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And so it begins...

So, an update on where I'd got to on the Ergos before the Ergos got to me. I added the solid wood lipping to the side panels using a mitre at the join:

clamped lipping2.jpg


I cut the mitre on my Makita LS1013 after working out the angle with offcuts and a little trial and error until I had the perfect join. For some reason all the photos i took seem to make the fit look less that ideal but in reality I'm pretty happy with it. The following are after planing down the lipping. I should mention that I also spent at least 2 hours honing the blade for my plane. I was just giving it a tidy up on the micro bevel and went and dropped it on a concrete floor. I had to grind it back and re-hone, it's things like this that really test your resolve!

lipping closeup.jpg


joint closeup3.jpg


I'm still wondering how the joint will look once finished but remember that it will only be visible from front-on as the veneer will cover the side of the lipping. Speaking of veneer...
 
So once I'd completed the lipping and subsequent planing I moved to veneering the panels. The veneer leaves I'd bought were approx 14" - wide enough for the tops / backs / and lower front panel but I had to joint them for the sides.

Cutting a straight edge on two leaves:
jointing veneer.jpg


Then taping these together:
taped veneer.jpg


Cut to size before gluing:
taped cut to size.jpg


After applying glue to a side panel:
glued up.jpg
 
A couple of finished panels after trimming the excess veneer:

finished panels.jpg


Some pictures of one of the panels posing next to one of my Ergo IXs:

panelergoix.jpg


panelergoix_2.jpg


panelergoix_3.jpg
 
Hi Paul, and happy new year to you. I'm pleased to see you've bounced back with renewed enthusiasm. You're right to take pause, slow down and take extra care in the finishing stages of the project. I must say your veneering (and lipping) looks superb. I wish I had a veneer bagging system.

Your feelings prior to Christmas reminds of a decking project I undertook at my previous house. It was meant to be done and dusted over a five week period that I was on my summer leave. I had it all planned out. But the unplanned stuff and mistakes always get in the way. It was Easter (five months after starting) before the deck was completed. But I think it's so completely worth the angst, effort and time.

Before:

6450461-md.jpg


During:

5577440-md.jpg


After:

5875088-md.jpg
 
paulski said:
A couple of finished panels after trimming the excess veneer:
Some pictures of one of the panels posing next to one of my Ergo IXs:
Click to expand...

It looks lovely Paul. Can't wait to see once you have routed the chamfer but with the bagpress pressure I am sure the glue line will be invisible.
 
paulski said:
When I look back at your original build thread I realise now that you had several gaps where work and life intervened and it was actually over a year in completing Tony's pair of Egos. If I may I'm going to allow myself to feel a little smug that I'm not quite 3 months in and I've done a fair bit, even if I'm only building one pair ;) I'm sure you'll one day get the urge to complete your pair, besides you need to solve the mysterious lack of bass when you had Tony's pair in your system.

I really appreciate your kind offer of help, Gareth. I set out to do this partly to end up with a great pair of 'speakers and partly to prove to myself that I could complete the build and overcome the challenges satisfactorily. To that end I really want to get to the end by myself if I can. That said I know we should never be afraid to ask for help where we need it so I'll keep your kind offer in mind if I may. There are some aspects of the next steps that are concerning me and I'll post some details here in the coming days. In the meantime I should update on where I got to before Christmas and the 'sub-project' that's been keeping me from too many mince pies in the last week or so...
Click to expand...

Good to hear you want to finish, I am the same. The new workshop is in use now so speaker building is getting very close.

Intrigued by the sub project.
 
cutting42 said:
Good to hear you want to finish, I am the same. The new workshop is in use now so speaker building is getting very close.

Intrigued by the sub project.
Click to expand...

Ah, the sub-project! Maybe I was exaggerating it a little as it was 'just' the crossovers. I figured I could keep myself busy with these as they are a completely separate project that I could do without even looking at a speaker cabinet! Having said that, I chose to make the boxes from these from the spare cherry planks I had and although it's a small box I still had to joint some planks for the tops and bottoms and cut the mitres for the frame. Then there's the actual crossover, I largely followed James's original layout but have given my self an option to biamp or triamp in future if I choose to (which I almost certainly won't ...). I rebated the ends of the boxes for Neutrik 8 pole Speakon connectors (one input for any future bi / tramping and one output to connect to the speakers. I've also got WBT 4mm connectors which will serve as the input initially. All built on a piece of 12mm MDF using some earth wire (from some very heavy duty twin & earth cable I've got left from building my hi-fi mains spur (or axial if we're being picky)) as through connectors and live / neutral wires from the same connectors as flying leads underneath the board to complete the circuit.

It's not my greatest piece of woodworking and nor was it intended to be but I've got them out of the way now as they're complete and tested and just need final finishing and lacquering. I'll put up some pics when I get a moment.
 
Looking good Paul glad you have got your mojo back.
One of my big projects was 4 chairs for xmas I took a week off work and made them.


52 parts in all I finished them in a week, then a couple of years later I needed another 2, so I took another week off and it took a whole week to make two my productivity had dropped by 50%!

Pete
 
All these build projects are fascinating to follow. If I had the time, and that would need to be a lot, because my woodworking skills are so far behind, I would love to have a go. In the meantime I will simply marvel at the effort being put in and the results.

In the meantime I will concentrate on stripping wall paper and ceiling paper, and then making good cracks and blemishes before the painting...
 
I'm guessing winter got in the way, Paul. Hopefully, Spring has sprung and you'll soon be dusting off the router and making some more sawdust
 
James said:
I'm guessing winter got in the way, Paul. Hopefully, Spring has sprung and you'll soon be dusting off the router and making some more sawdust
Click to expand...

Pretty much spot on, James. Once the colder weather was with us my enthuiasm waned to pretty much zero. Now it's warming up I must get back to this although I'll take steadily. In the meantime I've decided to veneer the other side of the side panels since I've got enough spare veneer and it'll take the bend out of them. Now where did I put those pictures of the crossovers....
 
paulski said:
In the meantime I've decided to veneer the other side of the side panels since I've got enough spare veneer and it'll take the bend out of them.
Click to expand...
On the inside that is ultimately bonded to the inner carcass, or have I missed something?

It's decidedly autumnal here now, so I'll look forward to warming up vicariously through your spring/summer adventures.
 
...... I'd parked the Ergo IIIR build pretty much indefinitely for the last year or so. There were so many other things competing for my limited time / energy that I'd consigned them to a dark corner. Both physically and mentally.

A recent tidy up and minor home theatre project necessitated a clear up and I had to move the Ergo cabs and all the veneered panels from their aforementioned resting place. This prompted me to sit down and do something I rarely do for my non-work projects - write a plan. Well it's more a breakdown into small tasks of what still needs to be done with time for each task. The purpose is two-fold a) to see the total time left to finish this build and b) to break it down into manageable chunks rather than one scary unknown.

I added 50% contingency and reckon I've about 70 hours work to get these beasties finished and playing music. Not too bad if you say it quickly. Hopefully some updates in the next few days.

Gareth, dare I ask....?
 
I was just thinking about this build this morning and tried looking for the thread but failed. That is a bit spooky!

Glad you are thinking about getting back on track.

Stefan
 
I'll race you, Paul. I have been meaning to internalise my E-IIIR crossovers, only so I can get them closer to the wall and make them a bit tidier. Then I remembered I had glued the lower plinths in place. This means I'll have to rip the original off and make up new ones so I can access the internal space. It's no wonder my project has been on-hold too. That, and the fact I continue to be enthralled by Yam NS-1000Ms.
 
Right, finally I’ve got going and made a little progress. Not too much but it’s a start and one of the jobs was a task I was fretting about.

The other day I made a template for routing the rebates for the Neutrik speakon sockets, not very glamourous but it needed doing. Today though I got to the front edges of the side panels. Specifically this involved rounding the transition where the two pieces of lipping are jointed and then routing the bevelled edges. I made a template to round the transition and did the bevel on the router table. I took it nice and slowly and I’m pretty happy with the results. Pics shortly....
 
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