Thanks Nick! Curves are fun to do, and not all that hard really. Can't get the box done in a day, though. :) And thanks for all the helpful advice over the past year or so, it has helped... I need to follow more of it!
Thanks, Kevin! After all the previous videos, I finally made one on something I'm actually half-decent at! Hopefully it helps someone wanting to 'throw a curve' at a speaker cabinet to finally take the plunge.
How In the world do you have so few subscribers? Excellent work, excellent voice over, good cinematography....interesting content. You have earned a like and subcribe from me. Keep at this.
Nice! A new and improved version of a very popular "standard" high value DIY design, and with a high SAF factor. I look forward to the new MTM design. Great work as always.
It is a LOT of fun to add curves to a speaker cabinet. The 1/8" HDF can really bend quite a bit. It can feel like there is a TON of tension while clamping, but once the individual sheets of HDF bond to each other, the effect is greatly mitigated. Give it a try! If I can do it, it CAN'T be that hard! :)
Tom, I heard from you last month that you will make a video for this curved cabinet. It's true that the interval is a bit long, but fortunately your video is finally released. I'm moving recently and don't have time to go online. Although it's a little late, I still send my boast to you! It's great, the video is detailed and we'll learn how to make it.
The "Breathing Room" at 11:56 is so often missed by DIY speaker builders and does make a difference in mid range drivers as the back wave is not playing in as much of a "tube" of the front baffle hole. Nice.
You too? Yeah, Justin the DIY Audio Guy says the same thing. As long as nothing catches fire or shorts out, ugly crossovers are just fine! :) If the electrons don't mind, then neither do I.
Really liked this. I am thinking about some diy speakers but I don’t have the woodworking equipment. Looking at the hi-vi diy3.1 or similar. Subscribed and looking forward to new content!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment and feedback. You probably are aware, but Parts Express has several pretty nice speaker kits that ship as a flatback. They are easy to assemble even with no clamps... you can use tape and wood glue... and they are pretty high quality most of them. There are a few other sites that have flatpack kits too. Meniscus or Madisound I think. You can do veneer without real tools, an Xacto knife and clothes iron and sandpaper is all you really need if you use thinner veneer, like the fleece-backed stuff I used on this project from Aliexpress from China. Do it! It'll be fun.
Those are as-yet-unfinished speakers called the Bantam MTM's, based on my original 'Bantam's' speaker design from back in 2016. They are still my favorite speaker believe it or not. They don't sound the 'best' of all the speakers I've built, but they just out-perform their size by a large margin. Here is a link to that speaker write-up if you're interested: projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/the-bantams/ The Bantam MTM is finished cabinet-wise, but I never did get around to finishing up the crossover to my satisfaction yet. BTW, the side driver is a passive radiator and there is one on each side. Thanks for commenting!
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 Thank you for the link. They look really, really nice. I'm just getting into speaker building but I think I'll try to replicate them one day. ^_^
I looked into the Aliexpress veneer and it's only .008 thick, which is roughly one half of a sixty-fourth (1/64") for fractional thinkers. Most American wood veneer is 1/32" (.031) thick and sometimes .022 - .023 thick for walnut and expensive exotics. The thinner product is good for bending but sanding must be done with care and probably best done only by hand. The hot iron makes the wood more pliable and I am wondering if a light mist of water or steam from an iron would help. Wooden boat builders use steam for bending planks and guitar makers use water and heat for slowly shaping the .100 - .125 thick curved wooden sides of acoustic guitars.
Thanks for that info. Yeah, it's easy to sand through for sure. Most of the veneers I've previously used had a backing of some type on it which made it thicker to work with... but you could still sand through that if not careful. This stuff is just thick enough so as to not be see-through!
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 - I'm sure that you're aware of this, US veneers are paper backed while the Chinese stuff states linen backed. The price is extremely attractive
You have probably answered this question before, but I just found your channel and haven’t dug through all the videos and comments to find out. For those of us with tools consisting of a couple hammers and miscellaneous screwdrivers, wrenches and saws, do you ever build cabinets for customers/viewers?
Hey Ty. I don't build cabinets to sell. But, if you're familiar with Parts Express at all, they have several really nice cabinets that you can purchase as Knock-Down kits that you can assemble easily with no tools, just glue and some tape if that's all you have. Here is a link to those: www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/Speaker-Subwoofer-Cabinet-Enclosures And they also sell kits similarly set up. Here is a link to some of those: www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/Speaker-Subwoofer-Cabinet-Enclosures There are no curved cabinets there, but they do have some pretty nice enclosures and kits to get you started if you wanted to delve into this to start with. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great job! I was just wondering though - where you put a thin piece of HDF to cover the end grain so it doesn't "telegraph" through the veneer, doesn't the "end grain" of the HDF effectively do the same thing albeit only 1/8th inch thick? Surely, unless all the joints are mitered, there will be some end grain.
Thank you! Regarding the HDF, It's so thin that the end grain doesn't move enough to show up. Remember, this isn't MDF, but HDF board... its denser and since it's so thin, and dense, the end grain doesn't really absorb moisture as end grain on 3/4" MDF, for example.
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 thanks for the reply. Yeah I did wonder about the consistency of HDF over MDF as I've not used it in projects myself. I do use sanding sealer a lot on MDF and that does make a great foundation to prevent MDF "end grain" from being too absorbent compared to the faces. But you know what you're doing and have a great end result regardless.
Why no conjugate network across the LF driver ...? Does all that cabinet work really justify itself ... high hysteresis' dampening material stuck to all the inside panels would deaden panel resonances as well as diffuse internal reflections. Loose fibre filling does very little in this respect
You're totally missing the point. This is DIY... I made the cabinets curved because that's what I wanted. That is what DIY speaker building is all about. Having it the way YOU want it. My time, my choices, my fun! Regarding the crossover choices... they're one of the best "Bang for the Buck" speaker projects in existence. Not my design... but excellent for the money. Plus, after youve built tons of regular speakers, you kind of like a chance to challenge yourself!...And this is just my opinion, but these curved cabinets look a lot sexier than regular old square cabinets any day of the week.
Did you make that black paint yourself I put wood hardener on before any finishing then lightly sand, then use a magnum sharpie. it's absolutely the best way. I don't want to pick on you but you leave no choice, if you wet sanded between coats you would have what's called a piano finish, anything over 3 coats without sanding is a waste of time and materials, use a tack rag when dry 5 or 6 coats is all you need it will look like glass
Thanks for the comment. My niece gave me that paint, it's just to keep the thin seam between the driver and recess nice and dark, you really can't see it in reality. I have done the 'grain filling' process several times along with sanding between coats, but that's not the look I was going for with this project.
What a great way to redo the cabinets! I love the added curve!
Thanks for the recommendation
Thanks Nick! Curves are fun to do, and not all that hard really. Can't get the box done in a day, though. :) And thanks for all the helpful advice over the past year or so, it has helped... I need to follow more of it!
I've been waiting for this!
Love the new cabinet! Shape should help cut down and spread out cabinet resonances compared to the original too!
Gracias! Yes, it should hopefully be harder for the sides to resonate, and what does start to jiggle should be minimized.
Nice job, keep posting. I enjoy your videos very much.
Thanks a lot. I'm slow, but hopefully the videos are getting better. I can't even watch some of the early ones. :)
Nice work Tom! Lots of great tips for those considering a curved cabinet build.
Thanks, Kevin! After all the previous videos, I finally made one on something I'm actually half-decent at! Hopefully it helps someone wanting to 'throw a curve' at a speaker cabinet to finally take the plunge.
How In the world do you have so few subscribers?
Excellent work, excellent voice over, good cinematography....interesting content.
You have earned a like and subcribe from me.
Keep at this.
Yea he should get a ribbon,
Thanks for the encouragement... maybe this video will cause a little growth, since it's on a well-known speaker design.
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 it's all a learning experience.
Nice! A new and improved version of a very popular "standard" high value DIY design, and with a high SAF factor. I look forward to the new MTM design. Great work as always.
Thank you!
Just found this channel. Subscribed! Great stuff. Thanks.
And that clamp collection!!!
Thanks for the feedback! You can't have too many clamps right?
Very nice work! Thank you for sharing your techniques.
Thank you Jack, I appreciate it.
Man this is an absolutely awesome video! They look fantastic. And you've done so well with editing it's such an easy video to watch and follow
Thanks a lot Tristan. I'm really trying to reduce the content down to only what's necessary. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
So many awesome tips! Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
nice job it looks like a fun build i have to try it
It is a LOT of fun to add curves to a speaker cabinet. The 1/8" HDF can really bend quite a bit. It can feel like there is a TON of tension while clamping, but once the individual sheets of HDF bond to each other, the effect is greatly mitigated. Give it a try! If I can do it, it CAN'T be that hard! :)
Tom, I heard from you last month that you will make a video for this curved cabinet. It's true that the interval is a bit long, but fortunately your video is finally released. I'm moving recently and don't have time to go online. Although it's a little late, I still send my boast to you! It's great, the video is detailed and we'll learn how to make it.
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Looks great! Thanks for sharing. Def going to check out more of your videos.
Thanks, I appreciate the encouragement and the comment. I'm small, but we all have to start somewhere.
Nice cabinet! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
The "Breathing Room" at 11:56 is so often missed by DIY speaker builders and does make a difference in mid range drivers as the back wave is not playing in as much of a "tube" of the front baffle hole. Nice.
Thanks Jeff. It's got to make a difference I think too.
Looking forward to grill video!
Thanks! That should be fairly short I hope. I know folks don't like the longer videos much.
Looks like my crossovers!
You too? Yeah, Justin the DIY Audio Guy says the same thing. As long as nothing catches fire or shorts out, ugly crossovers are just fine! :) If the electrons don't mind, then neither do I.
Really liked this. I am thinking about some diy speakers but I don’t have the woodworking equipment. Looking at the hi-vi diy3.1 or similar. Subscribed and looking forward to new content!
I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment and feedback. You probably are aware, but Parts Express has several pretty nice speaker kits that ship as a flatback. They are easy to assemble even with no clamps... you can use tape and wood glue... and they are pretty high quality most of them. There are a few other sites that have flatpack kits too. Meniscus or Madisound I think. You can do veneer without real tools, an Xacto knife and clothes iron and sandpaper is all you really need if you use thinner veneer, like the fleece-backed stuff I used on this project from Aliexpress from China. Do it! It'll be fun.
bro, really inspiring video, thanks a lot
Thank you sir!
so classy
Thank you! Thanks for watching.
Wow...very nice. Quick question: What are those 4 driver book shelf units with the side woofer behind your desk?
Those are as-yet-unfinished speakers called the Bantam MTM's, based on my original 'Bantam's' speaker design from back in 2016. They are still my favorite speaker believe it or not. They don't sound the 'best' of all the speakers I've built, but they just out-perform their size by a large margin. Here is a link to that speaker write-up if you're interested: projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/the-bantams/
The Bantam MTM is finished cabinet-wise, but I never did get around to finishing up the crossover to my satisfaction yet. BTW, the side driver is a passive radiator and there is one on each side.
Thanks for commenting!
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 Thank you for the link. They look really, really nice. I'm just getting into speaker building but I think I'll try to replicate them one day. ^_^
I looked into the Aliexpress veneer and it's only .008 thick, which is roughly one half of a sixty-fourth (1/64") for fractional thinkers. Most American wood veneer is 1/32" (.031) thick and sometimes .022 - .023 thick for walnut and expensive exotics. The thinner product is good for bending but sanding must be done with care and probably best done only by hand. The hot iron makes the wood more pliable and I am wondering if a light mist of water or steam from an iron would help. Wooden boat builders use steam for bending planks and guitar makers use water and heat for slowly shaping the .100 - .125 thick curved wooden sides of acoustic guitars.
Thanks for that info. Yeah, it's easy to sand through for sure. Most of the veneers I've previously used had a backing of some type on it which made it thicker to work with... but you could still sand through that if not careful. This stuff is just thick enough so as to not be see-through!
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 - I'm sure that you're aware of this, US veneers are paper backed while the Chinese stuff states linen backed. The price is extremely attractive
You have probably answered this question before, but I just found your channel and haven’t dug through all the videos and comments to find out.
For those of us with tools consisting of a couple hammers and miscellaneous screwdrivers, wrenches and saws, do you ever build cabinets for customers/viewers?
Hey Ty. I don't build cabinets to sell. But, if you're familiar with Parts Express at all, they have several really nice cabinets that you can purchase as Knock-Down kits that you can assemble easily with no tools, just glue and some tape if that's all you have. Here is a link to those: www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/Speaker-Subwoofer-Cabinet-Enclosures
And they also sell kits similarly set up. Here is a link to some of those: www.parts-express.com/speaker-components/Speaker-Subwoofer-Cabinet-Enclosures
There are no curved cabinets there, but they do have some pretty nice enclosures and kits to get you started if you wanted to delve into this to start with.
Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 thank you! I’ll have a look. Just liked the unique shape and sides to yours. Love the channel!
Great job! I was just wondering though - where you put a thin piece of HDF to cover the end grain so it doesn't "telegraph" through the veneer, doesn't the "end grain" of the HDF effectively do the same thing albeit only 1/8th inch thick? Surely, unless all the joints are mitered, there will be some end grain.
Thank you! Regarding the HDF, It's so thin that the end grain doesn't move enough to show up. Remember, this isn't MDF, but HDF board... its denser and since it's so thin, and dense, the end grain doesn't really absorb moisture as end grain on 3/4" MDF, for example.
@@zarboaudioprojects1430 thanks for the reply. Yeah I did wonder about the consistency of HDF over MDF as I've not used it in projects myself. I do use sanding sealer a lot on MDF and that does make a great foundation to prevent MDF "end grain" from being too absorbent compared to the faces. But you know what you're doing and have a great end result regardless.
Why no conjugate network across the LF driver ...? Does all that cabinet work really justify itself ... high hysteresis' dampening material stuck to all the inside panels would deaden panel resonances as well as diffuse internal reflections. Loose fibre filling does very little in this respect
You're totally missing the point. This is DIY... I made the cabinets curved because that's what I wanted. That is what DIY speaker building is all about. Having it the way YOU want it. My time, my choices, my fun! Regarding the crossover choices... they're one of the best "Bang for the Buck" speaker projects in existence. Not my design... but excellent for the money. Plus, after youve built tons of regular speakers, you kind of like a chance to challenge yourself!...And this is just my opinion, but these curved cabinets look a lot sexier than regular old square cabinets any day of the week.
seing you pushing your hand without a guard on that band saw is hurting me...
all the rest is epic !
Did you make that black paint yourself I put wood hardener on before any finishing then lightly sand, then use a magnum sharpie. it's absolutely the best way. I don't want to pick on you but you leave no choice, if you wet sanded between coats you would have what's called a piano finish, anything over 3 coats without sanding is a waste of time and materials, use a tack rag when dry 5 or 6 coats is all you need it will look like glass
Thanks for the comment. My niece gave me that paint, it's just to keep the thin seam between the driver and recess nice and dark, you really can't see it in reality. I have done the 'grain filling' process several times along with sanding between coats, but that's not the look I was going for with this project.
HIVI Swan very good · great
Thank you!
Looks like a Klipsch
I see that! Didn't until you said it though. Thanks for watching