mklett33

Hey guys! I recently picked up a KMH 8 from DAD to see what the hype was all about. Overall I found this subwoofer to have quite the level response and to have the ability to handle quite a large amount of power. It also comes in at a great price point that can't be beat. I will let the video do the talking!

Hello and welcome to my version of the “How to Build a Custom Subwoofer box Tutorial”. This tutorial aims to teach you not only how to create a subwoofer box but how to add additional styling and design to make it a one of kind masterpiece. This is a four part tutorial series; a brief description of each part is given below and accompanied with a video and pictures. Enjoy! Part 1: How to Build the Box In this first video I cover the basics of a box design, incorporating bracing and 45’s and construction techniques. Part 2: Customizing the Box This video covers the design and production of custom template created insert shapes that mount to the front of the box and can be used to accent and tie to other parts of the install. These techniques can be used on other aspects of your install like custom door panels, and more. Part 3: Molding the metal mesh Molding metal grill mesh gives a very custom look to our box, you could use this technique to hide a port, or protect the speaker itself. Part 4: Wrapping with Vinyl and Carpet In this final video we finish the custom box by wrapping it with carpet and the template shapes with vinyl. Thanks for watching and learning! Now that you have learned these new techniques what would you use them on?

Kerfing 101- UNDER CONSTRUCTION What is Kerfing? “Kerf” by definition means “width of a saw cut”. This is the width of the actual saw tooth itself as opposed to the width of the blade as a saw tooth flares out and away from a blade. “Kerfing” is a term that many woodworkers have adopted to define the process of making several cuts within a piece of wood to achieve the removal of material. Often this removal of material will allow one to then bend the wood stock making a nice professional and appealing curve that can be incorporated into the project. Kerfing and Car Audio: What can Kerfing do for you in your quest of car audio domination? Well first of all it is important to note that in any ported subwoofer box hard corners are the devil. They do not allow efficient air flow which can result in less output and more port noise. Kerfing your port will allow you to maximize efficiency and create the most non-turbulent flow for the air moving in and out of the enclosure. Secondly Kerfing can be used to make an enclosure or other part of your build more appealing to the eye. You could use it for corners of an amp rack, or to make a custom arm rest more smooth. Kerfing is a process you need to learn to take your builds to the next level. What you need: This is outlined in the video but you will need the following (* means you don’t HAVE to have it but it is recommended): Circular Saw (Or table saw but the process will differ from the video) Disclaimer: My Saw blade is 1/8” wide. I recommend the same width! T-Square (Or table saw fence) MDF Wood Glue Safety Glasses Tape Measure Marker/Pencil Clamps Fiberglass Resin* Fiberglass Chop Mat* Body Filler* Sand Paper* The steps: Watch the video! Once the kerfed section is made load it up with wood glue and clamp it in place. Finish with fiberglass resin and chop mat and for that added professional touch apply body filler to the area and sand! The Math: I go through the math in the video but in case you are having a hard time understanding this should help. Please note this is used for slot porting applications so when I reference “diameter” I am NOT talking about a circular port, I am talking about the curve of the kerf if you were to look at it along its cross section. See the photo below: Step 1: Determine the diameter of your curve. Note I said “Diameter NOT radius” if you have your radius just multiply it by 2 and you now have your diameter). Step 2: Find the circumference of a circle using this diameter. The equation is: Step 3: You should now have a value for your circumference. Take this value and divide by 4 for a 90 degree turn or 2 for a 180 degree turn, this will give you the “length of kerf”. Step 4: Record your value for the length of the kerf. This is how much material along your mdf “linearly” must be used to make your curved kerfed section. This is the value you want to “mark off’ for your kerf on the mdf. (Note that this method can also be used to find the “length” of this part of your port so that you can build your port to the target tuning length. Instead of using the diameter of your kerf arc, use the diameter of the arc that is the centerline of the port). Step 5: Now that you have marked off where your kerf will be on the mdf you are going to take your “length of kerf value” and divide it by 12. This will give you your length between cuts. Now in the video I show a trick for making these divisions perfect. That way if your value is something like .6384 you don’t have to guess on a tape measure. My method is also much faster as it doesn’t require this steps math. Once you have marked out all the distances between cuts you can proceed with cutting and making your kerfs! Other notes: These are other notes that have been brought up on other forums and I feel are helpful. I made the mistake of wearing gloves in the video. Never wear gloves with rotary tools! It is not recommended to apply screws in the kerfed section of the mdf, it will likely split, instead use clamps (or heavy objects) and wood glue. If you are blade in not 1/8 you will need to do some math to determine how many cuts to make. I generally remove an inch and a half of material, so if your blade is smaller, more cuts, wider, less cuts. Note that fewer cuts will lead to a rougher curve and more a smoother curve but with less strength. Pictures: Design of an enclosure using a Kerfed Port: Box with Kerfed Port: (Picture to come) Box with kerfed port and kerfed exit of port: (Picture to come) Made this video to show how to Kerf, enjoy!

Hey all! Much like my previous threads I am starting another part of a build that will be completely documented through video. The support for the door pod series was awesome and I hope you guys enjoy this series just as much. Just like before I will be video taping every single step and editing all the information together to present to you. If you haven't seen my videos before I hope that you enjoy them and would love to hear what you think! If you missed the seeing the door pods I mentioned above here is how they turned out: http://www.youtube.com/caraudiofabrication'> If you would like to see the in depth process of each step for how I made these door pods there is a conveniently organized playlist on YouTube at this link: But enough about the door pods! Its time to get into our next project: The Fiberglass Under Seat Sub Box! Lets get started! First a little about the system: The Vehicle: Chevy Duramax 2500 HD Extended Cab (Will add pics soon) The Gear: Alpine Type R's 6.5" Component Speakers 10" JL Audio W3 (Just kidding, I was planning on using this but have fallen in love with the DAD KMH-8, so we are using that instead) Knukonceptz wiring Wirecare.com wire protection products Alpine MRP-M500 Alpine MRP-F300 If you are interested in a review for the KMH-8 or learning more, check this out: I started with a concept, I knew that I wanted to build a box that would house both the amplifiers for the system and hide the wiring, but at the same time I wanted quick and easy access to them. The plan for how I am going to do this is difficult to explain, but as the build progresses it will become clear. The box will also feature several inserts, I have entertained the idea of doing light up plexi on parts of the box. But I am not sure I want too. What do you guys think? Anyhow here is the initial idea, I like to get stuff out on paper first, really gets the creative juices flowing: http://www.youtube.com/caraudiofabrication'> With the general idea framed out I started building. Pretty traditional stuff here but one of the coolest things I can teach you here is how I used a "Adjustable Curve" to get a perfect match with the floor contour of the vehicle. I also got the "Beauty Panel" frame trimmed out on the top of the box. http://www.youtube.com/caraudiofabrication'> To see the steps that got me to this point check out the video below! Well, thats it for now, off to a good start, I already have the bottom fiberglass molded, just need to edit the video, so you guys have to wait! Let me know what you guys think, wondering what direction you think I should go with the insert pieces, back lit, metal mesh, etc.

Thank you

And as always I edited every single step of the process to help you guys learn how you to can build like this: If you would like to see the full series check out the video playlist here:

Finally it was time to wrap the final pieces Here is the finished product:

I also added this cool hex pattern mesh:

Now that all the surfaces are smooth and clean its time for some wrapping, I started with carpet and black suede in the insert areas: I also wrapped the top removable amp rack piece with black vinyl, then press fit all the inserts in temporarily as I was waiting to receive the cool grey vinyl I had ordered.

Time for some progress and FINISHED PICS! I got the front inserts done using my Smart Spreaders:

So I know have got the amp rack fibeglassed, smoothed and all ready for vinyl. Lets take a look at the steps: Started with some fiberglass: Started smoothing thins out with filler: Heres how the mesh looks over the amps, still not sure if I will use it, or paint it. I need to see what it looks like after everything is wrapped. Everything is smooth now! You can see all the steps from this post in video with explanations here:

As many of you know Rage Gold is one of the best body fillers you can get. It has amazing sanding qualities that lead to a professional finish in a timely manner. But there is a bunch of hype about a new body filler on the market called "Matter" from Sonus Car Audio. Can it stack up against Rage Gold? Lets find out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ey89Kr9wvjg

Messed around a little with this mesh, do you think I should use it? Man I need a dust collector! Any suggestions? Here are all the steps in video:

Who wants some pics? Started with a circle around the sub, didnt really like it so you will see but I do something a little different: Finally got a new dust mask! i love this thing! Like the new shape around the sub better? Amplifier cover templates:

http://www.youtube.com/caraudiofabrication'> Something I have always enjoyed integrating into builds or seeing used is back lit plexiglass. You can use it to light up a sponsors logo, or your own, or just to simply highlight an area of your build. In this video tutorial I show you Step by Step how you can use plexiglass and other techniques to create an awesome panel. The possibilities are endless, use it on an amp rack, use it on a sub box, use it on a console whatever! And yes, there are other ways this can be done, I just have found this way to work quite effectively! Lets learn how to make this: http://www.youtube.com/caraudiofabrication'> Enjoy, and please leave me a comment letting me know what you think or if you have something to add!

Thank you! I hope the videos help you learn a thing or two! Thank you!

Pictures! All steps can be seen in the video in my previous post. Molded the floor of the enclosure: Have to be sure it is strong! Added the top: Had to fill up the large hole at the back of the enclosure where I wasnt able to just mold the floor: One mistake I made is I went to heavy with the resin with the first coat, it ended up really glossy on the bottom of the enclosure, but still I was able to build several layers and it is STRONG. In the video I even bounce up and down on it with no issues!

Here is the next video, I have a bunch of pictures too, but I want to edit them before upload. This video will show how I mold the bottom of the enclosure with fiberglass.

Come on guys! Pretty lights!

Hmm it was strange, it said 0 views on the thread, weird. Glad you like it. X2 Thanks Thank you. Gotcha, I have a ton of pics coming soon so pay attention damn it! Haha Fiberglass stage is complete. Editing the video tonight.

Thread says 0 views?

No problem, glad that you liked them

Hey guys, I am officially starting another build. Rather than post only pictures I am going to take you guys along for the ride with video updates! Enjoy! Phase 1 is making my amplifier rack. Starting with making some insert pieces to hide the amps.