doesn't go out of adjustment because I'm the only one using my machines, but I did take the time to make sure the table was set properly WRT the blade & trunnions and the fence is set correctly WRT the blade. My bandsaw wasn't expensive and I added a riser block- after seeing the method of setting the fence for resawing, I can cut 1/16" thick veneers in many species without runout. Setup is critical.

 

[highfigh]

For those that aren't trained woodworkers, the word of caution about finishing time is quite necessary. I think anybody that has ordered from Salk is fortunately familiar with the fact that the dyeing and finishing process is about a month in their shop. Perhaps it is more apropos to say that I acquired an appreciation for the process due to my experience with an order going through their shop!

For myself, right now, as a lightly skilled hobbyist, I have assembled a good collection of the tools necessary, along with access to some specialty items if needed. I've already read through a couple books to help further my knowledge base and have a few more on the way. My goal is to be able to assemble some legit cabinets and learn to finish them to an above average level. (Which, frankly, is still a pretty low bar based on some of what I've seen.)
As a trained Musician and Professional Chef, I get that there is a discrepancy between a true craftsman and a worker-bot. Talent only takes you so far, too. Practice hones skill, and mastering techniques take time, attention to detail, and patience.
Then putting rubber to the road tests all of that in a completely different way. How you adapt to the minute circumstances and adjust for that "RCH" can make the difference between success and "meh...."

There's an old joke about someone who asks a random person on the street "How can I get to Carnegie Hall?" and the other person says "Practice, man- practice".

One thing some might not know about finishes- most can be wiped on. Poly, Lacquer, shellac, varnish- all can be thinned, wiped on and the excess wiped off (this isn't done with shellac because it dries incredibly fast). Depending on how much grain someone wants to be seen on the surface, the number of coats will vary- if you want to see grain when you look at a low angle, don't use a filler or don't use sandpaper or other abrasives to smooth the surface and work the finish & dust into the pores but if you want it to be like glass, it needs to be fully dry/cured and hard. All of the finishes I mentioned can be sanded smooth and if you want, you can wet-sand but only to the point that it doesn't reach bare wood. Once it's smooth, using finer abrasives will provide the sheen.

The abrasives and sanders needed don't have to be expensive, either.

 

[Mark E. Long]

I

Then, there's that pesky habit of wood shrinking and expanding as the moisture content changes. Tell someone that it would need to be kiln dried in order to make the item quickly and that may change the appearance and that might be a no-go.

I have worked in AV for a long time and many people were fine with long delays, some not. Some people think a project or process can change instantly or have no understanding of what's involved, but they're paying, so they think it will happen instantly. I worked for an AV/network/control contractor in 2005 and one house had been pre-wired almost two years before I started working for them- we did a lot that year, but there was no way it would have been possible to finish our part because the other details needed to be done before we could install anything. I saw the builder's project manager more than a year after I left and when I asked if it had been completed, he said they were doing the punch list and that means initial work on the house & grounds had begun 5 years before.

was lucky in that the big boss took care of most customers and all the questions lol I spent 10 years in the turning shop I had 15 production lathes that I was in charge of . They were complex and all had multiple functions going on at once we made fancy knobs for cabinets and spindles anywhere from 1 1/2 long to balusters for stairways . We had a few newer lathes that were computerized that were a trip to get right . Most of the time we’d get a sample in or a drawing and I’d have to make the tool from blank stock ( tool steel ) and make a sample part to spec then send it back for approval. If accepted then the tooling would be sent to a shop in New England for the blades or blade to be cryogenically frozen and sent back for a production run of anywhere from a 100,000 to sometimes 250,000 part run . All grinding and sharpening was done by hand as profiles were tight and had to be done in one pass to not show up on the finished product . It was a cool job .

 

[Mark E. Long]

And even at .003" tolerance, a machinist would say that was like working in the Stone Age, with clubs and crude hand tools. For that matter, just a change in humidity in an uncontrolled-environment shop can mean that the cuts/routs made one day will make the parts impossible to assemble the next day (been there).

I thought my planer and jointer were set pretty well until I re-installed the knives after sharpening. Iset the height on both and my test cuts were much smoother than before and it wasn't a matter of sharpness, it was a matter of being more patient the second time. I occasionally measure from fence to blade on my table saw, but that's rare- I set the fence, make the cuts and if I measure the parts, even that's fairly rare- it doesn't go out of adjustment because I'm the only one using my machines, but I did take the time to make sure the table was set properly WRT the blade & trunnions and the fence is set correctly WRT the blade. My bandsaw wasn't expensive and I added a riser block- after seeing the method of setting the fence for resawing, I can cut 1/16" thick veneers in many species without runout. Setup is critical.

Setup is life cabinet saws are much easier to tune in my saw has trunnions too they can be harder to set but once done there right on the money. We went to Helix heads on our planers much easier to do and I got one for mine .

 

[Shanman]

I might have missed it Ryan, but what are you gonna power these bad boys with?

 

[ryanosaur]

Well... FedEx did it again... Good ol' shipping trick #3: deliver x of y parcels in the shipment.

Nick put the SQLs back on sale for BF... Ordered 4 more, for a total of 6 of these bad boys.
3 are still in the possession of FedEx.

I'll post up a photo after the family reunion.

 

[ryanosaur]

I might have missed it Ryan, but what are you gonna power these bad boys with?

Right now I'm leaning toward some Crowns. Torn between the XLS 2502s and XTI4002s as an option. Still considering Speaker Power, but that is a commitment-and-a-half.

 

[Shanman]

I swear, the XLS series from Crown are a ridiculous value, and all the crossover capabilities present, clipping meters, etc sure do make them pretty cool. I had hum issues with the XLS 1002 I bought to repower my Snell sub that the plate amp died on. After all the issues and returning it, I later found it was actually the Arcam integrated amp itself that hums no matter what sub I use- the sub out rca makes a hum to anything plugged into it regardless of ground lift.

 

[colofan]

One of two used in my HT to reduce null problems on the side walls.

I provide detailed performance data and design information later. They are D2 versions voice coils wired in series and powered by Crown Xli 1500 to start with.