Made some budget 8" Aeroports *pics*

[WOT]

Well I got bored and my canadian cheapness kicked in, and instead of paying $100+ for 3 8" aeros that Im gonna need for my next build. I decided to see what I could do to make my own.

Ive seen the DIY's using PVC and heating it up and forming it to shape, but I didnt want that. I opted to make mine out of sonotubes, plastic plates, fiberglass and bondo.

The total cost to me for all 3 ports was under $20 and only 2-3 hours of my time.

I started by going to home depot and getting a 8" 8' sonotube for $6.99 They sell a TON of sized, so bring a tape to measure when buying.

I then went to a few stores to find the "aero" lip. I was looking for a plate that had a big lip and got the one with the biggest radius they had.Ended up finding the perfect plate at the dollar store, that had a perfect shape and was the right diameter for the sonotube. Got 3 plates for $1

I cut the centers out of the plates, a bit smaller than the inner diameter of the sonotube, and I also cut the sonotube into 24" lenghts (I havent made the box yet, but I know they will need to be between 18-20", so I will cut them down when I build the box later.

And heres kinda the idea, with the tube placed on top of the plate

Then I planned on fiberglassing the plates onto the tubes, the problem is they sonotubes have a "waxy" outer shell, and I didnt know if that would affect fiberglassing, but I sanded it pretty rough before attaching the plates,but I needed to hold the plates in place so they didnt move while I glassed, you want them straight up and down obviously, so I centered the tubes on the plates and put a dab of hot glue in 5-6 spots, worked great.

All 3 done, ready for glassing

The glassing materials I used ( I used my 5 gallon drum of glass not that bondo stuff, just put it in there for the pic ) DONT forget to get some disposable gloves, fiberglass SUCKS when you get it on skin

Click to read more...

 

[WOT]

Then I did 4-5 layers of 1oz mat around each tube bonding the 2. *tip* dont go over the edges of the plates with the glass, it was a pain to trim after it dried

So it was 3am so I set them outside to cure for the night, I also forgot to take a pic of this, but I took a 40" long 8" wide piece of fiberglass for each tube, and wrapped it around the "center" about 2 times. This GREATLY improves the strength of the tube, it definitely wont flex/bend now. Id recomend doing it. You can see the strip in the pics

So then I trimmed all the excess fiberglass that overlayed the plates, and went to work on the inner diameter of the aero, further cutting out the plastic until I got the plastic and the sonotube flush

I then threw a coat of "bondo" (I use color-flo, its the best filler ive ever used) between the 2 surfaces, so I could sand it to a even rounded smooth surface

Aparently I didnt take a pic after sanding that smooth, but I went ahead and painted then black like I paint everything lol.

And thats my DIY aero. You could obviously do both ends, but as I havent build the box yet, I didnt know a finish length, I may or may not do the other end when I build the box. Theres obviously a lot of different ways to do this, different plates, using pvc instead etc, but for quite a bit under $20 for the 3 ports. Im happy

 

[tc3k101 5,000+ posts]

cool shit

 

[Digital Designs 10+ year member]

Cool

 

[WOT]

Well yeah Ive seen so many threads on people wanting to make there own and junk, there are plates that wont work but they make some FAT lip plates ilke these with big radiuses (I beleive the bowls are meant for pasta or a soup I guess), and the plastic was pretty thick, wasnt flimsy plastic

So I figured why not try it, I think they will work, sound and perform pretty well

 

[lambofgood91 10+ year member]

Looks legit bro //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[k_schutte 10+ year member]

PVC pipe, a metal bowl and some heat is easier and works very well...

Those look good though!

 

[here to buy 10+ year member]

i would like to see someone do a double blind test on exact enclosures, one flared port and one regular round. and meter them too.

the way you did it is a waste of time lol

and if you wanted to do an outer flare only, a much faster way is to do the port baffle double thick and use a 1 1/2 roundover or more to round over the edges and create a **** solid flare.

 

[k_schutte 10+ year member]

i would like to see someone do a double blind test on exact enclosures, one flared port and one regular round. and meter them too.

I am getting ready to do my Astro before too long... I will do this if someone reminds me or if i remember on my own

 

[misfit138 5,000+ posts]

Good old americ.........anadian ingenuity. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[WOT]

PVC pipe, a metal bowl and some heat is easier and works very well...

Those look good though!

Well I dunno what sources are available in the USA, but I couldnt find ANY pvc pipe even 6" diameter, let alone 8". I found some 12" but it was like 3/8" thick and way to expensive.

I was also told by ALOT of people, that even 6" was very difficult to form, and 8" would be **** near impossible with a simple heatgun. Soooooo, 3 hours of my time and less money and Im happy!

 

[WOT]

i would like to see someone do a double blind test on exact enclosures, one flared port and one regular round. and meter them too.
the way you did it is a waste of time lol

and if you wanted to do an outer flare only, a much faster way is to do the port baffle double thick and use a 1 1/2 roundover or more to round over the edges and create a **** solid flare.

There have been many tests proving that flares decrease port velocity. So I dont know what youre talking about? Thats why I will be able to get away with only 3 8" ports for 3 18's. Flares allow you to get away with less port area. They have also been proven to make higher numbers on the TL. I dont think a "blind" test would do anything, as I dont think there would be an audible difference in music VS straight pvc pipe, just the things stated above

I also dont have a router and I wasnt about to buy one so the roundover method did not apply to me. I also will be building my next box completely out of fiberglass, so the way I did it was still best.

 

[eutechnyx 10+ year member]

Looks good man,now u should sell me 2 4" flared aeros!!

 

[JeepBeats96JGC 10+ year member]

if you forget ur tape measure you can always borrow 1 from aisle 5 lol.

 

[kyleorsini 10+ year member]

those are pretty nice, i have a 8" sono sittin in my house i may have to do that if i cant find reasonably prices aeros in canada shipping/brokerage from pe.com is 45$