After months of getting settled in to my (almost) new home, and getting insulation blown into my garage so that I'm not heating the neighborhood, I finally get to start a project that's been floundering for about a year: A pair of folded-horn subwoofers for my home theater.

The TS55 will come in handy with so many sheets of 1/2" baltic birch plywood to rip...






I've yet to see a finish on baltic birch that I like, so veneer is in order. I fell in love with Zebrawood, but at 250.00 / 4X8 sheet ,   
and needing 4 sheets just to finish three sides of both cabinets, I reluctantly settled on a more sanely-priced rift-cut red oak.



I recently purchased a set of parallel guide rails, but after fiddling with them last summer, I set them aside in frustration. This time, I really wanted to make use of them. I found in Brice Burrell's parallel guide review a couple of modifications that allow cuts up to 37" from the adjustable stops.



With eight rip cuts of 35" wide, it worked well. Better than manhandling full sheets on a table saw!

To be continued...

This is going to be a fun one to watch develop. Do you have any pictures of the plan you are going to do? Also what drivers are you using, and are they going to active or passive?

I'm looking forward to following your progress! One of my favorite subs is from a pro-audio company, Danley Sound Labs.

http://www.danleysoundlabs.com/tapped_horn.asp?MODEL=DTS%2020

It's not much to look at, but the specifications are pretty stunning. It's really big, I have a picture from a trade show of someone standing next to it. I'll try and find it.

Speaking of Zebrawood... I sadly sold a pair of Zebrawood speakers. I regret getting rid of them, as they were stunning to look at. Oh yeah, they sounded really good too.

The Danley tapped horn is another popular cabinet in the a/v forums. I considered both and decided on the Tuba. I think the Danley is a little more compact, though.

The Thigpen Rotary subwoofers are pretty amazing. Upper end of the output range is about 20Hz, and they are used at theme parks etc. to get to the 1 Hz range.

Progress!



Panels 2 & 3...



Diagrams in the plans show where to use the guides, depending on how warped your panels are. Strongly suggest using them. In an effort to minimize nail/screw holes, I tried skipping some of the guides, and ended up with a panel shifting during the glue-up. Glue all over the place!

The small angled panel is important, as it also straightens out the larger panel it's bracing. Instructions say to draw some lines extending from the layout panel to help with alignment. It's not critical that the panel be on the lines, only that it is parallel. As an added measure, I clamped my aluminum guide underneath then added a small brace after measuring the distance at the layout panel to mouth of the cabinet as a reference.



Lousy with a tape measure, but great moral support:



Panel 4...



And panel 5. Long reach into the cabinet!



Festool challenge of the day was to figure out how to make a 52 degree bevel cut with the TS55. Ended up placing a 1X2 underneath the saw guide, measuring the angle, and subtracting that from 52. In my case, the tilt measured 8 degrees, so I clamped it down and set the saw to 44 degrees. Only solution I could think of without having to break out the table saw. Anyone have a different method?


Done for today. Time for a beer!

After finding some separation in the laminations in a piece, are you concerned with more separations from vibrations after it's assembled? I know nothing about building speakers. I'm just curious.

The plan is quite thorough, and from questions posed on the designer's forum, they are almost always answered by referring back to the plan.

The plan was designed such that someone with limited carpentry experience and tools could pull off the build, and for a rock-bottom price. Bill even has instructions on how to build a zero-clearance guide for a circular saw. 

The last large panel I added is only internally suspended at one end, and would require the box assembly. This will probably be more evident when more panels are added and the flowpath is established.

Now you've got me thinking about building some speakers for my living room. I'm using small Polk bookshelf speakers now and I have NHT surround speakers in my family room which I really like. I'd like to build two "full range" speakers (not using a sub-woofer), maximum height of about 18". Is there a web site you'd suggest for me to begin researching components and construction? For speakers that small, is it worth the trouble to make them? I'm not an audiophile, but I appreciate good sound.

I've never seen 1/2" bb plywood come in anything but 5 x 5' sheets.  And never a void near that big.  Are you sure it's baltic birch?
Looks like a great project, looking forward to seeing more pictures as it progresses!

BB does come in 4X8, but it takes some searching. Another indicator is being 9 ply for 1/2".

It was actually a de-lamination, ie. a glue problem between the ply. I'll just take it back and pick up another sheet.

Yes, it's 9 ply.

I'm not worried. I'm sure they'll take it back the next time I'm in the city.

Have any good "start here" threads?

this is the next project I've been wanting to start for ages.

My last fun project was my lumenlab inspired projector

>>>Lousy with a tape measure, but great moral support:<<<  (w/portrait of very sad hound)

Can't you read those eyes?  He is asking you, "Why are you going to all this trouble when I can sing better than anything you will ever get from those speakers?" 
Tinker

PS, looks like great progress

Last main panels in place...





Still some fiddly bits to cut for bracing in the driver chamber, install driver and wiring post, button up and test.