My Box Build

[Heathd]

Here is a thread for my box build. I was torn between two different subs in the Fi product line, but then I started to hear several things about this brand and that model. So I considered:
The Sound Splinter RL-i10
Ascendant Audio Arsenal 10
JL Audio W3
Fi Audio Q
Fi Audio BL
Fi Audio SSD

In the end I decided to go with Sound Splinter. I have heard a lot of good things about Sound Splinter. So the net internal volume is 1.409 cubic foot, and the bracing, so far, displaces .139 cubic feet, and with the subs it leads me to 1.08 cubic feet. However, I feel I need to add some more bracing.
On the pictures:

[Heathd]

continued....

[Heathd]

Continued....

A little bit of the reinforcement

[Heathd]

routed the edges, and im currently doing the "bodywork" so i can get it ready for wrapping it. Still have some more enforcement to do. I think I am going to brace some of the inside with good ole yellow pine, and fiberglass resin (and maybe some mat. Oh, and that ghetto contraption is my "jig" i made to cut the circles out. It may be hideous, but it cost me 4 bucks in supplies and a little time.

[paint toad]

you has pet rat

[Heathd]

Yea, he is still a youngin and he gets in the way of everything. He can be a real shit head sometimes.

[1fast4by]

those dog usually are... I dont think of them as dogs, more like living jokes...

[Heathd]

Quote: Originally Posted by 1fast4by

those dog usually are... I dont think of them as dogs, more like living jokes...

He is a beagle, still a puppy. Beagles are actually very good, medium size dogs. Very intelligent

[juddspaintballs]

You gots some womanly feets too.

[1fast4by]

looks like a miniature pincher from what i see.....


Haha The feet(s)

[Heathd]

Quote: Originally Posted by juddspaintballs

You gots some womanly feets too.

You should see my hands.

[96s10on20s]

looks good man

[lee-mill]

cool!!

[JollyRojer]

lookin good, u might be disapointed if ur hoping him to grow into a pure bred beagle, he looks to have a bit of a longer coat and shorter stockier jaw and nose. good looking dog all the same. box looks good ive actually mocked up a pretty similar jig around the house but never ended up putting it to use.



and btw if u think he gets into everything now wait till later, buddys beagle knows how to open drawers to use them as stairs to get to the counter to eat things in the cupboards, one day we locked the drawers up with zipties we come home...


lil bastard had drug a fvckn chair over to the counter. lol all of the behavior isn't uncommon for beagles, but im sure uve got a pretty good grasp on what ur in for i take it he hasnt started baying yet thats gonna be fun.

edit - She* (just noticed the pink collar)

[Heathd]

Well, made some more progress today. I still have to make some brackets for my stock upper console to mount too, then I should be done.

A pic of my dog, since he helped:



And a pic of the gf, since she helped:


On to the pics..

[Heathd]

And thats about it for now. Im tired, so Im going to take a shower and hit the hay. I will have more updates in the middle of the week, most likely.

[juddspaintballs]

Best pic of the thread...because of the ice cream. yummm

[PandaS10]

Quote: Originally Posted by juddspaintballs

Best pic of the thread...because of the ice cream. yummm

if you weren't married, i'd call you gay. but since you are, and i know about the faithfulness of a real relationship. i'll drop it now. but heath, keep her around.

[PandaS10]

oh, and your dog's cross eyed. mine too,

[Heathd]

Thanks Dimedrop....

Yea, that dog is inbred so much that I dont think his family tree branches anywhere....

[kdh]

damn!

that looks really awesome!

What did you use to cover it? Where did you get it, and can you write up a little how to?

[Heathd]

Quote: Originally Posted by kdh

damn!

that looks really awesome!

What did you use to cover it? Where did you get it, and can you write up a little how to?

I used Vinyl to cover it. One place I have always done business with and never had any problems is yourautotrim.com. You’ll find they have a huge selection, only problem is, you have to order and pay for trim swatches, which takes time. I went to a local place called JO-ANNs, which is a large craft store. They had a pretty basic selection of vinyl to choose from, but with in the limited selection of colors they had, they did have a variety of prints within each color to choose from.

What you need to cover your box:
Adhesive (I used contact cement, but 3M super 77 or 90 works great)
A wood or hard plastic roller (similar to the cheesy ones you get to roll on sound deadener)
Your fabric
About 6 hours of free time (that’s how long it took me, depends on the box size)
Disposable rubber gloves or latex
Putty knife or a trowel (if you’re using contact cement)
A razor and some fabric shears (scissors work)

Surface Prep:

All fabrics will show imperfections, some less then others. While the surface doesn’t have to be perfect, you do need to take the time to fill all screw holes and other un-desirable defects. Also, make sure to pay attention to your wood mating surfaces, those will show though.

After I have got the surface to a point that I am happy with it, I take some compressed air and clean out my garage, making 4 to 5 runs across the floor. Then I do the same for the box, paying particular attention to joints and mating surfaces.

Now, the shitty part. MDF loves moisture, and will swell very quickly. What I like to do is take a sponge and a bowl of clean water and get my sponge lightly damp. I make several passes with the sponge over one surface, and then I immediately follow up with a dry clean towel. If your let the mdf get to wet, or stay wet for too long, it will swell, and then you will find yourself sanding again.

After this, set yourself a workstation up where you don’t have to do a lot of bending over or excessive stretching, this will help keep you from making mistakes, and your body wont fatigue as fast. It’s a lot easier on you, trust me. Also get all your tools out and line them up.

Adhesives:
I do not recommend you use contact cement for fabrics, since you can bleed through them and ruin your fabric. The nature of how you apply cement makes it very easy to bleed through, and it is a little difficult to control your application. For fabrics, you should use spray adhesive.

Contact Cement works best for something like this, IMO. But its messy and more time consuming the spray adhesives. Contact cement requires that you apply an even coat to the vinyl and the wood. You can use a paint brush if your brave, but I guarantee that it will gum up and become more a pita as you move along. Also, do not use foam brushes to apply cement. The cement contains solvent and will cause the foam to degrade, rather quickly. I recommend you use a trowel or a putty knife to apply the cement.

If you find that your applicator can’t get into to small areas well, then put on a glove and rub the cement in with your finger.

Read the directions to see what the tack time is too, as that is important.

Spray adhesives are great because of their ease of application, but can cause overspray issues, and on some materials, not bond as well. There are some industrial strength products out there which I am sure will work, but since those are a little harder to find, you can go to almost anywhere and get 3M super 77 or 90.

Super 90 is not an even spray, it comes out in very thick strings, and can be rather messy, but it is also very strong. If you’re worried that super 77 won’t work, Super 90 probably will. When I did my headliner, I used Super 90 and had zero sag after having been up in Texas heat for three summers.

Supper 77 would work for something like this. It’s cheaper then super 90 too.

When working with spray adhesives its best to pay close attention to your overspray, because the last thing you want to do is ruin your fabric. Tape off anything you may be concerned with. You should spray in thin even coats on both the fabric and the wood, allow it to become tacky, and then press the two together. Roll out/work out any wrinkles you may have, and then your good to go.

General guidelines for covering:
As far as covering something with vinyl, you will need either a heat gun or a hairdryer, even though I recommend a heat gun. When you encounter areas like the sub cut outs or an area where the vinyl isn’t being cooperative, you need to heat it up and pull the vinyl in the direction you want to go. You’re basically making the vinyl yield, so you should be careful in how much heat you apply and how close you get with the heat gun. You can melt it, pretty easy. What I did on the sub cut outs was put it on a low heat setting and evenly heated the area while pushing in the middle. Once I felt like I had enough stretched out, I cut a star with a razor dead center to give it some slack and then started attaching it.

After I have rolled the section of vinyl on, I like to heat it up and then roll it again. This helps ensure you have worked all the slack out. Also, when rolling, start from the center of your work area, and roll out to the edges.


Hope this helps, feel free to ask me any questions, if this didnt answer it.

[PandaS10]

looks like i'll be sticking to carpet for a bit then...

[paint toad]

nice glove

[eriley]

mmmmm Ben and Jerry's is the shit

[Heathd]

Quote: Originally Posted by paint toad

nice glove

yea, i thought i had gloves, and I didnt.


But it worked.

[paint toad]

i always keep a box of gloves on hand

anyway.....i use this and really like it...it's comparable to super 90....and it doesn't have the 3m name so that's a plus with me

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=340-096

[Heathd]

Quote: Originally Posted by paint toad

i always keep a box of gloves on hand

anyway.....i use this and really like it...it's comparable to super 90....and it doesn't have the 3m name so that's a plus with me

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=340-096

Yea, that stuff is pretty good, and about half the price of what local retailers are charging for super 90 around here.

[PandaS10]

got any pics with subs installed and in the truck.