[BobSaysHi]

Quote:

Group buy? I don't think all the grado modders in the world would buy enough to lower the price. It'd be easier just for one guy to buy a couple sheets and mail out pieces.

That's what I meant. 

 It was 4 when I posted that.

 

[Bilavideo]

I'm getting a late start on my trip to Pinellas Park for the cocolobo.  My daughter just had her second baby.  Family comes first.  But after that . . . . cocobolo!!!!

 

[Armaegis]

Congrats on the new baby in the family!

 

[BobSaysHi]

Congratulations Bill! I'm eager to hear about your cocolobo wood.

 

[Bilavideo]

I'm back.  I almost missed my shot.  I had to call my supplier and ask him how late he'd stay.  I hit the freeway like a bullet and was lucky he stayed late for me.  He was an amazing guy, a veritable encyclopedia of information about tonewoods - and especially about cocobolo.
 
I brought home two boards.

 
I've got one board, an inch thick; another, two inches deep.  Since I'm making rings with a drill press, I don't need a solid block to lathe out.
 

 
These pictures don't do justice to these boards, which are redder than they look.  Nor does the rough-hewn lumber look really tell the whole story.  When this stuff gets sanded, the color really comes out.
 

 
These boards are really heavy, heavier than any wood I've ever hauled around.  They're so dense, they don't float.
 

 
These pictures are terrible.  I had to take them with my webcam because I've misplaced the cord for the camera on my phone.  Tomorrow, if the weather isn't severe, I'll be outside cutting shells.  

 

[Armaegis]

So I started wondering how much these sort of things would go for. Then there's resources like this... http://www.woodworkerssource.com/lumber.html
... I'm thinking this could get expensive pretty fast.
 
Any ideas on how to cut out the shells without burning the wood?

 

[Bilavideo]

 

So I started wondering how much these sort of things would go for. Then there's resources like this... http://www.woodworkerssource.com/lumber.html
... I'm thinking this could get expensive pretty fast.
 
Any ideas on how to cut out the shells without burning the wood?

Keep the blade moving as fast as possible.  Don't push it.  Pushing slows the blade down and prolongs contact.  Lift up as needed to give the blade a chance to regain full speed.

 

[wallace]

Well at least you're doing it outside now,and not in the living room,that must have cheered up the rest of the family.O,and a happy new year.

 

[Bilavideo]

 

So I started wondering how much these sort of things would go for. Then there's resources like this... http://www.woodworkerssource.com/lumber.html
... I'm thinking this could get expensive pretty fast.

Some wood is more expensive; some less.  Some wood is both beautiful AND useful as tonewood.  Some is merely useful; some is not that pretty but has a recognized quality for tonewood.  How much you spend depends on what you buy, how of it you need and where you get it from.  Some years ago, I asked a woodworker at a flea market to cut me a pair of slip-ons.  The wood he used was just scrap, and the enf result was a bit rustic, but even those shells were a remarkable improvement over plastic.

 

[Maverickmonk]

Red oak sure isn't tonewood, but I got a 1"x4"x2' peice at lowes for like 5 bucks, and it sounds MUCH better than plastic, Its hard to pinpoint, but even just the wood donut on the back makes the sound feel warmer, more refined, and fuller. Atleast thats to my untrained ears. Does anywhere know where you can purchase Retayne (rit dye fixative), all the big-box stores have rit dye, but not the fixitive, and scrubbing my face after each headphone use is getting sort of annoying, but nonetheless still worth it, especially with the wood rings. Other than that, all thats left is to find some screen, but most of the stores in my area don't seem to have black metal screen, just grey metal and black plastic. This is fun, I enjoy taking stuff apart too much.

 

[Bilavideo]

 

Red oak sure isn't tonewood, but I got a 1"x4"x2' peice at lowes for like 5 bucks, and it sounds MUCH better than plastic, Its hard to pinpoint, but even just the wood donut on the back makes the sound feel warmer, more refined, and fuller. Atleast thats to my untrained ears. Does anywhere know where you can purchase Retayne (rit dye fixative), all the big-box stores have rit dye, but not the fixitive, and scrubbing my face after each headphone use is getting sort of annoying, but nonetheless still worth it, especially with the wood rings. Other than that, all thats left is to find some screen, but most of the stores in my area don't seem to have black metal screen, just grey metal and black plastic. This is fun, I enjoy taking stuff apart too much.

That's the spirit!  With regards to the screen, this will sound tacky but if you cut a strip of window screen (the metal stuff, not the cloth) a little bit larger than the hole, and then wash and dry it thoroughly, you can bend around the borders to end up with a screen (and a brace) that are just the right size for your headphones.  Believe it or not, this doesn't look bad.
 
If you want some aluminum, there are places online where you can get metal mesh.  You'll need wire cutters, not scissors, to cut this stuff but it's only a few dollars.  If you're in a hurry, run down to Walmart and head for the office supply.  There, you'll find mesh used in letter/folder trays.  This can be cut and used - and nobody would be the wiser.  It'll set you back a nominal sum.

 

[Bilavideo]

I've started cutting the cocobolo.  
 
 

 
This stuff is tough - and heavy!  It's about as hard as a rock but it gongs when you smack the floor with a board.  This stuff is so heavy, it sinks in water.  It cuts clean and sands easily.  I have yet to lacquer it, which will bring out the color, but I have to say, when I put a tester up to my ear, the thunk reminds me of that garbage-truck-falling-off-a-bridge thunk of the PS1000.  This is cool!
 

 
When I get a second shell cut, I'll evaluate.  At this point, I'm thinking there's enough bass to justify a switch to the jumbos, which would be the perfect HF balance.  Maybe this is it: the best of both worlds - at least until we get to carbon fiber.

 

[Bilavideo]

Here's another cut, of a narrower width (underpants).  I haven't sanded it yet, but if you'll look carefully, it has a cleaner edge to it right off the drill press.  I may need a sharper hole saw as I'm scorching the wood, a sign of my saw's struggle with such tough wood - even in dimensions this skinny.
 

 
The bands visible are reflective of this wood's grain.  The sawdust left on the table is orange.
 

 
Here it is after sanding.
 

 
I did a quick check to see how it holds up.  I was pleasantly surprised.
 

 

[JoetheArachnid]

Just ploughed through the most recent 100+ posts on this thread (I got put off after Bill and Vinylcat started exchanging 1,500 word posts). The progress that's been made is fascinating, and it's all the more interesting to me now that I have a pair of MS1s on the way. I'll listen to them stock for a while, but I'm planning some kind of elaborate woody job and maybe a vanity recable if I feel like it later on.
 
Bil - looking forward to the cocobolo cup stereo impressions.
Bob - looking forward to results of your tests.
Everyone else - great work. Keep it up, folks.

 

[Maverickmonk]

Quote:

 
If you want some aluminum, there are places online where you can get metal mesh.  You'll need wire cutters, not scissors, to cut this stuff but it's only a few dollars.  If you're in a hurry, run down to Walmart and head for the office supply.  There, you'll find mesh used in letter/folder trays.  This can be cut and used - and nobody would be the wiser.  It'll set you back a nominal sum.

I'm thinking that the letter trays will be what I go with, because I don't personaly like the look of the shiney mesh with the oak. I'll hit the office max up tomorrow, the walmart didn't have anything (I also looked to see if there were any black splatter screens for cooking, hoping to canibalize one of those instead)
 
After this, I'll try to leave them alone for a little bit before I go crazy on another project.. try.