i bought what i thought was mdf at lowes the other day...and built my box for my 05 supercrew...(for 2 12's with about 1k watts each)...what i bought is extremely heavy like 60ish lbs a sheet and it looks extremely strong....only thing is i noticed today its not mdf (and that of course pissed me off cuz this is my second attempt at building this box) its seems extremely strong but it doesn't sand as nice and the edges aren't as smooth after being cut as mdf...i titebond II and screwed it like every two inches...apparently this is what i bought....

3/4X48X96 PARTICLEBOARD UNDERLAYMENT
do you think its ok....(now that i have $70 worth of the wrong material into this job....) but before i order carpet etc i need to know if this is gonna work cuz if not im going to go and buy the 3/4 MDF.....please advise...thanks

 

3/4 MDF is best by all means, but I made my single 10" box from 3/4 particleboard underlayment because I had a haft sheet laying in the work shop for ever.... I have had no problems with it...

Its my understanding that particleboard underlayment can leak air as is made with bigger particles, MDF is made from dust.. I would just spray the box with a sealing primmer before carpet... I primmed mind, then sprayed the bottom with flat black, sprayed the rest with 3 coats of bed liner paint...

 

Heh.

This is one of those things that comes down to misinformation etc

But at any rate, using a particle board is a no-no for a few reasons, the most obvious being the lack of rigidity. Whenever an enclosure flexes you get cancellation. That's bad.

To take this even further, if you add an extreme driver and extreme power you can literally explode an enclosure made from particle board.

Some people use other woods (I actually made a box of solid oak in a pinch once), and there are claims the grain of the wood will affect the sound. It was just a cheap sub anyway (for a friend) and I didn't tell the difference, but typically you will want to stick with some 3/4 MDF for most applications.

Now, to answer your question, if those are quality subs, and 1kw of actual rated power...I would go get some MDF. Sucks to hear it, I'm sure... but you are better off doing it right now than having to go back and carpet a second box later.

 

I agree with Mark on this one...if you are going to push an actual ~1k watts per sub, I definitely would not have a box made of particle board.

 

by all means, I didn't know or read about 1K per sub... on that note, no way on particle board.... MDF only with that much power.....

 

ok thanks....and its not like regular huge flake particle board its actually like the stuff used to make kitchen cabinets etc....just want to make sure thats what you think it is...and if so i will def go cut my losses and get some MDF...wish i would have known sooner...guess i was too anxious to get it started and just wasn't paying attention.....and the box looks sooooo good tho ...o well thanks again

 

He's ALIVE!!!!

I haven't seen a post by you in months. How are you doing man?

 

Doesn't look like you are having good luck on your box building.

But, definitely get at least 3/4" MDF if using that much power/subs.

 

Sorry man, not what you wanted to hear..better to cut your looses and get MDF, particleboard with that much power will never hold.. I run 450W on my particleboard box, so far, so good....
The huge flake particle board is called waffer board....

I'm going to a Dual 10" soon as I can find another XA5000 Amp and 1 more IDQ 10 D2...

 

I'm good...how about you? Been busy with work and the new house.

 

Oh...just chugging away at school. I'll have my Associates Degree in bus admin with honors at the end of this semester, and I was accepted to start school at SDSU come fall next year.

Haven't worked in over a year...getting the itch to make some cash. I think I might get a job some day soon

 

Stay in school the cash will follow.

 

I know I know

I'm going to start working part time while staying full-time in school. Funny thing is, I've all but decided I want to be a deputy sheriff... and anything beyond an associates degree doesn't even pay extra. Oh well! Maybe the bachelor's will come in handy down the road...

 

You may eventually want to become a detective, or work with/for a federal agency or the state police. From what I understand form others I know that are in law enforcement, a Bachelor's or even a Master's can help. Good luck with your career.

 

back when i had my 15 i had a box made out of 3/4 inch Oak wood wow that sounded like crap go with MDF all the way