Finishing out a pair of 4343 clones

[Galucha]

Good morning!

I recently acquired a pair of partially completed custom 4343 clones. I believe they may have previously belonged to a member of this forum actually. After having a chance to look them over for a few days and gleam what I can from this site, I've decided to finish them in a way to where they have the look and feel of original 4343 monitors. Not going for a 100% accurate reproduction, but something that at-a-glance looks very similar to originals. Fortunately the crossover network has been built from the ground up to accommodate the driver arrangement, and they sound phenomenal to my ears!

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Here's my current todo list based on what I think it still needs. Does anyone know of a good source to get the correct measurements for all of the details on the baffles?


1: Cut baffle into 2 pieces above woofer
2: Relocate baffle forward by ⅝”
3: Relocate baffle fasteners to correct positions (need measurements, are these countersunk?)
4: Replace current bass ports with cardboard tubes (4” ID, length is 6”? Need to verify)
5: Paint baffles (correct shade of paint here?) (https://www.ebay.com/itm/154064325262?hash=item23def30a8e:g:2k4AAOSwDB1e54v q)
6: Add velcro strips to correct locations (need measurements)
7: Add 2x grille pegs to baffle (need measurements)
8: Add crossover adjustment knobs
9: Cut & glue edge bevels onto front of cabinets

10: Apply walnut veneer to cabinets



Thanks in advance. I'll try to post updates on this thread as I work through this project.

[Odd]

Here is something that can help.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?16951-4343-References-Thread


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[Galucha]

Here is something that can help.

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That is extremely helpful. Thank you!

[Galucha]

Weather is warming up enough to start working in my shop, so finally making some headway on this project. I've been listening to these for the last few weeks and experimenting with room placement. So far the sweet spot to my ears is about 8 feet apart (center to center), 2 feet from the back wall, 4 inches off the ground and 0 toe in.

I also re-did the bass ports to be a bit longer than the 4 inch tubes that were in there. I believe the stock 4343 bass ports are 4"x6.2", so that's what I went with and its definitely an improvement in bass response.

Built some very basic stands to get the speakers off the floor and get some practice with veneering. Found a lemonseed oil-based finish I like, so I think I'll go with it for the whole cabinets.

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Next steps are to build the front edge bevels
and start on the baffles, but I'm waiting on materials to come in for that.

[Galucha]

Bit of an update on progress. I've cut the bevels for the front edges at a 30° angle out of walnut. Very happy with the result. I'll be glueing, clamping, and using a pin nailer to affix them to the fronts of the cabinets.

Meanwhile I'm also in the process of stripping the baffles and laying out where the new screw holes need to be. It's gonna take a good bit of work to get them cleaned up, but nothing too scary.9033490335

[Galucha]

Painted the baffles today. Spent a long time prepping these. After stripping the existing paint, I used wood filler to fill in the existing screw holes before drilling new ones with a 3/8" countersunk bit. I then cut the baffle in two and glued a 3/16" strip of wood to the bottom of the lower half to account for the material lost due to the saw blade. Finally I block sanded at 80/180/300 grit to get the surface smooth.

The paint itself supplied by Huntley audio turned out great. Pics are in broad daylight so the color temp is a little off, but the shade of blue seems very accurate to the JBL blue.903539035490355

[Odd]

Looks like a nice job.

And you have is JBL blue car we can see.

Go ahead and show us more pictures of the work.

[Mr. Widget]

Looks like a nice job.

And you have is JBL blue car we can see.

Go ahead and show us more pictures of the work.I was thinking he needs a bit more paint to touch up his truck. :D


Widget

[Galucha]

I was thinking he needs a bit more paint to touch up his truck. :D


Widget

Sounds like a lot of work!

[Galucha]

Working on the edge bevels & mitres today. Everything is affixed securely to the front of the cabinets, just have to do some block sanding to get the joints all trued up.9037490375

I feel like at this point I'm getting very close. I'm anxious to listen to these things again!

[Galucha]

Correction - a LOT of block sanding. While I'm doing 1 cabinet, I went ahead and glued the lower baffle onto the second cabinet so it would have time to set.
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[Mr. Widget]

Correction - a LOT of block sanding.:banghead:


Widget

[Galucha]

Moving on to veneering. So far so good. 9038290383

[Galucha]

Applied the oil, and started final assembly.9038490385

[Galucha]

Aaaand I'm done (for now at least)!

I used 3M super 77 spray adhesive to glue on the foilcals. I still need to paint the inside edges of the cabinets, but unfortunately I'm all out of paint and will need to reorder some more.

Side note - I spent a good amount of time leak-proofing the cabinets. I noticed that when I first got them, there were several areas that air was escaping and causing annoying rattles and buzzes. The upper baffle, rear access panel, and drivers have all been sealed to the cabinet using 1/4" flexible weatherstripping, and I have not been able to detect any more leaks.

Overall I'm thrilled with the results and will definitely enjoy listening to these for several years. Using a Yamaha M-80 amp to drive them right now. Eventually I will be bi-amping, but I still need to do the research on setting that up properly.

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[Earl K]

Great Work!

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=90386

Beautiful Job!

:)

[Galucha]

Great Work!

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/attachment.php?attachmentid=90386

Beautiful Job!

:)

Thanks!

[Mr. Widget]

Ditto!

Congratulations!


Widget

[srm51555]

They look great

[Odd]

They look very good.

Very nice veneer job.

[Don C]

Nice!

[Tranquil]

Great Job!!!👏👏👏