XB_BOB

i'm experimenting with a custom enclosure design/ sub box to keep my school books in but plywood just doesn't cut it. Where can i find MDF aside from cutting up my cheap bookstand?

thanks

leov36

Home Depot, Lowes

mark

I recommend using 3/4 inch plywood over MDF. If MDF ever gets wet, all those stamped shavings start to separate. You can get different qualities of plywood too, from furniture grade to knotty junk, so buy a 4 x 8 sheet that has at least one side all smooth.

XB_BOB

no kidding home depot told me on the phone they dont carry it

sexyscionlover

No i dont recommend plywood and I dont think thats what anyone hear will recommend. My last box ( I didnt make it) was that 3/4 plywood, and it was cracking, rotting, and letting the box fall apart after each hit of the sub.

It was ridicuous. MDF is stronger (im told so at least since its medium density fiberboard) and i know its holding up a hell of a lot better than any plywood box will. Thats my story with it. I dont know what grade it was, but I will never make a box out of plywood after seeing what happened to mine. Maybe the different grades hold to better differently. I just wouldnt want to mess with it.

scott

sexyscionlover

Menards (im not sure if theyre local or national) for sure carries it. Thats where i got mine from.

scott

squirrel

Home Depot has MDF, either by the sheet, or can be found in the shelving section. It does not come apart, you are thinking of partical board that is not as dense.

violent_b

Home Depot and Lowes should have it in a 4x8 sheet. will run you about $25-30 a sheet for 3/4". MDF is WAY better than plywood. it is more dense and that is what you want. if you must get plywood get marine grade plywood, it should set you back about $45-50 a sheet.

tanakasan

If its small pieces you need, I found 12" x 36" x 3/4" mdf shelves at Home Depot for my speaker spacers. And only $1.99 each!

The help there told me there were no small pieces...1/4 sheet, 1/2 sheet, etc and that I could buy a full 4 x 8 sheet only. No Thanks!

As stated above, don't confuse MDF with particle board. MDF is real dense, like its made from pressed finely processed wood. Particle board is crumbly, like its made from wood chips.

ctruss

MDF can come apart if it gets wet but only if the edges get wet. The faces of the boards are treated to repel water.

Spr0ket

Use some resin to seal up the edges. When I build marine boxes I still use MDF but seal it up inside and out with resin (same stuff to harden fiberglass). If you do that you can throw the box in a lake and watch it float for weeks and turn around and use it in the xb without any concerns. The resin also helps strengthen the box so the elephant test is easy to pass.

mark

Never tried Resin, but I use Liquid Nails, and it holds forever. My ported box is tuned to 28 Hertz and I have never had a problem after 6 years of use.

Spr0ket

Wow, you are using liquid nails and haven't had a problem after six years? I do think that's a new record. Liquid Nails always broke appart on me so I stuck with the more conventional wood glue and screws approach. MDF is still the best you can get for speaker boxes.

mfenske

When using MDF be sure to drill a pilot hole before putting screws in or it will crack. Also, if you are insistent on using plywood please use baltic birch. From what I've heard it has a similar density to MDF and is lighter, but pricey. Mark

mattssi

Why would I want to put my MDF box in water? MDF is the way to to. liquid nails + screws.

SCI_TC_GUY

Agreed on the drilling of pilot holes.... the last box I made I used HDF...heavy ____e.... Never use plywood or chipboard(particle board)...

mark

My 6 year old sub is built with 3/4 inch baltic birch plywood, 3 1/4 inch deck screws and Liquid Nails. The port is a piece of PVC. I have had no comlaints from anyone. It was originally made for a Prelude, but it sounds to good to toss, just to have something new yet. I have thought about getting 2 Alpine tens and making a solobaric box tho. That would really kick!

SCI_TC_GUY

solobaric?? do you mean isobarik? I'll have to look that one up

mfenske

Isobarik? Uh oh! Looks like a fellow oldschooler. I remember how iso-loaded enclosures were the rage in the mid-nineties. Mark