Making a sub box?

[mcfly 10+ year member]

for those of you who have made a subwoofer box from scratch can you give me some tips? what kind wood do you use, do have a guide or something to follow, how much did all of the supplies cost etc. if you have any tips please tell. it will probably be for 2 12" subs. haven't decided on which subs to get.

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[BiaBia 10+ year member]

The wood you should use is 3/4'' MDF (medium density fiberboard). I don't use a guide anymore, but when you first start out, you might need it, only on ported boxes. Certain ways you put the pieces together yeild the least amount of minor problems like screw placement and board placement. Cost is usually around $30 including glue, screws, wood and terminal (more if you use more terminals). A bottle of glue is around $3 and it lasts your a few boxes, and a large box of screws is $20 and lasts you about 6 boxes.

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

you also need some type of sealant so yout box is air tight.

a sheet of 3/4" MDF is about $19 or so.

 

[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

i didnt know this but i was talkin to the guy at lowes and he said it had just recently made a huge price increase? like from 10 to 20 dollars.

 

[Moe Lester 10+ year member]

yea MDF has gone up at lowes. Home depot also raised it also. MDF is up to $24 a sheet at lowes and $22 at home depot around where I live.

 

[InhumanAcura 5,000+ posts]

Use 3/4" MDF (medium density fiberboard) for wood

You'll need:

Table saw/Circ Saw (cutting straight lines)

Jig Saw (cutting mounting hole and maybe a port)

Screws (1.5" Coarse Dry-Wall are my choice)

Liquid Nails or Wood Glue (to give a tight bond on all joints)

Silicone Sealant (Not 100% necessary, but better than glue and LNails for a good seal)

Drill (For predrilling and driving in screws)

Countersinking Bit (Not 100% necessary, but will reduce the chance of splitting the MDF)

If you want to make it real nice and have the resourses, take a router to the port (if you have one) and the edges of the box. Then you can even take some sandpaper to it...

 

[mcfly 10+ year member]

how many sheats of MDF will I need. is a jigsaw absalutely necesarry since i don't have one? where could i get a guide for making a box?

 

[supa_c 5,000+ posts]

Table saw is a waste of money. the sheet of MDF is way to big to cut on such a dinky machine. A circular saw and T square are cheaper and better.

my box was 1 sheet, its 8ft^3 so its big. Its cheaper to get 1 sheet than 2 small ones.

a Dremel with the circle jig and routing bit will make a very nice hole, plus it has many uses!

 

[saywhat? 5,000+ posts]

i heard MDF used to be like 5 bucks...not to long ago i mean, now its 20

 

[btnhfan 5,000+ posts]

for me its like 8.50 a sheet at home depot.