Pod Speakers
If you want to feature larger speakers in your door, you will have to extend its depth with door panel pod speakers.
To construct a pod you will need:
- Poster Board
- Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF)
- Masonite
- Sandpaper
- Grille Cloth
- Vinyl
- Velcro
- Cordless Drill
- Window Crank/Pin Removal Tool
- Hook Tool
- Jigsaw
- Scalpel
- Magic Marker
- Pencil
- Tape Measure
- Scissors
- File
- Hot Gun
- Staple Gun
- Staples
Step 1: Measure the depth of the speaker. If the depth is 4-inches, you will probably need to add 2-inches to 3-inches to the depth of the door panel.
Step 2: Commonly, at the bottom of car doors there is a map pocket. Cut the pocket off the door.
Step 3: Measure the door and the speaker then, using the measurements, create two templates out of poster board.
Step 4: Trace the inner and outer circumference of the speaker on to the area of the first template where you want the speaker to be located. Cut out the hole.
Step 5: Tape the two templates together and place them on the door panel.
Step 6: Remove all the parts from the door panel and then remove the door panel.
Step 7: Trace the outlines of each template separately on to a sheet of MDF and cut out the patterns.
Step 8: Place the speaker on to the smaller board with the cone on the wood and trace the outline of the inner and outer circumference of the speaker on to the MDF. Cut out the hole using the inner circumference as the guide.
Step 9: Align the two boards and assemble them together with screws. Don’t sink the screws all the way into the wood.
Step 10: Place the assembly on to the door panel and finish sinking the screws into the wood and the door panel.
Step 11: Cut the door panel where the pod will be mounted using the pod as a guide.
Step 12: Sand the pod to round off its corners and give it a rounding slope. Drop the speaker into the hole to check fit. Use a file to finish off the edge of the hole and sand the top of the pod near the hole until the speaker fits properly.
Step 13: Trace the outline of the speaker location on the second template to a sheet of masonite. Use an unbit drill to cut 10 to 20 holes into the masonite within the circle. Buff away the excess masonite with a sander. Sand around the edges of the speaker hole. Spray glue on the masonite and wrap it with black grille cloth.
Step 14: Cut out a 1/4-inch piece of foam padding, spray glue on the pod and wrap the padding loosely around the front of the pod.
Step 15: Cut out some vinyl, spray glue on the padding and the pod and wrap the vinyl tightly around the pod as you heat it with a hot gun. Staple the vinyl to the back end of the pod and trim off any extra vinyl.
Step 16: Make cuts that radiate from a center point over the speaker hole. Push the speaker into the hole and secure it with screws.
Step 17: Mount the pod to the door panel. Secure the masonite over the speaker with velcro.
Step 18: Attach the speaker wires and mount the panel on the door.
Use this step-by-step guide if you want to incoporate pod speakers into your door panel. It may seem very thorough, but this breakdown should make the process easier for you.
