Favorite Box Building Materials/Tricks......

For glue, titebond 2 has never let me down, but I have heard people had really good luck with a loctite brand wood glue. Lately everyone has been pretty big about using birch plywood instead of MDF for construction. as far as tricks, a router is a great tool to have, because with a little time and effort, you can build the entire box with a router...no saw required....and have "table saw accurate" cuts.

More times than not, I find myself not using silicone, because if your cuts are straight, and you have a nice glue bead....its not necessary.

i personally use liquid nails for glue. I used to use mdf but I just built a box last weekend using birch and it came out well and it's quite a bit lighter then 3/4" mdf. And as far as silicone goes, i preety much use anf general purpose silicone I have laying around at the time. I use 1-5/8" screws. I dont have a router either and you can cut pretty decent holes with a jig saw and a steady hand.

i'm gonna try some cabinet grade birch ply...$24/sheet@HD...on my 4-10 RE SX build. MDF dust is FTL and i here great things about birch. I only use titebond II or III works awesome and i use standard white or clear silicone. Gonna really do it up on this box if i get the right design....45 degree corners, rounded edges in the port, good bracing etc.

I use a Skil router #1820 that was around $70 at HD. I couldn't imagine building without one. From rounding over the port opening, end of port wall, to outer edges of the box, it's just VERY nice to have. Add in a circle jig and sub cut outs are much easier.

I always make the top piece 1/8" bigger all around and use a flush trim bit to square it up. Comes out perfect every time that way, even when dealing with warped MDF. Which I've been getting a lot of lately.

I still use a bead of caulk around the inside just for peace of mind. Titebond II or Elmer's Pro Bond, whichever is on sale at the time.

Trupan is the best wood I've used by far, then BB, and lastly MDF. All work just fine, but the first 2 are MUCH nicer to work with and far less dust.

I get Trupan from a local place for $48.50. I had to track down the US rep to find out who could order it for me.

Otherwise I've used the 11ply baltic birch from HD several times with no problems.

The Skil #1820 is a plunge router. I got it locally at HD for like $70 a few years back. http://www.toolbarn.com/product/skil/1820/ It's been going strong for 2+ years now and I've built around 20+ boxes plus numerous projects around the house.

For an 18" sub cut out I used a piece of 1/8" scrap wood to make a circle jig that was big enough.

fiberglass is cool

well for the last box i built(about 2months ago give or take)

i used 13ply birch wood...i love it

as far as glue ..i used liquid nails, but elmars wood glue is as well as titebond2 or 3 and loctite are good as well

silicone- i dont use it anymore, fiberglassing is the way to go...its more work but the end results are far better

80

MDF is my favorite to work with as it cuts so easily but there is a ton of dust. I don't use screws and use clamps only with Titebond II or III (I prefer III if I have the time as it doesn't dry yellow). I didn't like working with the Birch ply except for the dust but splinters were a *****. There were also some voids noticed in the Birch ply. Baltic Birch was easier to work with for me than the ply but it still was frustrating and didn't cut as well as MDF. It was voidless though which is really ideal for enclosures. I've also used oak and blond wood and I didn't like either for anything besides their look.

I use a router when I can but a sturdy hand and a decent blade on a jigsaw can do wonders. I also never need to silicone the inside of enclosure as I make sure my cuts are always exact.

Oh, and be careful if you decide to use the 11ply birch as it's not a true 3/4" which will **** up the edges if you follow a precise sketch (been there, done that).

Also on the BB you want to get the "void free" sheets if you can I have only found them at Menards.They are about 50-60 but you have less chanse of seperation.This is what alot of the spl guys use very rigid and lighter than MDF.

Getting it 'void free' is crucial. If its not void free, mdf is better. Id really like to try the 11ply that have here at my local home depot, but Im not at all confident its without voids. And of course when I ask about it, employees look at me like Im speaking arabic.

brad nailer/stapler

audoholic- I just used the 11 ply stuff from home depot last week on a box and there were very few voids.