First posting and first thread on the site for me. I have however spent untold hours reading and educating myself here.
I needed a vent hood for my new studio but did not want a Barley Box with sides. After much debate about having one made and endless searches to find one, I came up with a plan and made one. It is not hung yet but I am very pleased with how easy and inexpensive it was. The finished size of my hood is 48"x24"x8" but they had different size ductwork to make up to a 48"x48" I think (2-24" halves put together). I used two 12"x48" to get my 24" depth. The process was extremely easy and I didn't even use the tin snips for what I have done so far, I will obviously have to use them to cut the opening for my 10" ducting. Pretty much it is just a hammer, drill, and rivet gun.
I used Menard's for my materials but they are not everywhere so I provided links to the same items at Home Depot.
Tools:
Hammer, tin snips, rivet gun, cordless drill, pliers, straight edge, sharpie, 2x4 scraps
Materials:
2-8"x12"x48" rectangular duct halves-
link
4-8"x12" end caps-
link
about 50 rivets
roll of aluminized tape or whatever its called
Step one:
Bend the end of the duct over to make it even with the sides. Mine was about 1/2" and was easy with pliers, hammer, and wood chunk. Do this for both ends of both pieces.
Step two:
Flatten out one edge on the short side of each end cap. This is where the two halves will overlap when assembled.
Step three:
Attach end caps by installing, drilling and riveting along the two sides. Do this for all 4 endcaps.
Step four:
On a level surface, slide both halves together forming the vent hood. Drill and rivet along the flange in the center and along the overlap in the end caps.
Step five:
Tape all seams with metal duct tape to make air tight.
Step six:
Cut duct hole with tin snips and adapt as needed for your size of ducting and fan setup. I am using 10" for mine and need to get a flange for it yet, that is why it is not cut yet.
Hope this helps to save a buck or two and shows that it is real easy to make a hood yourself.