Well, after giving them two coats of the DuraTex coating, and allowing to dry thoroughly, I finally got off the dime, stacked up all the bits and pieces needed to finish them, and went at it.
The two coats I gave them were probably a bit 'light', as I've never used the stuff before, and wasn't sure how it rolled out, if it ran or sagged, or how well it filled surface defects that I missed.
As you can see, the joining line between the top, side, and front panels wasn't completely filled in on the outside, and you can see the join line. Considering this stuff comes out of the can almost like pudding, I assumed it would cover any remaining flaws, which it doesn't. It shrinks quite a bit as it cures, which I now know. Seeing as these are 'Basement Workshop' speakers, and I'm not building them for sale, they're plenty good enough.
So here they are, fully assembled as specified in the "instructions" they give you, along with the twenty-six #8x3/4" deep thread screws, and the input terminal plate, which were not included in the "kit".
I'm going to tack on some protective grilles for the speakers with little dabs of sealer. That way they don't require any hardware to attach, and the sealer keeps them 'floating' over the grilles so they can't get loose, vibrate, and cause Bad Sound, like Da Kidz that drive by with their stereos on loud enough to vibrate everything in their car.
How do they sound? Crude preliminary testing with a little Pyle "40 Watt" per channel amp driven by my 'shop radio' indicate much promise.
Not an "Audiophile Grade" at all, but it works, and I had it.
Now to get that big old Heathkit AR-15 finished up!
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Talk about retro. When I was a teenager, I made some 3/4" plywood speaker boxes about 50 years ago and a Heathkit amp, worked great to blast Carlos Santana's 'Oye Como Va' much to the irritation of my parents.
ReplyDeleteI *like* 'retro'.
DeleteThese are 3/4" MDF, and really made a mess when I sanded them.
The amp in the receiver is rated 75 Watts RMS per channel, and should drive these nicely.
Can hardly wait to play "Black Magic Woman" or some Sinatra!
Enjoy being able to ‘hear’ them... sigh
ReplyDeleteThat's what equalizers are for.
DeleteTo accommodate that hearing loss.
Back in the day I'd visit guys who worked on the flight line.
Listen to their stereo.
All about the treble.
@NFO - Hearing not shot too badly, and I have some really good headphones if I need them.
Delete@Ed - HAH!
Nice looking speakers. I am living with my 45 year old Dynaco A25 speakers in my ham shack/office/etc space. They still are working pretty good or my hearing is totally shot.
ReplyDeleteConsidering this is the first woodworking/cabinetry project I've done since high school 50 years ago, they came out OK.
DeleteI'm still pi$$ed they have the gall to call these things "kits". They're NOT kits, or even "semi-kits". The best I can say about them is that they're a collection of most of the parts needed to build them, but lacking input terminals, hardware, grilles, and $2 worth of perfboard to mount the crossover components on.
Geez...Heathkit, Knight-Kit, EICO, and probably others, even gave you the solder!
Oh, well....they sound good with the little amp I have, and if the AR-15 receiver works as it should, they should sound really good.