boom boom- finally finished up

[AlexN09]

[beeristasty]

My amazing powers of deduction tell me that you're fluid-proofing your trunk. For dead hookers.

[AlexN09]

Hahhaa pretty closeeeeee!!!! I'm currently working on this so more pics soon!

[srwong]

fiberglass corner speaker. i remember a few OG members did this a couple years ago

[BlackMamba08]

nice... what setup are you going with?

[AlexN09]

Yep!! I have seen all of the OG's corner boxes and I want to make my own.

It seems like a great solution to the limited space.

Are you still running those forward firing twelves?

As far as the setup I'm probably going with one Alpine type R 12" sub. Not sure of the amp yet but I don't need to push this sub to its limits by any means.

Here's my progress after one day:

1st layer done


And after the second layer I pulled it out, removed tape, and trimmed just a little. Here's the first test fit:


Definitely needs a lot more glass because I would definitely not call this tough yet. Still pretty flexible.

I may cut more off the top inside corner because it was tough to get in.

[CoupeL33]

That is looking good so far. I will be following this thread cause i was looking into getting this done.

[AlexN09]

Yep I'm really glad with the results after the first pull. I've got some weak spots and even a hole up in the top corner but I'll be applying a lot more glass tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get four layers in if not more by the end of the day.

I'm thinking I might carpet this although I do have a big can of bondo and some primer already... Maybe one can of spray from the dealer would be worth the twenty bucks? I kinda wanna just go with carpet but I'll see.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Im not seeing any FG mat? Are you using straight resin to start?

[AlexN09]

Haha no not at all, I'm using a woven mat that I cut intO two by four, six, and eight inches long.

I have only gotten one more layer on today because I had a little medical emergency earlier and feel pretty terrible.

[Irvxing]

do mine next!

[AlexN09]

I would do another one of these for the right price!! I just need to get through this one and learn what I'm doing to make sure I can't get a quality product.

After just four total layers of fiberglass this box is feeling really tough! So far I'm pretty happy with how it's going. Next I'm going to cut out my shape and do some test fitting and see what the best shape will be.

[DJ_B_Easy]

Haha no not at all, I'm using a woven mat.

Then you are doing a VERY clean job of laying it down. When I did my amp rack it looked crazy, yours is almost transparent. Looks like you got the hang of it rather quickly. Took me a while to get proper mixing of resin/catalyst with the heat I was working in.

[AlexN09]

Yeah I actually did a lot of sampling with mixture and drying times and have tried to remove any bumps or extra strands before going onto the next layer. I still got some bubbling though due to laying some mat down over little globs of resin and stuff.

Here is the final shape cutout with my new jigsaw (only adding to the price lol)


I'm about to go to my managers cabinet shop and cutout some sub rings. I've never done that before so hopefully it'll go well!!

[DJ_B_Easy]

Bubbling will KILL you if you dont remove it as you go, so you are definitely doing the right thing. I didnt have patience to test drying and cure times, I just dove right in. Looks great so far, nice work.

PS: I also bought a jigsaw for mine, next you will buy an orbital sander and Dremmel (if you dont already have). Mark my words...

[AlexN09]

Hahaha I know !!! The absolute worst part is that my dad has a fantastic collection of high quality tools between the shop at his factory and his personal woodworking shop. He's got everything that I need but there's only one problem.. He HATES loud car audio and especially subs hahaha so this is kinda a secret from him! Hopefully my manager buddy can help me out with the finishing and sanding.

I also had one extremely unfortunate expenditure and that was ordering a new hydraulic trunk lift I got some plastic stuck under the rubber oil seal and all the oil leaked out rendering the shock useless. Only 28 bucks on nissan parts zone. So far I've spent like 180 on this dang thing

[DJ_B_Easy]

If you need any tips let me know. I reworked my project every which way from Sunday so I kind of know which problems come up depending on which finishing route you go.

[AlexN09]

If you need any tips let me know. I reworked my project every which way from Sunday so I kind of know which problems come up depending on which finishing route you go.

Hahhaa thanks, I'm hoping that there won't be quite that much reworking. I still don't know if I'm going to bondo this thing but I guess I can decide after I see how the front finish comes out.

So I finally got some MDF from the local audio place. They were totally reluctant to just make one for me or really help me out at all so I just bought a piece from them for $5. I didn't really realize how to make a sub ring until I brought the wood home and started looking at dimensions and figuring out what the final sizes would be. Soooo my piece of wood was only big enough for one ring! Not two and it's only 3/4" so I couldn't just route out some material to make some half-a$$ed countersink.

SO I got to thinking and I figured out I could make the two rings in four pieces and then do a glue up after to get one final countersunk ring!!



Now I just have to see how handy I can be with my $30 jigsaw....

[CoupeL33]

That is very smart about the ring i would never though of that

[IBCoupe]

Out of curiosity, what are you doing with the jack?

[DJ_B_Easy]

Not really sure this is a good idea. I wouldnt go this route for 2 reasons:

1) Its not going to be strong/sturdy
2) Its not going to be strong/sturdy

You need to use the ring to actually mount the sub, its not just there to make the shape of the cutout for it. Using two pieces glued together is going to drastically reduce the strength. They will break apart in days, and then you essentially have a fault line in the middle of your fiberglass box. Its going to shake to all hell and split/crack the whole thing.

Id do it again in 1 solid piece of 1" thick, just go to Home Depot and get a large sheet for like $10.

[VQpwrdSE-R]

This thread ressurrects the inner audio obsessed high school version of me. Looks like a quality job. Looking to see the final project.

[AlexN09]

Oh b easyyyyyyyy you're killing me man!! I already have about 1,600 doubts ha and now this?? maybe take a look at the rings and see what I did:



I was obsessed with this in high school too! Which for me was like three and a half years ago. I'm starting my senior year in college and I just want some bass in the trunk again!!

Hopefully this will work, if not than I just wasted so much money. Maybe I could just use an underpowered sub.

[DJ_B_Easy]

^It actually looks better than I thought it would. Id put 8-10 screws from the top ring through the bottom ring, since you staggered them and didnt line up where the joints meet on each ring it should be OK. Then hit it with a few coats of straight resin before fleecing or adding additional mat.

You did check mounting clearance of the sub and necessary air volume....right?

EDIT: Maybe even put an extra support "brace" bridging both gaps between halfs on the bottom ring underneath, follow?

[AlexN09]

Yeah I totally follow you dj. I thought the staggered design would help a lot and I also used a five minute epoxy rather than just wood glue. I put a little resin around the outer edges but I didn't think to brace the cracks from underneath. The box was just a little over one cubic foot before I mounted the ring and fleeced it. I'm hoping the extra space on the front side will account for volume loss of the sub and give me about one cubic foot of sealed airspace.

Waiting on the resin to dry to check my work!

[AlexN09]

Out of curiosity, what are you doing with the jack?

I'm not sure what you are asking.

Do you just mean the factory car jack that's in the styrofoam? It's still there and I can get the box in and out with a little effort if necessary.

[AlexN09]

I brought my box inside last night after I realized it was 55 degrees outside!! I brushed on a really hot layer to warm it up and then I left it in my bathroom with the fan on all night and the door closed haha.

This morning it's really hard!!!


I began by cutting off some excess fleece and opening up the sub ring.

Then I broke out these support dowels:


I realized that my resin had not soaked through the fleece completely to the other side so it looks like I'll be brushing a lot more on from the inside.

I couldn't resist test fitting it in the car just to show you guys and gals.


Here's a view from the backside:


Anyhow after today I have much less apprehension regarding the project.

I do have one question for b easy... How did you deal with all of the extra resin-y fabric thats wrapped around the outside of the box? Lemme guess, I need to go buy the dremel now?

[DJ_B_Easy]

I actually didnt use fleece, I used some old upholstery fabric but same idea. Sand and Bondo. Sand and Bondo. When you think you have sanded and used enough Bondo, do two more rounds of each. Dremmel is good for really large pieces, you can just trim them right off, but it looks like you didnt a fairly clean job.

Also, you need to get some support into the inside. If your resin didnt soak all the way through the fleece then that ring is kind of just hanging there by a thread (think of it as tack welded at the moment). Try to wrap some fleece or mat all the way around the ring from the outside and into the inside, probably a few inches past where the ring stops so you form somewhat of a cradle that will seal it all in.

EDIT AGAIN: Actually, you kind of need to decide if you are going to carpet or paint at this point. If you are carpeting, you dont need to be as crazy with the Bondo. If you are painting, Bondo is your new best friend.

[AlexN09]

Okay I gotcha. I just cut the ring out pretty clean and now I'm gonna pull the box and do a lot of resin on the inside and start glassing to really reinforce it.

[mmkeller]

Title of thread led me to believe I was going to see a video of a Mazda 3 exploding
But after seeing the whole thread I am impressed with the work/time put into the sub box.