Replaced/updated cheap ceiling speakers...

[BruceMc]

I received an unexpected anniversary award from my "new" company (400,000+ employees worldwide) after the company (3500 employees worldwide) I had worked for over the last 29 years was purchased. The old company had completely quit giving out anniversary awards, so I certainly didn't expect anything from the new outfit.

Surprise, I got a 30 year award! The award? 488 points. Yep, points.

To spend said points, I was constrained to an award website contracted by the company. They only had items, no gift cards or a way to convert 488 points into cash. After searching the site several times for something I wanted... anything... I finally arrived at two objects that I could use to improve the entertainment system in the Sunseeker:
A new set of Yamaha NS-IC400 speakers ($150 value) and a new full HD Samsung 32" TV.

The speakers arrived within a week, but the TV is not scheduled to ship until the end of December... maybe.
Enough about the back story...

I removed and measured the cheap ASAElectronics speakers (available from your favorite online store for $15/Pair!), and determined I had a depth issue.
While the opening was 1/4" larger than needed, but still usable:



The depth was a 1/4" shy of the 3 1/8" needed:



So I set about designing and building a set of spacers. I considered various materials, and finally settled on some of the solid surface (Corian) left over from our countertop project.

I had 4" strips, but needed these to be about 7" wide, so I laminated two panels with a finger joint & epoxy:



and proceeded to turn these on the lathe. Solid surface is hard, and normally is machined with carbide tipped tools. I have HSS tools for lathe work, so I kept them sharp, and was able to convert the squares to discs, and cut the center opening. I used a roman ogee bit in the router for the edge profile, but the remainder of the work was done on the lathe:



Results:





More pics: Speaker Project

[BruceMc]

Thanks everyone!

We have a yearly VIP (variable incentive pay) that has strict rules similar to your near-30 years, JK. A coworker decided she wanted to move on, and had quit at the end of the year. She thought she'd get the VIP for the year, but the rules stipulated that you had to be employed at the time of payout which was at the end of January... It was a nice VIP that year too, but she didn't see a dime of it. She wasn't very happy about it, but them's the rules!

Back to this topic, I plan to start on the TV cabinet for my winter project. I had removed the TV from the center of the overhead not long after purchasing it, as we needed the overhead bunk. It has been my plan since then to build a cabinet on the right side to hold the TV and provide storage for the entertainment center items such as remotes, manuals, etc. I'll post pictures and the story once that's underway.

[JKJavelin]

Very nice and congratulations!
I was going to retire from my job on my 30th anniversary, but decided to do it 3 months earlier. They also did milestone gifts, but even though I was 99% to 30 years, I didn't get the award. Kinda like getting the finger instead, but no regrets.
JK

[Grit_dog]

Very nice install. Great work on the spacers.
And congrats on 30 years with the same company. That’s almost unheard of. Must be a good company!

[Lwiddis]

Good workmanship!

[BruceMc]

Very nice sound!
I had issues initially, as they use a spring post for the connections rather than spade connectors. The passenger side one didn't work at all, and the driver side had an intermittant buzz.
Thinking I got a bum speaker out of the box, I removed and checked the connections - while it was still connected, it was intermittant. I reset the wires, and it started working. I removed and re-installed the drivers side, and the buzz went away. It was probably touching something that was vibrating against the speaker housing.

[Skibane]

VERY nice!!!

[amxpress]

Nice job, but….how do they sound?
Really nice job.