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ICBM has often told us that much of the character we love about guitar cabs comes from the flexing of the plywood used in construction. This makes perfect sense to me in a 4x12 but I am not so sure it matters in a 1x12 because they usually use the same thickness of ply, 18mm and being much smaller panels they will be much more rigid. Logically they should tailor the panel thickness to the cab size!
But there is absolutely no "science" that I can see in gitcabs! For given drive unit it is all cut and try (and if the "arty" dept don't think the finished dimensions are quite "fen sui" it gets changed!)
Bottom line? You could build a 1x12 out of reclaimed pallet wood and it would sound ok IMHO! (but not a 4 by).
Dave.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Whatever you end up making the cab from I suggest you make the rear panel in 3 equal parts so that you can experiment with open and closed back versions (you could try a slit across the back, reduced panel size, of 5 -20mm and get a vented effect?)
Another trick it to make a cab as big as practicable then try blocks of expanded polystyrene inside to reduce the volume and "tune" the cab....Oh yes! Wasted a LOT of my life experimenting with speakers! Mostly for hi fi and PA.
Dave.
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
@ecc83 I was indeed thinking of making the back in 3 parts for that reason!
@ICBM. I was panning on making the cab 630 x 500 x 300 so it would be on the large side. I'm looking for as big a sound as I can without going up to a 2x12. So the question is do I go for 15mm or 18mm?
I was really making the more usual comparison between ply and MDF or chipboard. Both of which are denser and more rigid than ply. "Pine" is blanket term that could apply to a pretty open grained lightweight timber to the very dense, hard as nails Pitch Pine!
Dave.
Next up then... Do dovetail joints make a great deal of difference in the overall sound of a cab? I know it'll make it stronger butt from a sonic perspective is there any real benefit?
Eqd Speaker Cranker clone
Monte Allums TR-2 Plus mod kit
Trading feedback: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/60602/
I see what you did there
Probably not given the strength of modern glues. Many of the well-known commercial cabs use rebate joints. Proper dovetails are very rarely used, more often it's parallel finger joints if there is any interlocking.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Finger jointed construction is something people expect to see as a mark of "quality" . As has been said, with modern glues it is of dubious merit, I certainly would not go to the expense of buying the necessary kit!
If you can cut the panels to perfectly flat, square edges, PVA and a #8 screw or three will be fine. If you can't most DIY stores will cut to size for you or you can do your best and use an internal 25x25mm Ramin rail then fill the gaps!
"Proper" speaker cabs are supposed to be airtight but this is only Rock 'n' Roll.
Dave.
Ah cool. I won't bother with dovetail joints then. I can get the boards cut on site so they should be straight. Happy days!
Travis Perkins can also get Baltic Birch ply so they say but have to order it in. 18mm is £50 so 15mm should be around £40. I might go for 15mm purely as it'll be easier to handle in an 8x4 foot format.
DaLefty
I made the bigger than previously stated at 630mm x 300mm x 550mm. It's now about big enough for a 2x12 but I'll stick with the 1x12 for now. It can always be modded to fit another speaker later.