posted
So if i use plywood insted of say mdf whats the diffrence gonna be and is a box made of plywood any good at all? Id like to see a few comments as i have some half and quater inch plywood avalible.
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posted
The only ply I ever used was 6 ply plywood. If you can find MDF use it, if not plywood will do fine, just be sure to brace it good
-------------------- Scott Van Riper Team Its Real http://www.kinetikpower.com http://www.180db.com 04' DB Drag finals Ex 3-4 169.2 3rd place 04' MECA World Finals 2nd place X2 170.9 04' IDBL World Finals 1st place Ultimate 3 173.4 05' DB Drag Finals ex 1 4th place 06' DB Drag Finals ex 2 2nd place 07' DB Drag Finals ex 2 3rd place 08' DB Drag Finals ex 2 3rd place (loudest losing score 177.3 db lol) Posts: 7916 | From: Morgantown WV | Registered: Apr 2001
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quote:Originally posted by joebob: So if i use plywood insted of say mdf whats the diffrence gonna be and is a box made of plywood any good at all?
Hardwood plywood > MDF > softwood plywood
Basically use birch, oak, and I think maple too. Do NOT use pine. Pine is sold under different grades. For example don't buy anything that says AC, BC, or CDX.
posted
wont plywood flex if you use for an spl box? sorry ... im a noob... and wont it be harder to do the bracings since plywoods are easier to split from my experience... (sry if sound like a doofus...)
Posts: 8 | From: Malaysia | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I'd just use MDF, it's pretty cheap at home depot...like 13 bucks for a 4'x8' sheet of 3/4" MDF. I used bassbox pro and and liquid nails with a sheet of 3/4" MDF and customized a box for a ****ty MTX and amazingly it came out really good. Sounds amazing compared to your average box...it even made an MTX sound good.
-------------------- The Subtleties That Make Mass Murderers Out Of Otherwise Decent Human Beings Posts: 4 | From: Washington | Registered: Feb 2005
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posted
I use mdf, but not because it is "strong" (which it isn't stronger than most equivalent plywood) or stiff (it isn't stiffer than most hardwood period)
MDF has several advantage:
It is homogenous (the same all the way through) Plywood sometimes has voids or thin spots, and these actually can buzz and make other untoward noises.
It is a less waste product. MDF factories take in waste from other factories, put them through reusable chemical baths and flakers, then compress and flash them, making MDF. scraps are used to power the flashers. an MDF factory recycles and makes very little waste of its own
It is easily cut. Granted, it is hard on blades, but that is mostly a chemical phenomenon and user error. The glue in MDF has a tendency to wick carbide molecules off the blade teeth, dulling them, but blunt tooth forms like triple chip grinds tend to keep their edge for a long time. 2nd, heat kills carbide tools, and I have yet to see more than maybe 2 or 3 people of all the installers OR carpenters I've ever seen, cut MDF at the right feed rate (which is faster than you'd think!, but please don't go out and lose your fingers if you're not confident of your abilities.. better a few burnt blades than a hurt person.) I've been cutting mdf for speaker boxes for many years (about 3 on this blade and saw,) on the same tablesaw, with the same blade (an 80T TCG Freud) and its still about as sharp as when i got it. But when you cut it right, you get a basically splinter free, flat, glueable edge, right off the original tooling, with little need for sanding, scraping.
It takes chemicals consistently, like a sponge. Polyurethane, resin, primer, lacquer, shellac, varnish, water base: MDF soaks them all up very nicely, and consistently, over the whole surface. a few coats of polyurethane inside a box and a couple resin on the outside leads to a stiff, roughly leak free, primeable and paintable box. plywood is made of wood fletches right off the tree, and varying grain means varying degrees of "take" for applied chemicals.
ShadowStar
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It's all about knowledge, love and respect. Posts: 2578 | From: Somewhere In the Northeast | Registered: May 1999
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posted
I have a table saw but don't like to use it, My favorite tool is a jigsaw, I can cut pretty straight with it too! I have use industrial partical board for year but 6 mo ago I gave mdf a try and i'm still using it-I like it.
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