fiberglass sub boxes

markiii · February 14, 2008, 19:21

right then boys and grisl

anyone have any experience with these?

I've heard nasty stories of exploding boxes, so I'm wondering if I have to make it really thick is there any benefit over MDF?

my main objective is to make it light weight

uktotty · February 14, 2008, 19:26

Surely you can get a carbon fibre one from somewhere?

markiii · February 14, 2008, 19:28

Quote from: "uktotty"Surely you can get a carbon fibre one from somewhere?

making it to order so doubt thats practical

Anonymous · February 15, 2008, 07:58

Have you thought about 'free air' subs. Weight saved as no box needed and you can fit them in much smaller places as no box required. I installed a couple of these under the seats in a mini and they were better than I expected!

markiii · February 15, 2008, 10:06

true but I suspect that whilst they don't need a box they need a strong baffle board and support

to acheive this in teh locations available a box looks like it will be needed

Anonymous · February 18, 2008, 14:59

Ahhh...the joys of fibreglass...you could call it my forté.

I had spent many an hour working of my fibreglass install, and i might add, was VERY impressed with the results. Yeah, it's time consuming, and yeah it smells etc. etc. but i feel the results pay off.

Neither of my boxes 'exploded' Mind you, they were pretty thick. I'll try to find the blog i did on it, but if you look at the following instructions, it gives you a good idea on how to do it s:)

s:) It's the one i followed easily enough.

m http://www.talkaudio.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=76606 m

G

markiii · February 18, 2008, 15:05

lovely thanks for that

overall was it any lighter than MDF?

kanujunkie · February 18, 2008, 16:43

Quote from: "uktotty"Surely you can get a carbon fibre one from somewhere?

yep, but the houseing will cost around 1 to 2K!

Anonymous · February 19, 2008, 10:02

Quote from: "markiii"lovely thanks for that

overall was it any lighter than MDF?

It depends on the thickness of MDF that you use. If you're using say 12mm mdf, then certainly it is lighter.

Plus for the thickness of the fibreglass (i did about 3mm) it's super rigid.

Anonymous · February 19, 2008, 10:04

My install. Used stretched t-shirts to get the final shape, then resined them, and then fibreglassed over that s:)

s:)

G

MR-S · February 22, 2008, 23:57

In my experience fibreglass sub boxes have their advantages and disadvantages;

Pro: Fibreglass lets you make use of awkward spots and areas where there's very little space in order to get the correct volume for the speaker box. Unusual shapes and curves are made possible. Also if you use filler on top you can get a really great finish that's easily paintable.

Con: Fibreglass is always more delicate than mdf boxes, no matter how thick you make the fibreglass, edges and corners tend to crack over time and any accidental impact on the box could result in a major split in the fibreglass, rendering the box pretty much useless. It can also take a couple of goes to get it just right, it's messy stuff.

In short, if it's a show piece you want to build, then fibregalss is your man, if you want practical then I'd stick with wood.
Just my opinion, take it or leave it.