small MLTL is hardwood OK?

[Scottmoose]

John, the above demonstrates sensitivity to the material on a craftsmans level. Patience is where it all starts and usually ends. I'd say you are doing great.

TC

Terry, you're now making me wish it was possible to get some decent wood near where I live in the UK, out of practice with it though I am!
MDF, lousy cheap ply and very narrow, very young, very rough, and mositure-filled pine planks still oozing resin (9"x.75"xwhatever") is about the limit near here, and worse, nobody seems in the least bit bothered; an apathy typical for this area sadly. The aforementioned pine was what my friend Eric built his pipes from -I fear the worst. 'Bit odd really considering a goodly proportion of all the wood shipped into the UK transits Hull (which I live in a suburb of), but there you have it. One major reason I stick with MDF for my speaker cabinets!
While we're on the subject, can any of our UK members reccommend a decent timber supplier? The North Yorkshire supplier I used to buy from (this was before I became interested in designing and building speakers a couple of years ago) went out of business a while back, and I'm not a fan of mail-order without hearing reccomendations?

Scott

 

[TC]

I'd take a peek inside some chippy's (carpenter) shops. I bet there must be whats known as -secondary hardwood-. Wood used for drawers frames etc.. that's generally chaeper and in abundance. Poplar, Damar, Phillipine mahogany. I bet the polars and birch, "whitewoods" must be available. Might not find them at lumberyards but there must be a commercial fabrication shop that would have better information.

Best.

TC

 

[Scottmoose]

I'd take a peek inside some chippy's (carpenter) shops. I bet there must be whats known as -secondary hardwood-. Wood used for drawers frames etc.. that's generally chaeper and in abundance. Poplar, Damar, Phillipine mahogany. I bet the polars and birch, "whitewoods" must be available. Might not find them at lumberyards but there must be a commercial fabrication shop that would have better information.

Best.

TC

Thanks for the advice -it's much appreciated & will do just that! (I must be having a slow day or something...)

Cheers for now
Scott

 

[Timn8ter]

Seems like a good plan to me. I'm interested in what your results are. Not necessarily with the wood but the design in general and how it compares to what has been discussed in this thread.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=54268

 

[johninCR]

I should have known that this was the right place to start the thread.

I really want to do this as a one day project and waiting of glue to dry will waste a lot of time. Are any of these newer glues really as good or better and wood glue?

 

[Scottmoose]

I should have known that this was the right place to start the thread.

I really want to do this as a one day project and waiting of glue to dry will waste a lot of time. Are any of these newer glues really as good or better and wood glue?

I don't pretend to be an expert, but I'd personally stick with a decent wood-glue myself and put up with the delay. Maybe I'm just old fashioned (well, I am a historian, what do you expect ), but even though I'm only 26, I've still seen too many so-called miricle products emerge and vanish just as quickly into well-earned obscurity. If you're desperate to try something new, I've had some quite decent results with No More Nails, but I still prefer the old way. It doesn't dry that much quicker either.

If you're using an attractive hardwood, don't rush it! Just a thought.

 

[Timn8ter]

Yeah, stick with the wood glue. The new poly glues are great if you have an irregular cut because it expands but it takes a long time to set up and harden. Real messy too. I prefer Tite Bond.

 

[johninCR]

OK, I always use wood glue anyway. This will be strickly glue, so how long do I have to wait before taking the router and sander to it? The bottle says 30 minutes of pressure, but nothing about how long for a full bond. I usually wait a couple of hours to do anything, but this is the first time to attempt a quick job without the security of screws.

 

[Timn8ter]

I try not to stress joints for 24 hours. I suppose it may depend on how "stress" is defined.

 

[johninCR]

The vibration of routing and sanding would seem to me like a bad thing for a joint that isn't fully cured. I've always questioned why they don't put it on the bottle like just about any other glue. Out of curiosity I've tested a bond after 30 minutes of pressure and it definitely takes longer than that.

 

[Greg B]

Geez, doesn't titebond dry fast enough for you? Any quicker, and the short working time would get you.

There's always old fashioned (old bessie) hide glue. The problem with that is it gels too quickly unless you work very fast.

GB

 

[johninCR]

I've only used old fashioned yellow wood glue. Something as easy to use and clean up that is ready in an hour would be perfect.

 

[Greg B]

Not sure such a thing exists. Epoxy, polyurethane and CA (super) glues are a PITA for most purposes. CA is the fastest.

Hmm, "old fashioned" yellow glue is actually relatively modern and a type of PVA (polyvinyl acetate). You may want to try some different brands as some are better than others. Titebond remains my fave, but elmers 'probond' is about the same. A good joint should be set in a hour or less if the temp is reasonably warm.

There's also urea formaldehyde types (plastic resin, aka 'weldwood'). Some people still like these.

GB

 

[johninCR]

I'll just stick with I know and have. It took me 2 hours of hitting hardware stores here to find anything but the white PVA glue that turns back into liquid form with moisture. Just another one of those things that makes me shake my head in disbelief down here. Everyone uses the white stuff when the environment is quite moist much of the year. Lanco is the only brand of the yellow I can find.