1/2” birch ply sufficient for box build?

[West1 10+ year member]

3/4 birch is ideal and MDF is the weaker of the two.
I’m curious is 1/2” 5-6 ply birch would be the in between of the two.

I need to build a 2.25cu box for a FI Xv3 12 and I could use the extra 1/2” space.

what’s your take on it, ty

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[hispls 5,000+ posts]

I don't think meme plywood is going to make a significant difference. 1/2" anything may be inadequate to support modern (heavy) subwoofers even with a good bit of bracing.

 

[West1 10+ year member]

Ok, ty

 

[Buck 5,000+ posts]

I wouldn't build yours out of .5"

 

[SlugButter]

I’ve made this mistake. Don’t do it. 1/2 inch might be ok for a 200 watt sub, but not with what you have. It will flex that box to pieces In fairly short order, not to mention the loss of bass you will have from having a weak baffle.

 

[1aespinoza Premium Member]

what’s your take on it, ty

A nephew bought a sub system from a friend of his which I installed for him. I was underwhelmed by it's performance being that I had heard those particular subs on other setups which slammed. A week ago I uninstalled it because rattling issues. Come to find out that the box is 1/2 birch lined with epoxy. That was the issue of the lackluster performance, but not the rattling.

 

[West1 10+ year member]

Thanks guys, 3/4” it is.

 

[LsGuy]

What about glass? You could build it of thinner wood and then layer up some glass inside and outside. Its typically pretty rigid, and if just laying it over a box it's not much more difficult than painting.

 

[hispls 5,000+ posts]

What about glass? You could build it of thinner wood and then layer up some glass inside and outside. Its typically pretty rigid, and if just laying it over a box it's not much more difficult than painting.

So drop over a hundred bucks into throwaway brushes, pots, resin, acetone, rubber gloves, a respirator, and composite mat to save 10$ buying cheaper lumber? AND then hope that actually provides enough strength?

 

[LsGuy]

So drop over a hundred bucks into throwaway brushes, pots, resin, acetone, rubber gloves, a respirator, and composite mat to save 10$ buying cheaper lumber? AND then hope that actually provides enough strength?

Yeah, if that means the difference in making volume spec why not?

 

[mahc 10+ year member]

How about plasma sputtering?

 

[Louisiana_CRX 5,000+ posts]

1/2 will flex bad ...

 

[West1 10+ year member]

How good is the 3/4” birch from Lowe’s/HD? The guts look different vs. solid birch. Kind of like glued 5 layers with the exterior 1/16 of real birch.

basically 110.00 vs. 65.00 4x8 sheet

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

How good is the 3/4” birch from Lowe’s/HD? The guts look different vs. solid birch. Kind of like glued 5 layers with the exterior 1/16 of real birch.

basically 110.00 vs. 65.00 4x8 sheet

It's pine with a thin birch veneer for looks. I have been using 3/4" sanded pine for years and very happy with it.

 

[2RZ-FE 10+ year member]

The 13 ply stuff is the best but you would have to find somewhere that sells it and it’s usually in square sheets. I’m using the Home Depot sanded pine I think it’s 7 ply. They had Baltic Birch I think it was 7 layer also but the quality isn’t like the 13 ply.