What ply for bins?
Printed From: Speakerplans.com
Category: Plans
Forum Name: New Projects Forum
Forum Description: Forum for new speakerplans projects, in memory of Tony Wilkes, 1953 - 2014
URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=109150
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 5:30pm
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Topic: What ply for bins?
Posted By: smash-monkY
Subject: What ply for bins?
Date Posted: 03 July 2025 at 12:57pm
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Hi all. What's the best ply to use to build a 21" bin? I'm a little flummoxed by the price differences... On one hand you have this at £40 a sheet inc. VAT... https://www.wickes.co.uk/Structural-CE2%2B-Plywood-Sheet---18-x-1220-x-2440mm/p/252240#" rel="nofollow - https://www.wickes.co.uk/Structural-CE2%2B-Plywood-Sheet---18-x-1220-x-2440mm/p/252240# and on the other hand you have this from £90odd +VAT... https://sheetmaterialswholesale.co.uk/18mm-birch-plywood-throughout-bb-bb-2440mm-x-1220mm-8%e2%80%b2-x-4%e2%80%b2/?_gl=1*n9cp2t*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..*_ga*MzE2NzYyNTMxLjE3NTEzNjk1MDc.*_ga_GRBM7K33DE*czE3NTEzNjk1MDYkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTEzNjk1MjMkajQzJGwwJGg3MzM5OTUzMDAkZE5zRUVzQWFlUDl3a1lob2tzeEdwNkhPNzJQYlBRWV9UcXc.&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjo7DBhCrARIsACWauSkKrJxQFUMBzsRbKOPjT1l-uSjjRAgxe-ZxX-cKPyHH9O0cTGHPd2QaAiN_EALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAACkfAMKQt7mwhAcqYJbdIPGp8PFX_" rel="nofollow - https://sheetmaterialswholesale.co.uk/18mm-birch-plywood-throughout-bb-bb-2440mm-x-1220mm-8%e2%80%b2-x-4%e2%80%b2/?_gl=1*n9cp2t*_up*MQ..*_gs*MQ..*_ga*MzE2NzYyNTMxLjE3NTEzNjk1MDc.*_ga_GRBM7K33DE*czE3NTEzNjk1MDYkbzEkZzEkdDE3NTEzNjk1MjMkajQzJGwwJGg3MzM5OTUzMDAkZE5zRUVzQWFlUDl3a1lob2tzeEdwNkhPNzJQYlBRWV9UcXc.&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjo7DBhCrARIsACWauSkKrJxQFUMBzsRbKOPjT1l-uSjjRAgxe-ZxX-cKPyHH9O0cTGHPd2QaAiN_EALw_wcB&gbraid=0AAAAACkfAMKQt7mwhAcqYJbdIPGp8PFX_ Advise please?
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Replies:
Posted By: snowflake
Date Posted: 03 July 2025 at 1:05pm
| the cheap one is pine which has a much softer surface to it. cabs made of that will end up covered in dents and cracked paint. always use B/BB birch for external parts. I use a good quality poplar for internals as it saves about 8kg per box - it's not much cheaper than the birch though. |
Posted By: VECTORDJ
Date Posted: 03 July 2025 at 6:41pm
| Baltic Birch is the Best by Far...Worth the Extra Cost....VECTORSONICS. |
Posted By: smash-monkY
Date Posted: 05 July 2025 at 8:53am
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Thanks for the advice. |
Posted By: snowflake
Date Posted: 05 July 2025 at 10:46am
yep
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smash-monkY wrote:Posted By: woody2
Date Posted: 05 July 2025 at 7:07pm
| Just make sure you don't get chinese B/BB, it will delam... |
Posted By: 1ManSoundsystem
Date Posted: 25 July 2025 at 10:41pm
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heres small hint from me: i got a buddy who works in construction in- and outside and also sometimes does clearing out apartments. 2 months ago i was told, they had a 5room aptm. with lots of stuff to loot. i went there, and discovered what was about 2500Eur in birch plywood sheets. all 18-21 some 24mm, all 60x180/200 some smaller some wider. about....600? kg. for free. some sick brains decided to build wardrobes cupboards beds - everything out of this stuff. excellent building stuff. so if u know someone, ask them, maybe youre lucky. recent prices for birch plywood are grotesque so even chances r low, who knows. and yeah, good quality birch plywood is best for building cabinets. do urself a favor and avoid mdf and raw chipboard. only reknowned big brands build with this crap like HK audio :) (trashbrand)
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Posted By: HumbleDeer
Date Posted: 26 July 2025 at 3:21am
| Eh, Pine and poplar plywood panels aren't only softer but they will have different resonance characteristics and that's especially important if your box relies on stiffness of itself to have a predictable cutoff/rolloff, or if your box is meant to resonate partially or as a whole. |
Posted By: SamV
Date Posted: 28 July 2025 at 1:27am
| Glad to see prices coming back down |
Posted By: smoore
Date Posted: 28 July 2025 at 10:10am
| The hardwood plywood from wickes is pretty damn good for the price I think. About 1/3rd the cost of a sheet of Birch at the moment. For sure it won't last as long but you'll get many years out of a cabinet if you don't throw it down the stairs too often. |
Posted By: smoore
Date Posted: 28 July 2025 at 10:12am
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*Note i'm talking about the Hardwood plywood (non-structural) - https://www.wickes.co.uk/Non-Structural-Hardwood-Plywood-Sheet---18-x-1220-x-2440mm/p/110037" rel="nofollow - https://www.wickes.co.uk/Non-Structural-Hardwood-Plywood-Sheet---18-x-1220-x-2440mm/p/110037 The structural stuff is softwood faced and from memory is broken more easily.
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Posted By: dj-mip
Date Posted: 13 November 2025 at 12:37am
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you can normally tell if its good ply just by the laminates. If its got 13 laminates for 18mm ply its likely gonna be good but if it has 5 / 7 or 9 layers its basically shuttering ply and no good for speakers. If the speakers are not going to be moved about u can use mdf u just got to seal the edges properly. No good for touring stuff tho . 13 is the magic number for 18mm ply .. ------------- a.t.m. |
Posted By: Meat Substitute
Date Posted: 13 November 2025 at 6:58am
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I've used tropical hardwood ply before. In France okume plywood is very common at DIY shops. The outer face is nice and hard (and often really nice looking IMHO) but it is made with softer cheaper inner plys which are often a mess. In the UK I bought some B&Q 12mm cheapo ply recently and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I reckon it'd work ok for cabs. Depends what it's gonna do and for how long. The okume didn't make bad cabs in the end but it was full of voids that had to be tracked down, filled and sanded. Smaller pieces that ended up with voids in just had to be remade multiple times. Added a lot of work. I've also made cabs out of MDF, chipboard and various scrap.
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Posted By: fudge22
Date Posted: 13 November 2025 at 8:49pm
The best way to check the quality of plywood is to check the certification code it is stamped with. It should have something like the following S EN 314-2 Class 2 CE 2+ BS EN 13986 S means it is structural grade EN 314-2 Class 2 The 314-2 is the testing classification, and the class 2 the performance level, either 1, 2 or 3. Class 2 meets standard bond for humid conditions The CE 2+ system means the factory is under third-party audit control EN 13986 is the framework that defines how you prove it meets EU construction requirements. The advantage of Baltic Birch is that it is a furniture grade plywood, optimised for quality of finish and ease of manufacture. If you are knocking out loads of boxes you probably don’t want to be spending time fixing imperfections. Also everyone just knows it is far superior and anything else is just crap. Having just checked online, A random supplier of Baltic Birch at £146 per sheet is rated EN314-2 CE2+. The surface finish is BB/BB. It doesn’t specify a bond rating so probably class 2. Wickes non structural ply at £37 per sheet is rated BS EN 13986, BS EN314-2 class 2. The surface finish is B/BB (B is slightly better than BB) The structural ply at £39 a sheet is similar, but is class 3 so suitable for wet use. The surface finish is rated B/CC. From personal use The Wickes non structural hardwood ply is heavier and has a better finish than the structural ply. All of the above will make decent cabinets, The Baltic Birch is nicer to work with but at a cost. Just avoid anything that is not certified. |
Posted By: Steve20131
Date Posted: 15 November 2025 at 4:36pm
| Try both, remember also you might make mistakes too and cut wrong. Could try a cheap 12mm hardwood version first. Wickes have a sale on that |