I will second the Tung oil finish.  I have a pair of cabinets that I finished about 13 years ago with it and they still look good.  That is even after about 10 moves.  When it is applied right it will last and look great.  I think I used the stuff from Lowes or Home Depot.  

Hi!

 

May I ask a few questions about oiling the wood?

 

It's my first time to try linseed oil.  I'm using it on my new headphone cups now.  So far I've done around 3 coatings over 3 days.

 

 

How do you know when you already have enough coating? 

 

I can't seem to find the 0000 steel wool around here, is it possible to use very fine sandpaper (1000) instead?

 

Wachara C.

#0000 steel wool is much finer than 1000 grit sandpaper.  That isn't to say that 1000 grit can't be used but it may remove more material than you want and not provide the polish that Steve is referrinng to. 

Polishing the wood is an art form that should not be taken lightly.

Do you have the Blue colored Scotch brand scouring pads? Those will work well too. From what I see you need several more coats. You want it to look as though the wood is completely saturated, and a nice coat covers all the grain.

I use Tried and True oil for the wood on my amps - usually 6 to 8 coats applied over 2 weeks or so - and then buff it for 10-15 minutes with an old cashmere sweater.

and then buff it for 10-15 minutes with an old cashmere sweater.

Damn! So that's how the rich folks do it.

Polishing the wood is an art form that should not be taken lightly.

Do you have the Blue colored Scotch brand scouring pads? Those will work well too. From what I see you need several more coats. You want it to look as though the wood is completely saturated, and a nice coat covers all the grain.

 

I put on another coat last night.  When I was oiling, I used 1000 grit sand paper and wet sand them.  I'll try to look for the blue colored Scotch scouring pad.

 

 

I use Tried and True oil for the wood on my amps - usually 6 to 8 coats applied over 2 weeks or so - and then buff it for 10-15 minutes with an old cashmere sweater.

 

 

When you're buffing the wood, do you put on some kinds of wax?

 

Wachara C.

Edited December 4, 201213 yr by chinsettawong

Damn! So that's how the rich folks do it.

zing!

When you're buffing the wood, do you put on some kinds of wax?

I happen to know that Doug likes to buff the wood bare.

I seem to have some glue on the front panel of the speakers. I initially incorrectly thought it might have been some strange grain pattern but now I'm certain I didn't wipe away the glue correctly. It already has one layer of tung oil on it. Any ideas on how I could get rid of it? Some sort of organic solvent perhaps?

Sand it away and reapply Tung oil. That should be the easiest way.

While putting together the speakers I ran into some issues. Help would be much appreciated. 

 

1. I placed the driver in one of the cabinets but the holes aren't lined up parallel to the sides and the top - the screw holes aren't squared like they are supposed to be. The driver is in the recessed slot where it is supposed to be and I can't get it out of there to adjust the position of the driver. Any thoughts? I am going in blind if I try to poke it out from the back hole but I am scared I will damage the driver if I try to poke it out. There is a piece of wood that blocks view of the front hole from the back hole. 

2. The other driver was centered correctly with 3 screws holding it down but the 4th one's top stripped half way down into the wood. I can't screw it in further (nor do I want to in case I need to change the driver). Can't pull it out either. The gentleman at Home Depot said that the screws aren't readily available so I am not sure where to find replacements from however  I am considering using plain old phillips head oval wood screws even though they won't look as nice as the supplied screws. Supplied screws are hex nut wood screws. 

 

I've tried the rubber band technique. Didn't help. 

1) Gravity? Turn it driver side down and give its some taps?

2) could thread the holes for a larger screw or use knife inserts.

McMaster Carr should have all your hardware needs.

Edited December 25, 201213 yr by naamanf

1 - get a friend to help you?  One to catch the driver, the other to push from the other side?

 

Is it possible the screw holes aren't square?  I.E. that they only line up one of the four ways?  So that there is an 'up'?

1. Tilting was tried. It didn't work. Gave the back of the cabinets some good whacks with a hammer. Nothing. The panels were Cnc cut there there is little to no room.

Attached a photo so people see what my problem is. It's a very tight fit from the sides as the driver is flush with the front panel.

Solved the other problem with using an sae hex key instead of metric. The other cabinet is done completely for now. It is (relatively) cold here so the oil isn't drying all too well after 4 coats. Finishing shall resume in the spring or as soon as there is more sun out during the day. But now it looks like this. Thoughts?

 

 

 

 

Edited December 25, 201213 yr by crappyjones123

You could use a spike and attack it through the screw holes.

Or, get an old small screwdriver and bend the end of the blade about 3mm from the end. Force the blade between the back of the speaker flange and the panel and pull toward you.

You may have to work your way around each screwhole in turn until the speaker comes out.

Any damage will be hidden when the speaker is remounted properly.

Anyone have any thoughts on Skil tools? I'm looking to get a budget drill press, and I was considering a 3220. Used for casework, aluminum panels would probably not be any more than 2-3 mm thick. Or any other suggestions in the ~ $150 price range welcome.

It looks pretty decent, and the 3 reviews on Skil's site seem to indicate that the runout is good. I would miss not having a light, and not sure how useful the laser is (my Delta 10" doesn't have one).

1. You can get the SKILL thru Amazon for $117, shipped free if you're a prime member and use the HC link to throw some $$ at Todd.

 

2. I agree that the lack of a worklight is a bummer.  Even in a pretty well-lit shop I still loved having a light on my drill press and used temporary solutions on the milling machine to be able to see well enough.

 

3. How many panels do you have to do?  While I clearly love doing things myself when it comes to panels, I'm pretty content these days to draw them up and send them to Heinz (camexpert) and have him do it.  Even for pretty complex pieces I'm usually into them for less than $60 (if I already own the material) and the end product is much nicer than I could ever produce even when I had a multi-thousand dollar milling setup.

It looks pretty decent, and the 3 reviews on Skil's site seem to indicate that the runout is good. I would miss not having a light, and not sure how useful the laser is (my Delta 10" doesn't have one).

 

 

1. You can get the SKILL thru Amazon for $117, shipped free if you're a prime member and use the HC link to throw some $$ at Todd.

 

2. I agree that the lack of a worklight is a bummer.  Even in a pretty well-lit shop I still loved having a light on my drill press and used temporary solutions on the milling machine to be able to see well enough.

 

3. How many panels do you have to do?  While I clearly love doing things myself when it comes to panels, I'm pretty content these days to draw them up and send them to Heinz (camexpert) and have him do it.  Even for pretty complex pieces I'm usually into them for less than $60 (if I already own the material) and the end product is much nicer than I could ever produce even when I had a multi-thousand dollar milling setup.

Yeah I saw the Amazon price and number of good reviews which is what got me interested in it. I do not see as many posts about Skil (unlike Delta, Jet, Steel City) on hobbyist boards.

 

I have at least 3 amps I'd like to do right now. And probably more in the future. They are tube amps with only top plates that need to be drilled, and no engraving, so I might look into the CamExpert option. Having a drill press and knowing I can have work done at any time is a nice thought though. It's not really worth struggling with my hand held... takes most of the fun out of DIY

Even top plates need love too.

What I've found to help keep costs down is to not infill the engraving. Using a black panel makes it very easy but I was pretty happy with the silver on silver as well. It helps if you can use your own material but still, even those prices are pretty reasonable from both CE and FPE.

That said, I did an awful lot of building using only a cordless drill and a single stepped drill bit. Chassis punches definitely help bridge the gap if a drill press ends up not being an option.

This would fit under the "whatnot" portion of this thread. I don't think people here read AA much, but I wanted to point out this suggestion from Dave Slagle (Dave runs Intact Audio) as it is really clever. Really, this is for Ari's benefit.

 

http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/tubediy/messages/21/216416.html

The tube DIY forum on AA is virtually the only one that isn't