I had a search around, and while.i found a lot on birch/poplar/fir ply, and MDF, I didn't see much mention at all of OSB.
Aesthetics to one side, is there any reason OSB isn't a good material for cabinet building?
Aesthetics to one side, is there any reason OSB isn't a good material for cabinet building?
I use melamine chipboard for prototyping it takes a screw well and is pretty cheap . wondered about osb too . I think if you went for some constrained later damping osb could be good too
OSB can work pretty well, my EV SH1500ER are made of OSB. I have used it a few times - to build a TA7331 clone and for a large layered horn.
Some (most?) OSB products are not airtight. So they need a thorough surface finish to seal them. But then again osb does not have a very nice and smooth surface for painting and also the paint/sealer adds to the total cost.
There are two drawbacks. One is that it is very easy to get splinters, so gloves are highly recommended. And the other is that the edges can split with screws, so when building a box, I used internal wooden beams to make the edges stronger.
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OSB is probably an acceptable cabinet material from a performance standpoint. But it will be hard to work with.
As @pelanj mentioned, it splinters easily, so it is very hard to cut a fine edge. Butt joints with an exposed edge will be challenging to get smooth. A miter joint will be difficult to cut because the OSB will not hold a sharp 45 degree edge very well at all.
The screw holding ability will also be less than plywood. It may even be worse than MDF.
As @pelanj mentioned, it splinters easily, so it is very hard to cut a fine edge. Butt joints with an exposed edge will be challenging to get smooth. A miter joint will be difficult to cut because the OSB will not hold a sharp 45 degree edge very well at all.
The screw holding ability will also be less than plywood. It may even be worse than MDF.
Thanks. Yes, it's miserable stuff to work with, but birch ply is just unaffordable at the moment, so I am looking at my options.
Joinery would likely be either lock mitres or butt joints with MDF loose tenons/splines. Both using expanding PU glue.
Exterior finish likely to be either wood veneer, or a skim of appropriate wood filler then paint.
At the end of the day I guess I'll probably ly just have to make up some simple bookshelf cabinets in a few materials and see how they sound/measure
Joinery would likely be either lock mitres or butt joints with MDF loose tenons/splines. Both using expanding PU glue.
Exterior finish likely to be either wood veneer, or a skim of appropriate wood filler then paint.
At the end of the day I guess I'll probably ly just have to make up some simple bookshelf cabinets in a few materials and see how they sound/measure
I haven't seen this mentioned above, but along with Birch plywood and MDF, the other popular material is particle board. It is the cheapest of the three, and here in some parts of the US you can get particle board shelving quite cheap. But even 4 foot x 8 foot sheets of particle board are still reasonable. A 4 ft x 8 ft sheet of MDF is $50 while a 4 ft x 8 ft sheet of particle board is $27.
I know some things go by different names in different regions, so even though you are in the UK, this is what I'm refererring to ...
Shelving (5/8" thick)
Sheet (3/4" thick)
I know some things go by different names in different regions, so even though you are in the UK, this is what I'm refererring to ...
Shelving (5/8" thick)
Sheet (3/4" thick)
Yeah, particle board is not bad, and I would much prefer using it to OSB. I think particle board would be about as good as MDF, except that screw holding capability would be less, and prepping for paint finish would be more involved.
In the UK we usually call particle board 'chipboard'
I'm pretty certain the Kef reference 104/2 had a fair bit of chipboard in it.
Personally I use MDF for most projects as decent quality plywood in the UK is very expensive.
Rob.
I'm pretty certain the Kef reference 104/2 had a fair bit of chipboard in it.
Personally I use MDF for most projects as decent quality plywood in the UK is very expensive.
Rob.
MDF- stable $$
Plywood- strong but sometimes voids $$$
OSB - cheap, be careful of stands $
Surface mount drivers would be easier for the OSB vs recessed drivers.
Google Translate
https://translate.google.com/
OSB- Mindstorm CT213
https://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/ct213.htm
https://www.hifi-selbstbau.de/index...hifi-selbstbau?highlight=WyJtaW5kc3Rvcm0iXQ==
https://web.archive.org/web/2016062...b=bauplaene&cmd=list&range=0,20&cmd=all&Id=16
------
OSB- Klang+Ton 2006/01 page 16, CT197
https://kupdf.net/download/klang-ton-2006-1-cheap-trick_58c00ce1e12e892434add375_pdf
Plywood- strong but sometimes voids $$$
OSB - cheap, be careful of stands $
Surface mount drivers would be easier for the OSB vs recessed drivers.
Google Translate
https://translate.google.com/
OSB- Mindstorm CT213
https://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/ct213.htm
https://www.hifi-selbstbau.de/index...hifi-selbstbau?highlight=WyJtaW5kc3Rvcm0iXQ==
https://web.archive.org/web/2016062...b=bauplaene&cmd=list&range=0,20&cmd=all&Id=16
------
OSB- Klang+Ton 2006/01 page 16, CT197
https://kupdf.net/download/klang-ton-2006-1-cheap-trick_58c00ce1e12e892434add375_pdf
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OSB is certainly difficult to work with but the random laminations and high resin content make it very inert. I don’t think you could veneer it unless the veneer was pretty thick
Thanks all, lots of helpful input.
Other than OSB, I have a lot of 18mm spruce plywood around (built a house extension out of it). By and large void free, but only 7 plys including faces. Any good? Moves around a fair bit more than birch ply if left unconstrained (e.g. drawer face) but fine once built into a cabinet (or house, for that matter).
Other than OSB, I have a lot of 18mm spruce plywood around (built a house extension out of it). By and large void free, but only 7 plys including faces. Any good? Moves around a fair bit more than birch ply if left unconstrained (e.g. drawer face) but fine once built into a cabinet (or house, for that matter).
OSB can be ruggedized by coating with regular wood glue, it's very thirsty so you can get it to absorb fairly deeply. The resulting product is excellent, but it's more work than a pre-prepped product by a long shot.
Hi,
I have some experience while building boxes from OSB. IMO material is not leaky across it's entire surface but extra care is needed while gluing joints/edges. This also means using thick boards(and expanding glue like polyurethane may help). Also it's tricky to mount face of the driver air tight, as the edge must also be sealed very well. Not taking these measures can lead to loss of bass.
Regards
OSB varies in quality and finish. I've used it for years to make boxes to store LPs.
I recently found what I was told was engineering grade. It had a largely smooth finish on both sides and only required a general going over with a sander to prepare it for a polyurethane varnish. Cut edges held together well too and it was pleasant to work with.
What I like about it is the patterning and the way the colours deepen over a couple of months once varnished.
I'd had it in mind to use if there was ever a speaker project.
I recently found what I was told was engineering grade. It had a largely smooth finish on both sides and only required a general going over with a sander to prepare it for a polyurethane varnish. Cut edges held together well too and it was pleasant to work with.
What I like about it is the patterning and the way the colours deepen over a couple of months once varnished.
I'd had it in mind to use if there was ever a speaker project.