Finaly some pics for all to enjoy, tempest sub (1 Viewer)

[Allen Ross]

here ya go, its my baby tempest in a 8.75-9 ft^3 box, front fireing and rock solid construction. I used glue blocks (poplar, and soft maple) on the edged to pull any bows out of the MDF, on one side i pulled a good 8th of an inch out. I also used biscuts to get really really straight edges and it won't wobble when i screwed it together. i doubled up the MDF so the tempest will be flush with the front.
As of right now i am not really thinking of putting any bracing in the box, other then the glue blocks, but i still can, what do you guys think? the only way i think i would need it is on the long side of to keep it from bowing in or out, but it is damn solid as of right now.
Tomarrow i will pick up some #8 course threaded T nuts and 1.5 inch long nice Allen wrench screws so i can attach my driver and amp, before i glue and screw.
Tell me what you think?
also check out the great shop i am in. thanks to a friends dad whos been helping me out.
http://homepage.mac.com/alrossnin/PhotoAlbum42.html
BTW the imges seem to not show up on the main page but click the first one and it will bring up a slide show.

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

It looks like only the front panel is double MDF. Even if the whole thing were double, that's a mighty big box. At the very least I'd want a 2x4 board connecting the centers of each pair of opposing panels. Glue all 3 boards together in the center where they cross to prevent vibrations.

Also, consider using thumbnails that link to the full-size picture when posting that many pics. With my dial-up connection I gave up on viewing the whole slideshow.

 

[Allen Ross]

yeah somthing weried is up with my .Mac account, it took a few tries to get the pics uploaded.

about the cross braces, wouldn't i then be relying on the MDF to hold a screw, think of the MDF moving out pulling the sides away, all that pressure on that little screw head. That MDF is dense, but could use a hand screw driver and drive all of those heads right through the MDF.

I am kinda thinking of putting some braces that cut the MDF in half. basicly putting another glue block in the center of the MDF so that would give it some rigidity.

BTW the front is only double MDF you are correct

 

[Ryan Schnacke]

The wood glue will do the real work of resisting tension at the joint. And if you do a decent glue job, the joint may well be stronger than the wood that its joining. Coupling the opposing panels together will be WAY more effective than just increasing the effective thickness of a panel.

 

[Andrew Walbert]

The Jumbo Test
Imagine, if you will, a rather bitter mid-sized African elephant named Jumbo (how original) that has been taking steroids and lifting religiously for the past 10 years. Jumbo's ex-girlfriend left him for a box (don't ask--because we don't know) and so every time Jumbo sees a box, he does his best to obliterate it.
After building your enclosure, you should be able to place your box in front of Jumbo and let him tap dance on it all day long knowing that when Jumbo finally gives up (he never does) your enclosure will emerge unscathed. It sounds a bit extreme, but it's true: strength is key!

This comes from here. When I built the car box for my JL 12W7 sub, I actually jumped up and down on each side for awhile (I weigh 240, so it's not the same as an elephant, but..). Not a single crack or fracture anywhere. In fact, I think the only thing that was affected was my feet, which hurt a bit after that. A better test is to put a whole lot of cinder blocks or other very heavy objects on the enclosure and see if it shows signs of bowing.
It's really quite amazing just how much stress the subwoofers will actually place on their enclosures.

 

[Allen Ross]

cool i didn't know they had to be that slolid. I will pick up some more poplar today and rig upsome more bracing. thanks a ton.

 

[Allen Ross]

BTW my .Mac had an outage last night the thumbnails are back to normal.

 

[Tim Morton]

Nice page...also nice to see another .mac user. although rumor has it that apple is going to start charging for its iApps now, greedy bastards!!!!

 

[Allen Ross]

we will all see next tuseday, rock on BTW check out my sig

 

[ThomasW]

Link Removed
Example of a properly braced 160L (5.6cu ft) sub
Link Removed

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Tom,
There is a difference between "Properly Built" and "Properly Overbuilt"
I'd say the latter applies to that enclosure.. Sure if
you need something you can park a Hummer on, those are the
enclosures you want
It's nice to have the tools to do that level of work on
a mere sub enclosure.. Now with that much skill and tools
I would like to see a ContraBass enclosure..

 

[Tim Morton]

That box is definately "overbuilt" and properly built at the sane time!!!!! Totally SWEET!!!!!!!!!NICE WORK!!!!

 

[Dan Pawlowski]

What keeps the braces from resonating??
Dan

 

[Bryan Michael]

on my box for my dual av15 i am dubbleing up all pannels evept the top and botom i dont want to get another sheet ol mdfb and it wont fit where i want to put it i am using 3 sheets and some scrap to make some ribes with i will make a brace out of