|
Post by ti4438 on Jan 14, 2012 11:52:10 GMT -5
That's just beautiful,man!
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Jan 20, 2012 20:49:29 GMT -5
You guys are way too kind... I just love this project so darn much it's not even funny. Looking over my thread, I seem to have forgotten to post a couple of pictures from xmas (not wholly original of an idea... credit goes to the USF Blues Brothers show). Also, I have a couple test fitting photos from when we put the speaker up top. We threw it up top just to get a feel for any changes necessary, and it's no where near done. Since these photos were taken, I've dropped the frame about 4 inches, so it doesn't sit AS high. Since it isn't a permanent fixture, I was concerned about how I would transport that monster from place to place... so we tried to design it around the space in our trunk. It breaks down in to 4 pieces, but we never ACTUALLY measured either one (lol...). Thankfully it fit. It weighs about 100lbs - most of that weight being the speaker itself. We're going to rig the rope in the back to be more than cosmetic until I can find the electromagnets I want to mount it with.
|
|
|
Post by sigmfsk on Jan 21, 2012 11:27:16 GMT -5
We're going to rig the rope in the back to be more than cosmetic until I can find the electromagnets I want to mount it with. Electromagnets! Oh yeah! Elwood would be proud.
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 4, 2012 21:02:13 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 4, 2012 21:30:02 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by sigmfsk on Feb 5, 2012 5:36:01 GMT -5
Dude, those are some rocking pics. That speaker setup is the bomb, and your car looks great.
And speed test was a success! Great job, arthur
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 5, 2012 14:14:18 GMT -5
Thank ya kindly. We actually took it up on the interstate today, drove about 15 miles at 60mph with no issues. Very exciting! I was really worried about transporting it. Even though we based the size on our trunk, we failed to account for the frame (least in my opinion), which ended up taking up our back seat... meaning we'd have to take two cars for longer trips!
This speaker came out good, but the next version will be better... and metal!
|
|
|
Post by Steam McQueen on Feb 5, 2012 14:42:43 GMT -5
Definitely one of the better speakers I've ever seen. Great job, DaD.
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 15, 2012 0:01:29 GMT -5
thank you very much, Steam. I'm going to dual post this, as I usually do. Kind of details my build of the speaker. I'm open to entertain any questions if you guys have em. Who built the speaker? any blue prints? I actually built the speaker myself using screen grabs from the Bluray, cardboard, fiberglass, bondo, and about three weeks months of patience. Basically, I started with a form (think I used a barrel/trashcan for the outer rim, some kind of bucket for the inner), started laying down the cardboard to get the shape, and then layered fiberglass until I was comfortable with its sturdiness. (very, very early picture here.. when I took it, I really thought to myself, whhhhat are you doing?) And then began rondo (bondo with fiberglass resin mixed in). Followed up with an infinite amount of sanding... I'm not totally happy with how it came out, there are a lot of areas which look very rough, and even some cracking (!) Over the weekend I was talking with my buddy who lent me the tools to weld the push bars, who said we could easily do the speaker from aluminum - so that's next on the docket I think. I weathered it some yesterday. This is not the final weathering, just the most recent picture.
|
|
|
Post by tk826 on Feb 15, 2012 2:52:42 GMT -5
Were you able to release/remove the trashcan and bucket, leaving just the fiberglass shell, or are they still inside there?
How much do you think it weighs?
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 15, 2012 11:59:28 GMT -5
I was able to get the form out of the pretty easily actually. It was very light at that point and just lifted right off. To be honest though, for the inner part, I cut out the bottom of the bucket/barrel and used them as the "bottom" of the speaker. I did this so it wasn't just open in the back of the speaker. Overall, the entire thing weighs about 100 pounds. Most of that weight is in the frame. The entire speaker breaks down in to 4 pieces, and when we did that last time, I was able to manhandle the awkwardly sized speaker on my own. When we put it up, however, it is incredibly heavy in the front so we actually have to have someone in the back pulling down so it doesn't flip lol.
|
|
|
Post by tk826 on Feb 15, 2012 15:17:51 GMT -5
Very cool. Thanks for the answers.
Because I have been considering doing something along these same lines for quite a while , I've got another one for ya'.
Did you keep a record, and is it possible, to post up a shopping list of the materials needed and in what quantities?
(How much cloth and resin you had to use, hardware, etc)
The "wood" base (I'm hoping to make that from fiberglass as well) is pretty straight forward. I'm just wondering how much it takes to make the speaker assembly itself.
Thanks Dent, and great work. I believe yours is only the third fiberglass speaker I've seen in existence.
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Feb 15, 2012 21:13:59 GMT -5
The jests of the project were 2 gallons of fiberglass resin, 2 gallons of bondo, 15 yards of fiberglass matting, about 10 pieces of posterboard, and some scrap wood. We had a lot of the stuff laying around (like the wood for the frame). If I had to put a price on materials, id say $120~
I definitely recomend buying resin and matting from a boat repair place.. if you go elsewhere you'll likely be paying much more.
A fiberglass frame sounds reeally scary lol. We wanted the frame to be wood so we had something to anchor in to.
I wish I had more info for you, but thats really it. Feel free to ask anything else!
|
|
|
Post by tk826 on Feb 22, 2012 4:34:44 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by dentarthurdent on Mar 7, 2012 14:13:18 GMT -5
Aw snap, thanks TK! I'm still finding pictures from Megacon. I'm glad for that, because I did not take many myself! It was a long, fun, but stressful weekend. It started Thursday when we were on our way over. My guys who had said were going to help me put the speaker up flaked and I ended up having to drive the 75 miles with it up top. Gulp. Strapped the speaker down with tension with 8 tension straps (two of which were meant for semi hauling), and began our trek across the state. Fortunately, I had the foresightedness to know that my friends would likely flake, and had sewn up a sock for the front. It looks a bit silly, but it keeps the wind out fairly nicely. With low winds at our back, and cruise control set to 60, the trip over was fairly easy. There was no groaning or moaning of the speaker/rack, and drivers more entertained by the spectacle than annoyed by the slow driving... life was good. So we get to Orlando, and the convention center, and meet up with the Ecto-1b owner. We're supposed to be set up by 11am at the latest... but security at the convention center refused to let us in until the vendors were going in at 1 - long story short, we caused a traffic jam because they wouldnt even let us park inside the gate. So we parked ourselves at the gate. We finally get in, and get ourselves situated, and life was pretty good. The fire marshal comes and inspects our vehicles to make sure we're not doing anything against regulations, and we get a pass. The convention was fun. Although, my Elwoods flaked on me.. But my Soul Sister came to the rescue for me and made it not so bad. We had 16 hours of everything soul, blues, rhythmic and blues pumping through the speakers, and we just had a good old time. Flash forward to Sunday: We close up shop around 7, getting on the road around 7:30. A quick check of the weather shows a westerly wind at 25-30 mph, slight chance of rain! Meaning I would be driving 60mph in to a 30mph wind.... White-knuckled the entire way... we made it home. Despite knowing the speaker was tied down very well... I was still nervous about killing someone on I4. Whenever there were big gusts of wind, I could hear the speaker trying to lift off of the wooden frame, or the entire thing off the roof of the car... yikes! People also weren't so keen on my slower driving and a couple of times thought I was going to have to fight. The lesson to be learned here? If I can't take it down, TURN THAT SUCKER AROUND, so its more aerodynamic! At least, that's the plan for my next trip. And my favorite picture from the weekend! The Soul Sister and I! I'm still not sure how I feel about the few additions we have made... We've put in a light in the front and back, and red strobes in the lights of the four corners of the car. They're there for the spectacle, and for my dad. The one thing I can say about them is that they're easily taken down/hidden - because they have to be (and because I want them to be!). I still need to track down a chrome spot light (and get a refund for the "lost" one)... then work on the speaker v.2 can begin! Errr, and Ive gotta get this darn PA system installed. I mounted a 100watt MX7000 lightbar speaker behind the grill, but the 4 watt PA can barely be heard. Time to buy an amplifier!
|
|