ok, ok, box designing it is.

After everything you all have said about build a box to specs...and on and on. I am going to do it. Even though I had to buy a jigsaw and a couple of saw horses along with the wood, 1 1/4" screws, gorilla wood glue, and a new couple 5/32" drill bits for the pre screw holes. All in all it cost me $112 at Home Depot. I have used 12volts box volume calculator and slot port length calculator, and have come up with this: I am tuning the box for 30hz because I want it loud and low. The outside dimensions are as follows: 18.5 wide, 23 deep, 15 high with 3/4 mdf. The port will be on the side (slot port) and will be 13.5 high, 2 wide, and 24 long. I will stop 2 inches short of back and go on with the port another 3 inches to the inside of chamber. With the port volume taken out I will be left with 2.33 cu. ft of inside volume. I will have to brace the inside a little. I haven't decided how yet though. The driver will take up .07 cu. ft. of volume, so I will have 2.26 of inside volume after all is said and done. (Kicker recommends a maximum of 2.25 cu. ft. of inside volume for its ported box.) What is your opinion on the best bracing with the least affect on inside volume space? Also, I was thinking about using silicone to line the inside of the boxes...what are your opinions and suggestions on that? I will post pics sometime tomorrow or the next day. I don't know how long this will take. This is my first build, and my brother in law is helping me, (his first build to.) I am on vacation from work, so that is a blessing for this task. Wish me luck, and please let the suggestions fly, and "do's and don'ts". thanks. P.S. I am going to make 2 of these boxes for Kicker CVR 12 2 ohm subs.

MAKE SURE TO WET DOWN WHATEVER YOU ARE GORILLA GLUING .I MADE THIS MISTAKE!!!It says to to wet everything you glue on the back of the gorilla glue bottle.-A vision without a plan is just a hallucination-

spmpdr wrote: MAKE SURE TO WET DOWN WHATEVER YOU ARE GORILLA GLUING .I MADE THIS MISTAKE!!!It says to to wet everything you glue on the back of the gorilla glue bottle.

Enh... I've never wet anything except solid wood... MDF has enough pores that it'll hold; and it'll give s FAR longer working time if you DON'T water the surface.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."

There is only one thing I have a question for you about. How did you get the port length? I used BassBox to design that enclosure and saw that with that port design you are just under 35Hz tuning with that design, not the 30Hz you said you were planning on tuning to. Although it is a little bit higher tuning I actually like the way it models up. It will not really take away any deep bass but will give you a little extra output so that port design may be just fine. For bracing, stevdart was right about where to brace. I always use extra MDF but I think a wooden dowell would work well too. I don't really like the steel rods but bracing is bracing and in the end it is always better to have some rather then none. The only thing that I suggest is making sure that your braces will not flex. I see too many times where people spend a lot of time on bracing to not have it help a lot. To me, if you add a brace piece that is going to flex badly you are not doing much by adding the brace in the first place. The point of bracing is to prevent a loss of energy from the material flexing. If you fix the wall from flexing but now the brace flexes then you are not any better off IMO. So just make sure any bracing is sturdy and does not flex at all. I use silicone sealant for all of my enclosures. I know not a lot of people do this but it can't ever hurt. It is cheap and can only help so I say why not do this. You bought a drill bit which is good. Make sure to ALWAYS predrill before putting a screw in. MDF will split very easily so this is a must. Everything else looks good and you should be happy with the results.

Are the bar clamps necessary if you are gluing and screwing? Won't the screws hold it good enough? My Bro or myself can hold the piece on while the other is drilling. I always thought the clamps were for DIY'ers. Whiterob, I used the calculator on this website to model the the length of the port. It is right above the calculator for modeling the inside volume of the box. I did it on WinISD a minute ago and it says to go 22" long for a 30hz tuning. What do you all make of this? Which length should I go for here? thanks

Oh, if I really need a bar clamp, how many do I need? Please explain too? (what can I say... I'm a noob at this.):) thanks

If I did cross bracing, how much better would it be to use 3/4 x 2 inch (thickness of wood x height of wood) than 3/4 x 1 inch? thanks The 2 inch pieces would take up .27 cu ft. the 1 inch pieces would take up .13 cu ft.

Bar clamps are used by professionals when building speaker enclosures.  I like quick-release clamps, especially if screwing and gluing.  Here's one I own.  You can never over-clamp, more is better: I suggest for gluing the long sides of your enclosure you will want to use at least 6 of these.  I am not a fan of Gorilla Glue or any of the other poly glues that expand.  It can make carefully measured parts no longer fit together properly.  I always use regular yellow wood working glue and have for 35 years withe never a problem.  As far as your braces, use whatever you want to use, just be sure to account for the volume it occupies.Support the12volt.com

Ok, I went back to Home Depot and got 4 36" clamps. I can't afford any more than that. I see where you need them now though. Thanks.