RL-P18 meets the "DOH! button" - Page 9

No worries, bro. In fact, here are some more pictures to inspire you!

Just finished installing the port tube and the side panel with the port outlet.

You can see the recessed "hole" for the terminals in this picture. The hole is 2.25" in diameter. I used a square block on the inside basically because I was too lazy to cut another circle with the router. I'm using the Dayton BPA-38G HD Binding Posts from Parts Express (part # 091-1245). When the posts are screwed all the way down, they are actually flush with the rear panel of the box which I was very pleased with. Initially I wasn't sure if the 3/4" recess would be enough to make them flush.

Made a little progress this weekend. Not sure I'm doing all that much better of a job on subwoofer #2, but no major problems have cropped up so I guess it's all good.

Bondo!





Lots and lots of hand sanding, then shot it with some paint just to make it look uniform (and make myself feel better).





All four sides on... front, back, left, right.



The last of the braces... damn port tube! Totally in the way.



Other end was easier.



Looking like a bona fide "box" now.

Yo quiero RL-P18!

I like it.

She's out of town and hasn't seen all the amps, but she already knows I'm completely out of my mind. I even went so far as to tell her it will require many, many power amps and subwoofers to comfort me in her absence.

The second sub box is awaiting polyfil and holes to be drilled for the driver and the terminals, then the top panel will go on. I am planning to do all that TONIGHT actually since I am both child and girlfriend free for the next two nights.

I think a little of both... sweet and full of sh!t.

The avatar pic is not me. It's from the "Worst Job Ever" video. One of my favorites.

Sadly, I don't have enough hair left these days to qualify for the Gene Wilder/Einstein type... but in my *cough* "formative years" that was a frequently heard remark. Smeagle on the other hand... well... yeah... that's about exactly right!

The tubing I have is roughly 8 5/8" OD and a little over 8 3/8 ID. The wall is a little less than 1/8 thick. Genuine Sonotube brand will be thicker and have a smaller OD and ID, based on what I examined at the local Whitecap store. There's no real easy answer to doing to the port flares. Either way you have to join the straight tube part to the actual flare in some kind of seamless fashion. If your flare is made of MDF, you can just cut the flare circle to the appropriate size to match the tubing, then use some bondo to smooth over the edge where the two pieces join. If you use bell mouths, you also have to join/integrate them with the outer panel and the inner brace piece (if you flare both ends). I guess the real trick is getting tubing that matches the size of the bell mouth flare and figuring out how to join them together.

You'll need a router to cut your circles anyway, so maybe one of those 1.5" radius corner rounding bits for $60 from MLCS would be a good option. You have to go slow with it and do multiple passes, increasing the bit depth each time, but it comes out pretty nice in the end.

I sanded the bondo down before shooting it with the black spray paint. Not PERFECT but pretty smooth now.

Made some more progress tonight. Lined the box with polyfil, drilled holes for driver and terminals, and finally got the top panel on. Port outlet is looking good after shooting it with some of the bed liner spray.

It's really not as stuffed as it looks. Honest. I set out to just line the walls but there is some polyfil on the big tube in the middle, so that contributes to the "stuffed" look. I used much less fill this time than on the first one (which has already been "de-stuffed"). If I had to guess, I'd say there's about 3 pounds of polyfil in there right now which is around 3 ounces per cubic foot.

No bass traps in the room... yet.

So tired now. I was up until 2 AM working on the dang thing.

Edit: What I'm really curious about is the tune on this second box. Will it be exactly the same as the first one? Higher? Lower? I already have a feeling I will wind up swapping the drivers between the two cabinets (out of paranoia) just to see if that makes any difference in the tune of either. How's THAT for neurotic?

Because they were there? Just grabbed whatever I could find that was heavy to throw on the top for good measure, to press the panel onto the underlying network of bracing. I knew at least a few people would get a good laugh out it... 3 dead VW alternators and one dead OEM Audi battery.

Well, thanks to several days of pouring rain here in the Pacific Northwest, my garage is taking on a bunch of water. The GOOD NEWS is that the second subwoofer is resting on a pallet located on somewhat of a high spot where the water hasn't really accumulated. Some of my scrap MDF and other things in the garage have gotten wet, but no major losses. I just need to finish up some caulking and polyfil inside the box now that the top panel is on. Then sand all the seams down and router the external edges. Then it will be ready for paint and/or the driver to be installed. But with this water problem I'm really itching to move it into the house, so the paint might have to wait a bit longer. *sigh*

Quick update: the second box is just about ready for paint now. All the glue seams are sanded smooth and edges have been rounded. But I may not paint it right away. Need to give that some more thought as I wanted to paint both subs at the same time and moving them... well... it's just a serious P.I.T.A.! I think I better invest in a good furniture dolly (AKA "hand truck").

I'll post some more pictures tomorrow.

Thanks, Robert. It was a LOT of work but I'm pleased with the results. You really don't know what you're missing until you get some serious "subwoofage" in place!

Without further adieu, here are some pictures of the TERRIBLE TWINS. OK, so they're not quite as "terrible" or enormous as Scott's, but they definitely rock the house with incredible authority.

And before anyone asks... I plan to paint them both at the same time at a date yet to be determined. I will probably paint them (with the bedliner stuff using a roller) right where they sit as the subs are rather difficult to move. I'll just use plastic to cover the projection screen and floor and anything else nearby.