# We don't need no stinking peanuts!



## The Tube Doctor (Nov 24, 2009)

Over the past few years, I've become insistent upon using only WBP marine grade plywood in all of my installations. 
Here's what happens when you drink too much coffee while inhaling exhaust fumes...........

This enclosure, for a 2014 Mercedes Benz CLS Shooting Brake, ended up being constructed entirely from wood. All the bonding and sealing was done with hybrid polymer adhesive.

So, I ended up with a nightmare of angles, arcs and steps, which can be tedious to calculate, unless you've designed it with Sketchup. This was more of an exercise in cut and fit, so having a CAD program do the heavy lifting was not on the agenda.


WBP= Water and Boil Proof, which refers to the adhesives used in this type of plywood. It never goes spongy or rots, like lesser grades of ply and MDF. I typically only shoot a bit of paint on adapter rings and other bits, so that they integrate better with the car, even in those frequent instances where they can't be seen without disassembling something.
I ran out of rattle can paint, and all I had left was undercoating. Looks lumpy, but sticks well.

So how to get an accurate read on the box volume? 
Water, of course!


A graduated container, a big bucket of water and about 5 minutes......


Does double duty as a leak test, as the pressure from the water will find its way out of the tiniest crack.

This is the woofer. Please remember to empty the water from the enclosure and dry thoroughly before mounting your speaker!


You didn't think I was going to leave that lumpy mess on the baffle, did you?
A quick wrap with some vinyl left-over from a 964 Porsche.


Pardon the messy, ghetto wiring, courtesy of Mercedes Benz.
Next time, I'll just 'glass the damn thing. 
Now remember, don't do drugs!

I may or may not post a build log on the entire system. My clients generally don't want their cars and toys publicly shared. Have to sweet talk the owner.


----------



## xrdcarbon (Jul 27, 2015)

great article,thanks


----------



## lpreston (Dec 29, 2006)

I glanced thru the pics before I read what you wrote....pretty sure I almost had a heart attack at the box full of water...lol. Nice work!


----------

