Plywood in Australia

[Foxx510]

Sorry for the location specific question, but I was just wondering where the Aussies are getting their plywood for speakerboxes, what is available, and what people are paying. My local suppliers seem to be very short on information.

Thank for any help
Adam

[ralphs99]

Hi Adam,

I was looking around recently and didn't find much available locally. Plenty of places up north but the cost of shipping made it too expensive. But here's a couple of links anyway:

http://www.australply.com.au/pr_marine.html
http://www.misterplywood.com.au/flash/home.asp

Then I found a place in Seaford that has a range of plywoods mostly for boat building. The Acoustiply looks particularly interesting:
http://www.marinetimbers.com.au/acoustiply.html

"A high quality marine or exterior grade plywood combined with a heavy, mass-loaded core material to provide excellent acoustic dampening properties with the structural advantages of plywood"

Be warned the address on some pages is incorrect. They're actually in Seaford.

Cheers, Ralph

[Cloth Ears]

I've only bought a couple of pieces, as I generally make mine out of MDF, but I did need some when I bought some molded plywood for a pair of TLs (actually a kids bench). I went down to the local Bunnings and searched in the 12mm ply section and found one good sheet (no knots, no voids - at least, not that I could hear by rapping the entire sheet). Found another 2 weeks later, and a third the next week (after I'd stuffed up the cutting by reading my own notes backwards...).

[Foxx510]

Thanks guys. I was going to use mdf but due to chemical sensitivities I'm not allowed to work with it. Ply is apparently ok due to having much less glue in it.

I rang Marine Timbers and inquired about the Acustiply, it is made to order so I couldn't get a firm price.

Mitre 10 only have a couple of options, 18mm CD ply at $91 a sheet and 19mm CD imported ply for $87 a sheet.

Is 19mm ply comparable to 25mm mdf for stiffness?

Thanks
Adam

[Cloth Ears]

Originally posted by Foxx510
Is 19mm ply comparable to 25mm mdf for stiffness?

Without knowing your exact application, I can onyl answer Yes or No .

Pretty much, unless you're going the brute force approach, then 19mm should be fine (probably cheaper also). If you do need thicker panels, then 2 19mm boards glued together (not much glue, lots of pressure, starting from the middle and working out) will provide much more than a 25mm board. But you really should be fine with bracing, bracing and more bracing - unless you're going open baffle.

As you can see, an indication of what you're doing will probably give opportunities for a better answer...

[jamikl]

Hi Foxx510, sometime ago I contacted a company called Global Ventures Australia Pty Ltd. WWW.ecocore.com.au. They sent me a box of samples one of which was birch ply with about 22 plys. Looked very good. I am not connected with them but was impressed by their response when I had told them I was only interested in building speakers for home use. Cost them $22 to mail the samples!!!
They are in NSW.
jamikl.

[Foxx510]

Sorry, I forgot to add what I was building. It's the new cabs for the JBL 4412a's that I've been planning for months. Going out to 80liters and tuning lower. Maybe the front baffle could have another layer added.

Thanks jamikl, I have contacted them and they are sending some pricing info. Delivery could be a killer though, around $80 for one sheet.

[Beau]

Hi all,

I work in Mitre 10 and despite appearances we do have access to a VERY large range of ply. Mainly it comes down to getting served by someone who knows what they are talking about and that also can take the time to look for you. Laminex industries sell ply direct to the public and have reasonable pricing. As for quality, BC grade is generally fine if you are staining, its mostly blemish free, sometimes you can get lucky with CD grade. Another option for you is solid core doors, sometimes called blockboard. They generally have an A-bond glue and are BC grade or better. They go from 35 to 35mm thickand are available in a range of sizes, Hume doors are the cheapest.

Beau

[Foxx510]

Thanks beau. I called laminex but they no longer sell plywood. I did however find this link which has some great information on plywood and the different grades.