i have had many people tell me that high quality silicone is not the way to seal plexiglass to mdf for sub boxes, to me there seems to be no better way to insure a good seal, predrilling the screw holes and filling w/ carpenters glue ,aside. what is your input???THINK
Replies (9)
cplkittle on 01/3/2007 18:35:21
Carpenters glue and silicone both are more on the semi permanent side. I always used a tar type strip caulk. It is very pliable, and can be removed if necesary. It 'squishes' well and seals nicely.
You are on the right track though, screws are a must.
swez on 01/3/2007 21:40:49
Agreed!
Silicone adhesives can be a good product when used correctly, but messy and hard to clean up too. Like Kit said, a pressure tape like Scotch window sealing tapes or a tacky tar stripping, work very well. It is a dry compound, easy to tool and compresses very well to form a very air tight seal.
Swez
louisypher on 01/3/2007 22:16:05
hmmm..interesting. i have found that if i drill the holes first in the pexiglass,(keeping in mind to make holes larger than the screw- to allow for expansion, then in the mdf, then make a 3/16 inch bead around the inside of the area where the screws will be ,allowing that to dry (mostly),about an hour or so, then another bead around the outside of the area where the screws are and immediately tightening the perimiter, works very wellfor me. my secret to working with silicone as far as cleanup is to let it dry comepletely and then gently cut and scrape off, comes up pretty easy.of course the more complicated the structure the harder it is to get to. too bad theres nowhere on the site to post pics i have some pretty interestimg creations that work fairly well. thanks for your input.
louisypher on 01/3/2007 22:20:03
oh , i only use the carpenters glue to bond the screws in the mdf, i dunno if its cause i usually get it from home depot but it likes to fall apart in the hole when a screw is taken out so a toothpick broken in the hole helps there along with the glue, kinda like with a girl, the longer the screw the better. hope that doesnt bother the censors. LOL trying to keep it clean.
cplkittle on 01/3/2007 23:02:28
Silicone is not a bad choice, but sometimes difficult to remove. If your plexiglass window is the access to your sub, a good seal is just as important as removability (if that's even a word).
You can drill the holes out a little bigger in the plexi than the screws. The important thing is not to strip the wood out. If you predrill the wood and give it a drop of superglue before you screw it in, the threads in the wood will last longer. The superglue absorbs into the wood and makes it harder. Just be very careful because the vapors from the superglue will cloud the plexi.
louisypher on 01/4/2007 04:36:02
true ,i generally make the plexi just a window rather than an access . allowing me to acess most areas, just a visual thing, on this box i am using aw1000v subs ,( ...i know audiobahn...) ,and there is something i dont understand, not many people like their stuff, pricey i understand, but you can get some pretty good deals out there and i really like the high excursion subs and not just cause they are pretty ,they have some pretty low lows..but hey as long as im happy...and the funny thing is they fund themselves. people cant beleive the sound coming from a lil ol reg cab t100,and so they buy the system(well box , subs,and amp,or this case amps)and i make just enough to start the process over again. some day i will actually keep a system for myself. its kinda like a drug, the satisfaction of makin something that will force your gones into your ears,lol. but its fairly legal too.i gotta say this is a pretty cool site you have here, missing the pic section, cause that would be fun, but verry cool.
swez on 01/4/2007 10:43:14
Thanks for visiting CK!
Yes, we could use a photo gallery feature, but this eats up bandwidth and server space. (Drives up site costs) Those who post pics often use photobucket or over pic viewers.
Bahn is not the best or worst product line out there. Most of the bad rap is due to the users lack of knowing how to use them properly. If used with attention to design and function limits, most products are very usable. However, many newbs tend to abuse their gear w/o knowing the damage they will create later. That requires some very robust gear and these tend to be more expensive too.
Swez
PS As you have probably gathered, we are a PG site. We can offer lots of info to any level or user skills, but do it without all the colorful language and bashing found on other sites. It seems to appeal to a wider audience and well... it flows well too.
MrBrownstone on 01/8/2007 22:59:31
Regarding silicone, it's main purpose is to seal moisture and air. I use the clear type because it basically disappears visually when used in thin quantities.
As well as 'not a good sealant', just remember, you can leave a 1 inch diameter HOLE in your box and your woofer will react very similar to one that is 'air tight'. Particularly if you are using one common chamber.
I used to use the silicone instead of the carpenter's glue to fill the drill holes because it's a better sealer of air...and it really isn't necessary to use glue to do that. Also, glue absorbs into the wood, and leave a void..the opposite of a filler.
I wouldn't worry much about the sealed nature of your woofer enclosure. I would shy away from super glue because of it's permanant qualities. Especially since we car audio guys tend to reopen boxes :=)
cplkittle on 01/8/2007 23:47:48
True, but the problem with leaks is that they 'whistle' or 'huff' depending on the size and shape.
Replies (9)
cplkittle on 01/3/2007 18:35:21
Carpenters glue and silicone both are more on the semi permanent side. I always used a tar type strip caulk. It is very pliable, and can be removed if necesary. It 'squishes' well and seals nicely.
You are on the right track though, screws are a must.
swez on 01/3/2007 21:40:49
Agreed!
Silicone adhesives can be a good product when used correctly, but messy and hard to clean up too. Like Kit said, a pressure tape like Scotch window sealing tapes or a tacky tar stripping, work very well. It is a dry compound, easy to tool and compresses very well to form a very air tight seal.
Swez
louisypher on 01/3/2007 22:16:05
hmmm..interesting. i have found that if i drill the holes first in the pexiglass,(keeping in mind to make holes larger than the screw- to allow for expansion, then in the mdf, then make a 3/16 inch bead around the inside of the area where the screws will be ,allowing that to dry (mostly),about an hour or so, then another bead around the outside of the area where the screws are and immediately tightening the perimiter, works very wellfor me. my secret to working with silicone as far as cleanup is to let it dry comepletely and then gently cut and scrape off, comes up pretty easy.of course the more complicated the structure the harder it is to get to. too bad theres nowhere on the site to post pics i have some pretty interestimg creations that work fairly well. thanks for your input.
louisypher on 01/3/2007 22:20:03
oh , i only use the carpenters glue to bond the screws in the mdf, i dunno if its cause i usually get it from home depot but it likes to fall apart in the hole when a screw is taken out so a toothpick broken in the hole helps there along with the glue, kinda like with a girl, the longer the screw the better. hope that doesnt bother the censors. LOL trying to keep it clean.
cplkittle on 01/3/2007 23:02:28
Silicone is not a bad choice, but sometimes difficult to remove. If your plexiglass window is the access to your sub, a good seal is just as important as removability (if that's even a word).
You can drill the holes out a little bigger in the plexi than the screws. The important thing is not to strip the wood out. If you predrill the wood and give it a drop of superglue before you screw it in, the threads in the wood will last longer. The superglue absorbs into the wood and makes it harder. Just be very careful because the vapors from the superglue will cloud the plexi.
louisypher on 01/4/2007 04:36:02
true ,i generally make the plexi just a window rather than an access . allowing me to acess most areas, just a visual thing, on this box i am using aw1000v subs ,( ...i know audiobahn...) ,and there is something i dont understand, not many people like their stuff, pricey i understand, but you can get some pretty good deals out there and i really like the high excursion subs and not just cause they are pretty ,they have some pretty low lows..but hey as long as im happy...and the funny thing is they fund themselves. people cant beleive the sound coming from a lil ol reg cab t100,and so they buy the system(well box , subs,and amp,or this case amps)and i make just enough to start the process over again. some day i will actually keep a system for myself. its kinda like a drug, the satisfaction of makin something that will force your gones into your ears,lol. but its fairly legal too.i gotta say this is a pretty cool site you have here, missing the pic section, cause that would be fun, but verry cool.
swez on 01/4/2007 10:43:14
Thanks for visiting CK!
Yes, we could use a photo gallery feature, but this eats up bandwidth and server space. (Drives up site costs) Those who post pics often use photobucket or over pic viewers.
Bahn is not the best or worst product line out there. Most of the bad rap is due to the users lack of knowing how to use them properly. If used with attention to design and function limits, most products are very usable. However, many newbs tend to abuse their gear w/o knowing the damage they will create later. That requires some very robust gear and these tend to be more expensive too.
Swez
PS As you have probably gathered, we are a PG site. We can offer lots of info to any level or user skills, but do it without all the colorful language and bashing found on other sites. It seems to appeal to a wider audience and well... it flows well too.
MrBrownstone on 01/8/2007 22:59:31
Regarding silicone, it's main purpose is to seal moisture and air. I use the clear type because it basically disappears visually when used in thin quantities.
As well as 'not a good sealant', just remember, you can leave a 1 inch diameter HOLE in your box and your woofer will react very similar to one that is 'air tight'. Particularly if you are using one common chamber.
I used to use the silicone instead of the carpenter's glue to fill the drill holes because it's a better sealer of air...and it really isn't necessary to use glue to do that. Also, glue absorbs into the wood, and leave a void..the opposite of a filler.
I wouldn't worry much about the sealed nature of your woofer enclosure. I would shy away from super glue because of it's permanant qualities. Especially since we car audio guys tend to reopen boxes :=)
cplkittle on 01/8/2007 23:47:48
True, but the problem with leaks is that they 'whistle' or 'huff' depending on the size and shape.
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