Discuss n00b build - Dayton RSS390HF, 8-ish ft^3, ported in the DIY Subwoofers forum. After months of reading, researching, learning to use WinISD, etc etc, I finally built my first ever subwoofer (and first ...
After months of reading, researching, learning to use WinISD, etc etc, I finally built my first ever subwoofer (and first ever real "woodworking" project)! The basics break down like so:
Dayton RSS390HF 15" driver - purchased from a fellow forum member
BASH 300w plate amp from PE
Box is constructed of .75" MDF with a doubled front baffle
Slot port running across the entire bottom of the enclosure
The enclosure is roughly 26w x 26d x 31h; minus bracing, port, and driver it leaves me somewhere around 7.5 to 8 ft^3 net internal volume. The port is 1" high x 24.5" wide and about 17-18 inches deep, giving me a tuning point around 18 hz, near as I can figure. I admit that I got pretty sick of juggling numbers and making incremental modifications the WinISD model, and finally said "let's make sawdust!" I figured that I'm probably not going to be able to tell the difference between 17.78 hz and 18.46 hz in any case...
Construction was pretty straightforward, though cutting the sides was a major problem. I don't have a table saw, and I attempted to build a fence/jig/guide to make the cuts. That was a spectacular failure and almost led to me abandoning the project altogether - cuts were jagged, the saw kept getting jammed, etc. Many colorful idioms were used. At the end of the day, I just used a straightedge to mark the cut and eyeballed it with my circular saw. Much easier, was relatively straight, and I used my router + flush cut bit to square up the panels once they were glued.
I think this really brought it home to me that higher quality tools are definitely worth it. My circular saw is a cheapo Black and Decker, and while it works, it is definitely not a top line tool. My compound miter is a Dewalt and the difference is night and day; same with my Ryobi plunge router. I will be investing in better tools for sure.
Back to the cuts - I had the friendly fellow at the big orange store cut the top and bottom on their ginormous wall saw thingy. Man, that was the ticket! No muss, no fuss.
Anyway, here are some shots I took while I was doing the project - unfortunately I didn't take as many as I would have liked. Next time for sure...
I wanted to flush mount the driver, but being the n00b that I am, I didn't make sure the initial cut (for the flange) was deep enough to flush mount the driver before I finished the entire hole cut. So, no place to mount the circle jig to "deepen" the flange cut. I noodled this for a while but couldnt see a way to do it without a ton of work, and I did not want to make a new baffle, so... chalk it up to a learning experience and move on!
I wanted to flush mount the driver, but being the n00b that I am, I didn't make sure the initial cut (for the flange) was deep enough to flush mount the driver before I finished the entire hole cut. So, no place to mount the circle jig to "deepen" the flange cut. I noodled this for a while but couldnt see a way to do it without a ton of work, and I did not want to make a new baffle, so... chalk it up to a learning experience and move on!
I have done the same previously. I got around it by clamping a sheet of MDF to the baffle with another small piece attached to the center and drilled a new center hole for the jig.
Box construction... the port is 1" or 1.5" tall and spans the entire width of the box. I added a center brace just because. Was quite proud of the fact that I remembered to rattle can some black paint in there before I put the bottom of the enclosure on!
I would have like to flush mount the amp as well, but at this point I knew I didn't have the knowledge/skills, and was not willing to put in the time to learn how to do it. Another one for the "next time" file.
. I am very curios how it will work for you
