AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

i'm thinking about building my first box. any tips on making the interior air tight? what caulk should i use on the corners? i'm thinking about getting another 10 inch sub, and make my own box to house three 10's.

thanks in advance for any advice/tips.

MIXXMAX

iTrader: (1)

Any Acrylic Latex Caulk with silicone is always good. They usually have a 35-40 year durability. Dap is a good brand. Only a few bucks at Home Depot.

thomasd cook

iTrader: (7)

Just get a clear silicone and don't be shabby naw.

Dohcser

Also leave plenty of drying time for the Caulk, if you keep in moist and put the speakers in the fumes will start eating away at the foam. Once dried you are good to go.

Maxima Dan

Errr. Caulk is really a precautionary step to guard against leaky joints. If you use a decent method of jointing wood. I like dado or a tongue and groove method for the bracing and rabbet joints for the sides. See the following link: http://www.dixieline.com/woodjoint/woodjoints.htm

Also, I have recently been using Gorilla glue. Really cool stuff. It foams up and expands to fill any spaces in the joint. Just be careful with it it gets everywhere and it is tuff to remove.

I then use a thin bead of GE super silicon caulk.

DJ Kontakt

iTrader: (3)

AAAAAAHHHHH LIQUID NAILS!!!

It flows through my VEINS!

That and Quick Seal Plus!

Both are at Home Depot

Supa Lao

iTrader: (1)

That's the best stuff to use for making boxes

Pearl96Max

iTrader: (151)

Yup, Yup Liqiud nails is number one to me !

--Don

AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

thanks for the replies

i guess i'll grab some liquid nails when i get my stuff. another question, any of you use polyfill?

Supa Lao

iTrader: (1)

I don't use polyfill

thomasd cook

iTrader: (7)

Only use polyfill if your airspace is small and you're trying to trick the speakers into thinking the airspace is bigger. More heat is generated from inside of box though.

jmax

Gorilla glue or any polyurethane glue is the best for building speaker boxes. It fills any and all gaps in the joints and eliminates a step in building the speakers by eliminating the need for caulking. It also forms a better bond than liquid nails. Liquid nails dries up and gets hard. The polyurethane glue will stay bonded properly for many decades after you cease living.

jmax

Polyfill also reduces unwanted standing waves in the box. It does not create any heat of it's own. That violates the laws of physics. It does tranfer a small amount of rear acoustical output into thermal energy in the form of heat. But not enough to degrade speaker performance in any way. The benefit far outweighs any possible heat issues. How much to use depends on your musical preference and the size of your enclosure.

AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

OK, I just did some reading about that Gorilla Glue. It says to clamp down the pieces til the glue hardens. I take it i don't have to clamp down if i screw the boards together right? Since the screws itself will act as 'clamps' holding the wood together.

jmax

Screws should be okay, but clamps are good for holding it in position untill the screws are all secure. The glue expands as it cures. That's how it does such a good job of filling gaps.

TAPOUT

iTrader: (5)

I use Elmer's TightBond when I'm building the box, and I use Liquid Nails to complete the seal. The Elmer's dries harder, and seals up real good. Then I paint the inside of the box completely to seal up all the pores of the wood. Don't forget the bracing.

DJ Kontakt

iTrader: (3)

Gorilla Glue is crazy.
I use that and "Plastic Steel" (which sounds like som kind of sex toy IMO) to fix speakers that have blown out of the spider, or have torn surrounds. They are both very serious stuff.

YAY POLY FILL!
I only use it in my car audio that I use in my house though.

AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

well i think the chamber dividers should brace the box the box sufficiently.

jmax

For an average sub that would probably be good enough. For a high power application that can move a lot of air I would brace much more heavilly.

AscendantMax

iTrader: (7)

how much power would be considered a "high power application?" i know the pressure will cause the wood to flex but how much flexing can 3 tens do to 3/4" MDF?

plan: 3 RF HEs tens with at least 600 watts powering them.

jmax

Consider the amount of air that the subs can displace. Sd times Xmax times 2 then multiply by three since you have three subs. Now consider that you are displaceing that much air in the box everytime the sub is pushed to it's full excursion. Also consider that this happens 40 times each second with a 40 hertz tone, 20 times each second with a 20 hertz tone, etc.

image

iTrader: (6)

use liquid nails

lunchbox

iTrader: (4)

I don't use caulk. After the box is built, I dump a bunch of Fiberglass resin in there. Makes things nice and air tight.