Collective Custom Boombox Project?

I have been wanting to create a custom (high quality) boombox using all (as much as possible) brand new off the shelf components. Brand new because there is an inherent issue with continuing availability of old parts for spares or replacement.

Anyhow, some parts of the project will require some professional services beyond my skills. These include someone with, or access to the following:

• Mechanical sheet metal fabrication (steel or preferably aluminum for appearance and weight reasons). This includes maybe precision brakes to bend the sheets.
• CNC cutting machines (lathe or plasma, but I'm thinking lathe for better appearance).
• Plastic supply and/or fabrication.
• Faceplate design and cutting for controls
• Art work for design with mind towards balancing cost, aesthetics (not just a rectangular box) and practical construction.
• Decorative parts design services for things such as speaker rings, tweeter louvers, fun badges, emblems, or other bling/bling.
• Silkscreening or transfer or painting services.
• Design/manufacture of suitable handle capable of lifting a large/heavy (maybe ~ 40+ pound) boombox.
• Materials scraps for little or no cost, or fresh materials cut to specifications for as cheap as possible. This includes plastics, metal mesh (speaker grills, amp vents, etc), sheet metal, aluminum panels, (c, u or l channels) for adding strength to panels and bolstering area around handle.
• Access to materials and/or ability to create precision cuts and wood fabrication with attractive and durable hardwood for trimwork. Aside from trim, the boombox will not use wood for any structural areas in the interest of weather durability and dimensional stability when exposed to elements.

I am happy to pay for these services to create my own boombox. HOWEVER, read on if this sounds interesting.

I am also interested in perhaps a collective effort in a Custom Boomboxery Boombox Project. This may be a limited run of perhaps 10 to 20 boomboxes. If you notice that the very first sentence of this thread says (high quality) boombox. This means no cardboard, no plywood construction, no square box stuffed with a car stereo and power supply. Nothing against those but that's not what this project is about. So what I had in mind, and this is just brainstorming right now, with changes not only possible, but likely as the project moves forward, if at all, is the following:

• It will be large. At least 30" to 40" in length, about 8 to 10 inches deep and could be 16 to 18 inches tall.
• Have new digital HD tuner with preferably a RDS display like you see on cars that displays station ID, current song or program info, and of course AM stereo and lots of cool additional stations.
• Have 1/8" auxillary jack in front for your personal MP3 device.
• Have rear RCA aux-ins, lots of them.
• Have front thumb drive socket for MP3 playback
• CD player, front loading using computer style 5.25" drives.
• Have internal blutooth
• Battery compartment lid, can use screws to attach panel. Batteries will take 10, 16 or 20 D cell batteries, user selectable.
• Internal power supply.
• Bass/treble/volume (optional balance) with loudness.
• Spectrum analyzer display (can turn on/off)
• VU meter bargraph.
• 2 or 3-way speakers, 8" to 10" woofers. Or maybe 4x 6.5 or 8" woofs, ala GF-777 style
• Subwoofer (if enough old kaboom woofers can be accumulated) or maybe passibe radiator design
• 2 or 4 or 6 amps, depending upon the layout of the speaker system that will be decided on.
• Perforated metal speaker grills, if someone has the skills to bend some to fit into the design.
• Maybe true leather clad trim?

Total run limited to 10 or 20 identical boomboxes. Each direct contributor is entitled to 1 boombox of the final product (If no objections, I get 2; one for myself and one to give to another member), as I will be doing a lot of if not most of the project management and assembly labor. There will be 2 classes of participants: #1 will be direct contributors. #2 will be members wanting one but unable to contribute in any other way. Class #1 will be responsible to pledge anywhere from $200 to $400 for acquisition of parts and which could be less or more depending upon ratio of #1 and #2 participants. All labor should either be donated to the project or costs of those services shall be approved in advance by the members in the project. Class#2 members should pledge $1,000 (just guessing, could change) to the project. You will get 1 boombox. The rest of your pledge is used to pay for materials and any services cost. Don't laugh.... look at the specs above and what is involved. If you read carefully, you'll see that this is a serious project and not a weekend slap together.

Lastly, as it's hard to separate people from their money, no matter how good the deal, the chances of getting such a project off the ground is not great. It's also hard for folks to be spectators as everyone wants to get involved. But too many chefs in the kitchen and, well, you know where I'm going with this. So this is either going to be a fun project or at worse, just a fun discussion. One thing is for sure, the collective effort project is a non-starter if I'm the only one, in which case, I'll just eventually build my own for my singular enjoyment. The reason is that while I have ideas and can accumulate the parts (just buying, how hard is that?), building the boombox cabinet that meets my satisfaction is beyond me as a diy'er since I know I do not want a square plywood box. So even if the collective project is a non-starter, I'm still looking for someone to build me a suitable cabinet. Anyone?

This sounds amazing, unfortunately I neither have the skills or money to contribute in anyway.....but I wish you the very best with this very difficult project and hope it pulls off for you Norm cos it sounds like the finished product would be both unique and amazing.

This will be an interesting topic. Obviously, if the whole thing is plastic, then sound quality will be compromised right from the start. If you were to make a solid timber internal frame that resides inside an outer plastic bling casing, you could have the best of both worlds. However, the weight penalty could be substantial.

Unless performance is elevated to the same level of importance as asthetics, then you'll be building a 'new edition' of an old, vintage sounding original.

James....

systemaddict said:

This sounds amazing, unfortunately I neither have the skills or money to contribute in anyway.....but I wish you the very best with this very difficult project and hope it pulls off for you Norm cos it sounds like the finished product would be both unique and amazing.

Click to expand...

For my own project, I already have plans on what to do, and have pretty much sourced the parts and modules I've decided to use. If I had a single case, I would already be building it. However, some other folks might have access to materials or skills and might want to be a part of this which is why I even just threw it out there. If it doesn't happen, that's OK, as my own project would still happen. But I just thought, wow, wouldn't it be fun if we can create a boomboxery created boombox that some lucky members might be fortunate enough to have an opportunity to own? I am not asking for money contributions. That is only for folks that thinks they will want one but won't be lifting a finger to help with the project. What will one get? Something far more desirable than any $1,000 M90. I've sold an M90 for $2650, another for $4400, and an M70 for around $800 I think, and an M9994 for around $650. I would take this one, completed, over any or even all of those collectively. And with a limited run of 10 or 20, how much would one of these go for on eBay with a properly created auction? But that's not what this is about. Hopefully anyone that ends up with one would cherish it forever since it is a one of a kind creation and the sentimental value alone has got to be priceless, if not many thousands of dollars. But again, so ar this is just brainstorming.

It's going to be a heavy boombox James, no matter what material used. Note the size, 30" to 40" long. But no wood unless trim. And there are all plastic boomboxes that sound fantastic so that's not really a concern. Not building a home stereo here, got those already and not trying to compete with that. Needs to be inert enough that being in a humid environment won't result in termites or wood expansion (or degrading to sawdust), etc. But really, it's just portable enough to carry from one place to another, not for walking around with. For that, we got mini's.

-I will help you cover any steel, aluminum, stainless.
-Cutting with a CNC plasma table (up to 1.5" thick mild steel) or our sheer (up to 1/4" thick mild steel) are the only 2 cutting options by machine.
-We have 4 different brake presses for bending any of the above materials (no flange less than 1/2").
-Welding steel and stainless available.
-I have an account with Fastenal, so if there are fasteners/threaded-retainers you need just make a list.
-Will also cover any powder coating that you might need under 18" in total length.
-Might have some mesh options here as well.
-I also have access to our full automotive line of paint if we decide to paint the cabinets.
-My brother is heavy into blown glass, so if you have a need for that let me know.
-I can probably do any woodworking trims/bits you need too.


Get me on the list.

Joe, can you do aluminum or thinner steel? The stuff you did for me last time were pretty thick and with a cabinet the size we are speaking of, that would be too heavy, almost like a mini gun safe, lol. Maybe we can source some alumunimum sheet?

Yes, I can get thinner materials. Thinner aluminum sheet will be really prone to denting if we don't get some relief bends into some of the larger flat areas. (think car door, has creases for strength)

Maybe some thin mild steel or stainless would be better? I know caution has gotten some nice thin material for making his C100 replacement trims. He might be able to help for that part of the finished product for precision bending of 1/8"-3/8" I believe the material I sent you was our 18ga galvanized steel (0.0515). Galvanized material cuts like crap on the plasma table.

It didn't look like galvanized, more like standard steel. There was a lot of slag and stuff. Not sure on a decorative part (like a faceplate with numerous switch and knob and tuner window holes, that it would look good. I suppose could be sanded and painted but a brushed aluminum finish would look so cool and high-end. If painted, plastic would work just as well but not sure what processing technique to use for cutting square holes in that.

As for aluminum sheet, it doesn't need to be super thin. Also, if the edges are rolled/bent, won't that add strength? In other words, can we roll and bend it so that it ends up into a rectangular housing missing only the front and rear plates?

i can make hardwood trims - like mahogany is both strong and light -
and it finishes with a very rich // elegant look
======================
also -- thinking of my sanyo 824 .. it has an analogue tuner with a digital traveling read-out bar -
can you source parts for that ??

These parts were 0.0515 galvanized steel.



This is the thinnest galvanized steel we have:




This is the thinnest stainless steel we have:





The problem with these thin materials is we can't weld them. I don't know anyone around that would weld anything this thin. I know exposed fasteners is not going to be an option, so what would be the plan for corners we can't form?

Very interesting Norm, I like this idea.

I have two hands...

Maybe I can aid in assembly?
Wiring internals based on your design?
Final fit and finish?

Tell me what you need.

Ira, that sounds good. But I thought you can't do precision woodwork with the equipment you have at your shop. Oh and sourcing parts for that analog/digital tuner combo. Let me think for a moment. No.

Chris, that sounds like it could be a plan. Can you do a bunch of them if Joe sends the cabinets to you? Assembly-line style? Also you can probably figure out the battery compartment lid. Thumbscrews are most convenient but they protrude and wonder if they will be problem area prone to snagging during portable transport. Maybe regular decorative screws are OK but then people tend to lose them.

Joe, those might work. If we bend the corners so that the last corner is at the bottom, we can secure with fasteners. Decorative fasteners on front might be OK. Just not the ugly fasteners and of course fastener spacing will need to be precisely located and some thought into strategic placement or it would look funky. Back fasteners might not be too much of an issue. How about a functional "chassis" with the sheet metal, then cosmetic panel on top (plastic), side panels of mahoghany (ala 7000, 7200) like Iras suggested, and front panel out of aluminum. (I know a place that can custom create aluminum equipment front plates with cutouts, etc for audio or test equipment, but they are pricey). Unless you can do it, that would be even better if we don't have to source, can cut down on cost.

I agree, any exposed fastener has to have a distinct spacing/pattern to avoid being an eyesore.

Aluminum would be sweet, because unlike steel, you can anodize aluminum. And anodizing looks way better than paint or powdercoat, IMHO.

But the main challenge I see with a project like this is the styling. There are so many variables in the style of a box. It wouldn't look good as a simple flat-sided box, so you have to decide what kind of angles and bevels to give to it. And it's best to consult a real designer for stuff like that.

Even if you styled it all by yourself, you still probably wouldn't like the end result very much, because you're not a trained artist or designer. It's the same thing with interior design.....You might look at an interior design catalog and say "that looks great, I want THAT stuff in my house!!!".........but you would never have been able to choose that combination of furnishings without help. That's what designers are for.

There's a guy on Stereo2go who has posted a couple dozen of his own mock-ups, including a 777 that I liked. You could see if he's willing to help. Another option is to just use an existing boombox as your starting point, make a 3D scan of it, and use that as your "base" to tweak. Like, say you like the Sharp 777, but wish it were longer, shorter, darker, different grills, or whatever....Use it as a starting point and then tweak it.

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If you use a central sub, give it a glow option, so it can pulsate with the beat. There's several modern boxes that do that --- Sony, Pyle, etc. You could crack one open to see how they do it, and maybe even harvest parts so you don't need to fabricate your own lighting.

A modern Big Ben would look cool, with a sub that glows red.

My preference is LED meters instead of needle ones. OR, if you're going to use needles, give it transparent ones that carry light, like the ones on the Toshiba WX1.

I don't have any stainless wire, but I'm pretty confident I can mig weld that thin. Problem is that thin will likely warp pretty easy if it's just mild steel.

Joe what is it you do again? Does your company have resources to obtain HSS or UHSS types of steel? (Ultra-High Strength, High Strength). I've mentioned it to others before, but this stuff is lighter and stronger.

I could always get a hold of body panels, but that wouldn't be cost-effective.

Sounds like a great project idea Norm. I'm sure I can't be much help, but if there is anything, I'd be glad to try.

Kingmfg.com
I am the senior engineering assistant. We design and fabricate a lot of structural steel and misc welding/fab/paint/design.