Yet Another DIY Trap

[kraskland]

Hey everyone, I've been reading and lurking here for a while and thought I'd post some pics and details of traps I made for my first reflection point on the walls. The Rockwool I found is 50cm x 80cm and 6mm thick. I doubled up the thickness and height to get traps that are 100cm x 80cm and 12mm thick (~4-3/4").

I was a little concerned about the wood edges tearing the fabric, so I routed them to a round edge. The fabric was found at a local market. I'm not sure what kind it is, but it stretches a bit and I can blow through it and most importantly, I like the color.




I drilled a bunch of holes to increase surface area, and like others have said here, it is time consuming. The fabric was stapled as suggested, first the long sides keeping it taut, then the short sides. It went really well.



Before filling with Rockwool, I added feet so the traps sit off the wall 12cm. You can't see in the picture but there are little cotton pads to protect the wall.



I then stapled a piece of fabric on the back to keep the Rockwool in and make it look good. The only reason I used the same fabric on the back is that it was super inexpensive.



There are a couple eye hooks on the back with a wire ready to hang. I may end up making stands for them instead though. I'm not sure why the Rockwool is cut diagonally in half, but it will make superchunks pretty easy to make.

One thing I learned was to iron the fabric before stapling onto the wood. Also, I'd get a better bit for drilling the big holes. The one I had has 6 different interchangeable blades that lock into a plate for the different size holes. That might be good for a couple holes, but for a bunch it was a real pain. It was hard to remove the wood from the blade without the whole thing falling apart. One thing that made it a little easier was to drill about 3/4 of the way through the wood then turn it over and do the rest. That was the wood plug isn't stuffed all the way into the bit and is easier to remove.



This site rocks and I want to thank Ethan, Glenn, Frank and everyone else for all the advice and awesome articles I've been reading the last couple of months. Also, a big up to everyone that has posted their trap construction and pictures. That's probably my favorite part of this place.

Now, on to the corners of the room.

[kraskland]

So I finished one of the corner traps, and it was a lot more work. This one is 100cm (40") wide and 240cm (94") tall. The insulation is the same as the other traps. I did the outside frame first, but found that the sides bowed out quite a bit, so I had to install the cross bars. Six on the front and three on the back. This also helped keep the insulation in place and keep the frame in square a little better.



Wrapping the fabric was time consuming and I had some problems on the corners. Through trial and error I've learned that the corners are much easier if you keep the extra fabric to a minimum. In this photo you can see a corner that I had to fix.



Here's the trap next to one of the other ones I did. I still have to place the speakers and desk. As you can see, the trap straddles part of a door and window. Not the best situation, but it's the only place to put the speakers. The other speaker corner is also messed up but in a different way. If anyone has any advice or suggestions on this I'd love to hear. I hope the photos and explanations help anyone else making their own traps.

[inlinenl]

very nice color indeed .. nice build !!!

[Glenn Kuras]

Great job!!

[blim]

Very nicely done.

[kraskland]

Thanks guys! Already I can hear a big difference, my old mixes are really messed up.

Next on the list are superchunk style traps for the corners and something for the back wall and door behind me. Not sure how I'm going to do that one though.

[Glenn Kuras]

Next on the list are superchunk style traps for the corners and something for the back wall and door behind me

You can always hang a panel on the door OR build a stand for them. That way you can us it for other things when recording. thumbsup

[kraskland]

A stand is a good idea. I'm not sure how much weight the door will hold. Maybe put wheels on it to make it more portable.

[AnthonySpinali]

Originally Posted by kraskland

I drilled a bunch of holes to increase surface area, and like others have said here, it is time consuming.

Just some advice:

When using a "Hole Saw" (a drill bit through a circular saw made for drilling out holes in doors and similar slabs of wood) the "plug" will get stuck in the "saw" almost every time. He's right; drill 3/4 of the way through the wood and then flip it over to make the "plug" easier to remove. If this doesn't work keep some 3" screws handy. You simply drive the screw into the plug until it hits the metal back of the "saw" then the plug will move forward on the screw and pull out of the saw (you may have to use 2 screws one on each side). If the plug is too long for the screw you can use a wood chisel to break it down.

But there is a better way!

It's more expensive but at most hardware stores you can buy a "Forstner" bit (I may be spelling that wrong.) It works more like a paddle bit and shaves the wood instead of cutting a plug out of the wood. They come in all the sizes of a traditional hole saw. I tend to think that they create a cleaner hole. It is very messy. But you will have tons of wood shavings for your hamster cage!

hope this helps!

Anthony

[kraskland]

Ok, so I just finished a back wall trap. As Glenn suggested, I put it on wheels. It's 240cm high x 120cm wide, almost floor to ceiling. I used 115Kg/m3 density Rockwool at 15cm (~6") thick. Rather than drilling holes in the sides I used a router as I've seen others do here. It was much easier and quicker. One thing I messed up on was the wheels. I spaced the back wheels so that the trap would be 15cm off the back wall. As you can see in the pic, the front ones were placed right on the front trap edge. I quickly learned the trap will tip over (duh)! So those were redone to be the same, front and back.


I also got higher density Rockwool part way through the project, which was a different size, so I added the vertical wood pieces to hold it in. Also, the new Rockwool was much heavier (115Kg v. 40Kg), so I had to brace the back a bit more than I planned on.

This thing is heavy! If I was living in earthquake country I'd definitely attach it to the wall/ceiling somehow. If I were to do it again, I'd make it shorter, just enough to cover the door, then add another permanent trap in the corner between the wall above the door and ceiling.

No REW tests have been made yet, but I can hear a large difference in the room. Bass is way tighter and after playing sine waves at different frequencies I can tell many of the nulls are greatly reduced.

[Glenn Kuras]

You really did a great job on these...

[kraskland]

Thanks Glenn, it's really nice to hear that from the professionals!

[Weasel9992]

Love the casters...great idea.

Frank