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No Fiberglass for DIY'ers??

1925 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  shovel
I come from the car audio world where whenever building a sub box, we fiberglassed the entire inside of the enclosure. I see sub build after sub build on these forum and I don't believe I have seen a single glassed box. Do home audio sub enclosures not benefit from the strength added and air tightness after glass, or are the DIYers not crazy about laying glass?
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It's just not necessary.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown /forum/post/19447758


I come from the car audio world where whenever building a sub box, we fiberglassed the entire inside of the enclosure. I see sub build after sub build on these forum and I don't believe I have seen a single glassed box. Do home audio sub enclosures not benefit from the strength added and air tightness after glass, or are the DIYers not crazy about laying glass?

I shape and glass surfboards, not sure why I'd glass the inside of a box....in a car, maybe all the movement may eventually cause leaks and you may need the extra strength (small box and big driver), but in the home, bracing is cheaper than glassing...


JSS
Thanks for the quick answers!!!
Im using Epoxy more on the outside of boxes that use baltic birch ply wood. Its the quickest way to make a smooth surface.


Others have used Bondo for a long time to create a better finish on a box.


As other posted fibreglass on the inside isnt needed.
I sprayed liquid fiberglass resin into on onto my 2 big boxes in my sig. They are probably the strongest boxes I've ever seen. It's super strong, but WAY overboard for HT use. Plus the boxes weight over 300 pounds with drivers
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Also in home SPL is generally much lower than incar SPL. When your chasing 150+DB in competitive car audio you do everything you possibly can to gain an extra 0.1db. In home audio 115db is often sufficient.
what are you guys talking about, I put pink fiberglass in my speakers all the time.



My arms love it every time too, I couldn't imagine actually fiberglassing the inside of a sub. Holy crap would that not be fun.
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Yea, I have built a few station wagons for db drag racing SPL contests and we welded the back doors shut and glassed the entire inside of the wagon. We bought glass mat rolls that were 4ft wide by 100 ft.

But we would also glass boxes that were holding only two 12's. I actually enjoy laying mat so I might put one layer of glass down for the heck of it. Nothing too crazy.


What is the best substance to put on the outside to make a gloss finish? Bondo & resin? Someone said epoxy, what kind? My father owns a automotive repair shop so the sub boxes will be sprayed in the Spray-Tech booth!! I really don't want to do a veneer.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown /forum/post/19457663


What is the best substance to put on the outside to make a gloss finish? Bondo & resin? Someone said epoxy, what kind? My father owns a automotive repair shop so the sub boxes will be sprayed in the Spray-Tech booth!! I really don't want to do a veneer.

First get some wood glue, and mix in some water. Then coat the entire enclosure with it, inside and out. This will seal it, and help keep it from shifting on you later on killing the finish. Seams like to pop back a few months later...


After it has dried just finish it like a car. You shouldn't have to use bondo, but a glazing would be recommended.

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown /forum/post/19457663


Yea, I have built a few station wagons for db drag racing SPL contests and we welded the back doors shut and glassed the entire inside of the wagon. We bought glass mat rolls that were 4ft wide by 100 ft.

But we would also glass boxes that were holding only two 12's. I actually enjoy laying mat so I might put one layer of glass down for the heck of it. Nothing too crazy.


What is the best substance to put on the outside to make a gloss finish? Bondo & resin? Someone said epoxy, what kind? My father owns a automotive repair shop so the sub boxes will be sprayed in the Spray-Tech booth!! I really don't want to do a veneer.

Read this thread for using pour on epoxy, which will give anyone easily the best glass finish.

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...d.php?t=217012



I have started using epoxy and glazed putty a lot more for fix surface cracks etc. The epoxy can be hard to work with, you need a breathing mask, etc.
Fiberglass is annoying as hell to work with. Not one aspect of it is pleasant.
I'm a fan of divergent thinking. I think that few people glass their DIY's here because a rectangular box in a house JustEffingWorks® and it's tough to argue with the reality that it's fast, easy, and doesn't need to tolerate any of the environmental abuse speakers tolerate inside cars.


At the end of the day a speaker needs to make sound. How it does that is irrelevant, what it's made of is irrelevant. Unless you want to sell it for a lot of dollars, then you need a really cool story about how the material is from Venus and was blessed by Harry Connick during a midnight seance, imbuing it with 100% pure Musicium molecules that enhance audioness by 94.5% on average.


Build your speakers of fiberglass, build your speakers of glass, build them of compressed cannabis bricks or old air mattresses or embalmed and hollowed out midget cadavers covered in tinfoil...


Whatever you do, do it awesome. Cause awesomeness is better than repetition
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