Wood for homemade cab?

Question:

I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. plywood, etc? Thanks much, Kevin

Response:

MDF/Partical board is heavy, and it actually sounds pretty decent for building home stereo cabinets out of, it’s not good for building roadworthy guitar amp cabinet.  And keep in mind that with home stereos, most people want a relatively dead cabinet that doesn’t resonate at all.  Which isn’t what most people want with a guitar amp cabinet.  It’d be a way cheap way to build it, but it’s also a bad choice IMO. Plywood would give you the sturdiest cabinet, and weight a whole lot less than any particle board. A lot of people feel that solid wood sounds the best.  I’m not going to argue with that, but it’s a matter of taste.  Fender Tweed amps used solid pine, and there’re plenty of people who think they’re the ultimate in sound.  Then a lot of amp builders have used hardwood with no Tolex.  I think http://www.mavenpeal.com/ Maven Peal is big on the idea that Tolex isn’t particularly good for your sound. All elements are equally important IMO, but I think the thing you hear the most is the speaker you use, then the cabinet design, then the material used to build the cabinet, and then what the cabinet is covered with (or finished with). Pete >I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of >wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. >Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. >plywood, etc? >Thanks much, >Kevin

– Now you know why I used the qualifier "practically" –Bender

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> I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

Either void free plywood, solid pine or poplar… The only way to go. Anything else is too expensive, too heavy, or doesn’t hold up. John King "If we ever pass out as a great nation we ought to put on our tombstone, ‘America died from a delusion that she has moral leadership." – (Will Rogers)

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> I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc?

  Kevin,     Use solid wood for the basic box, and Birch plywood for the baffle & back panels. I’ve used clear Pine, Fir, and Hemlock with excellent results. It’s best to box-joint the box edges, even if you do it by hand. It takes longer to build (by about a day), but it’s stronger than butt joints with braces. For my last cab, I broke down and bought a router jig to do the box joints. Keep in mind that I’m not a woodworker, and even though hand-cutting and chiseling the box joints is a pain in the neck, it’s worth it. Monte

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> I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc?

Opinion…?  Scrounge up all the good wood you have around of any type.  Then, sell it to a wannabe cabinetmanker & buy a nice cab.  :-)

Response:

> I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

          Hi Kevin,                 First off, I don’t think the guitar amp cabinets of the past had a lot of effort put into choosing a building material solely for it’s sonic qualities, that evolved with time to where now a great effort goes into materials to duplicate or capture a vintage sound of what was the result of cost driven choices by manufacturers of the time. Tolex type materials added durability and the appearance of a good looking package even if construction materials might vary due to costs or availability.              Most of the "particle board" type materials rank low mostly due to durability issues. They don’t take the abuse much without turning to sawdust and don’t deal with moisture changes well. Larger areas that are built unsupported, don’t have the strength comparable to ply-woods of a same thickness. The weight per sq. ft. (when including necessary bracing) can make them pretty heavy.                For hobbyist wood working, these materials are pretty easy to work with, *except* for good methods of fastening. Basic nails and screws available, don’t hold well over time, when parts begin to get loose, it is pretty much done for. There are more modern fasteners that are designed to hold these materials, but often a hobbyist can’t/ won’t have the equipment/jigs necessary to take advantage of the specialty fasteners. A product that goes by the trade name "Advantec" appears to be similar to MDF and particle board, but is way tougher, can be used in exterior applications and fastens *better* than P.B.            Of course, all plywood isn’t the same. Most lumber yard/construction type ply isn’t the best choice. They tend to have few ply’s laminated to make up the sheet (5-7 avg.in a 3/4") and can have a certain percentage of voids within and still qualify to meet particular grades. Marine ply uses a water resistant glue, and has more ply’s with less voids. Cabinet/furniture grades of ply will have more ply’s and less/no voids, these and marine, of course are more costly. Baltic birch with 11 ply’s is probably the most preferred, there are others, but not as common.              Fastening ply is better than P.B, but still needs care and a good method of joinery to be durable.              I think pine lumber was/is common on smaller cabs because it was cheap. More waste is generated due to culling pcs. with grain/knots not suitable to stay straight and flat. The culled material could be utilized for bracing, smaller pcs. or shipping purposes. A certain amount of care is needed to choose (by looking at grain structure) lumber that will stay dimensionally stable so the corner joinery will remain intact and not warp/twist. I would say that most of the old pine combo cabs that have survived intact/still stout, are the ones that got the better selected woods during manufacture.              (not intended to discourage from self-building)          In all honesty, when things are considered, I don’t think building your own will offer a significant cost savings (if any) over buying one outright (shy of real fancy furniture types). It is hard to put a value on the satisfaction and other hidden benefits of doing thing for yourself. It’s what I do…….                                   Cheers,                                        robert

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I always use cabinet-grade birch or marine 3/4" plywood.  Both will have no voids, are easy to work with, and (IMO) offer the best combination of weight, sound, and durability.

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

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1×12 pine.  Check out your long list of Fedner cabinets – 1×12 pine, finger jointed. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

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Us wannabe boat builders on a budget know that both common exterior & marine plys now use the same glues and have for quite awhile.  Tight voids are no problem in a cab, and are mainly only a factor in shaping/bending for marine purposes.  Pine is primarily for lightness & ease of working (lower production labor costs & easier to lug around), with fingerjointing being only a strong-joint issue easily mass-machined, and there are other ways to obtain suitably strong joints in one-off construction if they are all going to be covered anyway. I’m not lacking in good woodshop machine tools, and have come to believe that building the usual cab may only be justified as an economically senseless but fun hobby, which generally applies to all hobbies, unless an individualized artistic (but unsaleable) result is desired.  Even at minimum wage equivalents, the total time & effort usually exceeds the end value. Now, a 24′ dory is another matter…(sort of)… – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I always use cabinet-grade birch or marine 3/4" plywood.  Both will have no > voids, are easy to work with, and (IMO) offer the best combination of > weight, sound, and durability. > I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

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>>1×12 pine.  Check out your long list of Fedner cabinets – 1×12 pine, finger jointed. > As a woodworker of sorts…unless you are going to dry your own rough > stock and then plane it a few years later, I’d suggest using glued up > stock made of narrower strips. You will have a much more solid > structure that will strongly resist warping. Do it right with > biscuits and a proper clamping algorithm.  

I agree…I’ve done a fair bit, and while I would be concerned about gluing up wood to make a plank for a solid body guitar, (not that it can’t be done without killing resonance), for a cab, if you have the clamps and a planer, I’d be much more confident in gluing up the "1xWhatever" for a cab than straight 1 x Whatever clear pine. Probabley cheaper to glue up your own out of smaller stock, and it *will* stay solid and square…won’t warp or behave badly over time…IME. Tone-wise…in a cabinet, I’d say it would make no difference…C37 application notwithstanding.

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Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! Seems like the 3/4" birch ply is the best bet overall. The more I cost out the whole project the better Avatar cabinets is looking. Custom cabs basically for the price of the speakers (see http://www.avatarspeakers.com/). Can’t beat that. Cheers, Kevin > I’d like to build a 2×12 cab and wondered what would be the best type of > wood to use. My priorities are sound first, followed by weight and cost. > Does anyone out there have an opinion on MDF vs. particle board vs. > plywood, etc? > Thanks much, > Kevin

– "This is the strangest life I’ve ever known" Jim Morrison

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