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Skra View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Skra Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Plywood
    Posted: 01 October 2008 at 10:05pm

I'm currently cutting the panels for the 4 HD15s I'm building and am kinda worried about the quality of the wood. It was bought for £15 per 8x4 sheet from a builders merchant and when it was delivered I was aware that it wasn't void-free, but it has only become fully evident just how rough the wood is now that I've begun cutting up the sheets. Full of gaps, basically. I'm not one to compromise on quality when making stuff, but it's too late to send the wood back now, and it will have only cost me £60 in wood for 4 HD15s. If worst comes to worst, once these are made I'll sell the empty cabs dead cheap and build another 4 with some quality wood. This is my first speaker build so I guess it's wise to get some practice in first anyway. Thing is, I just want to know what I'm in for! The other day RUS was asking about ply and received mixed responses. I remember deadbeat stating that poor quality ply makes cabinets 'sound horrible' but others weren't quite so fussed. I know it's gonna be subjective to a large degree, but the wood I have really is quite crappy, on the whole. I will, however, be filling every hole I find with gripfill before constructing the cabinet, but obviously this can only be injected a certain distance into the panels and there will inevitably be holes which I can't get to and therefore can't fill. I guess what I want to know is, how obvious is the difference to the sound quality when using crap/quality plywood? Thanks ppl

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Deadbeat View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Deadbeat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 October 2008 at 10:29pm
Haha! I must have come across as a strong opinion style person. I'm not too fussed about whatever the wood is physically myself, as long as it is void free. It's subjective for me. But if your ply is like swiss cheese...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote rich_gale Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 01 October 2008 at 10:56pm
the hd15's dont have any big panels that will vibrate too much, and the cabs are not likely to take corner knocks as frequently as a 1850 horn.  youll probably be ok, though the resilience and aesthetic wont be as good as if you spent £40 per sheet.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote H... Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 5:31am
Have a bonfire, maybe get some marshmellows - Start again
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tomschute Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 1:21pm
difficult to say - if you are going to build a cab with sh*te wood the HD is probabily going to be more rigid due to it's small size - all depends on whether you can sleep at night really... bringing a sub standard cab into the world - i don't know...Ouch




Edited by tomschute - 02 October 2008 at 1:22pm
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mykey View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mykey Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 1:41pm
3 things you have to think about
 
1. its a bass cab
 
2. is the voids 'buzzing' when you have some kick arse bass going through it
 
3. is the weight of the cab, you don't want it going walk about because its too light
 
I bet its 7 layer ply? too light
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote super-hero Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 4:30pm

If these are your first build, then cheap ply will be ok. Any mistakes you make will only be cheap ones. Then you can always sell them on ebay, and remake them with void free ply.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote smithers Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 5:25pm
a few guys i know made a load of HD15's with "spruce" ply from B&Q, at first i was very sceptical, but we took them out to a gig and they still sounded pretty damn good, as long as they are sold and sealed i dont think anyone would notice how many layers your ply has......maybe mykey.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Timebomb Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 6:43pm
Should be fine, ive got 12 HDs, some void free birch, some MDF, and some cheep ply, i cant tell the difference by liserning to them.  If your really botherd you can make the brace longer towards the fount.   As long as its wbp (waterproof) and not the stuff thats really cheep that d lamanates when it gets a bit damp i think you will be fine.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote H... Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 7:37pm
 
Pass the mash mellows Thumbs%20Up
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Deadbeat Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 7:40pm
Must be a sound that only bothers certain people. bzzzzz

YMMV

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Steve_B Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 October 2008 at 11:53pm
Whatever plywood you use, you have to remember that although it is a manufactured product, it is made from layers of natural wood. Even if you buy similar quality boards there will be some variation between them.
Voids are caused because there are knots in natural wood and some of these fall out of the laminates before it is glued together. For this reason it is possible to find voids in any plywood. With an increased number of laminates for a given thickness board any single void will obviously be effectively smaller.

I get the impression that a lot of forum members use ply from the big DIY chains, so the original poster could always compare what he has bought to that which others are using.


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