where to buy 12 inch speaker boxes; cheap?

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,685
59
91
Hi my friends son asked me to help him make some cheepo boxes for his 12 inch speakers,
i thought of using plywood,but, time to do a good job is tough,:(
wondered if anyone knew of a place that sells some kits or finished,boxes for 12 inch woofers,for a reasonable price in USA.?
Thanks!!!
:)
 

OS

Lifer
Oct 11, 1999
15,581
1
76

walmart sells 12 inch sealed woofer boxes for 40 bux, but they are made of plywood.

ikesound.com sells 12 inch sealed woofer boxes for 35-45 depending on interior volume made of 5/8s mdf.
 

Spoooon

Lifer
Mar 3, 2000
11,563
203
106
I bought my 12 inch enclosure from Ikesound. Very solid box imo. It took a little longer than I expected to ship, but it wasn't too big a deal.
 

TrueBlueLS

Platinum Member
Jul 13, 2001
2,931
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I smell a custom box project. Go out, buy yourself some 3/4" MDF, and build one. I recommend checking the subwoofer's suggested volume for an enclosure before figuring out dimensions and building it. If you want to be real cool and make sure that there's no air leaks in it, spray it with the spray on truck bed line.
 

Scarpozzi

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
26,392
1,780
126
fiberboard is like particleboard. It's made of lots of little pieces that are molded together. Most Walmart Furniture and non-solid desks are made of the stuff. The only problem with it is it can break easily so you need to use some small finishing nails and be sure to put some decent blocks behind it when you're joining two pieces. There are probably some plans for speaker boxes either on the net or at a local stereo shop. Most of those places will help you out if you ask and maybe buy a sub from em. ;)
 

Shockwave

Banned
Sep 16, 2000
9,059
0
0
Medium Density Fiberboard, dont use particleboard.
Just get 3/4 MDF, Home Depot has it. the eaisest box to make is a sealed box, and there pretty easy to make. Ported boxes tend to be bigger, and may require bracing the inside. You'd be suprised how much flex a speaker can put on a box that isnt braced.
 
Jun 18, 2000
11,220
783
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Originally posted by: Scarpozzi
The only problem with it is it can break easily so you need to use some small finishing nails and be sure to put some decent blocks behind it when you're joining two pieces.
You should use screws for any speaker enclosure, not nails.
 

snooker

Platinum Member
Apr 13, 2001
2,366
0
76
I have a box out of a Newer Model Ford Truck with extended cab and the full lengh crew seat. It has 2 12 inch holes and breather ports, fully wired for speakers. I got it from a friend who didn't want it anymore but it didn't fit in the trunk of my car.



I you come here and pick it up, you can have it ;)

 

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,685
59
91
Originally posted by: snooker
I have a box out of a Newer Model Ford Truck with extended cab and the full lengh crew seat. It has 2 12 inch holes and breather ports, fully wired for speakers. I got it from a friend who didn't want it anymore but it didn't fit in the trunk of my car.



I you come here and pick it up, you can have it ;)

LOL Florida is a lil to far to drive from Albany NY thanks tho!:D
 

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,685
59
91
Originally posted by: snooker
I have a box out of a Newer Model Ford Truck with extended cab and the full lengh crew seat. It has 2 12 inch holes and breather ports, fully wired for speakers. I got it from a friend who didn't want it anymore but it didn't fit in the trunk of my car.



I you come here and pick it up, you can have it ;)

 

whiteboyatcal

Member
Jul 1, 2002
155
0
0
This is really easy to do, and almost anyone with any knowledge of how to use a drill and saw can do it. Here is how:

1.) Sketch a plan of the box you want to make. Then figure out what dimensions you need to cut each panel to. Don't forget that you
will need to compensate for the thickness of the material (3/4") for edges that overlap.

2.) Go to Home Depot with your panel dimensions and purchase a 4'x8' sheet of MDF (~$10-15). Home Depot has a huge saw rack
which can cut large pieces of plywood etc. quite accurately with smooth edges. The first two cuts of your panel is free, the extra
cuts are 25 cents each. Give the Home Depot employee you panel dimensions and they will cut everything up for you.

3.) While you are at Home Depot purchase 1-3/4" drywall screws, a tube of caulking compound, and a can of 3M Super 77 spray
adhesive.

4.) Go to the back of Home Depot in the carpeting section and they will have rolls of all kinds of outdoor carpet. You can purchase the
carpet by the foot and you can get gray, black or tan carpet depending on how you want it to look.

5.) Take all of your materials home and start by labeling each panel with a pencil so you don't get confused later.

6.) Mark the position of the 12" subwoofers on the front panel and cut 11" diameter holes for the speakers.

7.) Assemble the box using the drywall screws, using a countersink bit on your drill to recess the the head of the screws below the
surface.

8.) Using the caulking compound to seal all the seams on the inside and outside of the enclosure.

9.) While waiting for everything to dry, cut the carpet into 3 pieces. Cut two pieces for the ends of the box, and one piece to cover all 4
of the faces of the box. Cut the pieces about 3-4" oversize.

10.) Spray the end pieces of the box with the spray adhesive and spray the backs of the carpet as well. Allow the adhesive to tack up,
then apply the carpet to the box, working from one edge to other making sure it lays smooth. Wait a few minutes for the adhesive
to dry, then trim the edges down to size with SHARP scissors.

11.) Spraying one face of the box at a time, stretch and roll the large piece of carpet around the large faces of the enclosure,
essentially covering those 4 sides at once. Again, let the adhesive dry a while and then trim the edges to fit. Use a slightly damp
sponge to remove any adhesive that got on the carpet and to "blend" the carpet seams together.

12.) Install the 12" subwoofers in the holes you cut in the box and drill a small hole in the side of the box for the speaker wires to come
out. Seal this hole from the inside with caulk before dropping the speakers in.

You're FINISHED! For a Saturday afternoons work and ~$40 you have a very professional looking enclosure that is much studier than store-bought glued together garbage. You can also tailor the interior airspace to match the ideal enclosure size of your subwoofers. For 2 speakers, just double the recommended internal enclosure space. I used to work at a custom stereo installation shop, and we used essentially the same process. I've built ~10 enclosures at home using this method.


 

Occifer

Golden Member
Mar 27, 2002
1,002
0
0
12.) Install the 12" subwoofers in the holes you cut in the box and drill a small hole in the side of the box for the speaker wires to come

Or better yet, go get a terminal from RatShack and install it in the side of the box. This way you can easily disconnect your box if you need to remove it for some reason.
 

0roo0roo

No Lifer
Sep 21, 2002
64,795
84
91
i think theres software out there for calculating optimal subwoofer dimensions etc.
 

Howard

Lifer
Oct 14, 1999
47,986
11
81
For a sub enclosure, I'd recommend at least 1" MDF. Is it going to be a sealed/ported/bandpass box (depends on driver specs)?

I would do this one myself... If you do, make sure all screw holes are pre-drilled, so that the wood doesn't split. Ideally, the thing should be held together with wood glue, but use screws along with glue so that it's held tight while the glue/caulking is drying (and caulk all the interior seams!), and so it'll be structurally stronger.

If it's going to be a large box (again, depending on driver specs), I would add internal bracing to it, with more glue and screws.

Ask Viperoni for more details.
 

cavemanmoron

Lifer
Mar 13, 2001
13,685
59
91
Originally posted by: Howard
For a sub enclosure, I'd recommend at least 1" MDF. Is it going to be a sealed/ported/bandpass box (depends on driver specs)?

I would do this one myself... If you do, make sure all screw holes are pre-drilled, so that the wood doesn't split. Ideally, the thing should be held together with wood glue, but use screws along with glue so that it's held tight while the glue/caulking is drying (and caulk all the interior seams!), and so it'll be structurally stronger.

If it's going to be a large box (again, depending on driver specs), I would add internal bracing to it, with more glue and screws.

Ask Viperoni for more details.

internal bracing? like 2x2 in the corners,{edges}?