led speaker rings

i want to put led speaker rings around my interior speakers, as well as cup holders. does anyone know of a good DIY thread on here. also what are the best led light strips to get and where can i find them

http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=785861

www.empirehydrosports.com

Product looks great and its easy installation.

we offer some too - http://www.onlyinboards.com/Accessor...-Lighting.aspx

The led rings I made for my Axis A22 were pretty simple. I bought a 6 31/32 hole saw (ordered it online) and a 5 1/2 hole saw and an arbor. I bought sheets of 1/4 acrylic from low's. I used hole saws on a drill press to cut out the rings for the speakers (you have to cut really carefully in short bursts and allow the acrylic shards to clean out of the cut your are making to minimize melting. I had to double up the rings I made because I couldn't find 1/2'' acrylic locally. Once I had the rings cut, I used a sanding wheel to take off the rough parts (inside and outside of the rings), even up each set of rings, and to frost the rings. I then glued some led strips that I bought off of ebay (the 48cm strips work perfect for speakers) to the inside of the rings after a test fit with the speakers. Lastly, I drilled the screw holes to mount the speakers and rings in the boat.

With regard to the cupholders I made, I used a bit that my father in law had that's got two blades on it that you can adjust in or out to cut a specific diameter hole. I had to double up the acrylic again once the rings were cut. I polished/frosted them the same way. I used some cheaper led strips that were 30cm long. I attached them to the cupholder first and then slid the ring over the led strip. I wired everything in by tapping into the interior lights.

These are the led's I used for the speaker rings: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/48cm-...Q5fAccessories

These are the led's I used for the cup holders: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-...Q5fAccessories

This is the tool I used to cut the cup holders: http://bestofferbuy.com/30~120mm-Ste...campaign=gbase

The speaker hole saws were more expensive:
http://chadstoolbox.com/ruko106177bi...saw6-3132.aspx
http://chadstoolbox.com/ruko106140bi...lesaw5-12.aspx

Here is the sanding wheel I used on the drill press:
http://www.amazon.com/Wolfcraft-Drum.../dp/B000MRN5GC

Here are some pics. I can try to get better pictures showing how the actual rings turned out later. They are not perfect, but the look good enough for me. The cost breakdown was as follows:

3 acrylic sheets @ $16 each = $48.
2 hole saws $65
arbor: $10
cutting bit - free
sanding bit - free
Led strips - $60

Total: approx $185

Total rings made - 8 cup holders and 6 speaker rings = $13.22 per ring. Obviously, if you buy the cutting bit and sanding bit, the cost goes up to about $15 per ring.

You could get 14 rings done in about 4-5 hours, so it really depends on what your time is worth, and what it's worth to you to have a perfect product. I personally enjoy DIY projects, and I'm proud that I did this myself.

very helpful so far, so once you have the plexi insert that goes under the speaker you just glue the led strip inside the plexi facing outward??? and then instal the cup holder or speaker over the top.

are there led strips that are brighter than others i should use? and where is a good website to get the best led strips? i figure if im going to go through the hassle to do this i want the brightest lights possible

I have not done a comparison. I bought the cheapest thing I could because I didn't really expect what I made to work.

started my Led install yesterday I went the easy route and just bought mine so install was a breeze here are a couple pics.The hardest part of the hole project was finding stainless screws long enough with a small enough head to fit the bullet grills.

Originally Posted by h20king

started my Led install yesterday I went the easy route and just bought mine so install was a breeze here are a couple pics.The hardest part of the hole project was finding stainless screws long enough with a small enough head to fit the bullet grills.

That looks awesome, who did you buy from?

Ian I would prefer not to promote where they came from but I will tell you this much so you can figure it out yourself.My line of thinking was how could someone knock off a lite ring??But after talking with David at earmark was told they were a copy of their rings but on the positive side I bought four speaker rings and five cup holder rings for less than chat spent to make his.In the future when I do rings on my 485's I will just go through Dave at earmark

Originally Posted by h20king

Ian I would prefer not to promote where they came from but I will tell you this much so you can figure it out yourself.My line of thinking was how could someone knock off a lite ring??But after talking with David at earmark was told they were a copy of their rings but on the positive side I bought four speaker rings and five cup holder rings for less than chat spent to make his.In the future when I do rings on my 485's I will just go through Dave at earmark

Got it, lol

Guess the knock off statement gave it away LOL

one more I also did the cup holder by the drivers feet

Does any body sell 6x9 speaker rings?

Depending on what size your cup holders are, this place might have a 6' long "tube" that you could then just cut down into the rings:
http://www.plasticareinc.com/Merchan...ry_Tubes_Clear

I don't think the plastic pipe would work well because the plastic is to thin

At $100 dollars a pop......it out of range for most boat owners. We have 8 speakers.........hell, I'd rather buy 8 more speakers instead of LED rings.

I enjoyed the DIY project and will so the same over here.

Thanks for sharing.....

Tige RZ4 (former Wetsounds boat)

Hey Chattwake, how thick was the plexiglass that you used and what kind of a place did you buy it from?

I used quarter inch and doubled it up. I got it from Home Depot for like $16 a sheet.

It's acrylic though.

I feel stupid now...you wrote that in your original post above. Reading is fundamental... Thanks for humoring me!