wood expert needed

[juniper8]

I have an opportunity to purchase wenge plywood that is 3/4 inch thick and wondering if it would work as well as marine grade plywood for speaker cabinets. I am looking build cabinets that are "dead" quiet so there is very little cabinet action. Any info would be great! Here's a picture of the wood.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/mat/1798175009.html

[liebherr954]

Hay Juniper, I looked up wenge plywood on google and it looks like some very nice stuff. From the craiglist photos the veneer looks like it has bubbled a bit, that's not a good sign. Maybe its just a bad pic. I would check them out in them out in person to make sure there's no problem. They would definitely make for some great looking cabinets.

[WMcD]

Just to give a little more info here.

I believe that marine plywood is not deader than ordinary ply. The glues are just water resistant.

MDF is pretty much recognized as being deader than ply of equal dimensions. I believe it is more difficult to work with.

As far as cabinet resonances, these are usually handled by bracing.

Wm McD

[Groomlakearea51]

WMcD is correct. The density of the MDF does lend itself to less harmonic vibration as the material is a very fine homogenous mix of particles held together by a binder (glue...), but the reason that it does not tend to vibrate is that the particles are inherently asymetric. It is more difficult to work with, and it has an affinity for moisture - don't get it wet... ever... Plywood, is eaier to work with, and if a cabinet is constructed from plywood, asymetric internal bracing can often either eliminate or substantially reduce unwanted harmonics. MDF is also heavier. The primary reason that modern speaker cabinets tend to be made from MDF is that it is cheaper than pywood, does not expand or contract with heat/ humidity as plywood, and the nature of the material allows precise cutting/ machining to far greater tolerances than normally found with plywood. The greatest drawback, IMHO, to MDF is that it's "permanent". Dissassembly of MDF cabinets, as they are usually glued together, is almost impossible without destroying the cabinet itself.

[Malcolm]

IMHO the greatest drawback to MDF in speaker building is that it has little edge impact resistance. Drop something made of MDF on its corner and see what happens.

[JJkizak]

I just don't like MDF. I don't know which brand Klipsch uses but some of the other stuff will warp with weight applied to for instance a shelf over a period of about a year and it will look like a pretzel.

JJK

[Malcolm]

There are places where MDF makes sense and places where it doesn't. Simple shelves are not a good use of MDF for the reason stated. Add some reinforcement along the front edge and support the back edge and it works fine.

[Groomlakearea51]

There are places where MDF makes sense and places where it doesn't. Simple shelves are not a good use of MDF for the reason stated. Add some reinforcement along the front edge and support the back edge and it works fine.

Exactly!!! [Y]