Okay this post really has nothing to do with sonic qualities or any of that stuff. I'm just wondering where you guys find materials to make housings for your amplifiers and speakers. I'm looking to do a three piece set, amp, L,R and sub. I want to make them match. I have thought of a few options:
-Use good quality wood, oak perhaps, and stain it black.
-Use MDF, spray with a fleck stone coating and paint black.
I'm interested in how you guys finish your cabinets more than what they're made of. Any ideas?
-Use good quality wood, oak perhaps, and stain it black.
-Use MDF, spray with a fleck stone coating and paint black.
I'm interested in how you guys finish your cabinets more than what they're made of. Any ideas?
Solid Snake said:
I have started using poplar for my DIY projects. Routered on all edges it looks nice. The finish is Deft, a clear self leveling laquer. This is for amps and other sorces.
My last three sets of speaker cabinets have been made from multi layers of plywood. Either paraply or Russian birch. One was made with two 12 mm birch, one with three levels of 12 mm birch and the last with two layers of 18mm thick paraply. This depends on whether 4 foot wide works or 5 foot is required. The birch is 5 x 5 and the paraply is the standard 4 x 8. I f the project is over 4' tall but less than 5' the birch gives much less waste.
After finishing a 1/4" sheet of luan is routered to allow countersinking the drivers and applied on the fronts. Then they are routered on the front edge and wrapped with a single sheet of paper backed veneer to cover the front and sides. Then the top and back are veneered. Looks professional.
All this routering is a lot of work, but they should last a lifetime!
George
Speajers
MDF is great material for a cabinet it machine well and is dead. Baltic Birch is good but makes better bracing material. Either one can make a decent cabinet however; nothing beat MDF for veneering over since it is so flat.
Poplar is only good for painting on; it should not be use on any quality type of speaker. Poplar is good for bracing and it machine well but stains very poorly. Poplar is also a very cheap hardwood but do not use it on the exterior of a cabinet use Maple on another fine hardwood.
In addition, Hardwood has a higher resonate point. Not good.
MDF is great material for a cabinet it machine well and is dead. Baltic Birch is good but makes better bracing material. Either one can make a decent cabinet however; nothing beat MDF for veneering over since it is so flat.
Poplar is only good for painting on; it should not be use on any quality type of speaker. Poplar is good for bracing and it machine well but stains very poorly. Poplar is also a very cheap hardwood but do not use it on the exterior of a cabinet use Maple on another fine hardwood.
In addition, Hardwood has a higher resonate point. Not good.
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