The Hushbox

I got some measurements of the projector, and then added in fudge factor for the expected thickness of insulation and room for wires. Andy sketched it up and we got to work.







The material list was:

• 2x4 sheet of 3/4" oak plywood (top and bottom)
• 2x4 sheet of oak panelling (sides)
• Some 3" PVC
• Two water closet flange mounts
• Various hardware bits and supplies

Tools used:

• Router- to give that finished look to the edges- and cut a groove for the front glass. It was also used to free-hand the circle on the top of the box.
• Table saw- cut all the large pieces.. actually all the pieces- there really weren't that many
• Glass cutter
• Hole saw bits
  
• Drill- for cutting the smaller holes, and driving the screws
  
  

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We cut the boards to our dimensions, and then added internal bracing. The vertical supports were glued and screwed, but much of the vertical support came from the sides being attached to top and bottom.

One flange was mounted on top of the box, and the other on a board in the ceiling. The tube could pass through the flange on the top side so that the depth could be set later.

The flange mounted on the box was glued to the pipe. The box could be aimed by loosening the flange bolts and rotating the box, and the height set by the upper flange. This design allowed the entire assembly to be removed, or the box could be unbolted from the flange.

One side of the box is attached by velco- the entire panel removes, giving access to the cables, and is how the projector would be removed.

I got a piece of glass from Lowe's, and a glass cutter. That thing is cool- Andy had done it before, so he cut the glass to our dimension.

Next step will be to insulate the interior of the box.

Actually- after having tested it, we need to get some kind of forced ventilation. The idea was that we had several holes drilled under the air intakes for the projector. The 3" tube would be the hot air chimney, the support for the box and the conduit for the wire. Convection wasn't good enough and the box really heated up when it was buttoned up. One thing is that the optics had the proper vent, but the motor for the electics did not have a vent, so I think it is also a case of not enough intake. Brian is helping with some ideas for that- I'm leaning towards a bathroom fan at the top of the chimney, which would put it outside the room and keep it quiet.

Here's another design for a ceiling-mounted box.

Projector mount in the toilet?

Eh? Well, in a way. I've given up on the motorized mount because it would be a whole lotta trouble for just moving it twenty inches. If I were to really do it right, it would disappear into the ceiling. Since I don't feel like cutting the rafters to have the box go up, it will remain fixed. So, I'm tossing it...

So, how to fix it? Right now, the projector is mounted to a metal place and is suspended on a piece of iron pipe. This works, but there are lots of cables hanging down. The projector can make a bit of noise- so I want to build a 'hush box'. This would be a wooden box with a glass front and some speaker-type sound absorbing material. But, it'll need to be vented, as the projector blows a lot of air around (hence, the noise).

I've been consulting with Andy, and our plan is to build a wooden box with oak plyboard (3/4") top and bottom, with thin oak paneling on the sides. One side would be made to be removable (same side as the cables plug into the projector). Also, there would be a vent cut into the bottom for an air intake- and an exhaust on the top.

To be especially clever, we're going to combine these elements- the support rod, the exhaust and the cable run.

I've got a 'water closet' flange- these things have a grooved portion that can be used to lock a device against it. We looked and looked for the other 'device' so that one end could be mounted to the box, and the other could be on our tube. Well, it turns out that the device that mounts to the flange is a toilet. Yes, there are quick-release grooves for toilets- and they don't exist off of toilets.

Oh well, what we ended up doing is using bolts to attach the flange to the hushbox, and the same thing on the other side. We also glued the tube into the flange on the box, and put a cotter pin on the ceiling side so the tube could be lowered out of the ceiling. Photos to come.