Stereo Integrity HST-15 ported box build

[Surfer J]

Hello all. This my first build log of any type. So here goes. I own a 2008 Tundra double cab. I had the rear seats modified so I could fit a sub box back there. Basically the middle of the rear seat was removed. I currently have the HST-15 in a sealed enclosure. The box is the recommended 1 ft^2. I sounds great, but I want a little more oomph from the very low notes. So in comes a new ported box build. The box will have 2.5 ft^2 for the sub. Tuned to 25 Hz. Here is a picture of my design from Speaker Box Lite.

The picture does not show any of the bracing I will use.

[Surfer J]

I started the build on my lunch break yesterday. Wish me luck. Below are the cuts I started with.

 

I laid out some lines on both sides of the box so I would know where I can place my screws.

First side glued and clamped.

Here are a few screws added to first side.

Second side glued, clamped, and screwed.

Next I had to back up and do some prep work I forgot to do. I guess like a lot of us I got too excited and started to get ahead of myself. Here I am painting the inside of my port black.

Here is the first of my port walls getting installed.

This is the second port wall going in. I cut that spare piece of wood to use as a spacer so I ensured proper port width. Now at this point I realized I made my first real mistake. Because of the way I cut my port pieces and placed the side wall first, I was unable to screw the two port pieces together. Oh well, I will just ensure I get enough screws in from the sides. As a side note, as I am installing each piece I am running an extra bead of glue along the seams. I then smooth it out like it's caulk. Just to ensure a strong bond and no leaks.

Starting on the inner port end round over.

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Here it is rounded over. Now once again I almost got ahead of myself. I placed this piece in the box to mock it up and noticed I had yet to round over the other edge on the port end. At this point lunch time was over. So the build is on hold until lunch on Monday. Sigh.

 

[Surfer J]

Tomorrow I will be making tons of saw dust. I will have my work "cut out" for me with my router. I have to cut three subwoofer holes for my three baffle pieces. The reason I will have a triple baffle is the bottom board will fit between the two sides. When cutting a 13.9" cutout in a 14 1/2'" wide board there is not much wood left. The top two boards will only be 16" wide. So I figure doubling them up will provide enough strength to hold up an 85 pound subwoofer.  Next I will round over the end of the third port piece. Router the center out of two braces to help smooth air flow. Then I will have to round over the edges for the three small braces I plan to use in my port. I will also have to fill in a little gap at the end of the third port piece round over.

[Surfer J]

Okay, so here is today's update. First thing this morning I made my own saw dust wood filler.

 

Then I applied it to the edge of the third port piece to fill the small gap.

 

 

 

[Surfer J]

During lunch I made a ton of saw dust. Starting with cutting the holes in the baffles for the subwoofer.

First I drilled a pilot hole to start the router.

Then I cut the three baffles. As you can see how thin the bottom baffle is at the edge. That is the reason for the triple baffles. 

 

[Surfer J]

Then I tried my hand with my round over bit. Here are the braces.

Here are all the pieces I rounded over.

Then I cut the three pieces I plan to use as bracing in the port.

Below is basically how I plan to to use the bracing in the ports.

[Surfer J]

I also filled in a small imperfection on the bottom of the second port piece to ensure smooth air flow inside the port.

[Surfer J]

Not much of an update to day. I got very little done. I was able to add the third port wall.

 

[Surfer J]

I also added one of the port braces. 

That does it for today. Like I said I did not get much completed today. Hopefully I can get a lot more done tomorrow.

[Surfer J]

Now for today's up date. I started with adding the last two port braces.

I did have a small problem. The last port brace split while I was trying to screw it together. Luckily I had another brace and was able to replace the broken one.