Some Kind of WAW Part 2.

Time to tackle the custom baffle. I have worked in fiberglass before but never made a speaker baffle out of it. I opted to use T-shirt fabric and polyester. Fleece and epoxy are other options.

I started out building a kind of jig to hold the rings that will hold the elements. The jig is detachable so I can reuse it on the other speaker. This was harder than I anticipated. Especially aligning the rings evenly with the sides of the box. It would probably be better to offset the w5-2143 but I opted for a centered position based purely on esthetics. I elevated the rings 4 cm above the front edge of the box.

Time for more about the tiny rabbet around the front of the box. I thought it would be a good idea to staple the T-shirt fabric into it and put some filler over it later. It turned out quite fidgety. The fabric is easily ripped and I ended up using duct tape to stretch the fabric (in combination with some staples in strategic places).

Next step was to mix some polyester resin and apply it to the T-shirt fabric with a brush. This was really fun. I will let it cure and then remover the jig before I apply another coat of resin from behind. I will finish it of with pieces of fiberglass roving to add strength and securing the baffle to the box from inside.

This is what it looks like after the jig has been removed and with most of the T-shirt fabric trimmed.

I now have a couple of days to laminate with fiberglass from the inside of the baffle and to cure in between before I can continue with the next step...