First Box Build..

[trainman0978]

yeah bro...I say invest in a brad nailer. No pre-drilling, no countersinking, no dry fit, and no drilling. I loved mine when i worked on my box. I built the entire box in like 45 mins. Not all day like I used to.

Easy there... If you get a brad nailer it needs to at least shoot 1" to 1-1/4 " brads.. some of them only use very short small gauge brads. Some are known in the trade as " pin nailers" or "pin guns" and are slod as brad nailers , so If you go to get a brad nailer , read the specs carefully.

I have both a brad nailer and a finish nailer. I would trade em for nothing. I use a Stanley-Bostich finish nailer , shoots something like 1"- 2 1/2" -- 15 gauge finish nails.... My brad nailer is a Porter Cable and I wanna say it shoots like 3/4 to 2 inch brads, 18 gauge. home Depot usually has em in stock, and they sell the small packs of brad nails so you won't have to box a box of 10,000 nails at a time. I think I paid something like 80 bucks for it, they have em on sale all the time. works well. I bought a angled finish nailer cause a angled gun works better when you are installing interior trim like crown moulding and base boards in tight corners. Its more gun than most audio guys would need, But again, I love air nailers. They make a hammer look useless.

my finish nailer

my brad nailer

And remember, the nailer or the screws are not there to permanently hold the enclosure together. They are just the quick way of clamping the MDF pieces together until the glue cures good. Alot of people don't use them at all, as mentioned, but not using any hardware at all requires you to need alot of big, and somewhat expensive clamps that are over two feet long. If you already have a compressor, you can get a brad gun for about the cost of 5 or 6 good clamps.

I used my finish nailer on my enclosure, and only used my brad gun on my 45 degree corners . I wanna say I shot 1 1/2 inch , 15 gauge nails into the main 3/4" MDF sides. The finish nails are a bit thicker than brads, and have more of a "head" on them than the brads. If you are gonna be gluing , nailing, and flipping the box around a lot during assembly the brads may not get a good hold and keep the boards clamped together well. I dunno, didn't try it.

Also, for screws, alot of guys use drywall screws, and it is the norm , and nothing wrong with em. But if you look in the nut and bolt section you can sometimes find screws that are a little smaller in thickness, and you can then drill a smaller pilot hole which will further decrease your chances of having a situation where you run a screw in and split your piece of MDF... Same with the nails guns too, dont get a screw any longer than necessary. The farther you drive a screw into the wood , the better your chance of splitting it.

Edited June 26, 2008 by trainman0978

[JustinT]

Here is my baby...it's a brad nailer...it goes up to 2" 18gauge brads...$90 at HD

[Jextel]

I got my box in and its loud..i just need my alternator in because im playing off of battery power so its having some serious voltage drops but i tried to take out the box and notice i cant!! LOL im going to have to cut this monster out..but my next build should start next wk..bigger port, sub placement different...

PS

I also notice that the box is alittle peaky..like some notes are VERY loud while others are loud..my other box had a prettyy flat reponse(Good for bass race i guess)..Now all i need is to get some time in one the TL..

Edited June 26, 2008 by Jextel

[~digital~bass~]

Ill take screws over brad nails ANY given day. Screws actually pull the wood together and leave no seals but the brad nailer just holds the wood in place. That is why when you get to building box's for bigger set-ups people dont use brad nails.

[meade916]

Ill take screws over brad nails ANY given day. Screws actually pull the wood together and leave no seals but the brad nailer just holds the wood in place. That is why when you get to building box's for bigger set-ups people dont use brad nails.

i use brad nails and glue for all my boxes.....never had one fall apart yet. Screws dont hold boxes together, glue does.

[Jextel]

i use brad nails and glue for all my boxes.....never had one fall apart yet. Screws dont hold boxes together, glue does.

and the man himself chimes in..i feel like a somebody..lol

[FieroGrande]

good to see that your learning from your mistakes! Box isnt that bad except for that one side that is two different pieces of wood! That box should be good once the glue drys!

[Jextel]

Im going to try to port through the rear deck again..i hope the jigsaw can cut the metal..

[dmanson]

i use brad nails and glue for all my boxes.....never had one fall apart yet. Screws dont hold boxes together, glue does.

add in a lil fiberglass too .............

[trainman0978]

Ill take screws over brad nails ANY given day. Screws actually pull the wood together and leave no seals but the brad nailer just holds the wood in place. That is why when you get to building box's for bigger set-ups people dont use brad nails.

Going on that theory alone , the why is it when you nail two pieces of wood together and hold them both up by only one of the two pieces of wood, why doesn't the other piece of wood fall off the nail ?

Edited June 26, 2008 by trainman0978