My ER18 build

[jinjuku]

On my X-LS Encore build I did three coats of water/tightbond original 50/50.

Coat it. Wait 20-30 minutes. Lite sand with 320 grit. Repeat. Three coats and onto prime and paint.

 

[mattsk8]

On my X-LS Encore build I did three coats of water/tightbond original 50/50.

Coat it. Wait 20-30 minutes. Lite sand with 320 grit. Repeat. Three coats and onto prime and paint.

So you thinned the Tightbond woodglue w/ water 50%? And I'm assuming to get rid of endgrain correct? Then brushed it on?

I'll try that when I finish the backs of the cabinets. I just have to seal the endgrain but not anywhere it meets up w/ the smooth surface of the MDF. Be good practice on the backs of the cabinets! I'll also have to do the grill edges as well.

On a total side note, going to go pick up about 50 board feet of rough cherry today. 1 1/8" thick so I should get 3 slices w/ the resaw. I'll have plenty to finish my ER18s!

BTW, is there a mod that could maybe change the name of this thread to "Tritrix Finish" instead? Not a big deal but I kinda went a different way than I originally intended

 

[TheWarrior]

Yeah, thats a great idea with the wood glue! Use what you've already got, I dig it!

 

[mattsk8]

Yeah, thats a great idea with the wood glue! Use what you've already got, I dig it!

Makes perfect sense. Never tried thinning wood glue. But just thinking about it, I bet it would do a way better job than the bondo. The MDF end grain will absorb the wood glue deeper so you don't have to be as finicky while sanding. Thanks for the tip jinjuku

 

[mattsk8]

All I can say is Rustoleum 2 in 1 filler/primer!! Stuff's awesome! I had 3 sanded coats of primer on these dumb things and still saw a fine line where the endgrain met up w/ the piece for the baffle. 2 wet coats w/ the filler primer and it's all gone! Hand sanded w/ some 400 grit and one more coat. Waiting for that to dry and I'll spray color...

 

[mattsk8]

Finally got them painted! Now I have to do the backs of them in the same black . Won't spend near the time back there though.

Grills w/ 1 coat of paint-

 

[jinjuku]

So you thinned the Tightbond woodglue w/ water 50%? And I'm assuming to get rid of endgrain correct? Then brushed it on?

I did that with the round over. I don't think it would work where you have a sealed side meeting up with the cut/exposed edge of MDF.

 

[mattsk8]

I did that with the round over. I don't think it would work where you have a sealed side meeting up with the cut/exposed edge of MDF.

I actually already coated it all last night w/ 3 coats using your method (actually thinned it about 80% glue, 20% water). Checked it this morning and the endgrain was hard as a rock! When I get home from work I'll sand it and see how it turns out. I'm not too concerned cuz it's on the back of the speakers, but that filler primer works so good I think it'll blend w/ one good coat, sand, and another coat of primer. Then sand w/ 400 grit and paint. I'll post pics...

 

[mattsk8]

The glue actually worked really well. No seam. The only downside is that it's kinda hard to sand.

Right after brushing the thinned glue on-

Same cabinet in it's last coat of primer-

I'll say for me, on a flat surface, I'd still use bondo. But the glue method works awesome (just like jinjuku said) for sealing round overs and for doing the edges of the backs of the Tritrix (basically the part where all that's exposed is the endgrain of the 3/4" MDF).

I also got the grills covered. Should've gave the frames more than a day in my cold garage to dry though, I scratched the backs w/ scissors . For attaching the grill cloth I used carpet tape (fairly thin, double sided tape used for seaming carpet; available at most hardware stores). Stuff worked really well, super sticky and easy to work w/!! Plus I already had some, I use it to stick my recaps to my kneepads.

Grill w/ carpet tape-

Grill on the speaker-

I hope to get the backs painted tomorrow, then I can veneer these babys and I'll be in the home stretch!! The worst part of this is having to listen to the Polk Audios while I'm finishing these

 

[mattsk8]

Got the backs painted tonight. Now I can start veneering the rest of the cabinets...

Playing w/ some different finishes. The far left is gel stain spanish oak, the middle is oil black cherry, and the right side is oil cabernet stain. Doing any of those all by themselves over the maple looked pretty bad (not a big fan of maple anyhow). Then I put one coat of finish over the 3 and wiped the spanish oak gel stain over the finish. I like the right side the most, I think that's the finish I'll go w/. My cell camera doesn't do it justice, it looks pretty cool. A little more red than it looks in the pic. When these are done I'll take some better pics w/ my real camera, just don't want to dink w/ uploading photos for now.

I think I might carve this into the front near the bottom of each speaker as well (just the skull n bones, I won't spell out Bones)

 

[mattsk8]

All veneered! Now I think I'll make some bases that are a little wider in the front and the sides, flush w/ the back and about 3 1/2" tall.

 

[mattsk8]

Got the bases done. Took a bit of a break from these, just been super busy. I've been playing w/ dye stains and came up w/ this. In this pick it looks like it has a purple hue to it and under the fluorescent lights in my garage they do; but when they're in more natural light the color changes and they have a more burgandy undertone. Can't wait to practice some more w/ the dye stains!

Still thinking about just painting the bases satin black to match the speaker surrounds. I'll probably just finish those like the rest of the cabinets and change it later if I want to.

Tomorrow I'll start w/ the finish. Using Ceramithane, clear satin finish.

 

[TheWarrior]

Just go with whatever suits your room, and is not too dark to show off the wood grain. You took the time to veneer it after all! Nice work man!

 

[timoteo]

Those are looking fantastic!!

I love the design with the flush grills, excellent work!!

Cant wait to see the finished product...

 

[mattsk8]

Done!!! Now I can take a breath for a bit and start those ER18's finally!!

The grill cloth is black, just looks gray from the camera flash...

 

[TheWarrior]

Beautiful man! I hope they sound as good as they look!

 

[skyline_123]

Man those came out nice! I really like the bases, they give it a nice finished look. How do you like the sound?

 

[GranteedEV]

Done!!! Now I can take a breath for a bit and start those ER18's finally!!

The grill cloth is black, just looks gray from the camera flash...

That finish is just swweeettt

 

[mattsk8]

Thanks!!! I am happy w/ the sound (for shop speakers !). Thanks to you guys for all the help and time to answer all my dumb questions! This forum (IMO) is my favorite DIY forum. Great group here

I can't wait to build and hear those ER18's now ! Every time I go to my dad's and hear those statements I want to run home and build the ER18's but I didn't want to make any mistakes; that's why I chose to finish these first. I realize I went waaaaay overboard for some garage speakers, but I'm glad I did it. I learned a lot about mapping the entire build out first! (Hopefully) I won't make a lot of the same mistakes on the ER18's as I did on these! I'll start another ER18 thread for that build . My wife always told me I had A.D.D., I guess this thread seals that assumption

 

[Swerd]

Matt

The finished Tritrix cabinets look great. Your contributions here have been a big help at making the AH DIY forum come alive. Now that I've seen what good work you do, I can't wait to see what you do with the ER18s. I think you'll be the first builder who will do a direct comparison of the ER18 and the Statements.