# Cabinet building



## blacktooth (Jul 3, 2010)

Kent building supplies has 3/4" shop-grade Birch Plywood 4'x8' sheets on sale for 39.95
are these suitable for cabinet building? is one sheet enough for a 4x12 cab? you would use something thinner for the face of the cab, right? what about if you did a full back? would you want something thinner there too?

what are the tonal differences between open, half, 3/4 and full-back cabs?

thanks


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

This topic has had several threads devoted to it....you might want to try a search.

I have done some woodworking in the past and my comment would be that 3/4" birch is going to make the cab VERY heavy.
The face (AKA the "baffle") can be somewhat thinner, as can the back. I don't think you would want to go less than 3/8" for the baffle (likely 1/2 " would be good) or the back.

Wait to see the responses of others. There are lots of experienced forum members re: cab building.

Cheers

Dave


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

While it would be heavier then some would like you are also going to move lots of air with it, I don't see any problems with it the facing is of course thinner, but for me I like the extra strength on the back side as for your other question I bow to more of the experts here who do it much more often then I.Ship


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## tbellisario (Apr 14, 2010)

As mentioned before 3/4" will be heavy, make sure to budget for decent size casters and some heavy duty handles for each side. If you are on a budget you could build a Marshall size 4x12 with one sheet of 4'x8 plywood. Sides top and bottom will be around 13"x28" and the back and baffle board will be around 27"x27" Find some plans on the web or other threads in this site that will point you in the right direction.
As far as material goes you could go with 5/8" rather than the 3/4"
I have built many custom cabinets with MDF.Birch ply, solid pine , keep away from particle board even though Marshall 
builds with it exclusively.
Good luck with your project and don't forget to glue joints to prevent rattles.
Hardware,Tolex,grill cloth are available from many sites.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

3/4" Birch ply is kind of the standard for quality cabinets. Thickness helps with strength, glue and screw holding in the edge of the boards. 1/2" is good for baffles, but I've used 3/4 too. Not much difference in sound to my ears, but more weight.

FWIW, the plywood is also the least expensive part of the cab. Tolex, corners, handle, jacks, speakers, glues, baffle fabric or speaker grill... It all adds up. From a cost/time perspective, it's almost better to call up someone like Saxon Cabs by the time all is said and done.


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## geezer (Apr 30, 2008)

I would be careful buying the cheap 3/4 birch ply....I have had some sheets delaminate after it was cut.I bought it from Windsor plywood(I think it was Chinese).Of course you could always put cleats in the corners so the screws don't split the plys.(makes routing the edges easier too).Then again if you're going that route ,you could use 1/2 ply.


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## blacktooth (Jul 3, 2010)

okay thanks guys. I might just start with a 2x12 or even buy one instead. I see lots of good deals on some websites... does it make sense that a 4x12 loaded with vintage 30's made by Orange should cost about $500 more than one made by Line 6 or B52? I know it's prettier, but the speakers are the same, and dimensions are quite close if not the same, and all are made with "void-free multi-ply birch hardwood". Just paying for the name?


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## Lance Romance (Jun 4, 2009)

Okay, i dislike heavy cabs as much as the next guy, but there's a certain point where if you build too light the cab doesn't sound good. 2X12"s give you a lot more latitude, but building a quality,great-sounding 4X12" will cost you some and be on the heavy side if it's built right. Other guys made a very good point that its hard to beat the pricing of a finished cab made by someone geared-up to do it, and buying material more than a sheet at a time. Do your homework on this. Orange cabs are expensive because they're built really thick, and then have to be shipped from England.
For a 4X12" I use min. 3/4" Baltic birch voidless ply for the sides, top and bottom. The back can be 1/2" ply, as can be the baffleboard, but I prefer to use 3/4" for the baffle if mounting speakers with bigger magnets. Solid cabs sound better and live longer on the road. I reinforce mine, gusset all the internal joins so the cab is almost airtight BEFORE it gets glued and screwed together. Even costing your own time at zero you will probably not save money by doing it yourself. I would look at the excellent "Avatar" cabs that Steamco brings in, as they offer a wide choice of styles, coverings, trim, and are available loaded or unloaded at a really excellent price.
Just to confuse the issue, the way I got around the bulk and weight of a 4X12" was to buy a THD Electronics 2X12". Andy Marshall has figured-out a way to make a 2X12" cab move air like a 4X12", but only weigh 43 pounds. Carries in one hand, and kicks absolute ass with every amp I've ever plugged into it. They're available used sometime for around the $600 mark and are worth every penny. New they are pricey and still worth it. I once joked with Andy, who is an old friend, that I should just start cloning them myself. He laughingly welcomed me to try, as there's so many tricks in its construction and porting that even a perfect reverse engineer won't duplicate it. He even custom-dopes the cones of the mixed speakers he gets from Eminence and Celestion. His works so well I'm not going to bother.
Hope this is some help!-Eric


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## pi39 (Jan 12, 2011)

Where can someone get some blue prints to build some decent PA speakers to Jam with? I have 2 horns and 2 15" speakers I would love to build cabinets for.


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