Help me decide on a sub

[jnorion]

If it's a good amp it would get hot and run fine, it it's a bad amp it could blow fuses or just go up in smoke randomly.

It's a Jensen.

(I got it for free, don't give me any crap about it. )

[neoturner]

joel,

i wouldn't waste your time on him. people who haven't tested the differences like to think they know what they are doing. nails hold just fine, just ask 99.9% of real installers. i think i up to around 80 enclosures to my name, plus i've done more extreme testing than your average installer. the only time i use screws anymore is if i'm screwing into 2x4 supports.

Really? So you would suggest using a nail gun for somebody who is building a enclosure for the first time. Do you think the number would still be around 99% for that recommendation?

My MDF was not perfect, I'd love to know where you get it that it isn't warped in any way. Yes it is very hard material but not when you drive objects into the sides which is where it splits. You may speak from experience but homeboy doesn't have 80 enclosures under his belt. When you drill you can see where the holes line up when you shoot a nail gun you better hope you don't miss. I'm guessing he has more time than money for this project but that is just me. If you drill you can see where the holes come out and line your board up center before setting a screw. If you drive a nail you get one shot and if you screw up then there goes that cut.

I could care less if you take my advice but it is coming from an average installer to one...maybe.

[jnorion]

You are correct that I have more time than money. You are correct that I don't have 80 enclosures under my belt. I do, however, have roughly 15 years of woodworking experience, and a VERY well equipped shop with all the tools I need. Also, as I said before, I am building a box that is less than a cubic foot... even if the sheet that I am taking the MDF from is warped a bit, which is very likely as you were saying, the pieces I'll actually be using are so small that it's really not going to matter.

[1967cutlass]

It's a Jensen.

(I got it for free, don't give me any crap about it. )

Well, I wouldn't run it under spec.

[blue LEDz]

Really? So you would suggest using a nail gun for somebody who is building a enclosure for the first time. Do you think the number would still be around 99% for that recommendation?

My MDF was not perfect, I'd love to know where you get it that it isn't warped in any way. Yes it is very hard material but not when you drive objects into the sides which is where it splits. You may speak from experience but homeboy doesn't have 80 enclosures under his belt. When you drill you can see where the holes line up when you shoot a nail gun you better hope you don't miss. I'm guessing he has more time than money for this project but that is just me. If you drill you can see where the holes come out and line your board up center before setting a screw. If you drive a nail you get one shot and if you screw up then there goes that cut.

I could care less if you take my advice but it is coming from an average installer to one...maybe.

using a nail gun isn't rocket science properly pre-drilling, countersinking, and torquing a screw is actually more difficult to start out with.

the 99.9% reference was to REAL installers. you know, the ones who do it professionally at a car audio shop. they don't have time to predrill, countersink, and screw together the enclosures they make.

if you bought MDF that was warped, that was your fault. i have never purchased a sheet of MDF that was anything but perfectly flat. you probably bought a sheet that was warped from humidity. find a better source, plain and simple.

using a nail gun won't split the sides, unless you nail it too close to the edge. since a nail is so much smaller, you have a much lower chance of splitting the wood. plus, with a nail, most of the time if you hit the edge the wood doesn't slip. it shoots the nail out the side.

if you screw up with a nail, you just pry the wood apart and remove the nail. that's not hard by any stretch of the imagination and it doesn't make the piece unusable.

sounds like you don't have much experience with enclosure building. bow out gracefully and call it a day. you've shown your level of knowledge on the subject, and frankly it is far below anyone who does this for a living.

[zerocover]

I have 2 enclosures under my belt. And can say mdf will split with nails as I found my first time around. NOt alot mind you, and I used a hammer so that may have been the cause, maybe I was just too close to the edge. I know a nail gun will work alot better. I just dropped some wood glue there to be sure it was nice and tight.

And seriously the box isnt held together with screws or nails the glue is much stronger. + no matter how bad of a job was done on the box a bead of silicone on the inside will leave everything air tight. (just be sure to let it dry a day before add in the sub or it will messup the speaker).

This isnt rocket science.

[blue LEDz]

if you use large enough nails, which i am assuming you did since you used a hammer, yeah you can split the wood. nails in a brad nailer are large enough to split MDF, unless it is right on the edge, then it would only split off a very small amount.