# 2006 Scion xB amp rack/sub enclosure



## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Behold! Real, tangible progress!

[Pictures from my other threads...]





















...


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

More pictures...

















Next post: What I finished this past weekend!


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

The black strip on the top of the center brace is a piece of ~1/16" closed-cell foam to prevent the top board from rattling against the brace.







The subwoofer baffle isn't pictured, but it sits on the right side [obviously]. I finished that this weekend, and I started a trim panel that will snap on top of it. A similar trim panel will surround the amp on the left side. The blue tape is covering the mounting holes for said baffle and amp.









*How am I going to carpet this thing??*

Here's the speaker cable for inside the unit, which won't even be visible but is a preview of how I'm going to terminate the rest of the cables:


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

The ten holes on the left side of the unit are for air flow and cabling to and from my amplifier. I cut a groove in the center of each one [along the centerline of the MDF board] to tuck carpet into when it's pushed through the holes.

The sub baffle isn't pictured, but will be shortly. It's 1/2" MDF, with a 1/2" ring attached to make a total mounting thickness of 1", with 8-32 threaded inserts on the bottom. T-nuts wouldn't quite fit, but I found some inserts with flanges to give more pull-through resistance. I don't think they're going anywhere. This isn't a multi-kilowatt SPL system 

The baffle will be screwed in on the right side [where the blue tape is covering the holes] with more of the ~1/16" CCF as gasketing. I'm working on a 1/4" MDF trim/grill panel that will press-fit on top of it, and a similar panel will surround the amp on the left side.

...I also need to figure out how to match the profile of the OEM floor panel [on the left side under the wood].


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## Big_Valven (Aug 20, 2008)

VERY tidy woodwork. Can't wait for the final result.


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## dogsbark26 (Feb 10, 2009)

Yeah, baby!

I just love pictures of fine craftsmanship.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Thank you, thank you... 

Any ideas on how I'm going to carpet that thing? I'm thinking of stretching some fleece on the bottom half to give a smooth profile, and then saturating it in some resin to firm it up, and carpeting over that. The top half will be somewhat more difficult.


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## lashlee (Aug 16, 2007)

Looks good. Keep up the good work!


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

THIS IS fantastic wood work! What did you use to cut the inside right angles, some
sort of circular saw? I've been looking into getting one of those 3" fine blade Craftsman
circular saw. They cut MDF like it were butter, I once owned a cordless that had the
same blade size and fell in love with it. Only now has someone started making them
110v. Surely those cuts weren't with a jigsaw?

When you say "Any ideas on how I'm going to carpet that thing?" are you talking about
the inside part with the holes in it? That brings me to, the holes. Are you going to cover
those to help suppress any vibrations?

I'm wondering if you took the capet your wanting to use cut a bit large. Then cut a board
close to the size of the bottom (if your talking about covering that part?) Cover the part
in the truck with plastic (bag or something) put the carpet down then screw or staple down
the board. Spray down the carpet with water (makes it stretch a bit more) Then once dry
it should pull and fit a bit easier. If your not talking about that part scratch all that


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## enemyofsilence (Jun 15, 2011)

awesome!! looking good!


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> THIS IS fantastic wood work! *What did you use to cut the inside right angles, some
> sort of circular saw? I've been looking into getting one of those 3" fine blade Craftsman
> circular saw. They cut MDF like it were butter, I once owned a cordless that had the
> same blade size and fell in love with it. Only now has someone started making them
> ...


Thank you, thank you . See this thread for what I used to do some of the cutting:

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...dumb/81420-preferred-tool-cut-mdf-sheets.html

After I returned it, I ended up doing a LOT of work with my Dremel and the router bits. The flat side of the Dremel router base attachment is 2" offset from the closest edge of the 1/8" straight router bit, so I used that against straight edges to do some of the lines. If you look closely, I rounded-over most of the edges with the 1/8"-radius Dremel router bit, as well.

The right half of the top is where the sub baffle goes... I've got to put up another picture so people know what I'm talking about. My amp will be on the LEFT side where the 10 holes are. The holes are for air and wiring, as there will be a panel over or around the amplifier. I added grooves on the inside circumference of those holes to tuck carpet into.


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## jaikai (Aug 8, 2011)

That is serious wood work. You sure you want to cover it up w/carpet?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

jaikai said:


> That is serious wood work. You sure you want to cover it up w/carpet?


I'm trying to make it look stealthy, so, yes...


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## jaikai (Aug 8, 2011)

I was kidding about not carpeting the box. 

Just appreciating the wood work...


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Pictures of the baffle, as promised:







Here's the detail of the mounting ring and threaded inserts on the bottom of the baffle:



The trim panel, as it will sit:



The grill, as it will fit into the trim panel:


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## dogsbark26 (Feb 10, 2009)

My, my. A thing of beauty sir.

Thank you for sharing.

Judging by your display of craftsmanship thus far, I feel certain that you will find a way to carpet it that is far superior to anything I am capable of dreaming up. Heck, that is why I'm here looking at yours instead of in the garage working on mine!


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

HondAudio said:


> Thank you, thank you...
> 
> Any ideas on how I'm going to carpet that thing? I'm thinking of stretching some fleece on the bottom half to give a smooth profile, and then saturating it in some resin to firm it up, and carpeting over that. The top half will be somewhat more difficult.


Monday morning bump. Any carpeting ideas? Or... should I do the whole thing in Fleckstone and then make some sort of shroud and carpet _that_?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

No progress in the last few days... it was kind of a bad weekend, and it's been too humid out this week :\

Feel free to ask questions


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Shameless bump for more views


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

You asked for carpet idea's?

I think if this were mine I would build a faulse floor over the top of the lot. Then
use cutouts that you can remove for access and showing off.... If your wireing
can be as tidy and sharp as your wood work I would not cover it up. I mean lining
up all wording and such unless you go with techflex. IN that case I would surely
not cover it because it could be an important part of your "look". 

SORRY, I now see you did account for the above. Though, perhaps, and answer
to the gap issue you have from the rear trim panel to the floor. I would put down
a load of plastic and tape. Then tape and pull tight some fabric from the trim panel
to the faulse floor. Then coat with resin. Once hard pop off the floor and glass from
both sides. Keep in mind the thickness of the glass so that it doesn't stick up higher
than the rear trim panel. 

As for covering what we all now see in wood. I would spray it with some highbuild
primer, knock off any runs or high spots then paint it to match the body of the car.
VERY VERY easy thing to do and CHEAP. Figure on 2 cans of primer and 2 of color.
Rattle can, look at either model paint, or Duplicolor, if budget allows clear coat over
those with PPG's "Shopline" brand sold by the pint at 35 bucks or so. This look would
be VERY pro quality. See posts by BING.... Another thought. As clean and sharp as
your cuts are, I may would even paint the faulse floor to match the plastic in your
car. Then just use a factory like trunk liner to cover it. Then you can have layers of
goodness. Take off the carpet and the eyes see the great wood work, and paint. 
Remove the panels and your hit again with the woodwork and how its all put together.

CHEERS,
SCOTT


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## GavGT (Sep 5, 2011)

wow, excellent work there! I will have a proper look over again when I'm not on my phone!


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## MagDizzle (Jan 21, 2011)

I like the ideas that Fly threw out. You could also fill over the screws and have the whole thing sprayed with truck bed liner (i.e. Rhino liner, line x). It would be durable and look good too.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

OK, this is what I meant about fiberglassing the bottom half of the unit:

(Please excuse my crude Paintbrush skills  )



This shows where I also need to construct a piece to match the fascia of the OEM floor:


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I got ya now.... 

Fear not I have a really neat solution for this as well and it could be done VERY easy. The first thing your going to need to do is:

use something flexible like some sort of foam. Lets say the blue stuff you can buy in sheets at HOMEDEPOSIT. You will want to cut it in shin strips and scribe it on one side. this will let it conform to any bends in the car. You will then hot glue it to the level you would want the floor to be inside the trunk. These strips are glued to the sides of the trunk area. you will then stretch fabric from the enclosure to the lip you just glued in and also fill the gap at the latch area. To reduce the cost of tape so you don't dip resin on it just use plastic sheeting and take that down. Also to cover your boxes so that the fiberglass pulls off the box giving you the floor.

Now here is the question. Do you want this part to be part of the enclosure or a simple cover. If it were me I would use this to be the false floor this will reduce the amount of parts you have, and by reducing the possibility of rattles. 

This whole outfit is rather high in the car. So, it kinda defeats the reason of a false floor where most of the gear is installed as low as possible to fool thieves. I'm trying to figure a way that you may could lower it drastically. that is if you would want that?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH I got ya now....
> 
> Fear not I have a really neat solution for this as well and it could be done VERY easy. The first thing your going to need to do is:
> 
> ...


It's not getting any "lower" in the car without taking out the spare tire and completely redoing EVERYTHING. Not now, not after this took a year and a half to measure, measure, MEASURE, and cut and assemble 

I guess what I need is some sort of 'shroud' that can cover the whole thing and then be carpeted to match, so it'll just look like nothing if seen through the windows. I'm thinking of getting the JDM cargo cover, as well, but that still leaves the question of how I'm going to finish off what's already in there, *right now*. The stretched fleece/carpet idea [depicted above] is to make it look a little bit more rounded and let the bottom, wider part blend in better.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

HondAudio said:


> OK, this is what I meant about fiberglassing the bottom half of the unit:
> 
> (Please excuse my crude Paintbrush skills  )
> 
> ...


Bump. Will this idea work?? It won't add much weight, but it'll make carpeting the lower half a lot easier.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

HondAudio said:


> Bump. Will this idea work?? It won't add much weight, but it'll make carpeting the lower half a lot easier.


Anybody at all...


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## dogsbark26 (Feb 10, 2009)

So, you are going to fiberglass a "ramp" between the two levels toward the bottom of the apparatus that will make carpeting the lower parts easier. Sounds good to me. Anything that makes it easier and seems like it will look just fine too. I approve for whatever that is worth.

Are you not going to go all the way around though? Your drawing makes it look like you plan to only "ramp" three quarters of the way around. Is there something in the way to prevent you from going all the way around? I think it might look better if you went all the way around.


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

Sorry, but I'm still trying to figure out what's doing on back there...


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Trojan, hows it goin buddy....

As I understand it. The grill grate was to show how he wanted the slope or angle
from both levels of the enclosure to flow to the cars trim panel. My suggestion
was to make a pop off panel that would go from the sides of the hatch and hatch
latch to the enclosure. Really pretty limited on what can be done because of the
overall height of the rack/enclosure to those trim pieces. I'd been trying to come
up with something easier that would conform the same as pulling some cloth
over the whole lot and taping it down so he could apply resin, then pop it off and
strengthen it. He could also use ABS heated up a good bit. Remember when 
FISHMAN used ABS before he started really using glass?

Got any idea's?


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## trojan fan (Nov 4, 2007)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Trojan, hows it goin buddy....
> 
> As I understand it. The grill grate was to show how he wanted the slope or angle
> from both levels of the enclosure to flow to the cars trim panel. My suggestion
> ...


I saw his car with the fish tank when he was living in California

That car has a lot of room for a stealth install...the top profile is way too high or is he going for a highlighted look

Not be rude, but I would start over....sorry

For me a install should blend in with the car as much as possible


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

For me a install should blend in with the car as much as possible[/QUOTE]

Yeah I had that suggestion a few posts back. Its not all that stealth but
he said he would get a hatch cover in time. It has LOADS of room on each side of the enclosure then amps on the seats or something like that would reduce foot print drastically. I would think it could be done with only about a 3-4" raised faulse floor. I did several faulse floors in my old CRX of many varations. Honestly ithose installs had UNREAL sq and SICK db. A 148db with 3 SPL 10's, 142 with 4 Polk DB 8's (the old ones that you could stand on the cones) 140db out of 2 Phoenix XMAX 8's.to name a few. Love hatchback cars

"For me a install should blend in with the car as much as possible"

Yeah I had that suggestion a few posts back. Its not all that stealth but
he said he would get a hatch cover in time. It has LOADS of room on each side of the enclosure then amps on the seats or something like that would reduce foot print drastically poured into the stellar carpentering.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

*sigh* The reason it's so big is that I needed ~1.5 cubic feet of airspace to get proper response out of my sub. I built the whole thing with a modular design so I could possibly reduce the size/height later. I thought about getting one of those JL flat subs, but the 3-ohm impedance would present a lot of problems for amps that can only bridge to 4-ohms mono. This was a consideration when I was still going to use my old PPI amps, and is still a consideration with the JL XD600/6 I purchased, unless the JL 13TW5 would work on 2 channels of that amp. I don't know how safe it would be for the amp, though.

In the future, I might be able to remove the whole top part and use the middle piece as the top, if I can find a suitable subwoofer with a very shallow mounting depth, 4-ohm impedance, and good low frequency response out of a smaller enclosure.


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## Vital (Feb 23, 2010)

Great work man! 
Maybe I missed it but what amp are you going with?


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## SSexpo03 (Jul 30, 2010)

Nice work so far, woodwork looks real good. Good Luck trying to wrap that monster!


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## bmxscion (Jan 31, 2011)

Have you thought about maybe staining the wood to show off the awesome build quality and cuts? Then varnish a lot to make it shiny and durable.....? You could always get the rear cargo cover to conceal it from prying eyes and remove it when you want to show it off.


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

HondAudio said:


> *sigh* The reason it's so big is that I needed ~1.5 cubic feet of airspace to get proper response out of my sub. I built the whole thing with a modular design so I could possibly reduce the size/height later. I thought about getting one of those JL flat subs, but the 3-ohm impedance would present a lot of problems for amps that can only bridge to 4-ohms mono. This was a consideration when I was still going to use my old PPI amps, and is still a consideration with the JL XD600/6 I purchased, unless the JL 13TW5 would work on 2 channels of that amp. I don't know how safe it would be for the amp, though.
> 
> In the future, I might be able to remove the whole top part and use the middle piece as the top, if I can find a suitable subwoofer with a very shallow mounting depth, 4-ohm impedance, and good low frequency response out of a smaller enclosure.


I HOPE, I didn't discourage you with this! I noticed you haven't posted much lately and can only hope that is due to other projects or family. I still think your work is stellar and something could be worked out to keep what you have already done if that is what you want to do.

Just the same, if you are thinking of moving to a subwoofer that is shallow enough to work out for you. I'm sure you have seen many of Bing's installs. He often does installs kind of like what you are trying to create. I think if you go through his build logs you could easily find a subwoofer that would work within your budget. 

I also did upwards of 10 installs in my old CRX that were very stealth like. The most I ever raised the floor was 4". I have used anything from a single 10" SoloBaric (132-134db), a pair of 8's both Polk Audio DB (the old ones with the ABS dust caps), MTX Black Gold 8, Thunder 5000, Phoenix Gold XMAX (still own), 4 8's again various brands, 3 SoundStream SPL 10's (143-144db), then came a large list of 12's. All of these systems were before any of the ridiculous huge basket and magnet subs of today.

*Perhaps even a single 8 could give you all that your looking for, given the correct brand specs, and SQ you desire...*

I think it would be very easy to find an SQ sub that you would love and take up as little as .5 cubic ft.. The key to these installs as you will see in Bing's builds is using all of the hatch/trunk area not just stacking parts. Subs in the sides, wheel wells, amps in the seats, you have LOADS of options to keep nearly all of your hatch area.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> I HOPE, I didn't discourage you with this! I noticed you haven't posted much lately and can only hope that is due to other projects or family. I still think your work is stellar and something could be worked out to keep what you have already done if that is what you want to do.
> 
> Just the same, if you are thinking of moving to a subwoofer that is shallow enough to work out for you. I'm sure you have seen many of Bing's installs. He often does installs kind of like what you are trying to create. I think if you go through his build logs you could easily find a subwoofer that would work within your budget.
> 
> ...


Thank you, thank you 

I'm moving soon, so I wanted to get this finished to the extent you see, and put it into my car rather than having it sit around the house. There's no amp or sub installed, but it's covered anyway. I'm still figuring out how to carpet it when I'm in-between other thoughts. 

I got some work done this weekend on my midbass baffles. I'll post pics soon. Long story short, they're modular and multi-layered, with threaded inserts and 8-32 machine screws holding all the materials [MDF, PVC, cork] together. I'm going to try out my old Boston 5.4LF midbasses and see how they work... once the door is prepped... and wires are run... 

I may have to get a new sub, but not right away. I don't know if the foam surround on the old JL 12w4 is going to hold up. The amp I will be using is a JL XD600/6. This is a single-package solution to replace 3 old PPI Art amps that were just too big for this tiny car. I'm keeping it simple and doing all the processing within the head unit.


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## bginvestor (Jan 13, 2008)

trojan fan said:


> I saw his car with the fish tank when he was living in California
> 
> That car has a lot of room for a stealth install...the top profile is way too high or is he going for a highlighted look
> 
> ...


No, don't start over.. See how the woofer sounds! Your almost there. See how it works out for a few weeks..

If you carpet the same color as interior, it will look cool.

However, I won't back you up that the design looks stealthy..


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

Derick,
I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the impression that I was downing your work or approach. Just that I am sure with some research and input from those of us following your work we could come up with a solution that would give you an end product you would like. I do like the single amp solution and I'm sure you could easily find a home for those Arts if you needed to sell them to fund your project. I remember our conversations about that. This is one of those cases where I wish you were closure I would be more than happy to help you, if you wanted/needed it. Like I said having done many stealth installs and false floors in small hatch backs I kind of know what really works. Least with product of my time. Its fun to do a system like that when a person looks at it they scratch the ole head wondering where/what is making all that sound.

I'm also gonna agree with bginvestor, don't bin your sub until you hear it. If nothing else it will give you a baseline which to work with. Do you need more, or do you need less. It gives you a starting point. Anyway, once you get your move done and can get back on it we'll be here ready to help if you need or want it.

Cheers buddy,
Scott


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

FLYONWALL9 said:


> Derick,
> I just wanted to make sure you didn't get the impression that I was downing your work or approach. Just that I am sure with some research and input from those of us following your work we could come up with a solution that would give you an end product you would like. I do like the single amp solution and I'm sure you could easily find a home for those Arts if you needed to sell them to fund your project. I remember our conversations about that. This is one of those cases where I wish you were closure I would be more than happy to help you, if you wanted/needed it. Like I said having done many stealth installs and false floors in small hatch backs I kind of know what really works. Least with product of my time. Its fun to do a system like that when a person looks at it they scratch the ole head wondering where/what is making all that sound.
> 
> I'm also gonna agree with bginvestor, don't bin your sub until you hear it. If nothing else it will give you a baseline which to work with. Do you need more, or do you need less. It gives you a starting point. Anyway, once you get your move done and can get back on it we'll be here ready to help if you need or want it.
> ...


Who's Derick? I think you're confusing 2 threads, buddy 

I'm going to try to finish the midbass baffles today and get some pictures. I may spray the MDF with a "hammered" finish black spraypaint for waterproofing and to make them relatively invisible behind the door panels. In between layers, I'm using ~1/16" CCF as gasketing layers. If everything works out right, the baffles will be isolated from the vibration of the inner door skin, and will soak up any movement from the frame of the midwoofers. I don't know if I'm articulating it right, but the idea is to isolate the cone's movement from any interference.

-Matt


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## FLYONWALL9 (Nov 8, 2009)

HondAudio said:


> Who's Derick? I think you're confusing 2 threads, buddy
> 
> I'm going to try to finish the midbass baffles today and get some pictures. I may spray the MDF with a "hammered" finish black spraypaint for waterproofing and to make them relatively invisible behind the door panels. In between layers, I'm using ~1/16" CCF as gasketing layers. If everything works out right, the baffles will be isolated from the vibration of the inner door skin, and will soak up any movement from the frame of the midwoofers. I don't know if I'm articulating it right, but the idea is to isolate the cone's movement from any interference.
> 
> -Matt


OPPS, sorry about that Matt.... Yeah I have yours mixed up with
another. board member... Lucky for me it was just mixing up of your name, 
and not my entire post. That would have been REALLY embarrassing. He was
also wondering about glassing something in.

I got you mixed up with another member that was asking me about fiberglass
work.


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## bmxscion (Jan 31, 2011)

Looking real nice man. I love your attention to detail and I can't get wait to get my new Sundown SD-2 12" in the mail quite possibly next week, so I can do some work on mine before I have to deploy here soon. I hope I can get something done before I leave. I will be looking and re-looking at your pics a lot in the up and coming days for inspiration. Keep the updates and great work coming!


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

Any ideas on a decent black spraypaint that has a light texture, is water-resistant, and isn't too shiny when sprayed onto MDF?


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Killz Black Primer


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

[copied from the other thread]:

I haven't made much progress lately, except on the midbass baffles. I have the speaker mounting rings cut, the cork "cushioning" rings drilled but not cut, the "tridents" [my personal lingo for all the parts] drilled and the center hole cut, but the "trident" shape isn't cut out yet. I'm doing a lot of work with the Dremel router and moving outside-in based on a finishing nail used as a center. I bought a pair of those black ABS plastic speaker adapters that were advertised in the upper-right corner of DIYMA this year, and I'm taking a multi-layered, modular approach:

Moving from the door metal inwards: CCF - ABS trident - (CCF?) - MDF trident - ABS ring - cork ring - MDF ring - speaker; I'm holding both the speaker to its mounting ring and the layers together with 8-32 machine screws and threaded inserts. I'm also going to experiment with putting the ~1/16" CCF between the MDF/ABS/cork rings for some decoupling, and I bought some spraypaint to cover the MDF with in order to make it water-resistant and reduce the visibility if seen through the door grilles. I picked up a can of the Rustoleum high-heat black paint. I figure this will keep the paint from "melting" and making things stick together.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

I returned the Rustoleum high-heat paint and bought a can of bedliner, instead, just like Bing uses


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## mushasho (May 21, 2011)

Any updates?


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

mushasho said:


> Any updates?


I just finished moving.

Soon, hopefully


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## bmxscion (Jan 31, 2011)

Your due for an update. LOL.


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## HondAudio (Oct 19, 2006)

bmxscion said:


> Your due for an update. LOL.


Indeed I am. I'm currently working on the panels to cover the holes in the inner door skins, and I'll add a bit more C.L.D. before I seal it all up


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## cdaburnerb (May 29, 2019)

wish these pictures still worked...


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