Ideas for making solid-wood speakers more SP?

[BowtoEd]

Hello everyone! I'm new to these forums but I've been into steampunk for a few years. My technique isn't super and I'd like ways to refine it that are beyond just painting everything copper with gears. If you're nice to me I'll post pics of my electric guitar. Some say it's Steampunk and some say it's just plain ugly. I let the viewer be the judge, however.

Anyway, I am in the middle of building some speakers of solid wood. I was originally going to polish the wood and clear coat it, making it all nice and perty. Today I had a brain flash and now I know what I want to do. First, I will give you pictures so you can see what the Ed is cooking.



This is the driver I'll be using. It's a Soundstorm F240 (http://www.onlinecarstereo.com/CarAudio/p_17632_SoundStorm_F240.aspx) car speaker that's about 4". I've had them since March 2009 and have always wanted to place them in their own cabinets. I've mainly used them as test speakers for the various electronics I've made here and there. There is a plastic ring protruding forward that's about 1/8". This is a clear sign to me that it's meant to mount behind a panel and press forward into it. I might put a bead of silicon into the groove just to enhance air-tightness.



This is my speaker cabinet. It's pretty large as far as little cabinets go, although it's not as large as a bookshelf speaker. I'm going to line the inside with felt and probably some silicon for sealing. The front and back panels are made of pine and the sides are of an unknown whitewood sold as fence posts. As said before, I was going to polish the wood and make it nice and pretty but that has fallen by the wayside. I'm probably going to get T-nuts and machine screws and make it look all steam-punkish.

Here's where I'd like help...I will throw out my current plans and ideas and see what sticks. Hopefully I can get some good advice from the wonderful people here.

-Front and back panels will be painted a metallic color. Gold is a little too forward so I'm thinking hammered copper. That is, of course, after filling all the voids and priming it. I could also do silver. I considered paining it dull gray and then, with a sponge, spattering brown, orange, and red on there to simulate rust.

-Side panels will be painted black, maybe with some letters or designs in a 19th century style. Not sure what I want there and that's why I'm coming to these forums.

-The jacks will be two-way jacks from RS. They are the ones that are red/black and accept a banana connector or a bare wire. Maybe in the future I will get a brass pair from eBay that looks more SP-ish.

-The inside panels will all have some felt on them. This will be to soften the reflections off the bare wood just a little. I don't want a speaker full of quilting fuzz but I don't want it to sound too echo-ey in there either. The felt color won't matter as it will hardly be seen.

-On the front and back panel I will place nine wood screws each. These will secure the speaker panels together. The side panels will be affixed to the front with wood glue and sealed with something like silicon caulk. The back panel will be removable but will have an RTV gasket on the mating surface so it seals out air leaks. The gasket will smash against the wood face and prevent air from escaping. The numerous wood screws are to create the visual of a high-pressure access panel that covers an air duct or something. I can dip the screw heads in black paint or make them look rusty if I must.

That's what I have so far. This is a project years in the making and I'm finally getting to it. If anyone has ideas then I'm more than willing to listen. Many thanks!

Ed

[Maets]

Extra screws with the slots filled in to look like rivets.  Paint metalic.  Make them look like steel, copper, or brass boxes when done.  I'm also big on adding a little piping, ie plumbing fittings.  Or maybe a gauge.

Looking forward to see what you do.

[BowtoEd]

>Extra screws with the slots filled in to look like rivets.  Paint metalic.

I bought two packs of 18 screws, #6 wood with slotted round heads and they are 1.25" in length. I would have got the brass but $1.18 got me 4 brass screws or 18 zinc screws. In this case it wasn't worth all the extra money to get the brass ones. Brass is more SP than steel but they both work.

Paint doesn't adhere to zinc-coated surfaces as well as it would something else. I could still do it but it would likely chip without a special, expensive zinc-etching primer. When I was on a ship I saw numerous access panels with dozens of bolts around the edge. I wanted to make something reminiscent of that. If I could find a way to make it look like weathered steel, that would be nice too. Metallic need not necessarily be shiny. The problem with that approach is that I have to apply primer, base (metal) paint, two or three different colors of "rust" paint, and then a sealer to protect it all from wear. That is a lot of steps to improve the appearance of some wood boxes. I want to try something less labor intense for now.

>Make them look like steel, copper, or brass boxes when done.

I also thought of staining the side panels with some medium-dark Minwax to look like walnut or mahogany wood. Then I could get some thin brass strip and bind it to look like a cask or something. I could get some aluminum sheet stock and carve it up to brighten the front and/or back. It would be easy to mount as there are already screws to hold it down, plus epoxy would help too. Aluminum also doesn't take paint as well as bare steel. Perhaps I could polish it and then gouge it with a file to look battle-worn or something.

>I'm also big on adding a little piping, ie plumbing fittings.  Or maybe a gauge.

I did a lot of stuff like that on my guitar. There is copper pipe that forms a mic holder as well as an old micro-ammeter face on there too. I'm an electronics guy so I could definitely rustle something up. My problem is that I don't want to just slap things on there that look like they were added as an afterthought. I may make several drawings once the boxes are complete and let members of this forum tell me what they think of the different designs. My budget isn't cut out for buying stuff like copper tubing but if I can scrap it from something then I probably will. If I can make little "hydraulic pistons" using pieces of plastic pens, I could paint them a metal color and probably add "oil" with a black or dark paint wash.

I'm not adding LEDs or any type of electrical circuit to these. They are going to be speakers that hook up to my transistor stereo (something else I made from scratch). Another thing I would like to find is some cloth wire sleeving that is wide enough for my speaker cables. If I were better at bending thin wood, I would have made these into miniature cathedral radios a-la 1930s and have been done with it.

Does anyone know if the technique for electro-etching brass will work for other metals such as aluminum? I am thinking it won't but I have much to learn. As requested, I will keep you guys in the loop as I work through this project; hopefully it turns out well.

Ed

[WillRockwell]

I would say take advantage of the wood and trim with brass. Give the wood a nice dark stain, then clear-coat it with either spray or varethane. Use brass corner pieces wherever you can, with either brass studs or brass bands between. The contrast between dark wood and brass is one of the key features of pseudo-Victorian design. I had a similar issue making my Stereoscope, which resembles a speaker cabinet

[BowtoEd]

I like that look but I don't think it's the only thing that can possibly be SP. There's that Flying V guitar on the 'net that looks like a rusted hunk of steel. I haven't ruled out staining yet but I am still contemplating. I think I like the idea of hydraulic pistons made of pen sticks.

Did you copper-plate that altoid's tin or is that just painted?

Ed

[Maets]

If you want to see what a little paint can do. http://brassgoggles.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,35074.0.html

[WillRockwell]

That is spray paint. I use Rustoleum's copper and brass, and they have a great multi colored textured paint for aged iron

[Drew P]

Too much steel and it may look too DieselPunk

Pardon a few questions:
Are the 'pistons' going to look as though they serve a function?
Any particular reason for using just felt inside the box instead of polyfil?
...Are you going to show us your Guitar?(oops,I see it's already posted)

I'm pretty sure the plastic ring around the speaker is part of the construction to aid in securing the surround to the frame,but if you can make a hole to fit it thru make it so .

[BowtoEd]

>Too much steel and it may look too DieselPunk

Steel can work with steam as well as diesel. Still, the style is more geared to copper and brass with wood. I'm still way undecided on what I want to do.

>Are the 'pistons' going to look as though they serve a function?

Maybe. I plan to put them on the sides of the front panel. They won't exactly be sturdy enough to do anything but they will look nice. I think it's a type of steam apparatus that's less cliche than clock gears or the pressure gauge. I want to be somewhat original in this too...

>Any particular reason for using just felt inside the box instead of polyfil?

I've tried polyfil in plastic speakers and wasn't impressed. Instead I decided to use something different to see what happens. I've also seen carpet underlayment used on the speaker inside walls.

>I'm pretty sure the plastic ring around the speaker is part of the construction to aid in securing the surround to the frame,but if you can make a hole to fit it thru make it so.

Probably, but I'm going to treat it like a gasket in that it will be the mating surface to the wood. Maybe the pressure from the mounting screws will mate it to the wood and provide a good seal for air.

Ed

[Armored Rah]

The thing about Steampunk, is it can be whatever YOU want it to be. For me, it's the look of hand crafted items from the future-past. It can be any kind of materials, even PLASTIC, if that's what you like. For me, it's all about brass, wood, leather, and love. The more you care about the project you're doing, the better it will be. I rarely sell anything I make, because I love it too much to part with it when it's finished. Whatever you do, Don't let other people's ideas define Steampunk for you.  It's in the imagination, which has no limits. Sure, you can follow some general rules, like "don't just glue gears all over it", but inn the end, Steampunk is what you make it.

Now, for my opinion on your project.
 I'm all about sound, but what fun is sound without some lights? LEDs seem to enhance almost anything, if used in a fun way. Normally I like dark stains on wood and leather, but one of my favorite USB drives is made from a very white wood and I love the look of it with the blue LED flashing, so it all comes down to personal tastes. A worn and used look seems to be nice, but based on real world use, some people overdue it. A valuable hand-made, working item, would have been treated with respect and well maintained, not left to rust for 100 years or ran over by a locomotive (unless that is somehow part of the story behind the item). These things are only my opinion though and should not have any bearing in your decision. Let your imagination be your inspiration. 

[WillRockwell]

Steampunk is wide open to interpretation, and the possibilities for new expression are what keep it exciting. I'm not advocating my own style, on the contrary I'd prefer people use their imagination and not copy me. The reason I prefer brass against wood is that I noticed that style on the "high end" gadgets of 1870, like the one pictured. Even so, I do exaggerate the amount of brass used, that's just personal taste.

[BowtoEd]

Being that plastic wasn't common/cost-effective in the era, they had to use what was. Wood, brass, copper, etc were better to use and probably less expensive. Before electrification of the entire nation and the advent of electronics, copper probably wasn't very valuable at all. I may be wrong.

I haven't made any progress on this since the original post. The next thing I have to do is cut the side panels and affix them to the front and back.

Ed

[J. Wilhelm]

Any particular reason for using just felt inside the box instead of polyfil?

I've tried polyfil in plastic speakers and wasn't impressed. Instead I decided to use something different to see what happens. I've also seen carpet underlayment used on the speaker inside walls.

I know a thing or two about acoustics.  There are several factors you must consider:

1.  A closed box is an acoustic suspension device i.e. exactly what it sounds like, the purpose is to "stiffen" the low frequency response of the speaker, to concentrate more energy into low-mid frequencies (whatever those may be for your particular speaker) hence giving you a flatter frequency response, in other words higher efficiency.  Oddly enough a horn accomplishes a similar task by "matching impedance" between the speaker and the ambient air.

2.  For an acoustic suspension box you don't want any leaks or openings.  The walls should be as rigid and dense as possible, meaning it can absorb sound well.  You don't want the box to resonate at all, as that is not the purpose of the box -again, acoustic "suspension" is the name of the game..

The opposite is true for a ported speaker, where the box is going to resonate from the inside, pretty much like blowing air into a bottle to make sound, or an acoustic  guitar.  The idea is that the acoustic impedance of the resonating air inside the box is coupled with that of the speaker itself, again to give you a flatter curve.  There is a small pipe attached to the hole / opening in the speaker enclosure; the length of the pipe, as well as the diameter of the hole/pipe  is important, and the interior volume of the box is also very important, and which must match the acoustic properties of the speaker.  Again the walls have to be as rigid and dense as possible, because unlike a guitar, the walls are not meant to vibrate, and you are only interested in the shape and interior volume of the box.

3. The batting inside a speaker enclosure increases the "effective volume" of the speaker.  The idea is that due to complex acoustics the batting ends up creating the illusion that the box is larger, and also prevents nasty distortions from forming due to the square nature of the box.  Outside of the standard (old school) fiberglass (probably illegal now) and polyfill, lining the inside with felt will hardly have an effect if the felt is very thin, unless we're talking about special acoustic / automotive sound insulation felt (really thick stuff looks like very thick and heavy carpeting).

Two approaches:

1. Acoustics Engineering (kind of nasty you need to know a lot of college level math before you can call it easy - I did some of that in college and it was easy but tedious)
2. Handy dandy  DIY "build your own speakers" type of books.  They use  empirical (experimental statistics) equations that make little sense by themselves, but end up giving you the correct dimensions for speakers, etc.

You already have a good start because the wood is heavier and more solid than thin plastic speaker enclosures.

Cheers,

JWD

[BowtoEd]

So here is another idea which is probably already being done: how much does Art Deco have to do with Steampunk? Steampunk is supposed to be 19th-century styles but Art Deco was more popular between the 20s to the 40s. Still, plenty of people in that time frame didn't have electricity and relied on horsepower and other forms of mechanical drive. The technology of vacuum tubes (something considered steampunk) was more mature at that time. Tesla was still alive.

I'm thinking of merging the two where I can. I'd like to learn how to do wood inlays and marquetry and my various SP projects welcome the idea. As for these speakers, I am not sure what to do yet but research and a bit of web browing will give me some insight on what to do.  What do the masses think?

Ed

[WillRockwell]

The tombstone radio was high technology in the Deco era, and it certainly aspires to a Steampunk aesthetic

[J. Wilhelm]

So here is another idea which is probably already being done: how much does Art Deco have to do with Steampunk? Steampunk is supposed to be 19th-century styles but Art Deco was more popular between the 20s to the 40s. Still, plenty of people in that time frame didn't have electricity and relied on horsepower and other forms of mechanical drive. The technology of vacuum tubes (something considered steampunk) was more mature at that time. Tesla was still alive.

I'm thinking of merging the two where I can. I'd like to learn how to do wood inlays and marquetry and my various SP projects welcome the idea. As for these speakers, I am not sure what to do yet but research and a bit of web browing will give me some insight on what to do.  What do the masses think?

Ed

The masses think you need to do your duty for your country!  Buy war bonds!  Or more to the point you're going into the next time period in history.

Not to tag it with a label, but now you are talking about Dieselpunk, Steampunk's younger sibling.  Nothing wrong with that!   And we do speak about Diesel in this forum as well... (I recommend Ottens' forum as well: http://www.dieselpunks.org/profiles/blog/list ). The materials did change a bit though, as the eyes of the public were centered on more futuristic materials like aluminiumm steel and early types of plastic.

First thought to mind is looking at radios as suggested by Mr. Rockwell.  Some interesting examples from the forum I mention:

A search on radios yields:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

http://api.ning.com/files/78trD03RUmRClR5*MgbVKKIg6RIhkYtO2rGVo8MPb6Atq*xe8zZKHncYXQt1YD6k5KOSz-vIKeKdlWpw9OmR98Q8*qlJY7jQ/00EMW1.jpg

and this picture  the "Mae West radio"  


But this website is a lot better for that purpose (and has very funny soundtrack):
http://www.antiqueradiomuseum.org/woodradios.htm

[von Corax]

For some of us, a) Dieselpunk (as well as Regencypunk or whatever the bleep you want to call it) exist under the fringes of the great umbrella we call Steampunk, and b) Steampunk is not an alternate past, but rather an alternate present if the Victorian era had endured for another century or so. Given that, one could say that although Art Deco is more closely associated with the post-Great War era, its seeds would certainly have had to be planted within the Edwardian or late Victorian, so there's no reason to believe they would not have bloomed in our alternate history as well. We do have a marked preference for Art Nouveau, but I've always felt that Art Deco had a very enticing exotic feel to it.

[BowtoEd]

The first thing I envision when I see that radio is Madonna, for some odd reason.

Last night I took some scraps of Walnut veneer I have and made an inlay on the speaker front. Since I'm not a woodworking expert, I used a simple shape that could still be of use in Art Deco. Right now I want to merge the two; as if SP continued to the 1920s where the industrial aspect was still centered on steam power. Where loudspeakers fit into this, I'm not sure.

I have a picture of it but it's not on the web. Therefore, I'll post it later today when I have time to fool with Photobucket. My problem of thinking up elements that fit the Steampunk genre but aren't either overly tacky or look like afterthoughts.

I'm all about sound, but what fun is sound without some lights? LEDs seem to enhance almost anything, if used in a fun way.

I have no problem using LEDs in a project if they're inherently powered, such as an amplifier. Even if it uses vacuum tubes, I know how to design LEDs into the circuits. These speakers don't have a power source of their own because they're driven by a solid-state amplifier I built this year. If I wanted some it would require (A) letting them be lit by audio power or (B) having an external battery supply.

(A) is out of the question because it will cause distortion to the audio signal. I want to go in the other direction than this.

(B) is also out because I want this to be a simple project and not take up another plug on my power strip.

Steampunk is wide open to interpretation, and the possibilities for new expression are what keep it exciting.

I agree. I'm not coming here because I want to jump on a bandwagon. I'm coming here because I have no ideas and I wanted to discuss this project with people who would have ideas. I'm not mechanically savvy enough to machine my own little gears and have them turn out well. I bought a thing of gears once from eBay and they were too small to be useful.

Ed