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People are down on using real wood:
"Solid hardwoods move around a lot with varying environmental conditions. Your solid hardwood speaker box will literally rip itself apart in a matter of a few months."
"Hardwoods resonate"
"Wood is for cross-dressing commie baby eaters"
OK, I made that last one up.
I made some solid timber cabinets 20 years ago. Not well: they were rough cut timbers, sanded a little, then butt joined with PVA. They have been exposed to temperature swings (sub zero to over 40 - they have been across Australia), and varying humidity. They currently sit unloved, covered in dust, in a breezy and slightly leaky shed. Last time I fired them up, they still work fine, are not notably resonant cabinets, and the joints are exactly where I left them.
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Ocellia make lovely timber cabinets from softwood. But being semi-open baffle I guess that doesn't count.
How thick are they? Are they hardwood, or soft wood?
Have you done an impedance sweep to look for leaks?
Made from salvaged hardwood ~45mm thick (nominally 2" by 4").
I measured them a couple of months ago - did an in-box DATS sweep, and checked their response with REW. I don't have the results any more, but I didn't notice any impedance oddity. However, I wasn't specifically looking for a leak-related-spike, so there's a chance I may have missed it.
The drivers are sealed into place with a bead of liquid nails to prevent leaks, so I didn't measure one free air :)
The in-box results implied that they are out of spec (high Qts), as are many of the Asian sourced drivers that I've measured.
I also have a wee sub that I clad in salvaged floorboards a couple of months ago - like a 20mm veneer on a MDF cabinet. It still seems fine. This was a comparatively easy build, I'd like to try this method again.
Based on this small sample, I'd suggest that the horror stories of wood structures ripping apart are not universal. Using well aged timber and then rubbing in a little oil is probably OK most of the time. I collected a small hoard of salvaged timber about a year ago, which I foresee no problem in using similarly.
"Made from salvaged hardwood"
50 years of drying?
Fine, but I still wouldn't suggest this to others.
DJK, you post a lot (politely and informatively - a pleasure to read) about fairly upmarket pro gear. I assume you have a background & bias towards pro equipment and simple industrial design.
If optimising a speaker for portability, dB per dollar and ease of production, sure: don't use real wood.
For a hobbyist who enjoys the process and who is after the aesthetics of real wood, why not? An increase in weight or construction time doesn't matter.
I assume again, that you've never really looked at using real wood, or you'd realise that old wood is actually quite widely available. The suggestion (mockery?) "50 years of drying" is not actually an obstacle.
Where I live:
- a quick web search shows > 10 specialist timber salvage businesses. There are more if I include general demolition yards.
- salvaged timber gets put up for sale online by randoms.
- some council operated rubbish dumps sell timber as part of their recycling efforts.
A web check of small cities in England and the USA shows that similar timber resellers exist elsewhere; they are not just a local oddity.
Most of the above options are cheaper than new timber. Free is also possible. I've picked up free salvage timber:
- simply by asking. Just while cycling about, I sometimes stop and ask people who have a skip out / demolition underway (I currently have ~100m of floorboards from this)
- from friends / trades (e.g. helping a friend with a demolition / renovation).
- and others have had success online
Newer wood can be completely stable, if handled well: butcher block construction is one way.
I've had a table since 2003, the top of which is fashioned from long timber strips, each about 3*7cm wide. Together, these form a heavy slab 7cm thick. 12 years on, the joins are still perfect, there is no warp or cupping.
Anyone with a good saw could replicate this:
1) slice up the source timber (railway sleepers or whatever)
2) invert every second strip, so the direction of any tendancy to warp is also inverted, and averages out to nothing
3) clamp and glue
4) oil and/or seal the finished object
Some benchtops from hardware stores, or tabletops from Ikea are of similar construction: made from many small blocks of solid wood. I assume they are similarly stable. Their price is OK, similar to good ply.
The pictured prototype uses one of these. No sides or roundovers yet, but you get the idea. It's not something I could replicate in MDF & veneer.
Note: even slightly warped, cupped, off-square or grimy old wood can look great once a small amount is stripped off the surface. You can mount a router to a home-made guide / platform to strip & level beams, if you don't have access to more specialised tools.
"I assume again, that you've never really looked at using real wood, "
Been there, done that, won't do it again (gapped in the corners).
I suppose it's possible, but most people are not going to use quarter-sawn and do what it takes (like old furniture did).
I should get my brother into this discussion, he has the experience and college backround in wood (that I don't have).
What about dovetail or box joints? Would either work?
Dave
My experience indicates you don't need either. That's my whole point: real timber is less scary to use than some folks imply.
I have a couple of pairs of fairly badly made and badly treated boxes that are holding together perfectly.
That said, I have much respect for people who work and join timber well. Box joints (finger joints) look cool.
Thanks for the input. I am partial to plywood myself, but I have never tried hardwood. I have a Japanese "Chrysler" soft pine speaker bought in a thrift store that I have not gotten around to testing, but have never heard a hardwood speaker. I do like the look of box joints!
Dave
Use butcher-block construction and stagger at the corners.
Pay attention to the grain if not using quarter-sawn.
Hit it with a belt-sander when the glue is cured.
Solid, if a bit heavy.
Well they obviously didn't self destruct.
Likely the 2" thick timbers played a part.
But in fairness those are fairly Ugly things.. enduring seemingly unsanitary conditions as well. Hard to tell actual condition imo.
"they obviously didn't self destruct"
Exactly. Contrary to what has been expressed as normal.
"those are fairly Ugly things"
Yea. One reason they have been banished - it's been a long time, and I've never really finished them :)
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