Will 3/4" oak work well for an enclosure?

[Inertia]

My friend has a bunch of 3/4" oak I believe.... thats what he said it was anyway.... will this stuff work good for an enclosure?

 

[lsiberian]

My friend has a bunch of 3/4" oak I believe.... thats what he said it was anyway.... will this stuff work good for an enclosure?

If it's ply it may work well. If not then no way jose!

 

[highfigh]

Solid wood looks nice but isn't very stable across the width and thickness. If you want to use it and have a band saw or know someone who does, you could resaw it and glue that onto MDF or plywood. If you want to make it look like a particular style of furniture, like Arts & Crafts/Mission or something, it would be pretty easy. You could even dovetail the corners.

 

[lsiberian]

Solid wood looks nice but isn't very stable across the width and thickness. If you want to use it and have a band saw or know someone who does, you could resaw it and glue that onto MDF or plywood. If you want to make it look like a particular style of furniture, like Arts & Crafts/Mission or something, it would be pretty easy. You could even dovetail the corners.

It also could be used for a nice shelf to put in between stereo Kappas. Would make them less of a sore thumb.

 

[Mike82]

So hardwood is not a good choice for making speaker cabinets with I would of thought opposite. Considering there would be less give to it.

 

[lsiberian]

So hardwood is not a good choice for making speaker cabinets with I would of thought opposite. Considering there would be less give to it.

Birch Ply is your best bet. That's what the pro audio speakers are made out of.

 

[lsiberian]

So hardwood is not a good choice for making speaker cabinets with I would of thought opposite. Considering there would be less give to it.

Resonance is also an issue. It is possible to make a hardwood speaker. If you dampen it with 8lb rockwool and make it a sealed design.

 

[Mike82]

Birch Ply is your best bet. That's what the pro audio speakers are made out of.

Why would birch ply (veneer) be any different than oak ply (veneer). I guess I do not follow the logic behind this. Also what makes MDF sound better.

 

[lsiberian]

Why would birch ply (veneer) be any different than oak ply (veneer). I guess I do not follow the logic behind this. Also what makes MDF sound better.

Oak Ply would probably be just fine.

But I think it's more expensive than birch. And isn't it harder to work with.

MDF doesn't really sound better than ply, but it is cheaper and easier to machine, paint, and more common.

Ply takes more work, but is very durable and more stiff.

I'm not familiar with the properties of Oak Ply, but if that's the material you have available I'm sure it would be fine with proper treatment of the box.

Solid wood would not be good because it resonates. Resonance is a concern with any speaker design. In a perfect world one would treat the cabinet with 8lb rock wool and use drivers capable of extending low in such an environment, but we don't live there. So you must live with what you have.

I suggest you use MDF unless you are good at wood working. Birch Ply can take some tricks to use. Such as taping the cut line. Moving quickly through the cut. Using a Good blade.

 

[Mike82]

Oak Ply would probably be just fine.

But I think it's more expensive than birch. And isn't it harder to work with.

MDF doesn't really sound better than ply, but it is cheaper and easier to machine, paint, and more common.

Ply takes more work, but is very durable and more stiff.

I'm not familiar with the properties of Oak Ply, but if that's the material you have available I'm sure it would be fine with proper treatment of the box.

Solid wood would not be good because it resonates. Resonance is a concern with any speaker design. In a perfect world one would treat the cabinet with 8lb rock wool and use drivers capable of extending low in such an environment, but we don't live there. So you must live with what you have.

I suggest you use MDF unless you are good at wood working. Birch Ply can take some tricks to use. Such as taping the cut line. Moving quickly through the cut. Using a Good blade.

What do people use to cover the MDF with once they get the cabinet done. Considering MDF is pretty ugly besides paint. Also you refer to Resonance could you explain what that means or what it does to sound.

 

[Djizasse]

Humidity and temperature will make solid wood shrink and expand. Not good when you want exact dimensions. It's density can also change along a board, once again, not good if you want the same acoustic properties.

 

[highfigh]

Birch Ply is your best bet. That's what the pro audio speakers are made out of.

Pro audio speakers are made of Birch ply because it's lighter, not because it's better. Remember, trucking a concert's worth of equipment costs a lot of money and if the speakers were made of MDF, it would probably double it. Also, an MDF speaker that falls from any height is more likely to break. Any material that's stiff enough will work but MDF is a lot cheaper, so it's used in most finished speaker cabinets.

 

[sawzalot]

The Birch ply offers one more option for finish than mdf you could always just stain the birch you cant just open up a can of minwax and hit your mdf

 

[lsiberian]

What do people use to cover the MDF with once they get the cabinet done. Considering MDF is pretty ugly besides paint. Also you refer to Resonance could you explain what that means or what it does to sound.

From my understand MDF is really easy to paint. I could be wrong about this, but the primary wood worker in my family says that it holds paint really well.

You could also veneer it. But honestly I don't MDF is that ugly. It may not be birch, but a bad piece of birch would look worse than mdf.

 

[lsiberian]

Pro audio speakers are made of Birch ply because it's lighter, not because it's better. Remember, trucking a concert's worth of equipment costs a lot of money and if the speakers were made of MDF, it would probably double it. Also, an MDF speaker that falls from any height is more likely to break. Any material that's stiff enough will work but MDF is a lot cheaper, so it's used in most finished speaker cabinets.

That is a good reason for using birch and I think adds another reason to use it for subwoofers. Any sizeable enclosure will be to heavy with MDF IMO. Birch makes it lighter and more rigid. 8lb rock wool can be used to help with resonance issues.

I also think Birch is less messy to machine. But I haven't really worked with MDF so i'm not really one to say one way or the other. I will probably build most of my speakers out of Birch, because it's lighter, I can simply finish it, and it's more rigid and durable. I just don't want to drop my speaker and have the enclosure that took me weeks to finish break on me.

 

[jonnythan]

From my understand MDF is really easy to paint. I could be wrong about this, but the primary wood worker in my family says that it holds paint really well.

You could also veneer it. But honestly I don't MDF is that ugly. It may not be birch, but a bad piece of birch would look worse than mdf.

MDF is easy to paint, but time consuming. The stuff drinks paint. It takes a lot of coats for it to look nice.

 

[jonnythan]

I just don't want to drop my speaker and have the enclosure that took me weeks to finish break on me.

You know, there's an easy solution to that..

 

[highfigh]

The Birch ply offers one more option for finish than mdf you could always just stain the birch you cant just open up a can of minwax and hit your mdf

You can, but it looks like crap that way. Actually, if the joints are perfect, with no glue or fasteners showing, it doesn't look that bad, in an industrial way.

MDF needs to be well sealed to keep the paint from soaking into the edges more than the smooth surfaces. Since most cabinets built by weekend warriors will have some divots, nail/screw holes and little/not so little gaps, Bondo is about the best filler to use. Lay it on thin, sand it smooth and repeat, as necessary, to get the smoothest cabinet possible. A filling primer should follow, with more leveling and dust removal. Once it's as smooth as possible, any kind of paint can follow. I just painted one with Krylon Indoor/Outdoor Satin Black. I wasn't going for perfection and I did it with the garage door open, which sucked since the wind kicked up just as I finished the second coat. If I feel like it, I may sand it again and go for perfect but it's only a test box and when I get to the point that I need to paint a lot more at one time, it won't be from a can.

More and more often, new and remodeled homes are being trimmed with MDF molding and casework because it is so smooth and stable. Other than the dust and glue being an irritant, it's very easy to work, but at 105#/sheet, it's best to have a helper if full sheets are moved.

 

[highfigh]

You know, there's an easy solution to that..

You talking about Sky Hooks or Flubber?

 

[highfigh]

That is a good reason for using birch and I think adds another reason to use it for subwoofers. Any sizeable enclosure will be to heavy with MDF IMO. Birch makes it lighter and more rigid. 8lb rock wool can be used to help with resonance issues.

I also think Birch is less messy to machine. But I haven't really worked with MDF so i'm not really one to say one way or the other. I will probably build most of my speakers out of Birch, because it's lighter, I can simply finish it, and it's more rigid and durable. I just don't want to drop my speaker and have the enclosure that took me weeks to finish break on me.

The thing about light weight materials and deep bass is that the whole "For every action, there's an equal, and opposite reaction" thing. A light material will allow the cabinet to vibrate where it's sitting and if it's made to be as heavy and dense as possible, the cabinet will be more inert. If a weight is added to the finished cabinet, it should accomplish the same thing. Granite or solid surface material should work, it would look good and it can double as a table or plant stand.

How do you conceal the joints and corners? Plywood isn't exactly the best looking material from the edge, IMO.

Besides, if it's heavy, a second person isn't usually that hard to find and hand trucks are pretty cheap these days. I really don't see that as a problem.