Cheap Sonotube?

[mazeroth]

I was at the local Lowes and saw some of the "sonotubes" they had. They weren't called Sonotubes, but something else, and they were smaller versions. They had 8", 10", and 12" versions, all 48" in length. The most expensive one was only $8! My only concern is they seem to have been around 1/8" to 3/16" thick. They did seem pretty sturdy, but will they be sturdy enough? I'm thinking of using a 10" MTX or Infinity car sub that I have laying around to build a sonotube for my computer. They had the ends for it, I think used in making small tables, 15" for $6. So all in all I should be able to walk out of Lowes with under $30 spent and all the hardware to build this sub.

Do you guys think this tube will be sturdy enough? Is this the same strength that the larger ones are? Also, what's the best way to bond the cardboard tube to the wooden table top?

Thanks!

 

[markp]

For that kind of money you can try it and even if it doesnt work, big deal. I've used that type of tube but in a sandwhich with two tubes of 1" different diameters filled with sand in between. That worked really well for a sub I built. The real sonotube is thicker with a plasticizer mixed in to waterproof it. The cheap stuff is not waterproof.

 

[rnoble]

They're sturdy enough, it's like an egg. SPL hits the walls all at the same time, they're not going to flex whatsoever in the chamber. As far as being sturdy from mechanical damage then that's really up to how you treat it, as it's not as solid as timber but if you build it, put it where it's going to live and don't touch it then it will last a LONG time won't it?

Try searching for 'sonotube' here and google or whatever, there's heaps of information out on it.

 

[Hybrid fourdoor]

If you put MDF rings inside the tube it makes them extremelly stronger. I had one that was about 24" tall (cut the tube in half), and put a MDF ring on the inside at each end and one in the middle, and you could push on fairly hard and it wouldn't flex....was still real light too. I just used a hand held scroll saw to cut the rings. Also at Loews (or at least Home Depot) sometimes they carry 12" precut MDF circles for a couple bucks, the only problem being that the Sonotubes say nominal 12" diamter, and they are ussually closer to 12.5 or so....so those precut 12" circles usually won't fit


But ya you can buy a sheet of MDF and one of those tubes for like $20....as far as covering, I would just paint it a base color, and make a sock out of matching color speaker fabric....like the old HSU subs. Now where to put the sub amp is up to you


EDIT: Also those Quckrete or whatever "Sonotubes" they sell, have a wax coating on the inside, I guess to make it easier to remove from the concrete afterwards, but anyways I just used a pick or screwdriver to scratch the hell out of the wax coating before I glued the rings in place....I also put 4 little dowels through the sonotube walls into the rings, just to make sure it didn't go anywhere.

 

[zobsky]

I was at the local Lowes and saw some of the "sonotubes" they had. They weren't called Sonotubes, but something else, and they were smaller versions. They had 8", 10", and 12" versions, all 48" in length. The most expensive one was only $8! My only concern is they seem to have been around 1/8" to 3/16" thick. They did seem pretty sturdy, but will they be sturdy enough? I'm thinking of using a 10" MTX or Infinity car sub that I have laying around to build a sonotube for my computer. They had the ends for it, I think used in making small tables, 15" for $6. So all in all I should be able to walk out of Lowes with under $30 spent and all the hardware to build this sub.

Do you guys think this tube will be sturdy enough? Is this the same strength that the larger ones are? Also, what's the best way to bond the cardboard tube to the wooden table top?

Thanks!

the tube will be sturdy enough, don't worry about that


if you search the archives, .. you will find a thread i started on building a TL using sonotube and an MTX 4000 12" woofer. that driver was no good in this application, though it was decent in the car. ... woofer flapping all over the place. not sure what enclosure you want to build, .. results may vary with another enclosure type

use liquid nails, ..look for my thread for pics / details etc

 

[zobsky]

BTW, .. markp , .. details, pics, website?? interesting project with an innovative idea to reduce the size of the sub

 

[herm]

The concrete former tubes will work fine.

Here's my Adire DPL-12 tube, made from Lowes or
Home Depot stock.

-herm

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.