| jaygeorge1979 |
gonna build my first enclosure ever...just curious, once you get all the pieces cut, what do you use to hold it together? nails? glue? silicon to seal it from the inside? what works best?
if its important, its going to be the tangband neo 6.5" sub |
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| e-side |
I usually use glue to keep the parts together, and sometimes screws to get the construction a bit stronger. I think nails aren't suitable to build a strong, solid enclosure. Finally, to be sure that the box is airtight, I use silicon kit to fill up openings.
best regards
Erwin |
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| Destroyer OS. |
Wood glue all the sides togather that you want to be perminant. Clamp the pieces when you do this, they need to be dried overnight.
Once you have all the sides glued then you drill holes for the size of screw you want to use. Go with what ever screw size you feel will not hinder the boxes strength. Basically I would never go with any thing bigger then 1/3 the width, including the threads (not the head) then the thickness of board used. You should always put some thing in to make sure the seal stays unless the pieces fit togather well. It will be a problem is there is any stress pulling on the wood glue, wood glue is not amazingly strong. You CAN use an air nail gun on really small speaker boxes that are cheap, perhaps not perminant. Nail gun nails make speakers look poor. When I say nail, I am talking about the ones that are barely bigger then a sewing needle.
On subwoofers sinking some screws is a MUST. The bigger the box the more. I would say probably every three inches on powerful suboofers. The little ones will be fine with much less, just enough to have some support at the ends and the quarter length marks.
After you have got your wood glue dried and screw sunk it is time for silicon! On the inside give a nice assuring coat of silicon all around where the cracks would be if it was not for wood glue.
On the outside you are going to be all about athstetics, that is up to you. |
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| dscline |
| Wood glue, if properly applied and clamped tight enough while it dries, gives a stronger bond than the wood itself. The wood will fail before the bond does. I predrill all my holes, and use drywall screws no more than 6" apart to hold everything together tightly while the glue dries. I use polyurethane glue, because it has a tendency to expand and fill small gaps from the cuts not being perfect. This can make caulking afterwords unnecessary. |
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| chipco3434 |
| For the cost of a decent set of clamps, you can by an air nail gun in the "tack" or "trim nail" size. They offer no benefit for the permanent securing of the box. HOWEVER, they are PERFECT for establishing the contact between surfaces so that the glue can make the best bond. Further, unlike clamps, one can complete the entire box in one sitting. There's no issue with the clamps interfering with the next orientation of the box and application of the "next" side. Nail holes are easily filled directly after the first finish coat or sealing coat. |
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| jaygeorge1979 |
interesting, chipco...i hadnt thought of that
honestly the idea of clamps seems real complicated, simply cuz u cant do it all in one sitting...i like the idea of a nailgun...
why couldnt i use just a basic hammer and nail instead? and how would i go about securing two pieces of wood while im trying to nail them together? seems like a two person job, since i am new at this.... |
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| Cal Weldon |
| quote: | Originally posted by jaygeorge1979
why couldnt i use just a basic hammer and nail instead? |
Because you will end up with "smiles" in your wood.
| quote: | | [i]and how would i go about securing two pieces of wood while im trying to nail them together? seems like a two person job, since i am new at this.... [/B] |
Brace it against something on your workbench or table or against the wall or W.H.Y. Just be careful if you brace it with your body that you're not firing the nails toward you. |
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| jaygeorge1979 |
ok i think i get it...you brace it against something on the bench and hold the other peice in your hand against it, and nail it while i hold it...seems like it would be hard to get it precise, unless maybe i am not envisioning it right...someone go video themselves doing it so i can watch...
also what does W.H.Y. mean? |
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| doorman |
| If you try hand nailing your pcs, you'll know why it's not a good idea! That glue makes for a very slippery surface when first applied. Clamps give you the ability to adjust the placement of the pieces as you go. Nailing the pieces together with a brad nailer, etc, won't insure a good joint unless (unlikely) your stock is dead flat, 'cause the brad nails won't be able to press the joints flat. They can help in assembly though. |
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| Cal Weldon |
WHY = what have you. Meaning just find a way to make it work.
Always assemble your boards on edge so the bottoms are flush and use your fingers to line up the board along the joint. It's really not that hard but from time to time you'll have a Doh! moment. If it's more than you want sand out, you'll have to knock the board apart, bang out the old brad (nail with no head) and start again.
Just practice on some scrap boards with no glue until you feel comfortable. Next thing you know you'll be doing it for other people. ;) |
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| Cal Weldon |
| Forgot to mention, I am using that same plate amp with that woofer in your other thread. |
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| dscline |
| quote: | Originally posted by jaygeorge1979
how would i go about securing two pieces of wood while im trying to nail them together? seems like a two person job, since i am new at this.... |
That's one of the reasons I prefer screws instead. It's a little easier to control everything while slowly screwing (especially with a cordless screwdriver or drill). Besides, screwing can provide much more clamp force. What I did when I just made my box was first I'd drill screw holes in the "outside" piece (the one that ultimately would have the screw heads at it's surface). Then, while holding the two pieces together where they should join, I tap pilot dents into the second piece by tapping an all or small nail into the screw holes of the first piece. This puts little dents in the second piece everywhere there should be a hole, and I use those as guides for drilling the holes in the second piece (you could just use a pen if you had one small enough to fit through the first holes). The advantage of pre-drilling all the holes is, you can partially screw all the screws into the first piece (just enough so the tips get to the opposite side), then when it's time to glue and screw them together, it's very fast and easy to add a bead of blue, and screw the pieces together. Once you add the glue, it's panic time, because you don't want to make any mistakes at that point. Pre-drilling all the holes lets you confirm that everything is going to line up exactly where it should be before adding the glue.
It's a few extra steps up front, but it makes final assembly easier and more fool proof. |
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| Cal Weldon |
| What dscline said is a pretty standard way of doing it, maybe even the most popular. The problem is you have a large screw head to fill. If you are planning a paint finish I wouldn't recommend it as eventually the filler, even auto body filler will show through. If you are planning a highly textured finish like truck bed liner, you'll be fine, otherwise I would consider the brad nails. They are more than strong enough to clamp the box untill the glue dries and the holes to fill are tiny. Another way and probably the best is to use full length gluing blocks on the inside and not worry about any holes at all. This is more time consuming but it allows for 45 degree mitres and almost no chance of joints showing through in the future. Recommended for pre-veneered plywood. |
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