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Baltic VS MDF


Dave A

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12 minutes ago, DrumNBassNThePlace said:

I HATE Baltic birch. MDF is the ONLY way to go. I don't even understand why this thread is here

May not be recommendied in marine applications...MDF that is.

No horse in the race ATM... cheers.

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16 minutes ago, DrumNBassNThePlace said:

I HATE Baltic birch. MDF is the ONLY way to go. I don't even understand why this thread is here

May not be recommendied in marine applications...MDF that is.

No horse in the race ATM... cheers.

Cool

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3 minutes ago, DrumNBassNThePlace said:

If you don't know I'm joking, dunno what to tell you.  I don't give a shit about degradation under water, I consider that a meaningless test. 

Yes.. LoL

Just keep the dogs and kitty away...

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I agree with Dave @Dave A

 

Baltic birch looks like picture 2 below.  That is what was used to build the cabinets for my DIY Super Heresys.  The Baltic birch scrap is sitting on one of them.

 

Picture 1 below is the motorboard of a Heresy 2.  It might be birch, but it is NOT Baltic birch.

 

MDF has its place, such as the glued together Dayton boombox kit in picture 3 below.  Even then I did not trust the MDF to hold a screw so I glued scraps of Baltic birch to the screw locations for the feet and handle.

 

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4 hours ago, DrumNBassNThePlace said:

I HATE Baltic birch. MDF is the ONLY way to go. I don't even understand why this thread is here

Because I like speakers made for train stations and stadiums.

 

  On a serious note (yes I know you are not being serious) I had forum member Kirby over for a visit and with all the projects around, building things of course came up. Remembering the famous MDF is best thread I laughed and told him I had something to show him. The rest is history. Called my BB supplier this morning and they are now stocking 4' x 8' sheets also up to 25mm. With all this virus stupidity I think I might just build some things.

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22 hours ago, Dave A said:

There is a difference between birch plywood and Baltic Birch plywood. You were not using BB as is evident by looking at the edge of your pieces. There is also a big difference between Chinese birch and Baltic birch and of course the Chinese stuff is really bad.

Hi Dave

 

   I like the BB plywood, I use it when it make sense to do so. I happed to buy this sheet to help a friend with rebuilding of an English sports car. I cut the patterns he gave me and I had most of the sheet left over. The recite is what I bought 3 years ago, the picture is what it left now.

 

Gary

 

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17 hours ago, oldtimer said:

That's beautiful.

It finishes up nice just like it is with satin spar poly. The edges of the plywood are great contrast to the sides and I like the overall appearance as much as veneer. Unlike veneer which can be real easy to sand through if you have problems the outer layers of BB are more forgiving.

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14 minutes ago, garyeanderson said:

I like the BB plywood, I use it when it make sense to do so. I happed to buy this sheet to help a friend with rebuilding of an English sports car. I cut the patterns he gave me and I had most of the sheet left over. The recite is what I bought 3 years ago, the picture is what it left now.

I got a quote yesterday on 4' x 8' 25mm BB for $84.20. That sheet is about all I care to lift up and move anymore.

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You just reminded me of the time the truck showed up from the lumber yard delivering the 3/4 t & g panels for the floor of the full room above a new large garage.  The 6'-something 250 lb. kid from the yard pulls in, hops up onto the truck, grabs two sheets like they were nothing, and pokes the end up through to me.  I grabbed ahold, gave a tug, and says no thanks.  I gotta go one at a time...

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10 hours ago, Randyh said:

I was under the impression that Heresy 1 Was made with Birch veneered plywood -and Heresy 2 -------MDF 

I was too and I have only had one H2 and it was MDF and the biggest reason why I have stuck to H1's. I like the bigger tweeter lens size though and may just make a set out of BB this next month or so.

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@Randyh and @Dave A

 

I was under the impression that MDF began with H3s.  Irrespective of our impressions, those were not H1s and they were not MDF.

 

The following photos are of the same speakers that were eventually sold to @The History Kid.  In the closeup (second photo) you can count 5 or 6 layers, the unavailability of a whole cross section without routing for recessed drivers makes it difficult to make an exact count.  In any case, it’s clearly not the 13 uniform layers of good Baltic birch.

 

As an aside,  had these been Baltic birch, I would not have needed to reinforce the driver mounting holes with toothpicks and wood glue.  These speakers were bought off eBay and were poorly packed.  When they arrived, drivers and horns were loose; many of the mounting screws were stripped, so many, I decided to reinforce them all.  Baltic birch would not have stripped like this.  MDF would have been a true disaster.

 

To be fair,  a prior owner may have stripped the threads prior to shipping.  Perhaps the same owner who did a sloppy job of staining them (photo 3).  Fortunately, none of that mattered to Tim, aka The History Kid, as he used the components to restore a vintage console.

 

Perhaps Andy @HDBRbuilder or Jim @JRH can shed some light on this while they’re at home “social distancing.”

 

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On 3/16/2020 at 9:47 AM, Dave A said:

I am amused by those who can't see past the purchase price of a piece of wood to total cost over the life expectancy.

The old adage: "You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" still applies. But for speakers that are cheap to make with chinese drivers and are used to "wiggle the air" over a limited bandwidth, MDF is a fine material, better than Masonite. Had a friend who tried to make a speaker enclosure out of a styrofoam cooler once. He wasn't too happy with the results. LOL.

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