Reply With QuoteYour application requires 3/4" marine plywood...
I am going to take my back seat and build the whole thing into a sub enclosure. So what is the best material to use for this? Some one once told me partical board from any local hardware store, but that stuff does not look like quality material. There must be something else out there. Would appreciate any input.
Thanks Jared.
Your application requires 3/4" marine plywood...
Yeah, what he said.
Thanks for the input. The only really hard problem about Marine Plywood is I cannot find it here at all. So my other thought was build it out of the speaker material and lay resin all over it to seal it. Not sure if this is a good idea. Tying to get some different opinions.
Thanks Jared.
The standard material for enclosures is Medium Density Fiberboard reffered to as MDF. It's similar to particle board except the particles are much smaller and much more tightly compressed.
The problem with using it in a rear seat enclosure is strength. MDF has no real "grain" in the wood, and as you run the various fasteners into it (screws, staples, etc.) they have a tendency to crack and pull out.
Marine plywood, having a grain, is far superior in strength than a particle board type of wood.
Whichever you choose it needs to be coated in resin, and its a good idea to use some fiberglass cloth as well.
One more thing to consider, use stainless steel screws for everything.
As far as availability, I would think that a major lumber yard could special order the marine ply for you.
In your appliation MDF will be directly exposed to h2o. If you use it and glass it, you'd better make sure it's completely glassed. Even a pinhole exposed will suck up water like a sponge if given the chance..Don't use MDF. If marine ply isn't available, get std 3/4" ply and float a good coat of resin on it...
The standard material for enclosures is Medium Density Fiberboard reffered to as MDF. It's similar to particle board except the particles are much smaller and much more tightly compressed.
The problem with using it in a rear seat enclosure is strength. MDF has no real "grain" in the wood, and as you run the various fasteners into it (screws, staples, etc.) they have a tendency to crack and pull out.
Marine plywood, having a grain, is far superior in strength than a particle board type of wood.
Whichever you choose it needs to be coated in resin, and its a good idea to use some fiberglass cloth as well.
One more thing to consider, use stainless steel screws for everything.
As far as availability, I would think that a major lumber yard could special order the marine ply for you.
Yeah...what they said.
Marine ply is gapless, so the accoustical properties are similar to MDF. Box builders like MDF because it's dense, and easy to cut. However, MDF has little structural strength compared to plywood.
You probably could use regular ply (if marine is not available), and probably won't notice any accoustical difference. I'd still pick regular ply over MDF for a seat base.
My buddy had a shop use MDF in his seat base. They looked good, but he eventually put his foot through the top. :jawdrop:
Ya gotta think long term.
Excellent info. Looks like I will try finding some marine Plywood. Hopefully I can get it ordered through the local hardware store. If all else fails I will build the seat out of regular plywood, and also the boxes and see what happens.
You probably could use regular ply (if marine is not available), and probably won't notice any accoustical difference. I'd still pick regular ply over MDF for a seat base.
So using this info I will build it and see what happens. If there is something wrong or not right, then I will build boxes out of MDF and then build the seat structure around the sub boxes with some a better quality plywood.
Thanks everyone, Jared.
I was looking at replacing the sub boxes in my boat and looked at marine plywood (3/4) after reading this thread.... is it really over $100/sheet?
I was looking at replacing the sub boxes in my boat and looked at marine plywood (3/4) after reading this thread.... is it really over $100/sheet?
propably close to 85-100 for 3/4"... Spend the money to do it once. If you use an inferior product, you will be redoing it. Labor and frustration doing it a second time will easily make up the difference of dollars spent up front...
* You can still use std 3/4" ply, Just make sure to float a couple coats of resin...
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