What do you use to cut MDF Board?

[tnitsuj]

I don't really have any wood, tools and was wondering what the minimum tools were to make some car audio mounting stuff out of MDF?

 

[Anubis]

a skill saw

 

[Anubis]

oops

 

[dighn]

fusion cutter works well

 

[scorp00]

a jigsaw, radial saw, and a rotozip for circles. Rotozip will burn up if you use it for too long though, it's annoying.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

I would use a jig saw & a table saw, but you could get away with a jig saw and hand held radial saw.



What's with the comma after wood? You don't really have any wood? Keep that personal buddy

 

[sohcrates]

circular saw or maybe a jigsaw

 

[bunker]

Buy a cheap Jig/Sabre saw. It will make every cut you need for the least amount of $$.

 

[MichaelD]

Wow! Finally a thread that I'm very qualified to answer!

MDF is very dense; that's why you make subwoofer boxes out of it. When cut, it turns into dust. This dust will quickly foul a typical jigsaw blade.

Cut the panels themselves on a table saw ONLY. A sub box is a POS if it leaks air at all. If you cut the panels with a jigsaw, I can guarantee you'll mess it up. Table saw. Home Depot will cut the pieces for you. Be really nice to the person cutting and they'll do a good job. THe edges must be totally square, else they won't line up and your box will leak.

AFA the holes for the speakers go, you can use a jigsaw or rotozip. It's better to cut the hole small and have to widen it enough to fit the sub in than to cut it too big and mess up that piece.

Buy a big tube of Elmer's Wood Glue, the professional strength. You put glue on all the edges, then screw/nail the boards together. The glue WILL ooze out all over the place. You want this...that's a good sign. The glue wipes up easily with a damp cloth...old sock works well.

After the box has sat for 24 hours, get a tube of aquarium silicone and run a THICK bead along every single inner edge. Use your finger and run the finger along the seam and squish the silicone into the seam.

Yes, it's messy...you want a good box, right?

Let dry for 48 hours. Yes, 48.


AFA mounting the sub itself, T-nuts are best, period. We won't get into stuffing the box...personal preference there.

Any questions, PM me.

 

[ElFenix]

why can't you make an enclosure out of... say... oak?

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
why can't you make an enclosure out of... say... oak?

Technically, you can make an enclosure out of anything you want. The best material in the world for a speaker enclosure? Concrete. Concrete is 100% non-resonant and 100% flex-free.

But imagine how much a concrete box big enough for two 12's would weigh!!! :Q *hernia* :Q

MDF is very heavy as well, but nowhere near concrete!

Oak is strong, but resonant. It vibrates. A vibrating speaker enclosure is a lossy speaker enclosure. Knock on a sheet of MDF and it goes *thunk*. Knock on a sheet of oak and it goes *rap*

 

[glen]

cnc

 

[MaxDepth]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: ElFenix
why can't you make an enclosure out of... say... oak?

Technically, you can make an enclosure out of anything you want. The best material in the world for a speaker enclosure? Concrete. Concrete is 100% non-resonant and 100% flex-free.

But imagine how much a concrete box big enough for two 12's would weigh!!! :Q *hernia* :Q

MDF is very heavy as well, but nowhere near concrete!

Oak is strong, but resonant. It vibrates. A vibrating speaker enclosure is a lossy speaker enclosure. Knock on a sheet of MDF and it goes *thunk*. Knock on a sheet of oak and it goes *rap*

Yup. Yup. Yup. So very true. However, you can use teak, but can you afford it? Probably not.

I'd like to use cherry wood sometime in working with some speakers. It wouldn't be an enclosure but more of a natural amplifier; making sure the airspace was big enough and the wood thin enough as to cause resonance. The only problem would be in mounting it (can't sit it on the floor becuase of the vibrations.)



EDIT: BTW, MichaelD. How did your stereo rack come out? I remember you asking about drilling holes in the corners of the wooden shelves.

 

[MichaelD]

Hi MaxDepth,

Unfortunately, I never got around to making that rack. Possibly in the future...I've got a lot on my plate right now. Moving this weekend, primarily. Big task.

 

[tnitsuj]

Well I am not building a sub box yet. I am just for now going to have to cut a mounting board for my amplifier. Home Depot will do it for me? Sweettt. All I need to do is make som measurements and drill some holes then.

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: MichaelD

Originally posted by: ElFenix
why can't you make an enclosure out of... say... oak?

Technically, you can make an enclosure out of anything you want. The best material in the world for a speaker enclosure? Concrete. Concrete is 100% non-resonant and 100% flex-free.

But imagine how much a concrete box big enough for two 12's would weigh!!! :Q *hernia* :Q

MDF is very heavy as well, but nowhere near concrete!

Oak is strong, but resonant. It vibrates. A vibrating speaker enclosure is a lossy speaker enclosure. Knock on a sheet of MDF and it goes *thunk*. Knock on a sheet of oak and it goes *rap*

The way JBL makes those fantastic home theater enclosures is with veneer. MDF beneath, Oak, Cherry, Mahogany on top.... Kinda like a mullet.

Some info on speaker box types / enclosure materials.

I'm looking for the link on the concrete drain pipe speakers...... saw them a few years ago. There's got to be a picture out there somewhere. Used a pair of 15"s oppositionally mounted.