So Plywood Is Bad

[korey_hofer]

not trying to step on any ones toes but...

who ever is defending mdf over plywood is 100% wrong. plywood is lighter,stronger, holds screws better, is like 8 times as stiff, more resistant to water,and is more dead(sounds better).

Only down side is that it is more expensive. I will never use mdf again if I get to choose.

[Eric B]

not trying to step on any ones toes but...

who ever is defending mdf over plywood is 100% wrong. plywood is lighter,stronger, holds screws better, is like 8 times as stiff, more resistant to water,and is more dead(sounds better).

Only down side is that it is more expensive. I will never use mdf again if I get to choose.

now ur right to a point.. mdf does have its pros.. it is more dense and smooth so inside the box the sound will travel faster.. now all u got to do to plywood to get to that level is glass the inside

[korey_hofer]

I say you have to glass both to get decent performance out of them

mdf "leaks" pressure worse than plywood

basically just look at all the high end home theater systems they all use plywood in their 1000 dollar systems

[zfrerichs]

the reason most people use mdf is cost mdf is way cheaper than birch

if you shop around birch isnt that expensive almost the same as mdf so its not too bad

[Jville140db]

I say you have to glass both to get decent performance out of them

mdf "leaks" pressure worse than plywood

basically just look at all the high end home theater systems they all use plywood in their 1000 dollar systems

you would be quite wrong mdf is in all the high end home theater speakers they use a wood veneer to seal the mdf so it will hold air better.

one trick most of you that use mdf could use is to seal all the mating joints with liquid nail and then lay dynamat or equivalent on interior surfaces of the box to seal them less flex and more durability.

[zfrerichs]

you would be quite wrong mdf is in all the high end home theater speakers they use a wood veneer to seal the mdf so it will hold air better.

one trick most of you that use mdf could use is to seal all the mating joints with liquid nail and then lay dynamat or equivalent on interior surfaces of the box to seal them less flex and more durability.

thats what we use the resin for bro it seals the wood air tight and gives the surface a hard slick top layer

[Forevrbumpn]

Wenn has the best response

I cant believe some of the responses I read in this thread! Most people here seem to have never used Birch, or Oak ply, yes Pine Ply isnt that great, but the quality stuff just mentioned out performs MDF 4 to 1

Birch and Oak ply has about 3- 4 times the strength of MDF, there for has less resonance- which means sounds better

Oh wait, and The birch ply is about half the weight of MDF, and cuts clean also!

ONLY 2 drawbacks

1- yes it can flake, at the corners, I have a 11 ply birch box that has been sitting in my front yard for about 2 months, and its been rained on, so the edges lifted up

2- to keep the pieces from splitting, you should resin, or coat the ply is something

I mean hell, why do you think kitchen cabinets hold up so well over the years, and have all that strength, yet hold up on the wall with out falling?

strength to weight ratio is my best answer

[travo19]

Just wondering. Seems like people here would not approve of this as a material. Its what i've used in the past and it would mean starting from scratch to use another material (and gaining access to a woodshop, which isn't the end of the world.. but..)

You want wood thats more dense. Plywood is just that, "ply". Although I use 11ply birch and it works fairly well. Not to mention its fiberglass resined inside and out.

[travo19]

Wenn has the best response

I cant believe some of the responses I read in this thread! Most people here seem to have never used Birch, or Oak ply, yes Pine Ply isnt that great, but the quality stuff just mentioned out performs MDF 4 to 1

Birch and Oak ply has about 3- 4 times the strength of MDF, there for has less resonance- which means sounds better

Oh wait, and The birch ply is about half the weight of MDF, and cuts clean also!

ONLY 2 drawbacks

1- yes it can flake, at the corners, I have a 11 ply birch box that has been sitting in my front yard for about 2 months, and its been rained on, so the edges lifted up

2- to keep the pieces from splitting, you should resin, or coat the ply is something

I mean hell, why do you think kitchen cabinets hold up so well over the years, and have all that strength, yet hold up on the wall with out falling?

strength to weight ratio is my best answer

One question, What typ of blade did you use to cut it? I've used many different blades on my table say and birch always gets the little splinter edges.

[Jville140db]

thats what we use the resin for bro it seals the wood air tight and gives the surface a hard slick top layer

yeah thats a lot more work for starters and to reply to all the plywood users let me explain one thing to all you plywood is not meant for heavy vibration use the only way to make it so is to soak it in resin and if you don't do that the plys over time will separate and the box will become less rigid ask any spl competitor what he will use to make an enclosure. oh and by the way the only true way to make a real non resonant enclosure is to use 3/4 in plexi which i have considered but its to expensive and to hard to put together cleanly.

EDIT- oh and by the way to get birch to cut clean you need two clean sides that for a 4x8 sheet will run you about 40 to 50 dollars. where as an mdf sheet will run you about 25 to 30 dollars and if you still want to consider plywood account for about another about 5 hours of prep and 20 to 30 bucks for resin depending on how large you box is. Oh and one final thing ask the guy who owns the forum what he uses.