OSB vs Plywood

[Chris8sirhC]

I recently noticed in the tapped horn thread that someone made their tapped horns out of a material that I had not seen before. The material used was OSB or Oriented Strand Board. I did a quick google search and found out that it is just as strong as plywood and it is inherently is void free. In many cases it can be stronger than plywood since you wont ever have bad spots lining up and weakening the material. It supposedly feels firmer when walked on in a house. Obviously it doesn't look pretty and a finish will be required, but does anybody have any experience with this material in regards to speaker or subwoofer construction? It is varying sizes of strands of wood that are meshed together and oriented together to achieve maximum strength. Based on the heterogeneity of this compound, I would venture a guess that resonances will be spread out a little better than mdf or plywood. Any thoughts?

[Iain McNeill]

Last time I checked it out there was a lot of air in it. Not necessarily a bad thing if used as part of a composite construction. An MDF/rubber/OSB composite could be interesting.

I think it would just be more consistent rather than better than ply. Depends how important the glue is, I guess.

Has anyone built with this stuff? I'd be interested too.

[MJL21193]

I have on a few occasions.
First, it does have small voids. Second, it it's stiffer than ordinary sheathing, but not as stiff as baltic birch.
Third, it can be troublesome to join - it glues well with regular yellow glue but will not like screws at all, especially in the end grain.
Finishing can be quite attractive. The pic below is of a sub I did a few years ago. Not a great shot, but it's all I have (the sub was not for me).
This I sanded, painted black and sanded again to expose raw wood as the black went into the crevices. I then put on several coats of stain and topped those with clear polyurethane.
It looked pretty unique.

[doorman]

OSB [oriented strand board] is ok for sheathing, but one can do far better for speakers, IMO
It also"off-gasses" some really obnoxious stuff.
Don

[Juergen Knoop]

my tmls are made of osb, I have used red glaze on the osb, that raw look is quite nice.
The odor differs widely. Some batches smell extremely strong after fresh wood.
Some batches don't smell at all.
OSB ist cheaper than MDF and plywood is extremely expensive here.
regards

[MJL21193]

Originally posted by doorman
OSB [oriented strand board] is ok for sheathing, but one can do far better for speakers, IMO
It also"off-gasses" some really obnoxious stuff.
Don

There are always better options.

I prefer OSB stink to MDF stink. Winner, hands down, for pleasant odour in sheet material is spruce sheathing. Love it!

Originally posted by Juergen Knoop
my tmls are made of osb, I have used red glaze on the osb, that raw look is quite nice.

Do not be ashamed brother. Good sound comes from good drivers, crossovers and design, not from the wood used.

[doogyscoot]

Originally posted by MJL21193


Do not be ashamed brother. Good sound comes from good drivers, crossovers and design, not from the wood used.

Show me the evidence, I demand it!!!

[doorman]

Originally posted by doogyscoot



Show me the evidence, I demand it!!!

The discussion of cabinet/enclosure materials is one of those contentious issues that ALWAYS generates a lot of debate!
My advice, FWIW [probably very little!] is to build a couple of boxes out of different materials, no need to get fancy till you decide, and let you ears be your guide. IMHO, there are very real diffs. But hey, try your own experiment!
Don

[Peter M.]

I have used OSB and there was no stink at all, it just smelled like wood. The surface was relatively smooth and if there were any voids in it it was small enough to ignore.

I have also seen OSB with a very rough surface and lots of small voids inside.

Found this pic on the net:
http://www.travagans.com/images/luxu...ch_OSB_800.jpg

[doorman]

FWIW, here in Canada, OSB is marketed primarily as a sheathing material for residential/commercial construction, enabling producers to utilize chips, waste etc. Typically, it has 1 smooth side, and 1 rough side, the rough side allowing carpenters etc. to use it for roof sheathing without the "walking on ice" sensation!
Don