MDF vs. Particle Board

[HellsRise 10+ year member]

You're a piece of **** drpeeb.

Hardcore necromancy.

 

[SicAudio 5,000+ posts]

Wow, where do i start..."worst sounding wood on earth" Haha, ok, ive used partical board on 95% of my boxes and i have yet to notice a difference between PA and MDF...second of all, the closest cabinet shop charges $45 a sheet of MDF, and the closest HD is 30 miles...you will not hear a difference between a properly build PA box and MDF box.

wrong! the density of mdf has a huge impact on sound because it doen's flex like PB does.

the only real issue with particle board is splitting when screwing it together.
PB is just as rigid (if not more so) as mdf and weighs less. That being said there should be no audible difference. And even if it were less rigid you could always uses dowels or threaded rod to brace the box which many people, including myself do anyways.

what the hell are you smoking idiot?

Ive never built a box from it but if you use good glue and brads i dont see why it wouldn't work. or if you wanted to use screws be sure to counter sink and pre-drill all your holes a good amount to avoid splitting.

I guarante all the PB boxes that everyone claims they have seen break or "blow apart" it was due to a split that was already there caused by a screw or screws. also could be due to poor gluing which jeasily could happen to an mdf enclosure if you dont know what you are doing.

wrong again noob!

FYI Most house floors and exterior walls are made from PB. if it wasn't strong they wouldn't use it. just my 2 (maybe 3) cents

yeah they use it for a subfloor on a 16" on center 2x6 8 10 12 ect frame moron it doesnt have to be very tough. they also use cheap ass 3/8" osb on the outside walls but you dont make boxes out of that either moron!

PB is not only just as good a material for sub boxes, in all circumstances ... dare I say, maybe better. Here's my comparison:
Equals

- They both swell when wet, so no difference there. Not sure why that would matter anyway.

- A bunch of folks on here already weighed in and it seems consensus that there's no audible difference between them.

- I, and others weighing here, have pre-drilled and countersunk many screws in PB, and not a problem. If you don't pre-drill, big splitting problem. If you don't counter-sink, big splitting problem.

Points for PB

- Cheaper than MDF

- Weighs quite a bit less

Points for MDF

- ???

density density and I will say it again DENSITY . IF IT DIDNT MAKE A DIFFERENCE EVERY HOME THEATER SPEAKER COMPANY IN THE WORLD WOULD USE PB OVER MDF . jesus h fking christ how come so many people are this stupid?

 

[snb778 5,000+ posts]

Thanks for the input guys, but the problem is just that: There ISNT a Home Depot or Lowe's around, the closest one is an hour and a half away, and I dont think I will be fitting a sheet of MDF in my 98 Grand Am. Any MDF I ordered would have to be special ordered, and be hella expensive, but I guess if thats what it takes, I will just have to do it.

sounds like the best option is to just have someone make a box for you

ehhhhhhhhhh damit to old thread.... oh well... still seems to be controversial...... I've heard you can un-screw and re-screw into PB more without having the holes get stretched..... I had a PB box with my 2x15" Type R's.... was a great box

 

[michaellane 5,000+ posts]

dude draw up ur specs on the box. drive to lowes and get them to cut the box for you and put it in your car and drive home to build it.

 

[SicAudio 5,000+ posts]

the post is like 3.5 yrs old but I had to say what I said. bad thing on this forum is that everyone says **** w/o proof. and steer people in the wrong direction.

 

[tyler_fitz 10+ year member]

i'm still laughing at the fact that most of these people are confusing particle board with osb.

if you've seen a house with particleboard floors... well, you haven't cuz thats just retarded...

MDF:

Particle board:

OSB:

depending on the application (lower power), particle board would be just fine for an enclosure.

Right now, in hutchinson kansas, lowe's sells mdf for 27.xx a sheet. they offer a cutting service, first two cuts are free, after that its .25 a cut (usually no one gives a **** so you probably wont get charged regardless of how many cuts you have). i'd suggest getting the wood cut just enough to fit into your vehicle because the quality of the cuts depend on who is cutting it, and there is no guarantee that the cuts will be square. or maybe just add an inch to each dimension.

agh, why the **** am i even explaining this, the op is has probably gone through 38 boxes by now.

 

[SicAudio 5,000+ posts]

the op was using an Re sub tho not low power at all lolz and some houses depending on the builder still use osb and PB mdf is an upgrade. and i have left MDF outside all winter before then cut a few inches off and used it just fine, thats why mdf is required in homes where there is water, because it doesn't swell //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

the op was using an Re sub tho not low power at all lolz and some houses depending on the builder still use osb and PB mdf is an upgrade. and i have left MDF outside all winter before then cut a few inches off and used it just fine, thats why mdf is required in homes where there is water, because it doesn't swell //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

1) The RE8 doesn't need a lot of power...nor does the SR.

2) I build apartments here in Dallas...I have never seen MDF or PB on a job site in the last 10 years(as long as I have been on job sites, ie: I have never seen it). All flooring and roofing is done with OSB.

3) And MDF does swell. My 3/4" MDF swelled to 1" after it got wet one time.

 

[Farmacist 10+ year member]

get HDF if you can find it = High Density Fiberboard, It's kinda hard to find but its totally worth it.

 

[RAM_Designs 5,000+ posts]

get HDF if you can find it = High Density Fiberboard, It's kinda hard to find but its totally worth it.

I don't think I'd be able to carry my boxes anymore if I did that. I've though about getting 1" MDF($35 a sheet here), and then I realized that a 4x8 sheet would just be ridiculous to work with.

 

[snfsh79077 10+ year member]

1) The RE8 doesn't need a lot of power...nor does the SR.
2) I build apartments here in Dallas...I have never seen MDF or PB on a job site in the last 10 years(as long as I have been on job sites, ie: I have never seen it). All flooring and roofing is done with OSB.

3) And MDF does swell. My 3/4" MDF swelled to 1" after it got wet one time.

x2 mdf will swell and mold. Particle board is ok to use for very low power applications. Is it the best to use? No but can be. Reason why some home theater company's use it for their boxes.

My family owns a cabinet business and I have never seen mdf or particle on job sites. Its always osb.

get HDF if you can find it = High Density Fiberboard, It's kinda hard to find but its totally worth it.

Interesting. Where would you put HDF with birch? I've never seen HDF either

 

[snfsh79077 10+ year member]

I don't think I'd be able to carry my boxes anymore if I did that. I've though about getting 1" MDF($35 a sheet here), and then I realized that a 4x8 sheet would just be ridiculous to work with.

A friend and I built a 4 cuft box out of 1" years ago and **** that was a ***** to work with and was heavy as hell.

 

[cheeseburger35 10+ year member]

hdf looks the same as the picture that was posted up a few posts of particle board they accidently gave me some of that at one time... and it was crap.. it split like a mother ugh... i have some 1" mdf that was sweet to work with .. also yes mdf will swell like a mother... i'll post a pic ...

 

[cheeseburger35 10+ year member]

Look keep it simple mdf is not that expensive first of all... And you get 5 free cuts when you buy a sheet at. Just have your measurements on you and they will cut the sides ,top ,back ,bottom and front making it way easier to transport home. And unless you have a crazy box all you will have left to do is cut your holes. And maybe make some angle cuts and liquid nail and screw it together . I figure 25 for wood, 5 for liquid nail and clear silicone , 2.50 wood screws, 4 bucks for 4 bags of polly fill ,hell 2.50 for spray glue and 5-10 for carpet your at like 40-55 bucks thats not bad, with tax figure 60... Whatever you do have them make the cuts they have vacuum saws on a cut table so measurements are dead on and its fast and saves a lot of time and its safer on your lungs considering most cutting done there

and your prices are way off just fyi....

 

[SicAudio 5,000+ posts]

it will swell at the edges, I buy my mdf from a mill not the cheap crap big box hardware stores sell. the stuff i buy from the mill, is cabinet grade not builders grade so it has a slightly dif glue composition so it reduces swelling, some at the edges but thats it.

and in my house all the flooring in the bathrooms and kitchen are mdf not osb the rest of the home is osb, and believe me I paid a shitload extra for it, (which is also why I said it is an upgrade) My wifes family owns a very large construction company in Utah and so does my distant family. Adams construction - wife and Big D for me. and all of their construction (Adams) uses mdf on all subflooring.

if you have ever seen masonite (1/8" thick panel board) that is HDF and for most people it does not work well for boxes because it is to dense to work with effectively.