# Carpeting Speaker Boxes



## kovacika (Dec 9, 2006)

I am building myself a new pair of speaker boxes. I have done this in the past and had issues with carpeting the box. The seams dont alway line up the way I want them too. Does anyone know of special way to carpet speaker boxes, or a online tutorial? Any help is much appreciated.


----------



## Van (Dec 9, 2006)

check 
www.partsexpress.com

they have a whole section of "how to". 
Just so you know I have two favorite ways, but I think the best is 3M spray95 < I think it's 95, well I know for sure it's not the 77, that is light duty adhesive.> Also when buying the carpet, I don't know what your using, go to a local auto parts place what you want to buy is cheap "Trunk liner" there are a variety of colors if you don't want the standard black. Trunk liner stretches a bit and works real well when wrapping around corners, etc. I like to lay a strip of the thin double stick tape right where my final seams will be, overlap the carpet, then using a metal straight edge, press the straight edge very hard into the carpet before using a mat knife or razor knife to cut. pull off your excess pieces then pull the cover off the tape you should be able to stretch the carpet into a perfect seam. Also, just so you know, Most of the stuff you see on road cases; Corner protectors, edge beading, etc etc. is available from either parts express, or a good local hardware store < not the Ace kind> Corner Caps, proper handles, and the like can really give a very proffesional finish to a speaker project. 
Oh and another aside, if you ever want to cover your speakers in another material, or if you are ever making road cases, the material of choices to cover the wood is 1/8" "hair cell" ABS, typically availible in a wide variety of colors < or "colours" if your from down under > Personally, I love building cases and speaker boxes, there's something really nice about the high level of finish when your all done, and knowing it's going to be around for a long time


----------



## Chris15 (Dec 10, 2006)

Van said:


> Also, just so you know, Most of the stuff you see on road cases; Corner protectors, edge beading, etc etc. is available from either parts express, or a good local hardware store < not the Ace kind> Corner Caps, proper handles, and the like can really give a very proffesional finish to a speaker project.



Penn Fabrication seems to be the manufacturer of choice for road case hardware down here. Is this the case in the States & other parts of the world?


Van said:


> < or "colours" if your from down under >



Excellent. We are winning the war on language


----------



## audioslavematt (Dec 10, 2006)

Most professionals would tell you to not carpet your cabinets. Carpet traps dirt, smoke, and spills. Most people spray their cabinets with spray on bedliner or flat black spraypaint.


----------



## kovacika (Dec 10, 2006)

Thanks for the carpeting tips but since you mentioned.....
Where could I get the "hair cell abs" material? I wanted to cover the speakers with something other than carpet, but I wasnt able to find anything durable enough. Vinyl was the other option but it seemed to stretch and tear, especialy considering the weight of the cabinet (a dual 18" sub).


----------



## BillESC (Dec 10, 2006)

Laminates are available through better theatrical dealers. Here is a pick of Douglas Fir with an ABS laminate.


----------



## Van (Dec 10, 2006)

kovacika said:


> Thanks for the carpeting tips but since you mentioned.....
> Where could I get the "hair cell abs" material? I wanted to cover the speakers with something other than carpet, but I wasnt able to find anything durable enough. Vinyl was the other option but it seemed to stretch and tear, especialy considering the weight of the cabinet (a dual 18" sub).


 
Where are you located ? One of my favorite distributers is G.E. Polymershapes they are a national company with distributers all over. In this region there is TAP plastics, But they tend to be extremely expensive. Yes a lot of the theatrcal dealers carry it also but again they tend to be on the expensive side. PLastics have made an extremely sharp upturn in price as of the last couple of years, the Chinese and Indians have been hording the raw materials driving the costs up. Stay away from Sintra < brand name> it has a sort of "foamish" ABS layer in the middle and does not hold up well under stress. I think you'll be happy with the ABS you'll want the .089" make sure your surfaces are smooth and bump free you can then use a variety of contact adhesives to adhere it with. I prefer a product called "30 Nuetral" with is a Latex based contact adhesive, clean up is easier. but good old Welld Bond works just as well just be sure to stay well ventilated.


----------



## kovacika (Dec 10, 2006)

Most of the year Im in Fitchburg MA, about a half hour away from Boston (for college). The rest of the year Im in Schenectady NY.


----------



## Van (Dec 10, 2006)

kovacika said:


> Most of the year Im in Fitchburg MA, about a half hour away from Boston (for college). The rest of the year Im in Schenectady NY.


Ah Sorry I'm a left coaster and I've only spent vacations east of the Mississippi. We'll have to put an APB out on a plastics supplier in the Boston area.


----------



## Eboy87 (Dec 11, 2006)

I second, or whatever number we're on, the vote for truck bed liner. It looks more professional in my opinion.


----------



## kovacika (Dec 11, 2006)

I was looking at some of the liquid bed liners out there and have a couple of questions.

1. Is there a spray on that doesnt require a compressor? Maybe an aerosol?

2. I found some brush on bed liner, but only in a five gallon tub. Does anyone know where I could get smaller amounts?

3. How much would it take to cover a cabinet 40"x20"x22" ? Should I just be reading labels, or is there a rule of thumb?


----------



## Van (Dec 11, 2006)

kovacika said:


> I was looking at some of the liquid bed liners out there and have a couple of questions.
> 
> 1. Is there a spray on that doesnt require a compressor? Maybe an aerosol?
> 
> ...


 
The "herculiner" brand is available in 1 gallon cans, at $99.00 / gallon itis one of the cheapest availible, it's EXTREMELY messy to use Very toxic and Very Stinky. 1 gallon will do most of a standard pickup bed, so it should be more than sufficient for a box that size.


----------



## SHARYNF (Dec 11, 2006)

I think you might be able to find the smaller cans at NAPA. I suggest using a roller, and Van is right it is very messy.
Here is a link for Herculiner http://www.herculiner.com/images/bedliner_install_english.pdf

If you look at what some pro companies do, they just paint the cabinets with rustoleum flat black and then just repaint and touch up when needed. Its a trick that has been going on for 40 years. 

Sharyn


----------



## Mayhem (Dec 23, 2006)

One for the Australian's out there - there use to be a product called "rock hard", which was a think, water-based paint that was very tough and easy to apply with a textured roller. I tried to get some recently but couldn't find any. If you can source some on the East coast, buy it. 

When I do build boxes that require carpet, I place a chalk like 50mm from one long edge and then place the box flat on the carpet, with the back of the box level with the line. You then "roll" the box over until all four sides are covered. NOTE - start the carpet an inch or so away from the edge of the box. This way, you will not have a seam on an edge, which will lift.

Cut the overlaying carpet at the corners and fold one over onto the back of the box. Mark and cut at 45'. The fold over one of the adjacent corners and where the carpet folds over the cut edge of the 1st piece, use a metal rule and rub the top piece so that it beds in next to the first section. Then carefully cut along this line and you will (should) have a clean seam. Do this for all the edges and for the front as well.

The back of the box will have a blank rectangle, which will need to be carpeted as well. To do this, you cut a section of carpet that is slightly larger than the section you need to fill. Then, using the same method described above (with the steel rule) fide the edges and cut off the waste.


----------



## SHARYNF (Dec 24, 2006)

for what it is worth, in the pro world "rat fur" is definitely down market, using the bed liner type product will definitely look good, allow you to repair scratches and be a lot easier to apply. rat fur is DJ ;-))

Sharyn


----------



## Chris15 (Dec 24, 2006)

I'm not going to buy in on whether carpet makes a box good, bad or otherwise, but I will say that if you do carpet boxes, don't skimp on the glue. I have seen boxes with the carpet falling off and they really look shabby. They also are going to be much less protected than with the carpet firmly attached. And the carpet that has come loose has a bit of a tendency to catch on things as well (or have things stacked on top of it.)


----------



## SHARYNF (Dec 24, 2006)

that is exactly the problem, the glue will only hold so well, then carpet gets pulled, scrapped etc and starts to look bad, then for quick cover up you start to paint it etc etc
Sharyn


----------



## Pie4Weebl (Dec 28, 2006)

kovacika said:


> Most of the year Im in Fitchburg MA, about a half hour away from Boston (for college). The rest of the year Im in Schenectady NY.



Schenectady, ny, isn't that where the dance competition called "Starpower!" is based out of?


----------

