Final parts and Assembly
Just a few parts to go, a few braces (4 of each) that are put in the corners of the center-body and the 2 gaskets that go between the center-body and both front and back panels.
Assembly is pretty straight forward. First we make the front and back panels according to the instructions given earlier. Next we glue up the enclosure center-body:
Put the dowel pins into place and glue up the side panes to the bottom panel (one at a time). Use a carpenter’s square to line up the sides. Use enough clamps and proper time for the glue to set! Next, slide in the center brace with a liberate amount of glue, don’t let this glue harden, go to the next step and close it up with the dowel pins and the top panel + glue. Use the clamps again and let the glue harden.
Screw and glue the corner braces into place, the short ones (135mm) go at the front baffle side (where the feet are mounted more inwards). The longer braces go at the back side.
(also see the image on the top of this page for clarification)
This should leave you with a part-set that looks a bit like this picture I took just before paint:
To assemble the baffle, bolt the woofer to the driver-baffle with the M5 bolts/nuts. Next slide the driver-baffle over the threaded rods of the front baffle. Lock it in place with (small DIN 125) M8 rings and locking nuts. I used a couple of neoprene tape patches of 1mm thickness between the driver-baffle and the front baffle. Slide the gasket over the inner side before mounting it to the center-enclosure-body.
For paint I used a recipe that I have used on the arrays. First I coated all outside visible parts with epoxy (dyed black). Next, followed by another layer of epoxy, this time mixed with microballoons (also the black dye). I used this microballoon mixture to get a slight texture build-up, determined by the roller used for application. A medium fine roller will leave a nice textured finish. This also depends on the speed of the rolling motion while applying the epoxy/microballoon mixture. The microballoons make the mixture thick enough to hold the texture.
To finish it up all parts got two layers of silk gloss black boat paint. This paint is meant to go over epoxy. I used the Dutch brand: Double Coat. It is a two part polyurethane based paint. The colored epoxy isn’t UV resistant by itself and needs a protecting top layer. After a couple of days I buff out the paint using “very fine’ grade abrasive pads.
After paint I buff the parts following this recipe:
– First wet sand the enclosures with the abrasive pads
– Rub it out with the pads and paste wax
– Remove excess wax with paper towels
– Remove even more wax with water and a light rub with the pads
– Wipe dry with a microfiber towel
This results in a smooth semi gloss finish.
