[alanthing]

This post shall reveal my noob-ness...

I've been wondering what to do with my sub amp (sitting in my room, ugh) and my speakers' amp (yet to be purchased). I was going to put the amps behind the side panels like Alpman and a couple others have done, but I don't have an amp controller, so making changes to the amp settings would be painfully difficult. I saw EddieMoney's amp box the other day, and I really like that idea. My ultimate goal, if I were to proceed with this type of thinking, would be to have my two amps and my power dist. block on the right side and the left side would house my Mac mini (or other small computer... that's for much later).

Ok so, I've never done any word-work before. Well, I made a CO2 car in 7th-grade shop class, but I don't think that counts! I'm not trying to blatantly rip off of EddieMoney's idea, but I want to do the same thing. How do I do it? What tools do I need to cut the wood? I think I could handle the glue/nails/staples/whatever, but the cutting... nah. My friend's dad is finishing his basement and has all kinds of wood-cutting tools.

Sorry for being clueless, but I almost always get help here. Thanks!!

-Alan

 

[eddiemoney]

It is actually pretty simple.
1. Take the foam piece out
2. Trace the top of it onto 1/2" MDF
3. Trace the bottom of it onto 1/2" MDF
4. Cut out both pieces with a jigsaw, use a fine blade to avoid chipping of the edges
5. Sand the edges so its all smooth.
6. Cut rectangular pieces(i used 3/4" MDF because it doesn't split as easy with screws. If i remember right, the overall height is 5"
7. Drill pilot holes to avoid splitting the wood, and i used 1 5/8" screws and glue to hold it all together.

A couple of notes:
Use a very minimal amount of vertical pieces to allow as much airflow as possible. I also added a 12V stinger fan onto the wheel well side of the amp box to pull air from there across the amplifier. I also threw some carpeting on top so it looked pretty, and that is about it, nothing special. It took probably 3 hours to completely trace/cut/carpet and install.

Any more questions please let me know, hope this helps!!

~Ed

 

[JustWhite]

I put mine there too...but i wanted to show mine off so i cut a hole out and put some plexiglass in with it...and a CPU fan to keep it cool.

 

[eddiemoney]

Yah, i thought about that, but i didn't want to cut my stock carpeting

 

[alanthing]

EddieMoney, I really appreciate it! Whew, no fancy tools required

I can buy MDF at Lowe's (or similar), right?

JustWhite, the amp window looks pretty sweet, but I don't think I'd want to cut into my carpet either. I don't want people to know I have anything (like the dozens of kids in my apartment complex), even when I open the trunk. I might change my mind later, because that looks pretty good.

Thanks guys! I'll hopefully get to work this weekend

I'll return if I have any issues. Oh- once again, I don't know much about this stuff: what size (gauge? "rough-ness") sandpaper should I use? The last time I used sandpaper/steel wool I used some that wasn't nearly as fine as it should've been, and screwed up the finish on the fingerboard of my bass

 

[eddiemoney]

HOme Depot is a better shot, they sell 2x4 pieces of MDF, i dont think Lowes does. I live in apartment as well and that is why I didn't want anyone seeing it.

80 grit will be fine, especially if you carpet it. If you want it real smooth use 220 grit. After all, it is just wood. FYI, on your bass you should have probably been using 1200 grit or so...

 

[JustWhite]

i kept the piece that i cut out and it fits right back in and you can barely tell any hole has been cut... i still have my floor mat that goes in the back just in case i ever need to cover it up also

 

[alanthing]

About my bass... I was 16 and my old guitar teacher told me steel wool was good for getting grime off of the frets. Well, one day, I think I was 17, I found some steel wool in the garage and went to town on my bass. When I finished, I looked at the neck and almost cried

It's so beat up now though that it doesn't matter. But it still sounds as good as the day I bought it! Ibanez Soundgear... good investment....

Anyway... I'm going to consider the amp window, it's pretty slick. Especially if I'm going to put a computer in on the left side. I'm somewhat of a mild Apple fanboy (might be more rabid if I had money

) so I might want to strut my stuff.

Also, would it be good to have two fans, one on each side, both going the same direction, to make a "wind tunnel" and pull lots of air across the amps? Or is it not THAT big of a deal?

I know... lot's of questions... I appreciate your input though, guys!

 

[eddiemoney]

I like Ibanez guitars, thats what my acoustic guitar is...a good $300 investment.

Two fans aren't going to make that much of a difference. I'm an aerosapce engineer, trust me you are just going to create turbulence doing that. Anywho.... one fan should be fine just blowing over the amp. You could also run one little one per amp, or something like that if you wanted, you could even do neon computer fans if you want it to light up in that window...oooooo aaaaahhhh

 

[alanthing]

Sweet! Going to the drawing board this weekend (if my paycheck clears! grrr)!

 

[alanthing]

Well, much later than I wanted to, but I started last night. I cut the bottom piece out of 3/4" MDF and sanded it. I might sand it again but it's lookin pretty good. I wanted to use 1/2" MDF, because 3/4" is heavy and thick, but my friend's dad gave it to me (along with borrowing his tools and garage, awesome). Before I continue... this thing is heavy, and is going to be heavier with the rest of the material and amps and stuff. The foam is so light and when it sat on the frame of the car, rattling wouldn't be an issue, but this heavy MDF might. What did you guys do about that? Did you line the bottom of the trunk with vibration dampender (you know, like Dynamat) or did you put something on the MDF?

Also, when I pulled the foam out, both of the black plastic "screws" and the white "holders" came out. I wasn't able to get the white pieces off, so I had to cut them. I was planning on drilling two holes on my box where those "screws" are supposed to go, but I couldn't make it work for me. Are you guys using those same holes for anything, or do you have the amp box just sitting in there (which is what I'm currently planning on)?

Thanks guys!

 

[eddiemoney]

alanthing, sorry i have been out of town. I threw some scrap carpeting on the bottom of the box, i have no vibration issues. I made the top of my box the right size so it sits in there and doesn't move at all, in fact its quite the b!tch to get in and out.

 

[alanthing]

Whew. That's a relief. Dynamat (and similar) is expensive! Although, I could check out that Protectowrap or whatever it's called if I need to get something. The box is gonna turn out heavy I think so hopefully I won't rattle too much.

I'm gonna buy a stinger fan and a piece of MDF for the top and hopefully finish it tomorrow night! :-D

 

[eddiemoney]

My stinger fan pulls air from the wheel well area, that way i didn't have to cut the carpeting, when i get bored my next step is to try and build one out of fiberglass....mmmmm....should be fun