Timber Boxes

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'Lo Prairieboy,

Yep, knew all that but thanks anyway.

So why did the speaker manufacturers mentioned above use solid wood and yet still get exceptional results?

Well ... do we know they got exceptional results? Yes, the two articles were positive, but then if they weren't would they have been published? Sorry, but I'm always just a bit cynical about glowing reviews on audio equipment.

Frankly, I would suspect the primary reason they used solid wood was solely for marketing purposes. (Much the same way high end amps have thick slabs of aluminum milled for face plates ...) As for the Sony, being painted, it is a bit obscure whether it is all solid wood ...

It's not that it is impossible to use solid wood, its just that it requires skill, planning and a lot of time. Again, with the Sony it is hard to tell, but with the Chario the wood was obviously cut into small strips to eliminate any stress wood, and to ensure conformity, then glued. Additionally, I'm sure that any solid wood they've used was kiln dried, left to sit, planed, left to sit, planed, left to sit, until they were a) close to the dimensions desired and b) certain it was stable. It would be interesting to see how much material was rejected.

They've obviously oriented the grain so expansion/contraction will be front to back. The Chario may, or may not, have a 'solid' wood baffle, which would be the critical component in terms of expansion.

One of the ironies of wood, is that the most highly figured, and desirable, is often the most unstable (bird's eye maple excluded). Hence the luxury of being able to use veneers of highly figured wood over a stable base.

Just my thoughts ....
 
Solid wood is just another material. Every material needs to be used to take advantage of it's properties. I think the discussion should be talking high Q vs low Q materials. I have followed the low Q, but so thick to be rigid camp. Makes things big and heavy. I was just given some very dense play to do a set in and I am looking at various materials at McMaster Carr. The best answer may be "yes" What makes the best baffle may not be the best side.

Keep us posted Dave.
 
Having come back to woodworking after a 20-year lapse, it's good to be able to feel real wood and not have to worry about all those extra steps like veneering, for example. Also curves area lot easier and a more tactile experience (especially with a spokeshave).
 
the wood was obviously cut into small strips to eliminate any stress wood, and to ensure conformity, then glued.

yep, if I was going to do a solid wood cabinet, that's the trick.

Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy back in 1974 I built a coffee table - top was laminated strips of mahogany (yes, I made it) and it has been 'stable' [to my eye] since.

My preference would be wood strips on a MDF base......................tough to do right, though.
 
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Interesting how fine furniture manufacturers frown on plywood or mdf and it seems the pieces are built to last (and can last hundreds of years with proper care). Although they do warn about allowing furniture to acclimatise and using a humidifier in winter to prevent warpage.

True. They also design to allow wide expanses - table tops - to move without restriction across the grain. Wide cabinets may have solid panel sides, but the internal dividers (to support drawers etc) will be fixed in the front and allowed to 'float' at the read. Items with mouldings that appear on three sides will be fixed across the front where the grain matches the grain of the rail, but will 'float' along the sides because the cross grain of the sides will counteract the long grain of the moulding. Solid wood is lovely stuff (I have a work shop with a large quantity stored), but you have to know what you're doing when you work with it or you will be disappointed.
 
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