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Birch is 35-40pounds lighter a sheet than mdf, so you will save on gas money lol.

I didn't think it was that much difference in weight.... I thought it was about 10 lbs lighter per sheet?

no mdf for a 3/4" 4x8ft sheet is 89lbs ]

birch of same thickness 4x8ft sheet is 60

i just built a birch box yesterday and a 4 cube box came out to like 40something lbs..(even used double layer in a couple places)..

mmy box is birch also..i can for SURE tell a weight differance drivng around ( and save a couple mpg)

as opposed to the icons i had in mdf box im saving literally 4mpg

BIRCH FTW!!!!

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There are also 3 grades of mdf this is what NO ONE RELIZES

I talked to my local wood wooker about this now that I buy so much wood, we became freinds( hell I go in there almost everyday)

but he went on to tell me that the 3 kinds are superlight, light, and heavy... most places carry the middle, like home depot, lowes etc

this stuff sucks and its heavy, and the good dense stuff costs even more and is even heavier, comparing a full sheet of heavy mdf its easilly 40 lbs heavier per sheet, plus cost only a few dollars less

Birtch splinters on the edges if you blade isn't sharp, but making slow mulitple circles with the rounter should work fine

Birch all the way! Much lighter much stronger, and much easier to work with imo, never an issue with predrilling cuz it blew or puffed the sides of the mdf out, this rarely happens with birch

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Seems most people are hung up on the "birch is light" quandary. What about Trupan Ultralight MDF? A 4" x 8"only weighs around 60lbs, but it costs about twice that of regular MDF. If price wasn't an object I wonder what would be best. True 13 ply Baltic Birch or Trupan Ultralight MDF. Both are pretty pricey tbh.

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i got lucky with my last purchase they had a new cashier at home depot.. i had 4 sheets of birch and see only rang me up for 2 sheets..and i had glue and lquid nails like inbetween the sheets..she didnt even look

so i got 2 free sheets of birch a bottle of wood glue and 4 tubes of liquid nails

SCORE

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13 ply Baltic Birch is heavy, alittle lighter than MDF but nothing to write home about.

If you are building a big box 5x5 sheets are better than 4x8 MDF. I would have had to buy around 9 sheets of MDF but only had to buy 5 sheets of Baltic Birch.

a 60x60 sheets make for some useable area. I still spent over 300 on my box though just in wood.

Since my cut sheet required 60x28in panels I could get 2 per sheet, only one if I used 4x8 MDF. A huge factor if you ask me.

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I use both and don't see any diff in performance... birch is just lighter but cost a little more and can be ugly if your saw ain't sharp enough to cut it good :)

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WhenI first started using birch years ago I built two identical boxes, one from 13ply and one MDF. I used both with 12" Fi Q and DD 3512.....I couldn't tell a different between either. Neither could the two friends I had listen.

It's basically personal preference. IMO if MDF sounded the best it would be used across the board by all home audio/theater builders....it's not. Most use wood.

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I'm on the Birch side of this thread.

I've had shop owners comment on how little my suspension sags in the back even with 157,000mi and a full wall with 18s and I have to explain the birch is lighter than their MDF but just as strong and my Neo motors are a fraction of the weight of their woofers and much stronger. I'll never use MDF again unless I'm kerfing.

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uhoh_45 said:
dont be a pussy P give the jeep to drew
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