Stereo Install - Tragic Story to share...

Wakeworld brothern,

I come to you to tell a tale of one 27 year old that thought he had read enough forums to create his own sound system to compare with the likes of G, Clayton B., and Mikeski. This 27 year old, Craig, if you will -- bought a 15" Kicker L7 Subwoofer about two weeks ago. He purchased a used JL 1000/1 amplifier as well.

Every night last week he sat by the door, waiting for the parts to be delivered. He opened each box with such excitement. His dream stereo was in front of him - in separate pieces.

After spending 6 hours getting his rig into the garage (see previous post by clayton191) he begin stripping it apart. Taking off panels, removing vinyl, accidently destroying stock sony explode 6.5" speakers ...


Well, two days ago, this young gentleman begin creating his 'sub box'. A stock 4.5cft box. Ported (vented, whatever). He used a saw to cut the sheets, he used liquid nails and silicon, and he created his first ever 15" sub box.

After a small setup for a test run, -- this fine young man listened to his 'bump box' for the first time ....





And it sucked.


You've never heard such rattling. Terrible angles and lines lead to an faulty unsealed enclosure. He looked at the remaining pieces of plywood - What? 5/8" thick? That's not right!


I have a few tips for building boxes (since i'm going to give it a round two)

1) Use the right tools. Use a table saw instead of a hand saw, seriously.

2) Buy a sander, measure your cuts, and clean up the edges before you start gluin'.

3) The Jigsaw is your friend, use it carefully but constantly.

4) Use screws that fit the thickness of your wood.

5) Use the correct size mdf. Dont get 5/8", get 3/4" or greater.

6) When you move the mdf around, be careful, that •••••••• break apart, bend, and turn into ••••••••• real fast!

Clayton/Craig,

welcome to the school of hard knocks. Even the best intentions sometimes have disastorous results.

In the early stages time is your friend. Measure twice cut once. Stick with sealed boxes, most of the time they produce more satisfying results.

Sometimes spray foam can solve faulty boxes but using too thin plywood/mdf is not salvageable.

I have tossed my fair share of poorly designed/built boxes. At this stage I try to maximize performance while minimizing build time.

Tell him to take a break, start over when his head is back into it.

After re-reading my post, and realizing there are several "claytons" on wakeworld....

I am Craig Clayton


Mikeski: thanks for the thoughts. Where can I get spray foam? I was using silicone and liquid nails, but the foam stuff sounds interesting... I am just going to redo everything and definitely make sure I am buying the right sized mdf...

How about a pic of this creation?

I don't know if I want the ridicule associated with a pic hahaha


we'll see...

I remember my first few stereo ventures. Plywood and 2x4's. Very funny when I look back on it now. Just keep trying, and you will get it.
A few things I've learned;
Don't go the cheap way, you will have to re-do it and it will cost you more than if you did it right the first time.
Stay away from silicone. The fumes silicone give off are not good for speakers. Plus silicone doesn't bond well with MDF.
Liquid nails if your joints arn't tight and elmers wood glue if the box is close to perfect. If its for your boat, use fiberglass resin to coat the outside and seal it from the elements. Otherwise in 3 years you will be doing it again.
I only wish I had pictures of my first few boxes and systems. I would post em just to make you feel better, but since I don't, you will just have to post yours.
Good luck be patient and meticulous.

Keep your head up Dude, we've all gotten into something with the best of intentions only to end up with a polished turd.

I measure thrice, cut once. I've F'ed up too many boxes not to.

Best lessons in life are learned not taught. Personally, I think the 500/1 JBL would be PLENTY and use less battery pull!

Great post. We have all been there. Your lessons learned are right on (especially #1, been there/done that)

Craig Clayton,
WW is full of people that promote the FYI, I am one of them too! Kudos to you for even trying! So it didn't work out, like the others have said, keep trying.
At least now you know exactly what you have to do. When I start a new project I don't have experience on the most nerve-wracking thing is to dive into it not knowing what the final outcome will be. After the first time though...it's easy.

Live and learn. It is only a mistake if you don't learn anything from it and give up.

I built a tower, It has its good and bad point and I know what I would do differently if I were to do it over. Right now I am putting new stringers in the boat. When I started this project I had no idea of what I was doing but with a little advise from others and a few fixed mistakes I am on my way to getting the job done.

One of the best things about this site is the advise. Thanks to your advise hopefully someone will have an easier time making their speaker box.

FYI - if you use a table saw, you won't need a sander! LOL! It's alright man, you'll get it! Live and learn (just like everyone always says)!

On a positive note, there is way more satisfaction when you turn on that stereo and it pounds like you had dreamed of than if you took it somewhere and paid them to do it!

(Message edited by timmyb on May 11, 2007)

Last box i built i should have used the table saw. My dad has a really nice one i just didn't feel like digging it out of the corner. My first box turned out good though

The belt sander is your friend.
Good Luck on round 2.

Did anyone notice I said FYI...ROTFL...at least I can laugh at my own spelling mistakes.

What I meant Clayton was DIY (Do It Yourself). WW is full of people that promote the DIY method!

Lowe's and Home Depot both have big radial arm saws set up. They only charge 25 cents per cut and the cuts come out perfect. I usually get all of my dimensions and have them do most of the cutting. If your box has no angle cuts you can just take it home and glue and screw it together.

Great story, we've all been there.