Sit on the Vibrabench to hear and feel the sound.

To create the VibraBench you will need the following (plus a pencil, tape measure, saw, drill, hammer and screwdriver):

  • xxm x xxmm Plywood
  • xxm 2” square battening
  • Clear wood varnish (aerosol spray or liquid)
  • Legs, preferably metal – you will need one set of legs at each end, plus one leg centred at the back for stability
  • Assorted screws
  • Cable clips
  • 4 x 25w transducers
  • Double-stranded speaker cable
  • Electric tape
  • Sandpaper
  • Cable tidy coil
  • Mini-amplifier
  • Jack to mini-jack audio cable for connecting a sound source

Instructions

  1.  Measure the plywood and cut off the top xxcm – this will form the backrest, and the larger piece of wood will form the seat.
    NB: Determine which side of the wood will face outwards, and remember to draw the cutting line and make any other marks on the underneath side.
  2.  Cut three xxcm lengths of battening and screw these to the front, back and middle of the underneath of the seat, running parallel with its length.
    NB: Drill and screw through the top of the seat into the battening.
  3.  Cut two xxcm pieces of battening, and fix these across the existing battening at each side of the underneath of the bench, leaving a short distance from each end to maximise the strength, and screwing through from underneath this time. The legs will later be fitted to these battens.
  4.  Cut one xxcm piece of battening, and screw this onto the existing battening at the back of the bench, screwing through from underneath again, and centring it. The stabilising leg will later be fitted to this batten.
  5.  Cut a further xxcm length of battening and screw this across the top of the bench, leaving a gap of xxcm between the battening and the back edge of the seat. The backrest will later be screwed to the front of this batten.
  6. Sandpaper the wood and varnish it, including the wood for the backrest.
    NB: Sandpaper until all sharp edges are removed, and use at least two coats of varnish to prevent further splitting, rubbing down between coats to get rid of any rough edges. If you want to decorate the bench, do this before varnishing for the best results.
  7.  Crimp a cable to each transducer, making sure you know which strand is the positive and which is the negative (one strand will be marked). The cable length will depend on whether you wish to fix the mini-amplifier underneath the bench, or place it at a distance.
    NB: See YouTube for crimping advice as necessary.
  8.  Finish the crimp with electrical tape for extra security.
  9. Using very shallow screws, fix each transducer underneath the bench. Imagine that the bench is divided into thirds: the transducers will sit on the dividing lines, one centred each side of the middle batten.
  10. Use the cable clips to secure the cables along the length of the centre batten until they reach the end.
  11.  If the amplifier is being placed away from the bench, use the cable tidy coil to bring the cables together. You need to keep the cables from the right and left sides of the bench separate from each other.
  12.  Screw the legs on including the stabilising leg.
  13.  Screw the backrest to the batten, drilling and screwing through from the front.
  14. Connect the mini-amplifier, doubling up the cables so that the two transducers on the right of the bench are fitted to the right output and the two transducers on the left of the bench are fitted to the left output.
  15.  Connect the audio cable ready to plug into a phone or other sound source.
  16.  Switch on the sound to test the bench – begin with the volume on its lowest setting and turn up slowly.