[schwallman]

It does help to spread it out over time. I do however have a table saw. Made putting in wood floors at the house super easy.
 
Quote:

Over lunch I picked up a some more materials.  I was able to find a Mahogany board this time that will work for both rod clasps as well as the circular accent.  So, if I want to I can go ahead and make a matching set to the Mahogany cups.  Which is very likely what I'll do tonight.  I like what i've made so far, but I might prefer to be matchy, matchy instead of have three different types of woods.  Will have to complete both sets and see which I prefer better. 
 
 
I also picked up a block of red Paduak that I should be able to garner two sets of cups from and some Paduak pen blanks that I can make rod clasps out of too.  I think Pauak will look amazing. 
 
 
Thanks.  Yeah, I've been dreaming of being able to do this stuff for about a year now too.  Last summer I purchased a few tools and so far this year I also purchased a few more tools.  I bought the lathe for $150 on Craiglist and I've seen better mini-lathes on Craiglist for the same price if not cheaper.  I even spotted a nice Jet mini-lathe at a pawn shop for only like $160 when they're easily $350-$450 for one of those.  Mine is too big but I jumped on the first one that I found for under $200.  Mine's an old Sears or Craftsman, I can't remember, that still runs perfectly.  My Ryobi band saw was $60 from craigslist, the 1/2 drill press only got bound up once when I was hole cutting the larger of the two cuts.  The drill press was only $50 from craigslist.  The sander I bought just last week from the Home Depot for $110 or something close.  The only thing I want now is a table saw which I'm sure I can find for under $150. 
 
However, the lathe required tools and chucks.  One chuck was $85, another was $25, the mini chisel set was $50, plus face-shield $25.So all in all, not too expensive....but spreading the purchases out definitely helps though.
 
 
Thanks man.  I'm really liking it too!

 

 

[mlantinen]

Hit a snag tonight.  The chuck popped right off the spindle on my drill press.  Plus, the drill press just doesn't have enough power to make those circle cuts in hard woods greater than 1/2" or so thick.  Going to need to upgrade to at least a 1 hp press.  
 
That is all.

 

[mlantinen]

Mkay!  Tonight was fun.  Was able to fix the drill press to a point good enough to finish the new Mahogany rings and they turned out fantastic.  Take a look.
 
Sorry for the crap pics.  Not much time left over tonight.
 

 
Of course one of these screwers turned out alittle bigger than the other on the inside diameter...so not as snug but really isn't bad.  Less than a mm gap I would say on one side when the other is pushed flush.  
 
Talk to ya tomorrow.
-Marty

 

[kite7]

Looking very good, are you going to engrave the headband blocks ?

 

[WhiteCrow]

WOW wooden L and R...do want.
 

 

[mlantinen]

Not a bad idea about the L and R.  If I can find a stencil early this morning I might look into it today because TODAY IS GRADO DAY!!!!  YAYYYYY!   
 
Took the day off to work on the RS1's.  
 
No big woop.

 

[mlantinen]

Uh oh.  This is definitely a code red.
 
Neither of my drivers are working.  
 
1) I've recabled 3 or 4 sets of headphones including another set of grados.  I marked which side was positive and which was negative when I took the cable off. I resoldered the way they originally were.  Nothing.  I also tried reversing the pos and neg leads and still nothing.  The last pair of grados I recabled I had the pos and neg backward at first but then I simply switched them around and they worked just fine...so I don't think accidentally attaching them incorrectly can ruin them....can it?  I tried the original grado cable and one of my new ones.  Also, the solder tabs are in place and not loose.  
 
2) I did accidentally have them plugged into my amp as I re-soldered for the third time.  Can that ruin them?  I doubt that it could.
 
3) Could rubbing the face of the drivers on sandpaper ruin them?  Like an electrical shock or something?  I know I never felt a shock at any time, so I doubt it could be that.
 
4) As a side question, if you drop a grado driver (which I didn't) can it ruin it?  
 
Anyone have any ideas?  
 
This may end up being one of the worst days of my adult life and I'm about to go ape.

 

[schwallman]

Man that really sucks to hear. I dont have any suggestions besides obvious stuff that you have probably already checked for. Plugged in with volume up?
 
Quote:

Uh oh.  This is definitely a code red.
 
Neither of my drivers are working.  
 
1) I've recabled 3 or 4 sets of headphones including another set of grados.  I marked which side was positive and which was negative when I took the cable off. I resoldered the way they originally were.  Nothing.  I also tried reversing the pos and neg leads and still nothing.  The last pair of grados I recabled I had the pos and neg backward at first but then I simply switched them around and they worked just fine...so I don't think accidentally attaching them incorrectly can ruin them....can it?  I tried the original grado cable and one of my new ones.  Also, the solder tabs are in place and not loose.  
 
2) I did accidentally have them plugged into my amp as I re-soldered for the third time.  Can that ruin them?  I doubt that it could.
 
3) Could rubbing the face of the drivers on sandpaper ruin them?  Like an electrical shock or something?  I know I never felt a shock at any time, so I doubt it could be that.
 
4) As a side question, if you drop a grado driver (which I didn't) can it ruin it?  
 
Anyone have any ideas?  
 
This may end up being one of the worst days of my adult life and I'm about to go ape.

 

 

[mlantinen]

Ok. This my rank up there with one of the most insane things anyone has done to a worthwhile set of drivers.  
 

 
Ok.
 
1)Does anyone know if that copper voice coil is supposed to be glued or affixed into it's groove?  It comes out by just blowing on it.  I don't see any glue residue of anything telling me that it was permanently affixed.
 
2) Also, does anyone know what the clear plastic does?  I'm assuming it helps create the sound but it was loose when I cut open the top of the driver.  I was extremely careful so I know I didn't pop it loose and it's still in perfect condition.  I might be able to glue it back into place with a couple dots of super glue.  
 
3) You can see the two copper leads going to the voice coil are intact so it can't be those causing the problem.  
 
4) Can dust or bits of dirt/plastic on the driver or voice coil cause and problem?
 
So I'm stumped.  It looks perfectly fine assuming the voice coil is supposed to be un-anchored to the bed of the groove around the actual driver itself.  It seems like these drivers are fairly robust and could handle some jarring assuming the leads to the voice coil aren't broke. 
 

 

[kite7]

You can try to contact Bilavideo, he's quite knowledgeable when it comes to grado drivers.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/user/bilavideo

 

[mlantinen]

Yup, just sent him a PM.  I hope he can help, this is heartbreaking.

 

[LugBug1]

Aaawww man they look so good aswell!! worst case scenario is that you can always get new drivers, I'm sure that Mr Grado will send you RS1i drivers for a price. Not be the same, but all is not lost.
 
It's like the end of a film when you think everything is going to be alright only for something to attack your drivers and ruin everything! (I've seen both RS1 and 2)
 
But seriously, good luck!

 

[GLdgShDjKsHT]

so unlucky, i feel sorry for you

 

[spork42]

Actually, it does not look like any damage was done at all.
 
Grados use a moving coil driver.  The coil not supposed to be attached to its groove.  Rather, the coil moves up and down relative to the magnet (which is in the center of the groove and attached to the housing) it surrounds when current is applied to it, causing its magnetic field to change.  The plastic piece is the diaphragm, which looks to have a groove in it for the coil to fit into, and moves with the coil as the coil's magnetic field changes.  This movement produces sound.
 
As long as the coil is not damaged and the diaphragm is not stretched, you should be fine.  Headphone drivers are actually very robust, usually.  I know that many people have cleaned their Grado diaphragm's without issue, too.
 
Whatever you do, do NOT glue the coil to its groove or glue the diaphragm in place.  This certainly will render the driver inoperable.

Edit: Actually, it looks like you may have cut too far down the outer plastic ring instead of lifting out the plastic cover which sits inside the ring.  This may make reassembly more difficult, but since neither the coil or diaphragm appear to be damaged, it is still very doable.
 
Edit2: Looking back over Grado driver pictures, the coil does not fit into a groove in the diaphragm, but appears to be lightly glued into place.  It looks like some glue is still on top of your coil in one of the above pictures.  I am not sure exactly what glue to use here, but I still say that they are not lost!  You just need to be very, very careful to not melt the diaphragm when attempting to reattach it to the coil.

 

[Mercuttio]

He definitely wouldn't do that. The only way you'll get new drivers from Grado is by sending in your headphones for repair.
 
Quote:

Aaawww man they look so good aswell!! worst case scenario is that you can always get new drivers, I'm sure that Mr Grado will send you RS1i drivers for a price.