Box Building Question

[C-Man]

I have an Orion H2 sub that I want to build a box for to go in my new Frontier extra cab. Orion says it's pretty critical to use at least 1" thick MDF in building the box to make sure it won't flex. I'm just wondering if there are any other materials I could use that would be as strong as this but not cost so much money. 1" MDF costs like $60 a sheet, and weighs about 1200 pounds. Any advice would be great.

Chris

[Josh]

We use 3/4" MDF for all of our boxes. If it's on the large side, you can use internal bracing out of MDF strips to make it stronger.

[neomagus00]

mdf is generally the best material; make sure you account for the bracing when you're doing volume calculations, too (some people forget :) )

[sntnsupermen131]

use MDF, sorry you can't get it for cheaper, but thats the cost of having a high power sub
-Cody

[Jstas]

You can use cabinet or furniture grade plywood which will be stronger than MDF but for a 1 inch thick 4 foot by 8 foot sheet you ar probably looking at over 100 bucks per sheet. You can probably get 3/4" stuff for the same price as the MDF, it won't be as heavy and it will be stronger than the MDF.

Make sure you use cabinet/furniture grade because it has no voids in it and an even distribution of glue. It doesn't resonate like solid wood will and it will stand up to the elements better than MDF. It isn't as sonically dead as MDF but, it doesn't have the structural integrity and strength issues of MDF. It has it's tradeoffs but when you want something that is strong and durable, the high grade plywood is the way to go.

About the only serious trade-offs I can see with plywood are rattles, sonic coloring and weight. The rattles are pretty much a non-issue in cabinet grade stuff because it is made to stay together. It also doesn't resonate because teh different layers of glue and wood conteract that. So the sound of a plywood box may be a bit different from an MDF box but, lining the inside with acoustic padding or foam will pretty much eliminate any coloring anyway. Lastly, the weight is an issue but plywood is lighter than MDF of the same size so that really isn't that much of a tradeoff comparably.

[sntnsupermen131]

I dont really understand why it has to be 1"
i know some ppl who the same power or more as one of those monsters and use 3/4" MDF
but they brace it VERY well
i dont see why you cant use 3/4" as long as you brace it really well, which you need to do anyway...thats a BIG sub
lol
hope this helps
i thought you already had that sub installed...?
-Cody

[MacLeod]

3/4" MDF is not nearly as expensive as you think. I bought a big ol' sheet of 3/4 for $20 from Lowes and I had enough to screw up one box then remake another and an amp rack and I still got plenty left over.

[C-Man]

Yeah, 3/4 inch is only $20, but 1" is like 49... no big deal though, I'm going with the 3/4 because the box is only going to be about 1/3 the size of my old box. I'm going to brace it well and everything should be fine. Thanks.