PRO's/CON's Birch Ply vs. MDF

[hannibal05 10+ year member]

I'm getting ready to start putting together my box. I'm wondering what the PRO's or CON's between the both. I understand that the cost of the Birch is more expensive but I'm not really worried about that. I can already hear the replies stating "well if you're not worried about cost go glass" but I'm not to savie on glass yet and will be doing this myself. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Click to read more...

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

what kinda box you making ? and how do you plan to finish it?

 

[slick rick 10+ year member]

I've built my last 2 boxes out of birch and won't look back...lighter, easier to keep screws in, and looks classy. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[Bloodstalker999 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/search.gif.e79a63b2b580b39b282dff402646b704.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/search2.gif.b407e3685eef133dbce7cac8ad3982c7.gif :search2: //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/search.gif.e79a63b2b580b39b282dff402646b704.gif

This has been covered many times

 

[hannibal05 10+ year member]

what kinda box you making ? and how do you plan to finish it?

At first I'm going sealed to see how it sounds. If I'm happy with that it'll probably stay like that, if not, then I'll go ported. As far as finishing it I'm still not sure.

 

[azbass 5,000+ posts]

if you gona build a simple box. just use MDF.

 

[hempy 10+ year member]

Make sure the birch ply is actual voidless marine grade. Homedepot crap is just pine w/ veneer.

All of this is only my opinion, but I think MDF is much better for boxes than any other wood. I think density>rigidity, since you can use bracing.

Plus I think stained/bare birch boxes look fugly. A rounded over stained piece of plywood looks like crap, as do any bare ply edges. And colored stain???? wtf.

And screws only muck up a nice box.

All I see is hype.

 

[xtremebassjunky 10+ year member]

price difference

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Plus I think stained/bare birch boxes look fugly. A rounded over stained piece of plywood looks like crap, as do any bare ply edges. And colored stain???? wtf.

While I agree that colored stain looks pretty much retarded in every application, I disagree about the end grain. Wood filler can be applied and stained over if you round over. Doing so can make it look very nice. I don't have any pictures to show right away but I do have a few pieces of scrap that I could do. Also, you could paint the edges black and stain the rest giving the enclosure a border. That could also look nice in the right application.

Like this:

 

[hempy 10+ year member]

I'm sorry, but ewwwwwww.

Edgeband is your friend.

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

The sides are nasty, true, but the top is very nice and much better than a veneer strip.

 

[hempy 10+ year member]

Oh yeah??? Well your carpet is dirty. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif

 

[SplChoice- 10+ year member]

haha.. mdf carpeted looks better in any install imo. cept for custom painted fiberglass boxes but who needs those

 

[Immacomputer 10+ year member]

Oh yeah??? Well your carpet is dirty. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/eek.gif.771b7a90cf45cabdc554ff1121c21c4a.gif

Yea it is. It was ****ed up when we moved in and it never washed out. Some areas look like the couple who lived here before us tried to make babies on the bare *** carpet.

 

[SHiZNiLTi 10+ year member]

Is this standard birch shown below, or is it some other variation of it because it has a great looking pattern to it and when I was at home depot check out there selection of wood the oak seemed to have a much better looking pattern then the standard birch.