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Not tried that. Could use the typical big box store fir plywood or particle board.
Birch wood is pretty low on the allergy index, but I know Birch pollen is a problem for many. For me it's the formaldehyde in the plywood that bothers me the most.
https://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/
I've heard about bamboo plywood, but it's terrifically expensive.
I remember seeing guys build cabinets out of cheap bamboo cutting boards. @dcibel was that you?
I tried that, holy cow there is a lot of smoke in bamboo.
I used bamboo countertop, 1.5" thick plyboard. Be wary of variance in quality, the inner core may not be as high grade as the exterior and have voids. Otherwise it machines nicely, make sure your tools are sharp to avoid burns, and my baffles haven't had any movement, warping, splitting etc at all in the several years I've had them. If you like the look of bamboo I wouldn't hesitate to build with it. I finished mine in just tung oil for a natural amber colour.
I'm about to build with an acacia countertop board as well, this stuff is made from smaller boards pieced together so it looks more like a butcher block, but its a stable wood that has a nice look and takes stain well if you want to colour it.
IIRC the bamboo countertop was 3ftx6ft and cost CAD$175, and the acacia countertop is 25.5"x8ft and cost CAD$200. Both are 1.5" thick. For smaller boards I've found acacia "stair treads" at Rona for about CAD$30ea, but it can be hard to find a good straight one.
Good ideas. Thanks. Some of these I hadn't thought of. I'm a few weeks away yet, other items if the works first.
The poplar plyboard you suggested would probably be a fine product to use as well, as long as it's mostly void free .
I know nothing of this poplar plywood. I asked a friend of mine who owns a cabinet shop for void free options other than birch, he suggested the poplar.
He has a different mission than we do and knows nothing about what the different woods can do as a speaker enclosure.
I plan on doing some small boxes, for a tweeter and a 5 inch, so looking at cutting boards could be fun.
My friend Rick who owns the cabinet shop is also the owner of Wood from the Hood in Mpls and I'll take a look at what else he may have too as a solid wood for front panels.
All this at the moment is conjecture, I had originally thought of doing a high gloss finish but I've been undecided and I'm not sure what I want to do. So I'm asking a lot of questions....
I'm off high gloss for a while. I did two pieces of Sapale one gloss and one satin. I thought the grain on the satin looked better because there were fewer reflections. I also think that gloss wood finishes require the grain pores to be filled, which is another step above a satin or matte finish.
Javad Shadzi built the "Pretty Persuasions" a few years ago in poplar, and they turned out great - I think he used oil for a finish.
Javid's builds are very nice.
Master craftsman for sure!
CNC right?
I don't believe that they were cnc'ed, if you look close at the corners, you can see where the kerfs on the backside are ghosting through on the front.
One of these days I'd like to be up there with you guys ...
Just to be clear, I wasn't putting down his work, just pointing out that it wasn't done on a cnc.
For sure. I think he did register for this forum at some point, but he never engages. I've seen a few FB videos of his workspace and it looks like a lot of power tools to me. Great guy!
No, he doesn't ever use a CNC. Most postings on FB in "DIY Loudspeaker Project Pad"
The sides of my Rhodiums are 3/8" thick bamboo cutting boards. I also did a SB Acoustics coax project that used bamboo cutting boards for the sides, top and bottom. Those were about 3/4" thick. I cut with an x-carve and didn't have any trouble with burning.
Sehlin Sound Solutions
You can find bamboo dimensional lumber on the net. I built a bamboo countertop for a kitchen island out of three 3/4" thick 8 foot planks. It's tough and easy to work with.
Ron
Hi Ron
Do you have a link from where you bought? Rockler used to carry 1x8 feet 3/4 inch bamboo ply planks, but this was several years ago.
The counter top board I purchased came from Lowes. Rona has it as well, at least in Canada they do.
https://www.rona.ca/en/leadvision-laminated-bamboo-plank-60245025
https://www.rona.ca/en/laminated-acacia-wood-counter-top-25-1-2-x-72-natural-30685003
Lowes has it (probably everywhere) - $159 for 4' x 2' x 1 3/4 - about $20 a square foot. One reviewer said that he cut it, and it was solid all the way through, although I'm a little worried about the "vertical center" section.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Sparrow-Peak-4-ft-Unfinished-Natural-Straight-Butcher-Block-Bamboo-Kitchen-Countertop/1001818498
What's the "vertical center" section? the insides will be full of voids?
might need to make a visit to Lowes, but building has come to a stall for me... so might be sometime in the future
The board I bought from Lowe's that I used for a speaker baffle was full of voids, low grade core. I later bought another from Rona that I used for a real countertop and it was perfect. YMMV.
This might be the place but I'm not sure. It was Cindy's project and she ordered it.
https://woodworkerssource.com/lumber/bamboo.html
My only complaint was that they might as well have wrapped it in tissue paper as it had one thin layer of cardboard around 3 heavy 8" planks and I had to work around the dings.
Rockler has smaller pieces.
https://rockler.com/bamboo-lumber-by-the-piece
Ron
20% off quality bamboo boards (3/4" thick).
https://www.woodworkerssource.com/lumber/bamboo.html?utm_source=Woodworkers+Source&utm_campaign=b77005835c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_04_30&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_73bd38a3e6-b77005835c-133911837&goal=0_73bd38a3e6-b77005835c-133911837&mc_cid=b77005835c&mc_eid=51ed4b5f05
Déjà vu all over again.
Ron
Quick note guys.
Pricing on lumber is already going up. Poplar price went up 4 times. There are shortages with plywood too.
If you thinking of getting wood or panel, get it sooner than later.
Already gone way up. Geez, basic plywood has tripled around here. I had to rebuild a large part of my privacy fence earlier this year and treated 2x4x8 were $9 vs the normal price of $2 and some change.