destroying enclosure

Have any of you guys ever have an enclosure break just from the sub(s)? I'm talking about a box made out of 3/4" MDF.

SPL comp cars, maybe.Support the12volt.com

I have seen 3/4" MDF crack around screw holes and baffle area around the driver. Have never seen a box break from the shear force of the driver. Bad design, poor construction or lack of proper support would most likely be the cause.

Sounds like an expensive afternoon! Your box or customers? A few ideas: 15" or larger drivers get 1" baffle. Any panel larger than 12" square gets braced. Titebond glue, fine thread drywall (1.5" for countersunk and 1.75" non-counter) and T-nuts for driver mounting. Predrill all holes and hand tighten screws. Silicon joints. Bracing is same material as box.

Sorry Sedate, I was just thinking out loud about box builing and didn't mean to imply you need any tips! "A few ideas" part was just throwing it out there! Fiberglass is a whole other ballgame.

audiocableguy wrote: Sorry Sedate, I was just thinking out loud about box builing and didn't mean to imply you need any tips

Naww - I mean - it was a *real* noob mistake - and as you observe, easily among the most expensive I've ever made. "I'm finished!" - Daniel Plainview

I've had an enclosure I built for a friend with two Type R's come apart at one seam. It was only because the glue we used was heavy duty liquid nails. I told my friend liquid nails is a horrible adhesive for wood and that normal wood glue is a lot stronger. But he refused my suggestion. After we finished the box and after all the liquid crap had dried I backed out all of the screws. Then a week later the back bottom seam broke open. I could pull apart the panels with my hands. The liquid nails just failed and didn't even take any MDF with it. All liquid nails does is just "stick" the wood together. I use Titebond Original and Titebind II. Both have never failed on me even after backing out all screws

We had an Obcon pre-fab enclosure designed for the Ford F150  with dual Planet Audio 10's blow apart on a customer.  It was the only time I've ever seen that happen.

Gorilla Glue. NEVER have I seen a single seam blow apart, and I don't even use screws to hold it during cure time. Clamps, and you're done. Of course, this construction method mandates perfect cuts, so proper measurements and careful setup and use of your TABLE SAW (i.e. NOT a Skil-Saw... FAR too inaccurate) are of utmost importance. I have actually had to DESTROY enclosures I have built this way to remove them from the vehicle in which they were installed, and the MDF gave way LONG before the joint did. Every home enclosure I have ever built is nothing but Gorilla Glue. I hate filling and sanding screw holes. Gorilla Glue. 'Nuff said... :::::EDIT::::: Now what I think about it, I remember a STONE enclosure I built for a woofer... Yes, STONE! I bought floor covering, cut the pieces to the required sizes, (I used my table saw with a dry abrasive blade) laminated pieces of it for the sides, and I built an enclosure of stone for a 10" woofer once. (I want to say it was a Titanic 10 - the first version, and the thing weighed, like, 75 pounds when I was done! WHATEVER it weighed, it was pretty damn heavy for a 12 inch cube!) As far as I know, it's still running to this day, and THAT was all Gorilla Glue, as well. Yes, that stuff is THAT bad-azz!It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."