[cosmic023]

Well i've gotta say a big thanks to Mat, Dave, Mylo, Taz & Retro for pushing me in this direction. And seeing their great DIY Sub projects.

And i've got a few piccies of the project so far, take a look. (You'll have to excuse my crappy HTML programming, but you get the idea !!)
http://www.cosmic023.demon.co.uk/DIY-SUB.html

Still waiting for my "The Rock" - Shark driver to appear from Germany, and some BAF Acoustic Wadding from Wilmslow Audio.

I'm very happy with the build so far, just at the dry-screw stage at the moment.

Enjoy the pics, and i hope it pushes someone else down the DIY route.

Cheers

[Mat-Moo]

Looking good, will be nice to see how it compares to teh comercial version.

[cosmic023]

Well as stated in the "Mother of a driver" thread, i won't be getting "The Rock" driver till stocks appear in mid October !!

Sold my REL Q100E today, so i'll be onto to BK Electronics to get a 100w Sub Bash plate amp sometime this week !! (That's when they are there ?? Just an answerphone everytime i've tried ??)

Got the 40mm BAF acoustic wadding today from Wilmslow Audio. Ending up ordering 2m of it, plenty left over to do another project.

Need to continue with the 1" square bracing at the front, and tidying up of the holes i cut out last weekend.

Once i'm happy with the dry / screw setup, i can then start to diss-assemble and start to glue and set everything in place.

Matt:
What's the depth of "The Rock" driver, as i need to find the right location for my brace plates.

Looking at your photos, you've drawn a line in the center of the side panels, and have a brace either side of the line ?? Is this correct ??

So far so good, shame about the driver.......just means that it's gonna take a bit longer to finish.

At least i can get the box finished by the time the driver appears !!

Cheers

[Mat-Moo]

Yes, I put my double brace in the middle, and the Rock didn't hit it. If you look at pic PICT2846 http://matthew.augier.info/index.php...e=PICT2846.jpg on my site, you can get an idea of the depth... I didn't have to mod that part in order to get it to fit. If postage wasn't so excesive I'd offer to lend you my spare BSB-12 while you wait but I believe it's about £8 each way. (Other option is to see if you can pick up a cheap one on ebay then sell it again)

[cosmic023]

Thanks Matt:

I'll do without a sub for now. And it gives me time to finish the box, before the driver arrives.

Thanks for the tip on the bracing, i just wanted to make sure before i drilled & screwed the braces together, and then find out that the driver didn't have enough depth !!

Still plenty to work to do on it, all i need is some quality time to get on with it.

Can you get black ash veneer, that finish would look cool and would match my Kef Q50 floorstanders.

I had an email from "hifiblowout.de" and said delivery would take 2-3 days, once they have stock.

Cheers

[Mat-Moo]

You maybe able to get black ash fablon (sticky back plastic) - I don't know about veneer though.

[cosmic023]

I did think about the black fablon, but then would it look better than say spray painting it ??

Would be nice to get a black ash effect 'tho.

[Mat-Moo]

If your gonna spray paint (I'd use a roller and water based gloss) then your going to need a REALLY nice surface to work with, which will be hard as you have used screws like me.

[cosmic023]

Matt:

My original theroy was to fill the screw holes and any other dents/gaps with filler, and then sand down the outside of the box.

After a bit of thought, i think the black fablon would be better to cover surface with. at least you'd get an overall finish.

I think painting or spraying would show up any faults on the surface of the MDF ??

When i get to this stage i'll have to think about what to do.

Cheers

Edit:
Ordered the 100w Sub amp bash plate from BK Elec. this morning, so should have that next week sometime.

Can you remember how you did the marking out for the amp panel ?? Because i've got the size of 254mm x 254mm x 90mm from BK's web site, but i would need to create an inner edge for the panel to rest on, as i would like to flush mount it.

Did you router out the edge of the back panel to make it flush ??

[Mylo]

As long as the screws are nicely countersunk I have a secret weapon. Fill the recess with P38 (plastic padding). This stuff sets in under 20 minutes and can be sanded to a really smooth finish. It's far better than decorators filler.

[Mat-Moo]

I've never really done any work with veneer, but I would think that it would hide imperfections better? I did the same on my box but use normal filler, which when sanding is softer than mdf so I could never get it perfect. Maybe I just didn't sand enough over all, but there was plenty of dust! Even now I can see the edge of my front to the main box (slightly) through the fablon. But it's not that bad. I waited patiently for the back panel to turn up (I'd heard bk's numbers are not that accurate!), then measured it and did my own cuts so that it would fit. Then used a rebater to try and get it as flat as possible (It's not 100% flat, but good enough).. it was tight to refit after the fablon had gone on.

[cosmic023]

Mylo:

Just checked and P38 is an epoxy body filler for doing car body repairs, is this the same stuff you use ??

I think you can get it in small tubes, because i wouldn't need much and yes i do agree it's better than regular decorating filler.

Still gonna go with black fablon, unless anyone else can give out a good idea for doing a black ash finish for covering MDF.

Cheers

Edit:
I'll ask a friend who has a router to work a channel for the amp panel. I'll re-measure/check all my marking out once the panel does arrive.

Managed to borrow an electric sander to finish off the outside of the box, so it'll be flat an smooth before the fablon goes on. After all preperation of the surfaces takes longer, but it'll make the fablon look better once it's applied.

[Mylo]

Thats the stuff, bloody brilliant, you can build whole cars with it. It sets very hard but sands easily with emmery paper. Don't add too much hardener or it sets in about 2 minutes and make sure you have plenty of ventilation or you will end up

[cosmic023]

Yep, that'll be the stuff then. Used it for body repairs on cars & bikes before.

Agree with careful use of the hardener, can become troublesome if too much is applied !!

[Mylo]

I messed up last week and basically stuck my mixing screwdriver onto the mixing board then only just snapped it off in time. It came off the screwdriver using an anglegrinder ok though .

[cosmic023]

Ooops.

Pretty much the same setup as the rest of the epoxy chemical filler range, easy to apply (Well until it hardens / goes off)

And a right B**H to remove if things get stuck to it !!

Cheers

[cosmic023]

Just updated web-page with new pics on the progress of my DIY-Sub.

Currently waiting for new 100w Sub Amp Panel from BK-Elec, to finish back panel.

Then i'm pretty much on hold then till the driver arrives !!

Been good fun so far........just can't wait to try it !!

Cheers

[Mat-Moo]

Looking good, like the comparison pics between the q100e and the DIY. I sure hope that it performs better than you hoped Got to say the depth and slam the rock has is impressive... but I'm SOOOOO tempted to go down the sonotube route and try it out for fun

[Howard0000]

Looking good

What are everyone's opinions of the BK Elec BSB12 driver (those who have used it)?

[Mat-Moo]

The BSB 12 is a good BUDGET started sub IMO, when I first ran it I was very pleased, but start to push it hard and it does show that it is limited. This is one of the reasons I jumped ship and followed the Rock route.

[Howard0000]

I was pushing it very hard with Master and Commander today and I didn't hear any distortion. I am impressed with it as a budget sub

[cosmic023]

Thanks for the comments guys. Just need to spend time finishing the box construction.

Can't really do much for the front driver panels until i get the driver. i could glue & screw them into place. but that would make any adjustments / alterations more difficult.

Looking forward to getting the BK amp next week, and finishing off the back panel.

Cheers

[funkmonkey]

Looking good Cosmic,

Will be even better of course when the driver finally turns up but all good things come to those who wait

[cosmic023]

Thanks Funky,

Haven't done much to it this week, still waiting for the amp panel !!

But then i have found a solution on the black ash finish, use white ash veneer lightly stain black in colour and maybe a light varnish to finish off.

Well i'll get there one day, can't wait to check out the bass response on the new Star Wars Trillogy !!

Cheers

[cosmic023]

Hi All,

Still waiting for delivery of my BK.Elec 100w amp plate !!

How long do they usually take to deliver, is it always this slow ??

Cheers
Cosmic023

[Mat-Moo]

Took me ages just to get in contact with them to order. Can't remember how long it took tough, not speedy for sure.

[Brimstone]

Lo folks,

On the subject of fillers - there are wood filler versions of P38 and similair epoxy based fillers, i've used them a few times and they are really quick to set (too ANY thickness). They are also much harder than the standard wood fillers. Don't know if they're any easier to sand than P38 (probably the same - must be almost the same chemical make up - just different colur finished material). Might have the opposite problem to the softer normal wood fillers as they are usually harder than the mdf to sand - but i haven't had any real problems.

Use standard or hardener type wood fillers - but don't use decorators filler (also called - decorators caulk or acrylic filler).
Its water based, smoothed with a wet finger and isn't designed and isn't meant to be sanded (stays soft and flexible).
Use that stuff or preferably internal use silicon (not vinegar smelling "acetic acid curing" types) to seal internal joins and seals round connections/plates/etc if necesary.

Hope this helps anyone who's unsure of which stuff is what and where its used.

My old flat seemed like it was half built from caulk, lol.
My new build house was built from more mdf, filler and caulk than everyones DIY projects put together.
Rumour has it theres a small peice of actual real timber in there somewhere - im still trying to find it, not so lol.

;-)

Mark.

[cosmic023]

Well which item is going to turn up first the amp or the driver ??

Untill then i can't really do a lot, which is a shame.

But then again i am building some plinths / stands to raise my Q50's a little higher as there pretty short on height and need another 4" or so to get up to ear height.

That'll keep me occupied for a while until the new parts turn up !!

Thanks for the advice on the wood filler materials, i'm happy with P38 for now, Besides i'm gonna cover the box in veneer anyway, so it wouldn't show.

I'll keep it in mind 'tho if i do need some for a project ??

Cheers

Just out of onterest, My sub is veneered in Eucalyptus..looks far better than fablon.

RTP offer custom sized veneers btw ;-)

[cosmic023]

Cheers Taz,

I was looking for some white maple ash to cover the sub with. Could RTP sort something out ??

Would it be easier to e-mail him, or does he have a website ??

Cheers
Cosmic023