Box building 1/2 inch or 3/4

[liv2surf34]

Ok so im gonna start building my box, do i need the 3/4 inch mdf or will 1/2 be fine?

 

[Ru Dawg]

3/4...3/4....3/4
no doubt about it man! Go with the big stuff!! Some have used 1/2 for special cases, but 3/4 is the way to go unless you have a specific reason to need 1/2(like a clearance issue or something).
The 3/4 is much easier to screw and will be much more sturdy.
I just built a box about 2 months ago for an Infinity Perfect 12.1 and used 3/4.

 

[liv2surf34]

well sh*t, i just went to home depot and bought 1/2 hahahah, is it gonna affect the sound or anything?

 

[410Fortune]

5/8" is the way to go.....3/4" too heavy, unless you are building a huge box

 

[gatorpatric0]

well sh*t, i just went to home depot and bought 1/2 hahahah, is it gonna affect the sound or anything?

Well why the hell did you ask if you were going to buy 1/2 anyway. The only way it will effect the sound is if it comes apart and leaks. 1/2 is more likely to leak than 3/4.

 

[410Fortune]

actually you have to also consider deflection, with 1/2" MDF or HDF, and a sealed enclosure depending on the size the wood will actually bend under the pressure from the woofer, expanding and decreasing the volume of the box, not good.

5/8" is the stuff to use....

 

[wired_af]

5/8" is the stuff to use....

I agree.

 

[gatorpatric0]

actually you have to also consider deflection, with 1/2" MDF or HDF, and a sealed enclosure depending on the size the wood will actually bend under the pressure from the woofer, expanding and decreasing the volume of the box, not good.

5/8" is the stuff to use....

Thats what will cause your box to come apart. Deflection will happen before your box comes apart.

 

[liv2surf34]

damn, well i asked the question, then i just figured it wouldnt matter much, so i went and bought it, but i guess i will go get 5/8 or 3/4 tomorrow, my bad

 

[JPA1982]

just curiuos how many woofers are u putting in, what size??

for the past 2 days i just built my brand new custom perfect fit 4 10" sub box, can't wait to get my other 2 subs in to fill her up, about 4.5 hrs total work. , still need to carpet it though. i had started one with 1/2 but like someone stated, can't miss with the screws or else, so i started over with 3/4, MUCH BETTER imo, i def wouldn't go with anything smaller then 5/8"

side note: for my new box
i've got 3 chambers, one big one in the middle with 2 10"s facing the back of the truck, then one ten on each side facing up each in its own chamber, i'm going to run 2 600-800w amps,one amp for middle subs, one for outsides, planning on hooking the amps up to switches, so i can turn on/off when i please, don't need 4 600w subs going at once for country music u know, lol, i'm stoked about it though, i'll get pics up asap

sorry if i went on to long, but hey good luck with your box, gotta take pride in home built custom work, so do it right i say, take care

 

[liv2surf34]

im putting in 2 12s, i guess ill be heading back to home depot tomorrow for 3/4

 

[410Fortune]

hahaha 3/4 is overkill
But it will work good! You can use 1/2" too, but its best to use bracing on all the edges with 1/2".......

 

[gatorpatric0]

Liv, you are lucky you live in Jax because you are close to all the supplies you need and there is dozens of car shops down there so If you run into a problem you can take it there. I have to drive half-an hour one way to get to a home depot for this stuff.

 

[liv2surf34]

yea its no biggie for me to head to home depot and there are about 3 "Rollin Sound"s within 20 min of me so yea its nice, but they are real expensive for simple stuff even, im gonna go try and find an RCA splitter today.

 

[gatorpatric0]

Be sure you get the right thing. All it does is split one Plug of the RCA into Two. You need two of them (Im not sure if they come in packs of 2 or not.) Just explain your situation to any guy there and they will know exactly what you need.

 

[410Fortune]

its called a Y cable.
Also you can get RCA adapters that allow you to plit the RCA's at the amp or head unit. Keep in mind splitting the RCA's will drop the signal level, and is not even close to being the best way to do this.....many amps these days now offer a through port, so you can daisy chain them without needing to split the signal or lose strength...

 

[liv2surf34]

so i should look for RCA adapters instead of a y cable then correct?

 

[410Fortune]

No not really, they both do the same thing...it depends on your wiring layout, the RCA cables you have, and where you want to split. Keep in mind you will have to choose the cables based on male/female on both ends so be sure what you have...

 

[liv2surf34]

ok well i guess ill wait till my wiring kit comes and i get everything laid out and worry about it then...now im off to build my box

 

[terdrocket]

hahaha 3/4 is overkill
But it will work good! You can use 1/2" too, but its best to use bracing on all the edges with 1/2".......

50% of my box is two layers of 3/4" and the other 50% is 1 layer of 3/4" w/ full Dynamat lined / poly-fill stuffed interior. Makes a big difference over a standard box.