almost finished...

so i have finally completed my box. i listened to it for about 20min before taking it out and it sounded great. theres some wood filler drying right now to smooth out some of the holes from the screws. my original plan was to fit it into the far right corner of the cargo area, my old box (under the towel in the first pic) took up all the space b/w the two wheel wells. i wanted a box/woofer/amp combo that was better than my previous DUAL's and that would take up less room and leave more room for hauling stuff around.  in order to get it to fit right, i had to leave a big chunk open for the wheel to fit under it. i wanted to go the ported route but after making a few different designs, i decided that a properly built sealed box would be better than a poorly built ported box.

the only thing i have left to do is to carpet it. i cant decide if i should attempt it myself or if i should pay someone to do it for me. ive only gotten a quote from one place so far and they said its $65 fee plus $24.99 per yd of carpet. i think im going to buy my own carpet anyway and take it with me to save on the parts/materials fees but to you pro installers out there, what do you charge to do it? what should i expect to pay? i saw a short vid on how to carpet a box but since mine is not a cube and theres a few 45* angles in there, it might be harder to do myself.

any tips on DIY box carpeting? i cant find the link to the video that was posted a while ago. partsexpress has carpet for pretty cheap but are there any other cheap places? i need black carpet.

Looking good man! I was waiting for you to get this build going. Tisk Tisk on using the particle board, but maybe thats all you could get...
 
Carpet is simple dude. Especially since you really only have to to 3 sides.  Buy about 2 yards of the Jet Black non-backed carpet from PA for like $4.25 a yard. Then go pick up some 3M Super77 spray glue from Lowes or Home Depot...All you need after that is a sharp razor blade and some decent scissors...I can walk you through it step my step if you want. Shouldnt take more than 20min to do... 

well i was at lowes yesterday and i saw that the do have 3/4" MDF...   i feel dumb b/c i didnt realize it came in full 4'x8' sheets. when i originally bought the particle board i was looking on the aisle with the trim/siding/craft-wood.
if i had gone 2 more aisles down, i would have found the MDF.

and technically, i got the build going more than a month ago, but after my saw failed once and then died a second time, it was a while before i could get all the sides and everything cut. i ended up having to rent a table saw anyway so if i had just done that from the start, i would already be done by now and finished with all this.
 
 
EDIT:   parts express has regular carpet and latex-backed carpet. it says the latex will add durability and toughness. its only $.65 more, should i get that instead or will regular carpet be easier to work with?

Looks like a$$.  I've only ever used the regular carpet before.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Blazin_Jason

Looks like a$$...

 
thanks man...   i knew i could count on you for support

quote:


EDIT:   parts express has regular carpet and latex-backed carpet. it says the latex will add durability and toughness. its only $.65 more, should i get that instead or will regular carpet be easier to work with?

 
No, get the non-backed stuff. Latex backed is a pain in the ass to work with and is really not necessary...

there is npoint in getting the extra durability stuff to wrap an enclosure that will fall apart anyways. I hate to say it but particle board has a short life expectancy.

is particle board really that much worse?  on my old dual's the box was like 1/4" plywood, like the kind in an attic with big huge scraps of wood pressed together. there were never any problems with it.
 
if it does fall apart, ill be sure and build the next one out of MDF

yes it most certainly is. it falls apart rather easily and doesnt do good at all against water. The density of the actual board is much worse than MDF so it negatively effects the sound.

  i suppose when this one fails i will get MDF. since the M stands for medium, is there such a thing as HDF? i imagine that would be better

there is but it very rare. 3/4" mdf is more than enough for most audio applications.

If you dont want to get MDF and build it over again you can get some fiberglass resin and coat the box inside and out...

where do i get that at? how much is it

You can pick it up at Lowes or Home Cheapo in the glues and solvents isle. It comes in a quart size and gallon tub. I believe the gallon tub is like $25-30...You might be able to get away with a quart, but if you have never done fiberglass before you should probably get two quarts because you will probably lose some...

quote:

ORIGINAL: otnietdehoooo

quote:

ORIGINAL: Blazin_Jason

Looks like a$$...

thanks man...   i knew i could count on you for support

Well you have to be able to count on someone. 

since you said "never done fiberglass before... youll probably lose some" im assuming that its not as easy as just painting with a brush. how do you apply it? any special brand i should look for?  i think im gonna go ahead an carpet it all myself.

No you just use a disposable brush to apply it. Its the mixure of Resin/Accelerator that can be difficult for a begginer. If you mix it too col it will take forever to harden up, and if you mix it to hot it will start to harden and gel up in your bucket before you can apply it all. This is where you might loose some...

No special brand needed, I think the stuff at HD and walmart even is Bondo brand.  A gallon should be what $25-$30.  It comes with a little tube of hardner.  Poor out the resin into a container and added the required amount of hardner, stir, then brush it on.  Pretty straight forward.  Things to note would be to wear some gloves, work in a well ventilated area, and a respirator wouldn't hurt.

will i (theoretically) be able to cover the entire inside and then let it dry or should i just do a few sides at a time and let them dry and then the next few sides

You should be able to do the whole inside at one time. I know resin likes to drip down MDF a little if you lay it on thick, but PB should soak it up a lot better...
 
Notes: Try to keep it off your skin. It burns when you let it harden up on your skin. A long sleeve shirt that you dont mind loosing is a good idea...If you do get it on your skin dont wash it off with water. It will ahrden up on spot and then you'll have to ship it off along with some skin and hair...I keep a can of M.E.K.P. around and wash my hands with that first to neutralize the accelerator. You can also pick that up at lowes or HD in the solvent section..

i guess thats the one good thing about particle board lol...
 
thanks for all your help

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would THIS be useful at all? im ordering carpet and i wanna see if i need anything else from PE. i have heard good things about box filler but idk if its useful in a sealed box

Oh yeah, definately pick some up. Polyfil is usually only good in sealed boxes. It makes the sub think there is more airspace than there is. And it definately looks like you are short on airspace there...

the recommended min sealed volume is 1.8 ft^3 and i think its close to 2 if not a little over. how does that acousta-stuf work? absorb soundwaves from inside the box similar to more air?