I need to make a 550 to 600 litre box as a test and locally I can get 1800 * 600 sheets of chipboard for $23 each but they are only 12mm thick.
3 sheets with a fourth for top and bottom make an enclosure that is close to 600 litres
A few of questions.
What's the easiest and cheapest way to get such a large box square and true?
What's the cheapest way to stiffen and deaden cheap chipboard?
I have some long and narrow scraps of MDF here but they are only 6mm thick
If the box works I can always add another layer of something on the outside.
I thought I could use chipboard flooring for the front baffle as it is both thicker and denser but it is a bit outside the budget for a test box
3 sheets with a fourth for top and bottom make an enclosure that is close to 600 litres
A few of questions.
What's the easiest and cheapest way to get such a large box square and true?
What's the cheapest way to stiffen and deaden cheap chipboard?
I have some long and narrow scraps of MDF here but they are only 6mm thick
If the box works I can always add another layer of something on the outside.
I thought I could use chipboard flooring for the front baffle as it is both thicker and denser but it is a bit outside the budget for a test box
Several years ago I read a book from an argentine enginner who made an experiment of building a cabinet with thin wood tables separated, say, 2cm and the filled with dry sand. Sand severely attenuated almost all resonances, but rhe trouble in this case is the heavy wheight.
If you use sides which are squared off properly then the box will tend to take shape on its own.
BTW, in some cases you can build a quick box without a bottom, and sit it straight on to carpet.
BTW, in some cases you can build a quick box without a bottom, and sit it straight on to carpet.
I've begun ti think that this is true.
So maybe I'll go and get some 42 * 19 battens. Mark out the sides and do the vertical battens first. Planed timmber is getting very expensive but mistakes would cost even more. even tho it isn't good for resonances maybe putting the batten centred would be best. Appreciate input there
Bracing plus MDF panels.
Just waiting now on glue to dry on the first part.
Years ago I was gifted a lot of MDF panels and I'll be using a lot of them in this box.
Also using left-overs and offcuts naturally but on the inside where looks do not matter, MDF for deadening [ well hopefully] and the stringers are for stiffening a bit of Melamine covered chipboard left over from a kitchen renovation but it's chipboard to chipboard where the glue is, hopefully this will work
Just waiting now on glue to dry on the first part.
Years ago I was gifted a lot of MDF panels and I'll be using a lot of them in this box.
Also using left-overs and offcuts naturally but on the inside where looks do not matter, MDF for deadening [ well hopefully] and the stringers are for stiffening a bit of Melamine covered chipboard left over from a kitchen renovation but it's chipboard to chipboard where the glue is, hopefully this will work
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Advise me!
I don't normally built ported boxes and only once something this big and that was a TL
I don't normally built ported boxes and only once something this big and that was a TL
Stiffness goes inverse with the cube of length. You usually brace across the short dimension. 2' braces are 8X stiffer than 4' braces.
Yes you get half as many 2' as 4' out of a given woodpile. That still leaves you ahead, doesn't it?