The Frankenstein Horn
"It's so ugly... it's scary!"
I Am Not A Woodworker
And so it seems that I will not be embarking on a new career as a carpenter or woodworker anytime soon. This is my first try at cutting, gluing, or even manipulating wood of any kind. I am a city dweller by nature. Table saws aren't common on the streets of New York. A router? Isn't that a device that directs IP traffic between subnets?
I have learned a lot in this project. Like glue opposite ends and never adjacent boards. Always map out your pieces on one of the side walls, using a pencil to mark all locations and measurements BEFORE gluing anything. You can never have enough clamps. Horns are hard to build. I've always known success was going to depend on a good design and how well that design is executed by the builder.... Well, at least I can always build another cabinet if this one doesn't sound right.
At the moment, I am not going to post any pictures until the cabinets are closer to completion. All I can say is they are ugly, misshapen creatures, and I am their master. They have been modified to do my bidding and no longer resemble their former selves. Strong and built like tanks, but built without skill or the knowledge of where things should go. I shall rename them to fit their nature... They will be known as The Frankenstein Horns.
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha
The problems and questions I faced were many. Should I line the compression chamber, or shouldn't I...should I extend my use of cork for the curves into the horn, or shouldn't I... should I use egg-crate-style foam behind the driver, or shouldn't I... should I apply dammar varnish to the drivers before listening to the completed speakers, or shouldn't I. You get the ugly picture. I decided to cork line the compression chamber and extend the cork curve slightly. However, I decided against the foam padding and dammar varnish as I can apply those tweaks after initial break-in of the driver.
I still have one last modification to plan: bracing. I will probably only brace the last part of the horn fold as the first part seems too difficult to get a dowel or stick in tightly. I'm still not sure I will even brace the folds!
Here are pictures of the unfinished horns.
From these pictures, you can tell where I've placed cork on the first bend. I've read somewhere that placing cork at the bend is a bit risky as it may suck out too much midrange so I am hoping I can yank out some of it once that cabinet is sealed. I am still missing one corner piece, which I will cut this coming weekend, then I will be ready to brace (or not brace) and glue the side panel.
This is the binding post I used. The cabinets were so thick that I barely got the solder lugs through to the other side. I drilled holes for the posts, then used a plunge router to make 1/2-inch hole on the inside of the cabinet to allow the nut and solder lug to attach to the posts. I then filled the hole with liquid nail to seal it.
More to follow...
Page last updated October 29, 2002