What's to chat about?

[Tom Smit]

I, too, prefer the country life. I worked at a pig farm (farrow to 40 lbs) while in high school, but I didn't enjoy the barn work nearly as much as the field work. I grew up next to a dairy farm and helped out occasionally with the field work (never the milking). I also went with my Dad,who had basically all of Middlesex county as his territory, where he sold milking supplies and equipment to dairy farmers.

Anton, hopefully you get to come back to Ontario.

[AntonZ]

My grandparents had a dairy farm. As a kid I spent many summers on the farm with my grandmother and uncle. Great memories. I also preferred field work. Maintenance to the fences, cutting grass and making hay. A friend still lives on the farmhouse where his parents used to live. He is an engineer, not farming. He does have the space of the house and barns, which comes in handy as he collects and restores old farming machinery as a hobby.

I will probably come to Canada in april this year Tom. It is going to be a shorter visit than my previous trips to Ontario. My father's oldest brother will be celebrating his 90th birthday in April. I have proposed to my dad to do a one week father-and-son-trip to Canada, surprise visit to my uncle. We will be near Ottawa most of the time, one or two days near Midland, eastern end of the Georgian Bay area. We will not get to travel as far west as Allenford or Sarnia. Your country is lovely, it is also rather large

[Tom Smit]

Ah, so, we share some experiences! Cool!
When you do get to Ontario, have a wonderful trip!

[Seth]

Glue-

I've avoided Gorilla Glue for years, just didn't care for the marketing. But, when I realized it was a polyurethane based glue, I figured I'd give it a test. Both, the standard and "white" expand quite a bit as they cure, similar to PL. I wonder if it's a sufficient substitute for those that have trouble finding PL or any other polyurethane construction adhesive?

[Charles Jenkinson]

I, too, prefer the country life.

Reminds me of a song Tom. ...Did it with a mate at an open mic night - i proper hacked the guitar break on a mandolin. Not a band I'd heard of - Nashville based - but very good songs and musicianship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQvIc15j8Es

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I've avoided Gorilla Glue... wonder if it's a sufficient substitute for those that have trouble finding PL or any other polyurethane construction adhesive?

Gorrilla bears no resemblance to PL.

[Tom Smit]

I, too, prefer the country life.

Reminds me of a song Tom. ...Did it with a mate at an open mic night - i proper hacked the guitar break on a mandolin. Not a band I'd heard of - Nashville based - but very good songs and musicianship:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQvIc15j8Es

[Bryan Cox]

I've avoided Gorilla Glue... wonder if it's a sufficient substitute for those that have trouble finding PL or any other polyurethane construction adhesive?

Gorrilla bears no resemblance to PL.

About that. I have a dirty secret....

When I built my first Otop I was in Germany. I tried and tried to find a PL alternative to no avail. Hindsight is 20/20 though so I didn't know to look (or even ask) here for help. So I did what any upstanding military member does; I broke the law. i ordered PL online, had it shipped to a forwarding service and then sent to my APO box. Of course the Germans chose my package for a random search and found my HAZMAT. Had to pay a steep German fine and almost lost my P.O. box privileges.

Walking through the BX one day I found Gorilla glue, saw that it is polyurethane based and bought a crap ton of it. Did a few test joints at home and was happy with the results so I proceeded on my build. When dry, Gorilla glue looks like a porous foam. That made me uneasy so I covered both sides of each joint with silicon caulk just to be sure.

Not saying what I did was smart but it did work. And for now the box is leak free. Now if that ain't commitment I don't know what is.

[Seth]

I've avoided Gorilla Glue... wonder if it's a sufficient substitute for those that have trouble finding PL or any other polyurethane construction adhesive?

Gorrilla bears no resemblance to PL.

I'm a little confused by this statement. I get that they're certainly not the same thing. PL is nice and thick and goopy, where polyurethane glue (Gorilla) is more like honey. In that aspect, true, they resemble each other about as much as bears and gorillas. ( <= see what I did there? LOL )

However, PL Construction Adhesive and Gorilla (Original and White) are polyurethane adhesives that expand as they cure. To my logic, that's quite a bit of resemblance given that's the characteristic I thought was important... "filling gaps to ensure the airtight seal that a speaker cabinet requires."

I'm not suggesting it as a PL replacement. The suggestion... or really, question is; if polyurethane construction adhesive isn't available, could polyurethane glue be a possible product to consider in it's stead? Australian builders perhaps.



Here's the test pieces I did. 100% of the squeeze out is due to expansion.

[Bruce Weldy]

I don't know the answer, but at first glance - the Gorrilla glue has bubbles in it. That alone make me think is not as air-tight as the creamy, no bubbles consistency of PL.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I tried it to see if it was as good as PL. It's not even close. That's why it's not recommended in the plans.

[Seth]

I tried it to see if it was as good as PL. It's not even close. That's why it's not recommended in the plans.

Got it.

So, what's the next best thing for those that don't have any PL or equivalent available to them? Liquid Nails? Traditional wood glues? Wood Glue followed by silicone edge sealing? Avoid Polyurethane Glue?

I have plenty of PL. It's not really an "in need" conversation. Just a thought and question that crossed my mind.

[Seth]

So, given all the Poplar ply that's available in my area is "exotic" (aka +/- $100 sheet), I think I've made up my mind to build my subs with standard home improvement grade 5 ply Douglas Fir. (unless you guys can talk me out of it)

I'll still do my tops in BB though. Which brings up my latest plan... I'm gonna build a pair of shorty SLA's for my Dad's rehearsal area... and I picked up a BP10 along the way. Thought about replacing the cheapo ported 12" with a 10" loaded T39... But then, with all the 12's I've ended up with, I may as well just build a 12" loaded T39 (or 4) instead.

Damn. Sorry guys. I know. I'm all over the place.
'

[Grant Bunter]

Seth,
I've gone with the cheapest ply option I could find all the way, and don't regret any of my builds for any reason.
Driver selection, sometimes, builds, no.
Don't sweat ply type for goodness sake. The entire ethos of DIY is to save as much as possible, yet, ideally, end up with something much more valuable than the best out there in the retail market (pssst, that's part of why I keep on harping on about driver choices ), and every dollar you save makes that more awesome.

Heck, build a 20" wide BP loaded T39.
I know they work really well!
It's fun doing something a little different, but, if you use a 12" driver, and build to 28" for this one cab, you get an opportunity to evaluate the strength of a wider build. That might end up being gold...

[himhimself]

Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: ↑Wed Feb 19, 2020 2:49 pm
I tried it to see if it was as good as PL. It's not even close. That's why it's not recommended in the plans.
Got it.

So, what's the next best thing for those that don't have any PL or equivalent available to them? Liquid Nails? Traditional wood glues? Wood Glue followed by silicone edge sealing? Avoid Polyurethane Glue?

I have plenty of PL. It's not really an "in need" conversation. Just a thought and question that crossed my mind.

PL is so awesome because it can create a strong bond even when the pieces being joined don't fit perfectly, which for our DIY speaker cabs I absolutely understand why Bill mandates using it. Otherwise there'd probably be a lot of unhappy customers because they couldn't cut straight, their cabs fall apart, and they unjustly blame Bill. Wood glue like Titebond (I, II or III) will make a bond stronger than the wood itself, but the joint fit has to be spot on. I still use it for many projects (and gorilla glue, too), but if I am working on anything where the connection is even a bit off, PL is the way to go.