Is B&Q plywood good enough to make subwoofer boxes
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Category: Plans
Forum Name: New Projects Forum
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URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=22517
Printed Date: 27 March 2026 at 6:53am
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Topic: Is B&Q plywood good enough to make subwoofer boxes
Posted By: richard stringer
Subject: Is B&Q plywood good enough to make subwoofer boxes
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 6:42pm
| I was wondering, is B&Q 18mm plywood good enough for using to make sub enclosures? Because baltic birch plywood is well expensive. Oh and is mdf bad because it has a tendancy to resonate more easily? |
Replies:
Posted By: Bespoke
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 6:51pm
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mdf sounds better but dont let it get wet or tour with it, B&Q wood is fine mate but costs about £50 a sheet ...... ------------- Gone |
Posted By: wafflesomd
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 6:52pm
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MDF is more dense and inert, so it would resonate less. It's not very useful because of its weight and strength. It doesn't hold screws very well, can split easily, and susceptible to water damage. I get good quality play from my countries equivalent of B&Q. It varies depending on which store you go to. They seem to get wood from different suppliers. |
Posted By: richard stringer
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:07pm
| What plywood should i look for? ply with few voids as possible? I've not a clue about hard wearing paints either her in the uk. I was thinking about maybe hammerite from B&Q |
Posted By: gwarntek
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:10pm
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I got some of the 18mm ply from B&Q, around £27 a sheet. It was 5 ply, with an extra thin veneer on each side for appearance. It did the job for a first build of two X1s, but i wouldnt buy it again. It had a massive amount of voids. Also the layer of wood under the surface was not even smooth, so in places only 50% of the thicker laminate was in contact with the very thin outer laminate. Also with it being 5 ply, when routing the edges smooth they splintered easily and lots of filler was needed in places. I have only outlined the bad points here though. It is ok for around £25 a sheet, and will defeinitley do the job for your speakers, but its also definitley not top quality. If you dont wana pay excessive prices for 13 ply birch, go to your local timberyard and see what theyve got for around 30/40 quid a sheet. Even if its not birch, or loadsa plys its probably gonna be better than whats in B&Q. Not to mention that my ply from B&Q was made from hardwood from the brazilian rainforest, and im well against all that destruction so felt kinda bad. I'd definitley rather have sustainable speakers... haha Peace Sorry just realised that post was maaassive.... Rant at b&q over...
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Posted By: nickyburnell
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:19pm
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MDF does sound better IMHO, but there have been many discussions on that.
Decent ply is non existant here in Devon, I did notice that I could import it direct from a former Russian state for about £22 a sheet delivered though
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RUSSIAN-BIRCH-PLYWOOD-18mm-F-F-2500-x-1250_W0QQitemZ350137272188QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_BOI_Building_Materials_Supplies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET?hash=item350137272188&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318 - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RUSSIAN-BIRCH-PLYWOOD-18mm-F-F-2500-x-1250_W0QQitemZ350137272188QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_BOI_Building_Materials_Supplies_Carpentry_Woodwork_ET?hash=item350137272188&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Don't know how many ply though. ------------- It's everything, not everythink! |
Posted By: richard stringer
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:21pm
| I know the local woodyards in my town aint got nothing in wothy of making a high power sub enclosure. B&Q in my town has 18mm ply but I think its only 5ply. |
Posted By: nickyburnell
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:25pm
http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4264&PN=1 - http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=4264&PN=1
Or Trimite ------------- It's everything, not everythink! |
richard stringer wrote:Posted By: richard stringer
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 7:36pm
| Ok thanks. How would I make the grille? Do you guys know of any box design software that would enable me to print out a detailed plan of the enclosure? I know the internal volume from using WinISD Pro and the internal dimensions from using Speaker Workshop but have no idea about how I want the cabinet to look. The driver i'm gonna use is the RCF LF18X400 and have the box tuned to 30hz seeing as the RCF driver has a resonant frequency of 28hz. |
Posted By: Deadbeat
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 3:20am
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I'm a ply person. Ply is stiffer (Young's modulus), layered, stronger, waterproof, and has a very very high resonant frequency. MDF annoyingly has a lower resonant frequency...which is why I don't like it. BUt let's not discuss that. Most box design software gives you internal volume to work from (it's quite easy)...but if you really want, I think Bassbox gives you internal dims which you can work from. ------------- Away on extended leave. |
Posted By: ceharden
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 8:50am
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I used B&Q's Brazilian Ply (Palmaply?) to build the ported horns. It's definitely not void free but it did the job, is lighter than birch ply and a whole lot cheaper. I wouldn't recommend it for cabs which will be used regularly but for prototypes and cabs you're only going to use occaisionally. You need to use a bit more bracing than you would for birch. Probably better is to use the 7 ply hardwood WBP exterior ply. Again not as good as Birch but will still make solid speaker cabs if you can't afford Birch and don't like MDF. |
Posted By: richard stringer
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 11:40am
I don't need software to work out internal dimensions, I use 'Speaker Workshop' for that. What I need is design software to design the exact measurements from inside walls of the cabinet to braces in mm, distance from the side of the cabinet to the cut out for the driver etc.... so I can give a detailed plan to a cabinet maker. If I just give him internal dimensions, he's gonna ask me how I want the braces to go, how deep into the cabinet they are etc.......
Where plywood is concerned, do the voids in the wood threaten the strength of the wood or are they capable of letting air through?
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Posted By: markie
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:03pm
I'm the resident grill maker, let me have your cab dimensions and I'll quote you. I can get the grills powder coat painted if required.
Here's a link to some I did earlier.
http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20774&KW=&PID=203398#203398 - http://www.speakerplans.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=20774&KW=&PID=203398#203398 ------------- If it's got wheels or tits it's gonna cost a fortune |
Posted By: gwarntek
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 1:11pm
They cant let air through, but affect the resonance of the wood, (and its strength but only a tiny bit i think)
Peace
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Posted By: richard stringer
Date Posted: 05 January 2009 at 7:46pm
| Thanks Gwarntek. Markie, i'll have to let you know, cos i'll have to get the cabinets made first, then when they're made i'll measure the front of where the grille is gonna be exactly. |