i know this is weird. but ive been throwing around the idea of making a box for my well. but carpentry just isnt my thing. i recently bought a welder. and i was just wondering if this has been done? what is good about using steel? and what would be bad, other than the weight? i did some searches but couldnt find anything.

 

if you used thin enough metal it might be lighter then mdf. downside is flex. a guy did a box out of dimond plate a while back, let me see if i can find it....

well i found the thread, a guy named xplosiv was going to do it but never did.....

anyway, good luck

 

are you talking about flex at the welds? or the actual metal flexing? i havent been around audio much, so i really dont know how powerful subs can be. btw i was wanting either 1 or 2 tens. nothing huge. anyway im really wanting to attack this. any more suggestions?

 

i was also wanting a little help on finding air space. my geometry skills have faded. i was wondering on a box with these dimensions: 7 7/8" x 7 5/8" x 22 1/2" (this is the bottom half of the well) i was hoping this would be enough for a ten.

also, any idea on how this would sound compared to mdf?

 

flex in the sheet metal.

as far as calculating airspace it is not difficult.

length (L) multiplied by witdth (W) multiplied by height (H) equals volume (airspace V)

so LxWxH=V

7 7/8" x 7 5/8" x 22 1/2"=

convert the inch fractions into inch decimals. to do this you take 7/8ths and devide 7 by 8 (.875). so 7 7/8 = 7.875

7.875 x 7.625 x 22.5 = 1351.0546875 cubic inches of space.



***EDIT*** (the rest of my math was wrong, so now it is gone to avoid confusion)

 

this is as far i got when i tried my math out. but i didnt know where to go from there. but thanks.

and as far as the metal goes i was thinking like 1/4" thick steel and throw some carpet over the top and drop 'er in. i dont know, i need a paycheck.

 

I'm not sure where you went wrong Xophertony, but the volume should be .782 cubic feet. Your cubic inch volume was correct, but your cubic foot was not. You can convert from cubic inches to cubic feet by dividing cubic inches by 12^3.

1351.0546875/1728 = 0.7818603515625
(bolds to make it easier to read)

2 cubic feet seemed big because that's around what I calculated for my well box and this is only a half well design. dan_o_89_rs's box will be a little tight, but should be fine for a single 10. I don't know of any really low volume 10's, but I'm sure they are out there if you really want two.

I see no problems with a metal box aside from weight. Even if you use 22 gauge sheet metal, you can prevent it from flexing by running some kind of rib support inside the box so that there are no big unsupported sections of sheet metal.

Edit: 1/4" steel would weigh a TON. I sugest using dimond plate or sheet metal with some kind of frame under it to prevent flexage.

 

besides flexing he'd have to worry about it resonating............wouldn't he??

 

the resonation might be able to be avoided by butting like a seal or gasket between the sub and box (rubber i think) and making sure the outside is buffered before it touches anything it might vibrate against (like with a layer of carpet or a towel or somthing)

as far as internal resonation, if you put a two inch layer of foam packing penuts down i bet that might help.

however, since no one on this forum has EVER atempted a mettle box we don't realy know. i say go for it, the stel will be WAY cheaper then MDF and if it does not work BFD just do one out of MDF.

 

im kind of lacking funds right now, but can someone explain what "resonating" means. anyway. i hope i can get this done in the next couple weeks. thanks guys.

EDIT: BTW can i get some advise on a setup. id like to keep it around $175 for sub and amp. i just dont know what to look for. is it pointless to get a good quality sub, but power it with a cheaper amp?

 

Id just weld steel rods inside from side to side to cut down on resonation and put alittle dynomat on the iside of the enclosure or black hole from focal.

$175 is going to be cutting it close for amp and sub maybe try a pawn shop or all your close friends cuase if you get a sub and amp for that amount it wont be worth all the work and sweat you put into the box.

 

thats my problem. id like to get new. so i know exactly what the products have been through. what i was thinking is getting a cheaper off-brand amp from a local audio place, and get a good name-brand sub. i saw some $100-130 subs on best buy's website.

 

Get a nice amp and cheap sub. If you get a trashy amp you could easily blow up your sub. but a crappy sub loves a nice amp.
and best buy will be too expensive go to one of the local shops for your equipment. It will be cheaper and of course alot better.

 

hmm... i guess that makes sense about the amp and sub combo. i forgot ive got a old JL 10" that i could use with a good amp. and save up for a decent sub.

anyway, as ar as local places being cheaper. this i what i thought, until i was shopping for a head unit. the local place had a pioneer deh1700 for $115. and i bought it at bestbuy for $80. but thats a headunit.

i need to shop around i guess.

 

Well im sure its like that at some places but you can find a nice place that wont try to gouge you!
best buy just likes to get all the college students with thier credit card so they wont pay attention to how much thier paying.

 

i dug out my jl, its in better shape than i remember, and it is a 12". i dont think i could fit a twelve in that space. hmm... me and my bro are both wanting to build a system. he wants 2 10"s and the more i think about it. i think 2 10"s would sound and look a lot better than one ten centered.

 

A steel box will sing like a canary unless its thickness is increased to the point where it weighs far more than an MDF box will.

Dude, if you can work a welder, I'm sure you can figure out how to use glue and drywall screws. Cutting the wood is going to be a ton easier than cutting the metal, that's for sure.

 

this is about the only prob me and my bro thought of. and i dont know anyone with plasma. i guess ill be like everyone else and go mdf.

 

I dont think a metal box is a great idea, put a speker in a garbage can for a minute and see how it sounds.

 

ya...you could try plexiglass maybe? Id take the JL sub you have. Find the specs and go from there.

oh and ebay is your friend.

 

screw building one, ebay has some for like 80$ shipped. if i could only find one that wuld fit under my locking deck lid....

 

ehhh take the deck lid off and install a rollout cover. It makes your system very unnoticable. Or just install tint...which might cost a bit more.

 

i love the decklid. i also just got it (not originaly on the car and a RARE option for a ppd equiped fbody) i am probably just going to build a custom box since i am only using one sub.

 

ya. good idea. you wont need much airspace for one sub. Just take your time.