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I'm beginning to plan out the design of the cabinet for my lightning, and I was debating whether I should use solid wood instead of plywood.

Ordinarily I use plywood for weight and price concerns, but seeing as how I'm only building this as a 1x10 combo, the quantity of material won't be as much, and using solid wood will make it look a lot nicer when I use the wood stain and whatnot.

Will using solid wood (i don't know what specific type yet, I have to see what they've got at the hardware store first) cause any big problems to the sound?

thanks

//daniel

Many builders use pine, which makes a lightweight, toneful cabinet.

The one problem one may find with solid woods, especially those you get from the hardware store, is that they may not be sufficiently seasoned. You are more likely to have warping with solid woods than with ply, which has opposing grains.

P.

well, the way I'm planning on building the cab (similar to my 2x12 just a lot smaller... my 2x12 actually has a place on it where you could technically mount an amp chassis but i'm not planning on ever doing that) will have a lot of structural support so it'd have to warp pretty bad to actually cause problems

thanks for the warning though, and yeah pine looks like a good option!

i'll be working on a photojournal of my build as soon as I get the last piece (the chassis) and can start building.

cya

If you dovetail or finger joint the wood, it should remain true and not warp. As PaulG said, Wood today is not as 'well seasoned' as it used to be.

I don't think the tone will be affected noticably.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Both Pine and Poplar are excellent tonewoods for guitar cabinets. As Steve said, Dovetail or Finger Join and you won't have probs with warping. Use the best (void-free if you can get it) 1/2" Plywood you can get for your speaker baffle.

CR ><>

Your problem might be actually finding straight stuff in the store....or lumber yard.

You might have to dig through 40 planks to find 2 or 3 that are straight enough.

I've had resounding success building a 1X12 cabinet with just plain old regular 3/4 birch plywood (the 5 ply stuff, not the 7 ply expensive stuff). I get 2X2 sections from Lowes for less than 12 bucks a pop. 2 sections of 3/4 give me enough for the box, 1 2X2 of 1/2 gives me enough for the baffle and back braces...and a few feet of poplar 1"X1" poles make great cleats. All in all...the whole cabinet cost me less than 30-40 bucks worth of wood to make.

If I tried making the stuff out of poplar or pine, I might have to spend a good bit more...and all the while, worry about warped panels.

Yeah, I'd been thinking about the finding straight wood thing.. I've actually also been looking into doing some different kinds of finish on the amp rather than the basic wood stain that I had planned on doing, in a way somewhat similar to what you'd use on a guitar..

so, if I did that, then the need for solid wood instead of plywood (which is quite inexpensive and readily available, even for pretty nice stuff) would be reduced and I can stick with material that I already know how to use.

the best (and worst) thing about this whole DIY process is that there are SO many options, haha... especially if you're anything like me and have a hard time making decisions, haha.... oh well!

thanks for all the info, everyone

I've thought about doing an acrylic finish on cabs but the challenge is to get that mirror finish on the bare wood, and then a gloss finish on the paint job. Difficult indeed. Then you dont want to move it for fear of scratching it.

_________________
Stephen
Web: www.trinityamps.com. Facebook: facebook.com/trinityamps. Twitter: @trinityamps

Satin Polycoat on bare Poplar:





Satin Polycoat/White Pickling Stain on Poplar:







CR ><>

Without a doubt, poplar is my favorite hardwood to work with.

It's soft enough to be friendly to bits...but hard enough to not be jello...

I built a PRS-copy guitar years ago....had a maple cap and a mahogany body. It was such a pain in the arse....on the top, the maple cap fought my router...and as soon as I got through the maple...the router shot through the mahogany like it wasn't even there.

I ended up buying a variac for the router...so I could control the router revolutions.....was a great investment.

-F

Maccabee, that looks great - Tweed Deluxe size, or just inspired by that sorta thing? And is the chasis only mounted to the rear pannel? Is that much of a PITA factor?

Bear

Bear;

I appreciate that man! The cab is an oversize Deluxe that measures 20"x18"X9.5".
Yeah, the chassis are just mounted to the back panel on both amps. No probs at all with it.

Thanks!!!

CR ><>

Check this one out. I don't remember who emailed this pic to me, but it was someone from the 18 Watt forum.



I'm big time jealous![/url]

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--s2
www.s2amps.com
www.category5amps.com

Wow, that one's like Trainwreck meets Dr. Z or Matchless. Makes me think better of just doing heads out of the Hammond chasis and cage rig (looks basically like a Univalve) and foresaking the box. I don't gig, so durability isn't huge, but these aesthetics are beating up on the vintage hifi look I was thinking about.

Bear

Thanks for the compliments

FYI the wood used for the box is Black Limba, around the controls is Flame Maple, and the baffle is Mahogany. I happened upon the black limba in a hardwood store and just had to find a use for it.

My next amp will be an 18 watter wrapped in lace mahogany with maple accents. I just ordered two 40 watt sammi speakers for it last night. If I ever get it done I'll post some pictures.

Well, there you go. I'm still jealous! That is some truly nice work!

_________________
--s2
www.s2amps.com
www.category5amps.com