New Towerbox: 4 down 4 back

My last tower box had a pair of 6x9's and 6&1/2's back and a pair of 6x9's down. It was wooden, very square and kind of ugly so I have decided to have a go at a fiberglass box with a few curves. I have designed it with 2 pair 6x9's firing back and 2 pair 6&1/2's firing down. Here is the production so far.

First step was printing some paper templates


The in boat speakers are recessed to some degree so I made the forms to match.


After expoying the forms together to form the recess I sliced and reglued them to form an angle. I want the speakers to splay out to spread the sound around a bit.


I decided to split the box in to left and right to give a stereo chamber for the speakers. It also gave some form to the box.


The two elipses are the mount points to the tower.

I bought some fleecy material to cover the box with so when I put the resin on it gives some body.





I like the shape of it and it has really started to come together. I have applied the resin & its hardend into a shell, the next step in to bondo it.

(Message edited by ralph on August 16, 2005)

Are you only using one layer of resin on one layer of fleece?

I am making a box myself and am at the same stage you are. I have a question for you.....

When you say you are ready for bondo, are you planning on applying bondo to the entire box or just the seams?

I too used fleece to cover my box and have applied 6 coats of resin on the outside and two coats on the inside. The box is pretty rigid and solid. I'm ready to start sanding it, but I wonder if I am missing a step with the bondo?

I would appreciate any tips you or anyone else has to offer.

For you guys that have created your own fiberglass tower boxes, how much did it weigh exactly before the speakers were added?

Are you using MDF? Are you using fiberglass and resin or just resin over the fleecy material?

I dunno how it works with 6x9s or 6.5s, but when I built my sub box for my truck, I had to layer 4 layers of fiberglass over the resin soaked fleece. It may be just because the amount of air those things move. Looks great so far! Keep the pics coming.

So far I have used 3 or 4 coats of resin & no glass. About 3/4's of a gallon. The forms are made out of MDF. I am putting a skim of bondo over the whole thing which I will sand back then resin once more. If the box needs a bit more structural strength I will put some glass on the inside.

This is my first box of this type so I don't know if this is the correct method or if it will work. Really I'm just building it for fun and to pass away the winter months.....

Mine is the same, just fleece and resin. As rigid as this thing is I can't see the need for adding layers of glass? I hope I'm right

Anyone else with experience building these that wants to chime in with some tips or advice?

Richard, and Darren I suggest at least 2 coats of matting and resin on the inside. Resin gives no strength. The more resin you use without matting the more brittle the box will become. Try it lay up some fleece and 3 coats of resin then try it with fleece and matting. You will see how much stronger the matting becomes. If you have anymore? Feel free to e-mail me at wakesquid420@yahoo.com

Thanks Squid, will do

Any progress?? I want to make one of these as well.. or try at least!

A combination of great weather and X-box Forza addiction has slowed my progress. I will do some more work this week.

(Message edited by ralph on August 22, 2005)

Ok, I have applied bondo to the entire outer skin which I am begining to think was a big mistake. Oh well, I will sand it all back now and then give it a final resin on the outside. I think I will put a couple of layers of glass on the inside over the tower mount points.

Pics

Darren, IMO you've done the right thing.

I layered up my box with Fleece on the outside and matting (stranded) on the inside ending ended with bondo all over the outside. http://www.wakescene.com/projects.wakescene.com/Features-Reviews/Features%20pics/2003%20TOWER%20BOX/index.htm
You just have to use a lot of primer to make sure you get the high spots smoothed out. While the bondo process sux huge donkey jewels, it will make the box a little thicker, stronger and overall sound better.

Some of the boxes I have seen, that for their size only weigh like 10-14lbs just seem thin, and will not create a solid enclosure for the speakers. In your case though, that extra bondo may make it slightly heavier, but the sound quality differences could be huge.

I know a few on the board here have heard the box on my boat...and most seem to think it sounds darn good!
Don't forget to pack that thing with pillow stuffing.

Keep us updated with the pics!

Thanks bud, I am 1/2 way through the donkey jewels and it is starting to look pretty good.

Darren -

This may be a day late and a dollar short, but I just found a tip that will make the bondo process go a lot smoother...

I am making a box myself and had been contemplating covering it with bondo as you have. The problem is that no matter how much I sand the box, there are still little "valleys" in the resin. I've been thinking about covering it with bondo to help fill in these valleys. Although, I haven't been looking forward to the sanding that comes along with it.

Last night I was working on my box when my neighbor stopped by. I told him my delima and he had the solution. We covered the entire box with a thin coat of bondo by using a rubber spreader. The rubber spreader worked much better than the spackle tool that I had been using. It helped to leave a thin even coat with very few ridges.

Here's the trick..... Before the bondo sets up we poured some alcohol on our hands and smoothed out the ridges in the bondo. The alcohol keeps the bondo from setting up immediately and gives you time to smooth it out. It also makes it very pliable which allows you to get a very thin even coat.

After you have the bondo spread out evenly the alcohol evaporates and then the bondo sets up as normal. This left my box with a very thin even coat of bondo which will require very little sanding. I'll post some pics when I'm done with it.

- Richard

(Message edited by nauty on September 13, 2005)

(Message edited by nauty on September 13, 2005)

Now you tell me! Still sanding I'm afraid. Oh well I am doing it to do it rather than get it done so its no big deal.

Well, sorry I couldn't have told you earlier. I didn't know. I have to say that I wasn't looking forward to all that sanding after seeing the pics of your box laid up with Bondo.

I started sanding my box last night. All though it's wasn't terrible, sanding still sucks! I managed to get about 25% of it done in about 45 minutes. I'll finish the rest this weekend and then it will be ready for paint.

It may be hard to tell from the pics what is sanded and what is not, but here are a few pics of my box. I'll start a new thread when I'm done with it and show the process start to finish.

By the way...if you need clamps I found some alluminum clamps at a racing store for $10 each. They aren't as nice as some of the other clamps you see, but at $10 each I'm not complaining. They are very similar to the ones that a reputable tower manufacturer sells for $90 a pair. The only down side is that they only come in red, so you'll have to paint them....unless you have a red boat

More.....

Looks like you added some accent points on the ends and middle. Did you build those up with bondo? They weren't part of the original layout you showed earlier.

They were form the original frame. Here's a picture (although it's upside down). In the pic the top piece is missing from the frame. I have those pictures on my computer at home.

Oh wait.... I think you are talking about Darren's box. This is a completly different box. I really shouldn't have highjacked Darren's thread, but we were talking about bondo, so I thought I'd share pics of my box. Sorry Darren!