No turning back now

[MacLeod]

Well Ive been figuring and worrying and trying to decide on subs. I want the MM2104 but cant seem to make a box big enough. I thought about the ID to.

Well I took a nose dive Friday and went out and bought me a 2104!

So now I have a box that is a little more than .42 ft^3 and I need .66! Now I have no choice and I have to figure out how to make it fit.

My thoughts are I can cut out a bit of the back of the box and make a section that would be about .12-.15 ft^3. That with some polyfill could make it close to .6 I figure and since I will be overpowring it by 50-75 watts that may be ok.

Ill try it and if it doesnt work or sounds like **** then Ill look into something else with my last option being breaking down and getting an installer to 'glass me one up.

As you can see, the current size of the box is a wee bit too small! ;)

[neomagus00]

okay, i'll break down and tell you - i've been working on a set of pods in secret for about nine days now... i didn't want to tell anyone till they were done, but i have to make sure mac doesn't go paying an installer to glass anything for him! if i can do it as a first-timer, so can mac!

and no, i'm not sharing anything else about my pods till i'm good and ready. which could be a long time from now.

[MacLeod]

Originally posted by neomagus00
okay, i'll break down and tell you - i've been working on a set of pods in secret for about nine days now... i didn't want to tell anyone till they were done, but i have to make sure mac doesn't go paying an installer to glass anything for him! if i can do it as a first-timer, so can mac!

and no, i'm not sharing anything else about my pods till i'm good and ready. which could be a long time from now.

NOOOOOO!!!!! I cant do it!!!

You just dont understand! Id wind up glassing my seat to the floor somehow!

[ND13]

Originally posted by MacLeod
NOOOOOO!!!!! I cant do it!!!

You just dont understand! Id wind up glassing my seat to the floor somehow!

I swore I'd never deal with fiberglass again, after restoring a 72 Vette when I was in high school. I worked part-time for a body shop. It took us 6 months and afterward I threw my coveralls away. I had fiberglass in places I won't mention. HATE IT< HATE IT.

[neomagus00]

hehe... i did it the Level-3 way... long sleeve shirt and long pants, plus big socks. then (and this is the tricky part), use masking tape to tape the gloves to the shirt, and the shirt to the pants, and the pants to the socks, and the shirt to your neck, too; leave no seam untaped. then the only thing left exposed is your face, but of course you're wearing ear protectors (dremels in an enclosed unfinshed garage get really loud), glasses, and a respirator, and if you're twitchy about it, a hat too. strip it all off in the garage and throw it in for a couple wash cycles, and you're ready for the next day.

and mac - you can do it!

[audiobliss]

Originally posted by neomagus00
and no, i'm not sharing anything else about my pods till i'm good and ready. which could be a long time from now.

I want that info now!!!

:D

[exalted512]

Originally posted by MacLeod
NOOOOOO!!!!! I cant do it!!!

You just dont understand! Id wind up glassing my seat to the floor somehow!

quit whining and try it!!!
its not that hard.

you know the put rod in circle hole jobs? this is about the same.

1. put down tape
2. paint resin on tape
3. put mat on resin
4. paint resin on
5. put mat on
6. repeat steps 4 and 5
-Cody

[MacLeod]

I thought you put down the tape, slapped on a coat of glass, let it dry and youre done.

So the mat is what seperates layers and you add layers according to the strength you need?

I think however Ill be alright. If I add a section to the box it will add an extra .16 to the box which will bring the total up to .59 ft^3. Throw in a half pound of pollyfill and that should put me virtually on top of .66! Yipeee!

The one wrinkle I may encounter is the sub being a bit to deep. I took the magnet cover off the bottom and there is about a half inch from the edge of the magnet to the back piece of the box. There is plenty of room everywhere else so I should be ok.

Here is a picture of the box. I cut out the section, from here Ill be adding a rectangular piece with internal dimensions of 2.5" H, 11" W and 10" L.

One things for sure, it aint gonna be purdy but it'll work.

[audiobliss]

Originally posted by MacLeod
but it'll work.

Priority numero uno.

[exalted512]

yea, resin is just resin...the matting is the actual fiberglass that gets under your fingernails and everywhere else.

its not that bad though. i wore a respirator when i was in the truck. that along with gloves was the only stuff i used. i didnt wear pants nor a long sleeve t-shirt, but hopefully youll get the space you need.

as far as space behind the sub, half an inch should be ok. you just need half the distance of the pole vent(the little hole on back of the magnet)

another words, take your pole vent, take the radius of it-thats the space you need behind the magnet
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Cool.

It should be fine. Like I said, its only a small portion of the magnet that is close to the box. The rest of it has plenty of clearance.

its not that bad though. i wore a respirator when i was in the truck. that along with gloves was the only stuff i used. i didnt wear pants nor a long sleeve t-shirt, but hopefully youll get the space you need.

So you were naked except for the respirator and gloves? I bet that did wonders for your folks property values!! :p :D

Thats a good idea for a business! Naked Installers! Hmmmm....

[exalted512]

yea, but getting resin off your dick can be a bitch
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Man its freaking hot here. Its 6:30 PM and its 98 degrees still!

I tried finishing my box today but couldnt manage more than about 15 minuted outside.

Id go out and measure the next piece then come inside and watch the race while I cooled off. Then go back and cut the piece, then come back inside. Then go back and attatch the piece and glue it then go back inside!

This is the last time I ever build my own box until I get a house with a garage AND the proper tools! So far I have built this entire thing on the tiny little deck of my apartment using only a jigsaw and square. The only thing I have for a saw horse is a fold out table used to eating in front of the TV.

Anyway, this is as far as I got today before I finally gave up. Plus it was getting late and everybody was coming back home and this jigsaw is LOUD.

I still need to cut the top and end piece and them seal it all up. Total volume is less than I figured at around .51 ft^3 but with me running around 350 watts, it should be ok for the MM2104 with a little pollyfill.

[MacLeod]

Another shot.

You can also see all the spare junk wood I have left over. Since no single piece on here is very big and there all at funky angles I had to recut a lot of pieces.

[exalted512]

hey, that box has a lot more than 4 sides!!!!!

so when do you think youll have it all finished?
-Cody

[MacLeod]

Finally done....kind of.

I have the box assembled but still have to caulk the top piece. Its a damn tight squeeze too. I was afraid for a bit that it wouldnt fit but it just barely clears the back piece with less than 1/4" to spare.

This has been the biggest pain in the ass box Ive ever built. Since I was going with only 1/2" wood I wanted to use a lot of small pieces rather than a few larger ones to aid in rigidity. Plus it being such a weird shape and me only having a jigsaw and no place to work. I may farm the next one out to my local shop.

After I caulk the **** out of it I think Im going to Dynamat the outside for a few reasons.

1) I have a lot of gaps cause I suck at building and although Ive used about a gallon of sealant I would like to have an extra layer of protection

2) Because I suck as a builder some of the pieces dont line up perfectly so I can smoothe them out with a layer of Dynamat.

3) It will add mass and hopefully help make the 1/2" wood a little more rigid.

Once that is done, all Ill have left to do is carpet it (God help me) and then slap her in so I can finally hear this sweet ass MM2104 that Ive been staring at for weeks.

[exalted512]

doesnt look bad for something done with only a jigsaw. You should look into the drills that have a battery powered circular saw with the set. You might only be able to do a couple cuts per battery but itd be much more accurate than a jigsaw and will make the edges look much better.
-Cody

[1996blackmax]

Show us some pictures when you get it installed. I am sure it will look nice in your car.

[MacLeod]

If I had a place to put it and planned on building more of these things Id just get a table saw. Yoiu just line up your guides and slide it thru. Perfectly straight cut every time. Thats the only way to do it.

[MacLeod]

Ahhh. Nothing like spending a Sunday afternoon watching NASCAR and Dynamatting your sub box. Good southern living. :D

Anyways, Ive got this thing covered in Dynamat and am quite happy I decided to do it. It has not only added an extra layer of sealant in the gaps (on top of glue and caulk) but it also evened all the crooked edges out so when I carpet it, it will more closely resemble a flat surface. Not to mention it added more mass to the 1/2" wood so it will be more rigid.

It didnt take a ton either. I got the 4 ft^2 sheet for $30 at Tweeter and it was enough for everything except the bottom. Im not going to cover the bottom piece as I dont need this thing any higher than it already is. Its a tight squeeze under that seat. I had some pieces left over from my MM6 baffles so I used them on the bottom of the back piece solely to add rigidity.

Tomorrow Ill swing by my local shop and pick up some carpet and begin that. I think I should be able to pull it off. Ill just put all the crappy parts on the bottom of the box and tell anybody if they pull the box out itll explode!

You can also see the mess Im making. Needless to say, the missus is about fed up with my little "project". :D

[exalted512]

lol...i absolutely love the bottom. What you should do is cut the dynamat away from where the sub mounts, then carpet it so it will give your sub a more "flush" look...just an idea, but dynamat isnt that thick so im not sure how much itd help. but looks good, glad to hear you finally got around to it. I'll be selling my box pretty soon, probably for like $70 or so. Just enough so I can get materials for the next box I'll be building for the new truck which i should get either this month or next. I'm about to start taking out everything in my current truck...most likely later today.
-Cody

[MacLeod]

LOL! Yeah, those were the 4 pieces I had left over from my MM6 baffles. Not enough to cover the whole panel so I just stuck em in the middle.

I wanted to leave the Dynamat around where the sub mounts cause its a really tight fit for the magnet up agaisnt the back panel. Kind of like what you ran into when you built yours. I had less than a 1/4" clearance between the magnet and that rear piece even with the magnet cover off. With the Dynamat there I can get an extra 1/8" clearance which will help.

[MacLeod]

DONE!

I finished this Friday and dropped it in. Fits like a glove! Even the carpeting job turned out pretty good. This I am actually proud of. Ive built several boxes over the years and all have looked like ****. Strong and airtight but fugly. This one turned out good. Still not perfect on the carpeting in going around all those stupid angles but the seams do blend in well and dont stand out.

[MacLeod]

Here are a couple of shots of it in the truck. The only snag is when I designed the back extension, I made it offset enough to clear the crossovers. The problem was I had the MM6 x-over in there at the time which are half the size of the SR x-overs so Im going to have to relocate them and maybe even the amps. That should be pretty easy though.

I mean this thing fit perfect. At first I didnt think it was going in. You have to wedge it in there just right and push it in. I couldnt have made it ANY bigger.

Total volume was .51 ft3 and I stuffed in about a half pound of polyfill so I guesstimate Ive got the equivalent of a 58 box.

This thing sounds awesome! 100 times better and smoother than my trusty little MTX. It hits much lower as well. Ive still got the gain down a bit for the break in period and dont really have much bass heavy music but this is the best sub Ive ever owned. Polk Audio rules!

[1996blackmax]

Good work :). How many watts do you have going to it?

[MacLeod]

Im running it off a Crossfire VR302. It rated at 300x1 4 ohms mono @ 12.5 volts.

In every test Ive ever seen or read on Crossfire amps, they exceeded their 14 volt rating at 12 volts. Mine is rated at 350 at 14 volts so Im guessing Im getting about 375 real world watts.

The short answer: 300 watts. :D

[1996blackmax]

Nice :).