Using Dowels to build box and where to start w/ putting together a box

[skittlesRgood]

silicone is fine. itll be cured after 24 hours. people have used silicone directly on the surround to repair tares. dont worry about it.

when you do dowels, be sure to get a screw into it as well. through the box. just measure the panel it will go on from two sides. then you measure the same on the mirrored panel. predrill, glue, screw. be sure to use a dowel thats 1.5"-2" nothing smaller.

[wheres the flex at]

silicone is bad.

Can you explain why, Sir?

[Mikey Bates]

silicone is bad cuz it eats the sub somehow. .. but if its cured, it should be fine (to my knowledge) but i see 98% of people go through there box with white silicone, and just let it cure for a day or two then its fine. just to ensure that box is sealed.

[Mikey Bates]

always predrill. mdf splits very easily. when predrilling, choose a drill bit that is the size of the shank of the screw. i always assemble the box on top of the bottom plate and build up. its easiest to put the back of the box on last. that way you can silicone the edges on the baffle, then assemble the back wall and you can easily reach the back plate's edges from the sub cutouts.

wouldnt you want to put the top on last, that was you have access to everything? not the back on last

[TheNewbie]

I put mine together with screws to hold it in place until the glue dries, than I take the screws out.

No reason to use silicone unless you are trying to fill in a huge gaping hole in the box, in which case, ditch the box and try again. That's a significant structural weakness.

Oh, and the fumes from the silicone can degrade the surround.

^ but why take out the screws rather than leave them for a tad more strength? Just curious

[blownengine]

I use a pneumatic nail gun to hold the boxes together while the glue dries. It's so much faster than predrilling and sinking a screw. The nails will also never split the wood.The holes are easier to cover than screws too. Plus I always split the MDF with screws. I have never had screws work out well with MDF.

[tacomaguy1]

they're more expensive but I like to use spax screws from home depot...no predrilling required

[tacomaguy1]

always predrill. mdf splits very easily. when predrilling, choose a drill bit that is the size of the shank of the screw. i always assemble the box on top of the bottom plate and build up. its easiest to put the back of the box on last. that way you can silicone the edges on the baffle, then assemble the back wall and you can easily reach the back plate's edges from the sub cutouts.

wouldnt you want to put the top on last, that was you have access to everything? not the back on last

top or back could be the same thing in some boxes...just depends how you have the subs oriented

[Mikey Bates]

heres the new bos that i'm going to be building, and as far as putting the two top pieces together, just glue the shit outta them?? lol

[TheNewbie]

Yes for the two top baffles just put glue on it, put them together and put something heavy on them.