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Grand Enigma

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It's really pretty simple. Let me know when you want to try, and I'll give you some good tips.

One day I hope to purchase a nice vacuum bag clamping system.

That really isn't needed to get you a great finish, it will save you time though.

I've learnede veneering with my parents (who designed and sold furniture for over 20years) and the only tools used were a rolling thingy for big surfaces(I don't know the english names for it) and an car bodyword repair thingy made of stainless stell.(I can take pictures of the tools if you want me to)

Aside from the veneer itself, the quality of the glue and the finish of the surface are the most important secrets to a great veneer job, and patience as well...

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It's really pretty simple. Let me know when you want to try, and I'll give you some good tips.

One day I hope to purchase a nice vacuum bag clamping system.

In my short stint with veneering, it sure does seem very simple. Leaving my test piece out on my window ledge with sun baking heat/cool cycles has not caused any ill effect on it either. :)

Have you done any research into the vacuum bag systems out there? I've only had a cursory look and it doesn't look too pricey.

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That really isn't needed to get you a great finish, it will save you time though.

I've learnede veneering with my parents (who designed and sold furniture for over 20years) and the only tools used were a rolling thingy for big surfaces(I don't know the english names for it) and an car bodyword repair thingy made of stainless stell.(I can take pictures of the tools if you want me to)

Aside from the veneer itself, the quality of the glue and the finish of the surface are the most important secrets to a great veneer job, and patience as well...

No it isn't necessary. I use what's referred to as calls in the trade. Nothing more than flat stock just slightly larger than the piece you're working on, then a couple of 2 x 4s on top of the calls. This gives you a thick piece of stock to attach the clamps to, and the calls distribute the pressure more evenly.

Rollers only tend to work well for me if I'm using some form of contact cement, but I prefer to use wood glue which needs to be clamped to adhere properly. The vacuum systems are better at distributing and applying pressure, and can be used for more than just veneers.

Have you done any research into the vacuum bag systems out there? I've only had a cursory look and it doesn't look too pricey.

Yeah, I've been researching them for a while now. Luckily the cost is coming down. I'm sure I'll own one soon.

Buy Vacuum Veneering Kit with Pump and 36" x 54" Vinyl Bag, Vacuum Veneering

Edited by swt61
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Can you show a picture of the "calls"?

As far as glue goes I use "contact glue". It's yellow and you put it on both side and wait until dries and doesn't stick to your fingers anymore, then put the veneer and surface together and apply pressure.

No it isn't necessary. I use what's referred to as calls in the trade. Nothing more than flat stock just slightly larger than the piece you're working on, then a couple of 2 x 4s on top of the calls. This gives you a thick piece of stock to attach the clamps to, and the calls distribute the pressure more evenly.

Rollers only tend to work well for me if I'm using some form of contact cement, but I prefer to use wood glue which needs to be clamped to adhere properly. The vacuum systems are better at distributing and applying pressure, and can be used for more than just veneers.

Yeah, I've been researching them for a while now. Luckily the cost is coming down. I'm sure I'll own one soon.

Buy Vacuum Veneering Kit with Pump and 36" x 54" Vinyl Bag, Vacuum Veneering

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  • 1 month later...

spiug31-albums-other-picture989-interconnect-cables-inspired-chris-venhaus-diy-silver-interconnects-teflon-tube-24-awg-upocc-solid-copper-teflon-coated-wire-xhadow-xlrs-teflon-tube-18-awg-upocc-solid-copper-teflon-coated-wire-furutech-fp-106-rca-neutrik-1-8-connector.jpg

interconnect cables inspired by the Chris VenHaus, DIY Silver Interconnects

teflon tube, 24 AWG upocc solid copper teflon coated wire, Xhadow xlr's

teflon tube, 18 AWG upocc solid copper teflon coated wire, furutech FP-106 rca's, neutrik 1/8" connector

none of the connections are soldered all are wrapped/twisted or screwed into contact (so I can re-use the connectors/wires).

spiug31-albums-other-picture987-rewired-recabled-k340-headphone-canare-starquad-l-4e6s-cable-neutrik-xlrs-28awg-solid-spc-jumper-wires.jpg

rewired+recabled K340 headphone

canare starquad L-4E6S cable, Neutrik XLR's, 28AWG solid spc jumper wires

all connections for the K340 are soldered.

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have some cables that look awfully similar. :) Did you put that red nail polish on there so we can't tell what kind of bolts you used. :D

Quite similar here, too.

Chris VenHaus DIY Silver Interconnects.

Parts:

VHA HyperFlex Teflon tube

VHA 28 AWG UniCrystal OCC Silver/Cotton wire

Teflon tape

3:1 Heat Shrink Tubing

Tinned copper braid mesh (XLR)

Nylon multifilament

Cardas silver solder

Eichmann Bullet plugs

Neutrik XX-series XLR's

In the making:

P1010425.jpg

P1010431.jpg

P1010432.jpg

P1010433.jpg

P1010437.jpg

Final:

P1010446.jpg

P1010452.jpg

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Quite similar here, too.

Chris VenHaus DIY Silver Interconnects.

Parts:

VHA HyperFlex Teflon tube

VHA 28 AWG UniCrystal OCC Silver/Cotton wire

Teflon tape

3:1 Heat Shrink Tubing

Tinned copper braid mesh (XLR)

Nylon multifilament

Cardas silver solder

Eichmann Bullet plugs

Neutrik XX-series XLR's

What's the diameter of those cables before the braid? Then what sizes of shield braid and nylon braid worked?

I have some similar cables, sort of backwards Van Haus - fine silver conductors in oversize Teflon tubes, wound over cotton rope. I want to make a shielded pair. The naked cables are almost exactly 3/8" I'm wondering if I'll be able to get them into 3/8 copper braid. Then, if I do, will I be able to get the whole affair into 3/8 nylon? On the other hand, it would take a mile of Teflon tape to make 1/2" work.

Does anybody know if foamed teflon tape can be sourced? More space between the braid and the conductors might be a good idea anyway, capacitance-wise.

Or cotton fabric, maybe?

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Does anybody know if foamed teflon tape can be sourced? More space between the braid and the conductors might be a good idea anyway, capacitance-wise.

a search for expanded ptfe tape turned up these:

Polyflon Technology Limited - Your Partner In Fluoropolymers - Expanded PTFE Sealing Tape

Adtex PTFE gasket tape

GORE? Series 300 Gasket Tape

I suspect that those in the US have a different name for it (as I turned up no US results apart from Gore 300), visit your local hardware/diy/builders' merchant and ask.

of course you could simply counter spiral some cotton string around/along the main cable, teflon tape that in place and repeat until you got the girth you seek.

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a search for expanded ptfe tape turned up these:

[snip...]

of course you could simply counter spiral some cotton string around/along the main cable, teflon tape that in place and repeat until you got the girth you seek.

Good Googling. "foam Teflon" gets nothing but noise.

Small quantities of the foamed tape at a reasonable price could be a trick to find around here. The string idea is excellent. Shortly after I posted, I stumbled on an inspiration in my garage in the form of a bag of "Cotton T-shirt fabric mills ends" that I bought at Constantines for applying stain. They're rings of t-shirt fabric, like calamari. I think they are the off-cuts from when they start up the tubular knitting machines. Cut 'em so they're strips and they should wind just fine. A layer of Teflon tape to keep it all tidy, and the shield should slip on without too much of a fight.

Don't know if this will help or not for your project, but I looked at this guy's website before I made mine. Didn't follow his exactly, but I like them.

Cotton Silver Interconnect Construction

Another flash of inspiration. That guy skips the Teflon tubes altogether. As long as you keep it fairly well sealed, I would guess it could work really well. (Cotton being a better dielectric than Teflon. But not as good as air, which is mostly what touches the wire in my IC). An issue I've had has been a limit to how long an interconnect I could make, based on getting the silly wire into the tube. His way could be unlimited in length. Alternatively, you could do non-continuous lengths of tube every foot or so, maybe, if you were concerned about the conductors coming loose and moving around and shorting.

Oh. I see that fellow uses Titebond on the end of his rope. I have used epoxy finishing resin (the kind you would use to glass a model airplane wing) and it has worked great. It's hard, but a set screw will still bite. Just nip off the little blob that forms at the very end with side cutters. Any kind of epoxy that gets liquid as it cures should work fine.

Thanks guys!

Edited by CarlSeibert
added the epoxy end bit
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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, I can't say they're Pink Pythons of Perfection, but they're pink pythons of pretty good at least.

pink_cables.jpg

Inspired by the guy whose link Pars posted, they're 2 meters long and no Teflon tube was harmed in their building, apart from a couple of half-inch lengths for the center wire at the plugs, which are my favorite ersatz WBTs from Parts Express. My contribution is to use cotton thread to bind the silver conductor to the rope, which seems a decent idea and allows you to build in the cotton spirit, without any PTFE touching the conductors. I actually used PTFE tape first and then the thread, mostly because I wasn't comfortable with the thread yet and I didn't want the things unraveling on me. The cotton jacket is jersey t-shirt material, which turns out to be a pain in the butt to work with. The edges curl up and you have the devil's own time getting it to lay flat. I'll use woven cotton next time. The curly edges made for a spiral bump down the cable, but two layers of Teflon wound over the cotton pulled it all down to a more or less uniform shape.

So how does it sound? It trounced the rather decent commercial cable it replaced. A significant hardness was replaced by better resolution and a more relaxed musicality. Transients were better. Dynamics were better. Generally speaking, it was mo' better.

Break in behavior is not the same as I've had on other silver cables I've made. Normally, they're pretty disappointing for the first few minutes (all midrange, no extension and no subtlety) then they pop into focus in less than an hour and don't really change any more. These don't seem to be changing much. Either they aren't going to change at all or they'll do it slowly, more like what you're supposed to expect from silver cables. We'll see.

For it's intended purpose, it's a success. But that doesn't answer the real question, which is "is the cotton better, worse, or the same as the tubes?". Given that this is the longest cable in the den system, it's not as easy as I would like to work out a way to compare. If I take it out of its place, then I have to put the inferior old cable back in. It's a sticky wicket. I'll contrive something and report back.

(I'll upload the file of the picture of the thread binding so it will stay permanently with the post.)

post-1053-12951155018793_thumb.jpg

post-1053-12951155019618_thumb.jpg

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  • 3 months later...

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