DIY Wood Case....What to Use???

[EchoWars]

I have a homebuilt 20WPC Class A amp that I'm finishing up, and I need some wood panels cut. The local Lowe's has nice planks of both oak and birch. The cuts are fairly simple, but I've had bad luck messing with oak in the past...was just too dry and tried to fall apart on me.

So I'd really like some opinions from some of you all that work with wood more than I do...was the oak I used before just bad stuff? Isn't birch easier to work with?

I worry a little bit since at a couple of places I will have a thin section of about 1/2" wide by 2" long. It will be reinforced from behind once it is assembled, but I envision that oak I cut way back when and how it nearly fell apart, and couldn't imagine trying to cut a piece a half-inch in width. Maybe a normal piece wouldn't be bad, but if all oak is like that then I'll go with the birch.

The oak would certainly look cooler, but I'd love some opinions... :scratch2:

 

[Wardsweb]

Oak is a very hard wood. Birch is softer and easier to work with. Have you thought about maybe doing it in MDf and putting some really nice veneer over the outside?

 

[luvvinvinyl]

Thin-cut oak can be very sensitive to direction of grain. Since boards can develop blind checks (cracks) you can mill down a portion, only to discover a check, and have the piece fall apart. You can sometimes spot these flaws, and select other pieces. Sometimes you can't spot them, nor can you run the grain in the other direction, so my solution for this is to pry open the check, or split it completely, then glue it back together again. The coarse grain hides these repairs pretty well, especially if you are diligent about cleaning up the squeeze-out glue, quickly, with a damp rag.

OTOH, if you are using birch, it mills nicely, for dados and rabbets. The grain is a lot more subtle, even with stain.

I find that, for small pieces, my taste runs toward walnut. tight, smooth grain, well-figured, interesting colours. Expecially English Black Walnut. Not cheap, but the difference is small, if the piece is.

 

[EchoWars]

I had thought about veneer, but I'd love solid pieces of wood. The few parts I need don't really amount to that much, but in a few places the cuts will be such that veneering would be a real PITA for a rookie like me.

Walnut would be cool, but I'm limiting my choices to what I can get at the local Lowe's or Home Depot. This amp has gotten too expensive ($700+), and taken too much of my time and energy. I'm not looking to cut corners, but I want to keep this last finishing part simple and with parts and supplies I can get locally. That means solid wood, no veneer, and the only pieces that I can get around here that look decent are oak and birch.

 

[TheAudiotech]

wood case

I would use poplar!

 

[Nick_the_'Nole]

Ever thought about using that laminated pine stuff? I know Lowe's sells it, but you'll prolly have to ask where they keep it, it's not with the regualr boards, I don't think. It's basically 2-or so inch wide strips of pine board stuck together. It's really easy to work with, you can stain it whatever color you like, and the somewhat striped look of it would give the case a unique appearance while still being solid wood.

 

[Fisherdude]

Hi Glenn,

While I'm not the world's most experienced woodworker, I'm not exactly a virgin, either!

The problem with solid wood is that it's prone to warp and crack, and is much more susceptible to humidity in the air. And, as you've discovered with the oak, some can be very difficult to work with. In addition, oak is also difficult to put a nice consistent finish on since it's so hard and has open grain.

I would recommend veneering over a nice plywood or MDF. Both are easy to work with, don't warp, and are very inexpensive. As was mentioned, birch is a nice clear wood that takes stain very nicely. A great compromise might be ready-to-use birch-veneered plywood. Since this is commonly used to make kitchen cabinets, it should be readily available at HD, Lowe's, or any big home-improvement center. All you need is a table saw that makes reliable cuts, and perhaps a biscuit joiner if you want to get fancy. You can also get peel & stick birch edge banding to finish off the plywood edge.

I'm also thinking of attempting to duplicate some of the Fisher cabinets, but unfortunately that's about number 17 on my list, after 15 honey-do's!

Clay

 

[EchoWars]

I need to stick with solid wood as there will be edges exposed, and I don't plan on mitering (the piece with the 1/2" x 2" section pretty much dictated that). Therefore, plywood is out unless I want to veneer, as well as the laminated stuff.

Moisture shouldn't be a problem if the wood is sealed, and that's the preliminary plan anyway.

Poplar is cool, but not sold locally as far as I can tell.

At this point, I'm probably going to go with the birch. It'll offer a lot of staining options, and should do the trick. Oak would be cool, but I've fought quite enough battles with this amp to try and deal with another.

 

[outlawmws]

EW,

I made kitchen cabinets out of birch and had major issues with chipout on end cuts When I got to cutting the doore out of birch ply it got impossible to deal with. Personally I'm done with birch...

If the oak has been properly dried you shouldn't have splitting issues. Letting it stablize for a time where you plan it to live can help it stablize for surface moisture picked up in the store. HD and Loews are hardly good storage areas...

 

[rek50]

The HD in my neck of the woods has Poplar in the moulding section.

 

[Andyman]

At this point, I'm probably going to go with the birch. It'll offer a lot of staining options, and should do the trick.

Uh, yeah, like blotching. Birch, like pine and some maple, has a tendency to "blotch", which is caused by differential stain absorbtion. It's one reason I haven't redone my birch La Scalas yet. On smaller pieces, it can be less noticable, but it is a concern on larger (1 sq. ft.+) areas. You may want to consider a conditioner to even out the stain coloration; Minwax sells one.

Here's a link about what I'm talking about:

Blotching

Poplar is a decent choice, especially if you want to stain it cherry. Both have similar grains and it's easy to work, albeit soft. Don't you have a Rockler, Woodcraft or some sort of woodworking shop around you? They sell nice hardwood lumber at costs probably comparable to HD and Lowe's

BTw, you do have access to a nice table saw, don't you???

 

[EchoWars]

I'll look around for a woodworking place and see what they sell. The pieces will be only about 9" by 6", so perhaps staining won't be so bad. Plus, the stain I planned to use will be pretty light so blotching may not be an issue.

 

[LBPete]

If you just need small pieces, Rockler may have what you need. They have several species.

http://www.rockler.com/ecom7/product_group.cfm?&objectgroup_id=173&catid=47

They have veneer too.

- Pete

 

[rew15951]

Most lumberyards have oak veneerd plywood.

 

[EchoWars]

I'm afraid that with the non-mitered edges showing that plywood won't be an option. My brother in law says that he should have no problem cutting the oak as I need it, so I'll look around for a decent piece.

 

[rwortman]

Just FYI. You can use plywood even when the edge shows. You either cover the edge with a strip of matching veneer for use a solid trim strip.