BillFitzmaurice.info

himhimself wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 10:31 am 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.

Grant Bunter wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 2:45 am 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...

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:29 pm However, the question that remains is; what's the next best thing for those that don't have any PL or equivalent polyurethane construction adhesive available to them?

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Sun Feb 23, 2020 3:54 pm Guess I got a little caught up in cabinet grade ply (it is beautiful, and flat,

Bruce Weldy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:52 am Remember, cabinet grade is never suitable as it has a thin veneer on each side whether you can afford it or not.

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 5:17 am

Bruce Weldy wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 4:52 am Remember, cabinet grade is never suitable as it has a thin veneer on each side whether you can afford it or not.

When I say cabinet grade, I'm referring to 9 ply Baltic Birch, White Italian Poplar Ply, and/or Arauco Ply.

Perhaps cabinet grade isn't the correct term to use. What would you refer to these types of ply as?

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2020 12:20 am A little woody wood wood story...

I put dimensions for one 16" T39 and four 30" T39's in the cut optimizer program and it boiled it down to 9 sheets needed. Yes, 28" instead of 30" saves one sheet per four count of cabs. But, I'm not too worried about the cost of an extra sheet. Anyway, I ran the optimization for both, lengthwise first cut and crosscut first cut. Lengthwise would have made fewer cuts necessary at the store, only one cut per sheet resulting in 18 pieces to transport home, but more cuts at home. The opposite true for crosscut first, about 2-4 cuts per sheet on the panel saw and a lot more time at the store resulting in about 33 pieces to be further processed at home.

I chose to have them do as much of the cutting as possible on their panel saw, leaving less to do at home.


OH MAN! I'm going to have my work cut out for me! (no pun intended) This 15/32 5 ply CDX is about as flat as a Pringles chip. Some of them so much so, that even the panel saw was making crooked cuts. Out of the 9 needed sheets I brought the equivalent of 11 home. 5 at full price, 4 at 70% off, and 2 for free, discounted due to their special potato chip qualities.

Looks like I'm in for a good bit of practice in working with warped ply.

SethRocksYou wrote: ↑Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:57 pm Grant, thanks for the tips