LXmini Speakers - Base Section Progress

[@fbombtehgr3at]

That's going to be the prettiest pair of LXmini around.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I sure hope so! They're looking pretty good so far. I'm REALLY close to final assembly.

[@F1DesignUS]

Nice tip on the oil finish!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

It's worked well for me so far.

[@aserta]

When polishing aluminium, you need to go up Sisiphus' ladder. AKA, start down the grit, never swirl sanding, always linear to remove any grooves, and then make your way up. Jafromobile has a great series on him polishing his engine to prize levels of polish for aluminium. It's a bit long and for some he might seem like he's droning on, but there's some really good nuggets and veins of information in his videos from someone who really knows a thing or two about polishing from rough sand cast to mirror shine. Worth watching.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I'll have to check that out. I do think polishing is a bit different though. I do want to try it some day.

[@SarahKchannel]

we used to just use Petroleum / diesel instead of oil. I think heating them before applying the oils helps, it opens the pores and traps some of the oil inside the surface.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

ah interesting. heating it is a good idea. I do notice it picks up fingerprints like CRAZY when it's warm, same concept.

[@SarahKchannel]

@@RobertCowanDIY interesting ! Maybe the warmer alu oxidizes less, or the fingerprints evaporate before oxidation happens ?

[@bami2]

That is a beautiful surface finish for the feet, the baby oil is a great idea since it's a lot less toxic than using for example WD40 to give it a protective anti-smudge coat. I will keep that option in the back of my mind! I wonder if you started out sanding with too high grit since the 80 grit pads worn out a bit too much and took too long for your taste, maybe a 60 grit pass before would've spread the "load" out a bit more but I have no idea if they are even available, or maybe adding a bit of grinding compound would've sped it up a bit, but it also would've filled the pad with more garbage. What kind of abuse have you planned for these stands to take considering the choice of materials? Hosting a rave with guests having automatic brushless-driven rotating glowsticks at 10k rpm? Or was the NylonX picked mostly for aesthetic reasons, as the matte plastic looks really cool and matches/contrasts the brushed aluminium pretty well. Very cool project and progress looks very nice so far!

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Yeah, starting with a higher grit would have helped, but I didn't have any 60 grit on hand. These speakers will be in our second home, so they won't get a ton of traffic. Thanks for the comments!

[@eformance]

Why not use a clear coat paint to seal them?

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I absolutely could have done that! I tend to not like "on the surface" finishes, as it creates a layer on top of the material. For the legs it would have been just fine, but when you touch the part, you end up feeling (and seeing) the finish on top, not necessarily the material. I'm just being picky, but that's why I didn't go with a clear coat.

[@HMPirates]

With sanding aluminium, you get better results/more life out of the paper, if you use a aluminium sanding compound. It is like a paste wax that you put on sandpaper.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

I'll have to try that next time.

[@isaiahschell]

nice

[@FrankSandqvist]

I’d recommend Mirka Abranet instead of the 3M - should be cheaper and more durable AFAIK

[@RobertCowanDIY]

got it, I'll try that next time. I was a bit disappointed with the quality of these. They wore out fast and on a couple pads, the abrasive flaked off in the first few seconds of use.

[@kylewarren69]

Why did you choose to choose to do so many hand operations on this part? I would have just done everything on the cnc lol. CNC go brrrrrrr

[@RobertCowanDIY]

CNCs can only go BRRRR when they have the right fixtures. This would have needed several setups and fixtures. The angle would have been a 3D toolpath (which would have had a lot of stepover) if I tried to do it all at once. Then there's the bottom and the end. It would have needed at least 3 fixtures. Doing some parts by hand actually took a lot less time. Cutting the angle on the bandsaw was done while a part was on the CNC. Stacking operations (having the CNC go while I was working on another step) saves a lot of time.

[@aserta]

Aluminium is gummy. Even new blades struggle. You need a blade specific for it.

[@RobertCowanDIY]

Agreed. Usually it gums up on the pad and clogs it. It didn't do that at all with the cubitron, but the abrasive just didn't last.