What wood to buy? So many different types and sizes and thickness

[moh.vze.com]

There are all of these tutorial videos on YouTube about how to use different tools to make different cuts on wood and build a subwoofer box and making fiberglass / custom doors speaker pods but nothing really covers on how to choose wood at Home Depot for these projects.

When I walk into Home Depot in the Lumber section, I get overwhelmed seeing so many different types of sizes and wood... I've bought all the tools I need to cut wood but I don't know where to begin when it comes to buying wood.

My first project will be attaching a piece of wood at the bottom of my doors so I can try and attach one of my eBay ABS speaker pods to it. I was watching this YouTube video below and the piece of wood he's using seems to be decent for a door Panel but how do I buy one similar at Home Depot?

Can somebody go to the Home Depot website and help me make a selection on what to buy?

https://www.homedepot.com/b/Lumber-Composites-Plywood/N-5yc1vZbqm7

I don't have a truck so I'll be borrowing a 2006 Chrysler Town & Country without the rear and middle seats to get the wood home.

 

 

[Triticum Agricolam]

There are a lot of good choices for box building materials.  As long as you use something reasonably appropriate, the design of your box and your ability to construct the box well are going to have MUCH more impact on how the box performs that what material you choose will. So don't sweat what material to pick. 

I've built boxes out of MDF, baltic birch, china birch, and pine plywood ( both south american and chinese).  They all have their advantages and disadvantages, but in the end they all can make for a good box.  I prefer plywood over MDF because its less dusty, holds screws better, and is lighter,  though MDF works fine too.  If this is your first box I'd probably recommend MDF because its cheap and due to its homogenous nature it's easier and more predictable to work with. 

[hdorre]

Triticum literally said everything that I was thinking when I read the title. Nice haha.

What I will add though is that if I am at Home Depot, I use pine. If Im at a lumber yard, I use baltic birch.

[s5300]

I think you can't go wrong with Baltic birch. MDF can get really nasty and you should really always be wearing a respirator with it. Not that you shouldn't wear a respirator when routing any wood... I just think baltic chips more than just becoming a fine ass dust like MDF. As Triticum said, Ply will hold fasteners better as well and be more forgiving to hole-making. 

[Triticum Agricolam]

One more suggestion for you, when you buy your wood just go ahead and buy one more sheet than you will need.  We all make mistakes (I certainly still do) and where people really end up going wrong is when they try to salvage a piece of wood when they really should just write it off and cut another. Usually this happens when they don't have enough material to cut another piece.   Your time is worth too much to fret over a $5 piece of wood.   If you already have another sheet you can just cut another piece and move on with things. 

[moh.vze.com]

Thanks for all of the advice everyone. I am more confident in walking into the Lumber section of Home Depot to buy my wood now. For my first project I will keep it simple and just cut some small pieces for my door speaker pods.

I know for building subwoofer boxes people get 3/4" thickness but what would you guys recommend for my doors? I'm just slapping on a plastic door pod onto the wood so would 3/4" be overkill? I've also been told it's safer for beginners to work with 3/4" wood rather than something thin.

[ckeeler11]

1/2" should be plenty thick for door pods.