Ok.. the mission if you choose to accept it is to build custom door pods to house 6.5" mid bass drivers that will blend in with the original door card.


Step 1: Using a dry board marker.. sketch out the shape of the build.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_01.JPG

Step 2: Strip the door card down as much as you can and mask of the area where you will need to fibreglass. Transfer your original sketch lines back on the masking tape so you know how much to cover.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_02.JPG

Step 3: Lay up your fibreglass.. ensuring you over lap your final required area so you have extra you can trim back. This needs to be fairly strong so 3-4 layers are needed.. each layer should be applied before the previous layer has fully cured for max strength (about 10mins between layers is fine).

Make sure there are no air bubbles between the layers as this will weaken the work. Dab them out with a brush.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_03.JPG

Step 4: Leave to cure atleast 24hours. If you disturb it too soon, it will warp and wont fit correctly. Once cured, prise the work away from the door card and clean up as much of the tape as you can.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_04.JPG

Step 5: Cut out the rough shape of your build.. leaving a little extra for shaping/trimming to suit.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_05.JPG

Step 6: If your door bin is split into two parts, cut them in half one side of the join. When complete.. you will still have half a useable door bin. If there is no seperator, just make one from a bit of MDF like shown below.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_06.JPG

Step 7: Place the usable half of the door bin back in position and trim your build to fit.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_07.JPG

Step 8: Cut out a seperator from a bit of 18mm mdf. This is easily done by standing the door bin on its end and drawing round the inside edge, then doing the same thing with the fibreglass back panel you have made.


http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_08.JPG

Step 9: Test fit the first half of the door pod back.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_09.JPG

Step 10: Key up the inside of the door pocket to allow better adhesion of glue/fibreglass later.. this can be done with sand paper or just scratch it with a knife.
http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_10.JPG

Step 11: tempoarily fix the front half of the door pocket to the fibreglass with some sort of glue (doesnt have to be strong). I have used no more nails as I have loads of the stuff. Hot glue is also fine.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_11.JPG

Step 12: Once set.. you need to do the final strong bond. This is done by mixing up some fibreglass resin.. then tear up some bits of fibreglass mat and mix into the resin making sort of a runny fibreglass mix. Pour into the build and angle and support the pod so that the mixture rests over the join. Leave to cure for 24 hours.. and repeat for all edges (both sides and bottom.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_12.JPG

Step 13: Draw out your baffle ring. Here you can see three rings. Inner most ring is your cutout diameter for your speakers motor structure. Ring 2 is your speakers overall diameter. This will give you the rebate diameter to allow your speaker to sit flush, and the final ring is your finished diameter for the ring about 1cm bigger all the way round to give some extra strength. 18mm MDF is best here to allow you to flush mount the speaker.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_13.JPG

Step 14: Cut out your baffle rings using a router/jigsaw with a compass attachment. A router is better as it will give a cleaner cut and allow you to cut the rebate for flush mounting the speaker.

Cut the rebate first to a depth equal to half the thickness of the material. Next Cut the overall diameter.. and lastly the inner speaker cut out. Then test fit your speaker.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_14.JPG

Step15: Cut a hole in the door pocket to allow for the speaker to sit in the required position. If you need to.. clean up the areas where you will attach the stand-offs for the baffle ring.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_15.JPG

Step16: Glue your stand-offs to the baffle ring. The length and position of the stand-offs are determined by the required baffle angle.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_16.JPG

Step 17: Using a router.. round of the top edge of the rings to give a nicer finish and also to increase the adhesion area for the covering later. This could of been done at step 14 but I forgot :)

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_17.JPG

Step 18: attach your baffle to the rest of the build. I have used hot glue for a quick fix that can be reveresed if needed fairly easily.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_18.JPG

Step 19: Stretch your shaping material over your build and attach behind using hot glue. Your material needs to be stretchy and thick so it can hold lots of resin. I have used fleece.

Pull the material tighter or give it some slack around certain areas until it gives you a shape you are happy with.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_19.JPG

Step 20: ensure both builds look as similar as you can get them.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_20.JPG

Step 21: cover in resin and allow to cure for 24 hours. Get on as much resin as possible.. the material has to be soaked through to the other side. Especialy around the edge of the baffle and the edge of the build as this will provide the adhesion needed on the joins. Apply a layer and give the resin a few mins to soak in.. then repeat until it cant take anymore. Once cured.. assess the strength of the pod to see if you need to add any additional fibreglass layers for strength. As I used thick material, and this was just for a mid bass driver.. I decided I didnt need too as the build was strong enough. For a sub box, I would of added another 4 layers or so of fibreglass on top while the fleece was still wet.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_21.JPG

Step 22: The build isnt going to sit nicely onto your door card with the over stretched fleece on the back so that all needs to be cleaned up.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_22.JPG

Step 23: trim back as much of the un resined fleece as you can.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_23.JPG

Step 24. Grind/cut back the remaining cured over hang back to the base plate so that the build can sit back onto the door card. I used a conbination of a router with a flushing bit, and a dremel and other grinding tools to clean this all off. Once you have done this.. you will need to strengthen the join of the top edges from inside. Do this using the same method as step 12.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_24.JPG

Step 25: Cut out the speaker hole to the edge of the baffle rebate. This was done using a sharp knife to remove un resined material.. then a combination of a dremel and a router with a flushing bit. At this point.. the basic build is complete and ready for finishing to suit your final trim method. If you are going to cover them in material.. you should be able to get away with a light sand with a power sander to remove any lumps and ridges.. and minmal filler work.

If you want to paint, you will have to skim on filler and sand it smooth working your way through from coarse to fine grit papers until you get a perfect surface. The trick here is to go easy on the filler. Dont dollop on a 5mm thick layer then spend days sanding it back.. load up your spreader with a small amount and with firm pressure.. scrape it over the surface.. only leaving filler behind in the pits of the rough surface.. lightly sand with coarse paper.. and repeat.. but between each filling layer, change your sand paper to a finer grit. in 3-4 layers, you will have a perfectly smooth build which can be finished of with filer primer and a light sand with wet and dry.. before painting.

http://www.c4ppy.net/howto/doorpods/Doorpod_25.JPG


Amit

Lovely job :)

Are those for the Golf Cappy?

they look like ford escort door cards rich, i sure golf's already have 17cm speakers in the door.

amit, your lucky that you got all the tools to do that sort of thing, esp dewalt tools! :p

there 'scort door cards blade;)

Yep deffo Ford panels.

Looks lovely mate, wish i could do that, might get a go on the next motor. Love the tools to ya rich git :D

well done old bean! im v. impressed.. :)

they not directed then?
cant wait to see em trimmed up and fitted!

Superb..

Taking notes :D

aj

They're doorcards off an Escort Cossie (or at least that's what they're going on when they're done)

Very nice looking job there Amit and I'm also jealous of the tools!

Am, your hired ;) :smoke:

im feeling FAQ when youre done with your girlfriend on her back.....

What material is that u used ? looks like a bathroom towl !

it is, that why the missus is on his back :D

very nice mate - I trust you've checked they still fit? sounds like an obvious one, but when I did mine, I built up the whole thing before realising there was a lower piece of dash which got in the way with the doors closed. Had to chop a corner off in the end.... and just on the drivers side too.... :(

..... And how long did those blades last on the jigsaw??? on my sub box, I managed 2.5 inches before the blade was fecked. Angle grinder with steel cutting disc was much quicker & cheaper! Having said that, it was 10mm thick!

(PS, cordless = flashy *******!)

yep all still fits and drops nicely into the contours of the door cards. I dont currently have the door cards so cant show you what they will look like in place.. but the blend into the second half of the door bin.

The pods are for an escort cossie. The material used to cover the pods is just fleece bought from a material shop. Once saturated with resin and set.. its about 4mm thick and perfectly strong enough for mid bass drivers without the need of extra layers of fibreglass.

We havent decided on how to trim them yet so that is why they have been left how they are.With bit of filler and sanding.. they could be painted.. or they can be trimed in vinyl, leather, alacantara as they are after minimal sanding.

The blade is still the original one that came with the jigsaw and still going strong.. have used it a fair bit on mdf and fg stuff.

Will add the words later tonight.

Amit

u covering them or u painting em?

Why closed pods Amit? I mean as opposed to venting them into the door

Good work mate one tip though as much as possible do the back plate in the car that way you dont have to worry about panel flex on the work bench;)

come on Am, we want wordage :D

text added.

Ant cheers for the tip.. but I find it easier to work on the cards laying down as the FG sticks better without saging and you dont get drips or runs. It is also easier to keep the fg a uniform thickness as the resin doesnt run to the bottom edge. If you support the panel well, you shouldnt get any flex. Also its a lot more comfortable to work on.. and less chance of resin driping all over your car and also stinking your car out.

Besides.. I didnt have access to the car for enough time to do them in the car :)

CBR, closed as they are mid bass drivers from a 3 way set and I want the punch more than the lows.

fullymaxed. Havent decided the triming method.. but I recon we will go for alacantara.

Amit

easier said than done that. A fine piece of handiwork. I yet to have conquered door card builds. :rolleyes:

Excellent guide. Well done. You make it look so easy.

Nice work Amit :) I really need to learn to use my router...

Neat job, very neat, nicley done.

They look lovely :D

Same sort of thing that i want to do in the next car, now i know how to do it :)

looks great am.
how are u going to attatch the builds to the doors though? are u going to screw them in from behind the door card? or have u got other ideas to attach them?

Nice work Amit :) I really need to learn to use my router...

Did you buy one in the end then matey?

Rich - yes mate... I err... saved myself a few quid by picking one up from the market... 1100W (or was it 1250?), 6 router bits - 25 quid. I'll be ordering some accessories for it soon.

Amit - turning the router upside down and clamping it in the workbench - is that safe/secure/normally done? I'm scared sh*tless of turning the thing on without having it secured somehow... really would prefer to keep my fingers.

Rich - yes mate... I err... saved myself a few quid by picking one up from the market... 1100W (or was it 1250?), 6 router bits - 25 quid. I'll be ordering some accessories for it soon.

Amit - turning the router upside down and clamping it in the workbench - is that safe/secure/normally done? I'm scared sh*tless of turning the thing on without having it secured somehow... really would prefer to keep my fingers.


As long as you clamp it in the workbench well i dont see a problem :confused:

mullet.. has always worked for me just fine.. just do it up tight..

Also.. a cheap router is fine as long as you have good bits.. invest in TCT bits.. or if you can afford them STC. mdf will blunt cheap bits quickly and you will start to burn the mdf. Also for £20, a trend router compass is a great investment for cutting perfect circles.

If you are worried.. get 6mm mdf and cut a rectangle the size of your work bench. Cut hole in the middle for the bit to stick through (about 5cm diam) and screw the router to the sheet. Sit this over the opening of you bench inverted so the body is in the bench and tighten.. the mdf will stop it falling through.

Re attaching them to the door cards.. a couple of nuts and bolts will do the trick. Use thread lock to stop the nut shaking loose.

also.. I think personaly.. it looks harder than it realy is.. take your time and follow the guide and its fairly easy. You will only get **** ups if you rush it.

Amit

Cheers mate, useful info there :)

How do you attach the car to the door securely? I dont want to trust the poppers with the extra weight.

Cracking work.

nice step by step Amit.
Can you make sure you leave the pics up till this weekend at least as i want to print it off to give to someone and i need a new cartridge for the printer first and will not get time to get one till saturday.

thanks
geoff.

geoff.. I have no plans to remove the pics.

Matty.. the escort door cards are screwed in place.

if more strength is needed for fixing, drill through the pod and door card into the door skin.. and use paster board fixings to hold them in place.

Amit

Excellent! Seeing the pictures with the text really helps understanding the process of making these :) Thanks.

Nice work mate.

Are you running 3 ways in the cossie?

Am yeah 3 ways.

The 4" mid will go into custom pods at the top of the doors (see pic one for the outline) working on those atm.

Amit

has given me some really helpful ideas on how to build some door pods in my mk3 fiesta. and i've somehow got to incorporate the electric window switches into the build too. but shouldnt be too much of a problem. cheers am

Sweet..

Looking fwd to it!! hope its done for T10.

looking quite swish there Amit, i had 3-ways in a similar set up in my escort, didnt like the tweeters up at the top of the door though!!

tweeters will be in the a-pillars.

Amit

Nice work Amit, keep it going mate. :)

Shouldn't this be sticky in the FAQ section? really usefull info!