Box number 1 almost done.......

brettw22

110 screws later (yes, I counted), I have a box......On this one, I still have to cut out the spot for the terminal cap at the back, cover all the screws with putty (can't get all the countersinks consistent.....oh well), silicone the corners inside, and then carpet it all.

The screws are 1.5" apart and I only have 2 or 3 that bulged the MDF into the box a little bit. All in all, not a bad first ever sub box. The amount of time spent pre-drilling is crazy. Lemme know if it looks OK or if I need to change anything up........

dolfan87

Looks great! Just remember to let that silicone cure before **** in your sub.

Deadof_knight

Too help with the bulge of the mdf you have to predrill a lil larger than the head for every hole, If the holes are real close to the edge I would hand screw them in and watch the wood. Sometime when you use a powered screwdriver it bulges before you can stop. I used to use elmers wood glue well, I still do but gorilla glue is da bomb. also what are the dimensions on your box height and width. I have noticed flex of the mdf once you get past 12-14 inches and Install a 3/4 or 1 inch oak rod connecting to two sides together. Last 5 boxes this way and it helps , you can hear it or you can simply put another layer of mdf all over it.

By the way your doing very good for a first box . My first one didnt look good ,Your gonna do fine,

A small bead of silicone after assembly on every joint , Glue isnt always air tight , when you miss a spot or it doesnt squeeze like you planned.

MacLeod

Good work Brett. Youre first box looks better than mine do now.

exalted512

putting putty over the screw holes is way overkill when youre covering it with carpet...

But it looks great though
-Cody

brettw22

The putty is just cuz I don't want to eventually have wear hole patterns over the screws which will probably happen over time.......All in all, that won't be that big of a deal to get done and will prevent it from ever showing those holes......

Are the screws to close together or should I space them to every 2" ?

The dimensions of the panels:
front: ~16.25" x 16"
bottom: 13.575" x 16"
rear: 11.75" x 16"
both sides: 12.825" on the bottom, 15.25" on the front edge, 11.75" on the back edge
top: 13.75" x 16"

I offset the sub down about 1"to make sure the huge basket wasn't going to have any hear hits with the sloped top, which hopefully will keep the weight of the sub from bowing the front panel.

I will be doing the silicone today and won't be mounting the sub until either next Sunday or later (depending on how much time I need to allow for the fumes to dissipate. I'm just waiting to get the terminal cap cutouts done before I start throwing sawdust into the box on fresh silicone.

As for finishing screws around the sub, what are generally recommended since they're going to be visible? I don't want to use wood screws.....

danger boy

that looks solid Brett.. You may just have found yourself a new side job. :eek:

brettw22

No........side job would imply I have a primary...............lol........hopefully soon.

exalted512

I usually screw 3" apart. MDF splits really easily when drilling into the side like that, putting too many screws too close together will actually decrease the holding strength. Even in my boss's SPL box that he uses for competition, i only screwed it every 4"(granted i used 2.5" screws), but like I said, **** too close can split the wood.

I use wood screws for **** my subs in...lol. Generally, people dont look at the type of screws you used...and I dont either, so it doesnt bother me.

Maybe you can get some hex screws or something that looks a little better?
-Cody

brettw22

I will space them out to ~2" - 2 1/4".......that should still give me plenty of structural support.

Hex screws are probably it..........just have to find some in black and with the right head.....

1996blackmax

Looks perrrtty .

joeaudio26

Time to open up you're own enclosure building shop..nice work.:p

audiobliss

Hey, that looks pretty nice, Brett! Congrats!

You going for another one?

exalted512

are you planning on removing these boxes a lot? Where is your amp located?

Reason I'm asking is because I prefer not to use terminal cups. I just drill a small hole, put the speaker wire through, and caulk it.

If your amp is easily accessible and you will be taking these boxes out from time to time, Id rather disconnect it from the amp than use a terminal cup.
-Cody

brettw22

I finished the second one and will post pics in a bit....

The reason I built them into separate boxes was so that I at least had the option to remove them if need be. The amp will be swung to the side like my original install, but on the right side of the trunk instead of the left. I'm not saying I'm going to be moving them around a lot, but I don't want to keep getting into the amp to unhook the subs...

exalted512

Thats fine. What kind of terminal cups did you get? You didnt get these did you?

-Cody

brettw22

no......5 way binding posts, except it's a set of dual terminal caps.....i'll just wire it so one is connected, but i have 2 pair on each cup......

how do you get silicone off your hands? lol

exalted512

Ok, those arent bad at all then.

Silicon? When I used to care, I would scrape it off with a razor blade...lol. Now it just stays on my hands pretty much 24/7 since I build so many at work.

Acetone works good too though.
-Cody

brettw22

Ok..both boxes are assembled and siliconed up. My friend who was going to loan me his jigsaw forgot to bring it (when he was returning his kid to his ex) and he lives about 3 hours away, so that's not gonna be in my hands until Friday evening. I figure that if I can get at least a week's airing out of those boxes then I should be pretty good, That'll give me some time to look for screw options to mount the sub.......lol........i'm actually talking about various styles of hardware...........sad..

I took a few pics of the subs in different positions (facing away or towards each other)m, but if I can do any config, does it really matter one way or another if they're facing each other like in one of these pics? I don't know if I can have them facing anywhere other than the trunk because of the shallowness right behind that back seat, so maybe none of them work other than facing the trunik, but you get to see the pics anyway.....lol......

exalted512

how do you plan on covering the remaining sides?

Facing the subs that close together will cause cancellation issues.
-Cody

brettw22

Carpeting as well....just was waiting until i got the terminal hole cut out.........

I figured something wouldn't fly with them facing each other like that...........if sideways is an option at all then to the outside would work as well.......

I'm just worried about carrying **** in the trunk and that stuff playing too close to teh subs..............

Jstas

Get metal grilles. Kicker still has aluminum ones but I don't think they are round anymore. You should be able to find something online that will fit though. If you are worried about excusion issues and contacting, use that fancy new gizmo you got to make yourself soem MDF spacer rings to go around the subs and mount the grilles to. Paint them with spray paint to match. Use 3 coats of a generic gray or white primer before painting otherwise that MDF will suck teh paint right up. You might even want to consider a sealer before you paint.

I have metal grilles on my subs and I have yet to have an issue with anything behind a seat or in a trunk causing problems.

Red230SX

Brett,

Great work!


I used to screw boxes but I've long since learned that a good glue joint is stronger than the material you glue together and screws really are not needed at all.

One thing I do if I feel I don't have enough surface area for a glue joint I will make firing strips to run along all the inside joints of the box and glue those in as well. And I also run rounded over cross braces side to side, top to bottom on the inside. I haven't make a "car" sub box in a while, my last box was for my HT sub, a heavy little sucker.

Like I said, you did a fantastic job!

Red230SX

Oh and here's a few carpeting tips..

Get a couple cans of 3M Super77 adhesive spray, usually found in automotive stores. It's not cheap but will allow you to adhere the carpet to the box so you won't get any sags in the fabric. Also if you want to get really crazy you can stitch corners and seams (I've done it in the past, it's a PITA!)

brettw22

Ok.....did some searching........grills can be outright ugly.......got it down to these 3 options.......

Black Bar Grill

Chrome Bar Grill

Standard grate grill

I like the bar design most personally, but I don't know how they're going to work with the SR subs because of the large roll, so mounting that bracket outside the SR124 would be fairly close to the speaker, and building up wouldn't work because the raised support I install would be right on the edge...(that make sense?)

My only option for that type of grill would be to buy the 15" version of that bar so I can get adequate spacing so the bar isn't right on the edge of the riser.......

Main question I have is which do y'all recommend........black or chrome bar grill..........

exalted512

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=260-443

eBay isnt always cheaper...you will not have to get the 15" version. I have the same grills on my subs and they never hit, and my subs have more excursion than the SRs
-Cody

RuSsMaN

Brett, don't do terminal cups, just go straight through the wood with binders.

At least do a plate instead - http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=091-602

Binders to go through the box - http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=091-1246

Jstas

You know guys, a terminal cup isn't any different than a plate or binders and it's a hell of alot better than drilling a hole and caulking a wire into a board of wood or MDF.

The terminal cups also allow your terminals to be recessed to keep them from getting ripped off in a trunk or behind a seat. They also typically have gasketing material to seal the hole. A box, even if it is ported, doesn't work right if it leaks.

I can see the plates and binding posts right in the wood for a home install because they are less likely to get busted up by groceries, tennis gear, hockey pads, roller blades or a spare tire or something. In a car though, a terminal cup has many, many advantages and the sound quality and build quality will not suffer enough in a sub installation to worry about it. Stop freakin' the guy out and telling him he's making a mistake. There is nothing wrong with terminal cups, especially for a first time box builder.



Brett, personally, I don't like the bar grilles. I don't feel that they protect the sub well enough. The waffle grilles are better at protecting but decidedly less attractive and will likely need a spacer.. I don't have any experience with the chrome grilles but in all honesty, this is a personal choice thing. You go with what you want but Cody has a good point. His subs will jump out much farther than yours do and is his are not contacting, yours won't.

Jstas

Red230SX wrote:

Oh and here's a few carpeting tips..

Get a couple cans of 3M Super77 adhesive spray, usually found in automotive stores. It's not cheap but will allow you to adhere the carpet to the box so you won't get any sags in the fabric. Also if you want to get really crazy you can stitch corners and seams (I've done it in the past, it's a PITA!)

Dude, we went over all of this stuff already in the Car Subwoofer Talk forum.

But how have you stitched carpeting? Most of the carpeting I have seen for audio applications wouldn't hold a seam. It's too flimsy and the weave is too random.

PolkThug

That's a crazy amount of screws! I use less screws + liquid nails.

brettw22

I'm installing THIS CUP and will just hook up one of the posts or something..... I don't remember who sent them to me from the forum off the top of my head, but thanks again for sending them.

The problem I have with the grill grate is it covers up the sub too much. Granted I'm wanting protection, but most of the things I'm carryin in my trunk aren't really small bar like types of things. The larger grate will keep a bag/box/etc from getting up near the sub while also allowing the sub to be seen a bit. The SR subs are kinda sexy........no need to be covering them up completely......lol.....