Poplar as Head Cabinet?

[Geeze]

The poplar I see here in the states is a 'happy' wood - namely little or no warping, cupping or knots. If you still plan to cover the shell it really doesn't matter beyond starting with a wider plank than you need and little or no defects. You can also edge glue after 'true up' rips on a table saw if you need to use more than one piece for the proper width. Titebond II or III work very well and I've edge glued head cabs with only a top center handle for 100 watt Marshalls and never had issues.

This is a great resource for wood and how well it works & finishes.

https://www.wood-database.com/

Russ

[Bombacaototal]

Thanks for the tips and for the link Russ.

[Bombacaototal]

The poplar I see here in the states is a 'happy' wood - namely little or no warping, cupping or knots. If you still plan to cover the shell it really doesn't matter beyond starting with a wider plank than you need and little or no defects. You can also edge glue after 'true up' rips on a table saw if you need to use more than one piece for the proper width. Titebond II or III work very well and I've edge glued head cabs with only a top center handle for 100 watt Marshalls and never had issues.

This is a great resource for wood and how well it works & finishes.

https://www.wood-database.com/

Russ

Hi Russ, I managed to find American Poplar Tulipwood. I am wondering if these are any good?

[Geeze]

That should work fine! I'm working on a poplar cab for a buddy - easy to work always nice if you can find pretty planks.

https://www.wood-database.com/poplar/

Russ

[Bombacaototal]

Solid wood, especially pine, resonates much more than plywood, and thus becomes part of the sound of the cabinet.

In the end I am going for solid Southern Yellow PINE for the head cabinet. The poplar/tulipwood I was looking at is the softest on desinty of all hardwoods and has the largest colour change acrross the board, and it is also a very "bendy" species, which made me a bit concerned.

One thing I am thinking of, given Solid Pine is a resonant wood, is if there are any chances that the head cabinet will pick up more vibration from the speaker cabinet, then let's say Birch, or am I overthinking this?

For me weight is a big factor and hence why I am going for a lightweight wood

[M Fowler]

I built a speaker cabinet years ago with Poplar wood which I enjoyed working with rather then pine.

I screwed up on the physical size of the enclosure, meant to house 4x10 " but ended up with 2-10" and maybe one day I will convert to diagonal two 12" if they fit.

[xtian]

One thing I am thinking of, given Solid Pine is a resonant wood, is if there are any chances that the head cabinet will pick up more vibration from the speaker cabinet, then let's say Birch, or am I overthinking this?

I imagine the opposite is true. If you want to dissipate mechanical energy in your head cabinet, use a more flexible material. A stiffer material would transfer more energy to the electronics!

[Bombacaototal]

One thing I am thinking of, given Solid Pine is a resonant wood, is if there are any chances that the head cabinet will pick up more vibration from the speaker cabinet, then let's say Birch, or am I overthinking this?

I imagine the opposite is true. If you want to dissipate mechanical energy in your head cabinet, use a more flexible material. A stiffer material would transfer more energy to the electronics!

Thanks Xtian, very good point!

[didit]

I screwed up on the physical size of the enclosure [...]

10” x three looks feasible, even correct. That way your output transformer secondary will be perfected match—Won’t Get Fooled Again.

Best .. Ian

[Geeze]

One thing I am thinking of, given Solid Pine is a resonant wood, is if there are any chances that the head cabinet will pick up more vibration from the speaker cabinet, then let's say Birch, or am I overthinking this?

For me weight is a big factor and hence why I am going for a lightweight wood

Overthinking! If it was true the pine combo cab would have gone the way of the dodo.

Russ

[Tony Bones]

One thing I am thinking of, given Solid Pine is a resonant wood, is if there are any chances that the head cabinet will pick up more vibration from the speaker cabinet, then let's say Birch, or am I overthinking this?

For me weight is a big factor and hence why I am going for a lightweight wood

Overthinking! If it was true the pine combo cab would have gone the way of the dodo.

Russ

Huh? There's almost nothing lighter than solid pine. Balsa maybe. Any kind of plywood will be heavier and less strong.

If the solid pine cab goes the way of the Dodo it will be because quality solid pine goes the way of the Dodo. Forestry isn't what it used to be. Big, straight pine trees were common 50 years ago. They cut them down and made big, wide, straight pine boards out of them. It was great. Now they plant seedlings where they'll grow fast. They cut them down when they're still scrawny and saw them into narrow, knotty, twisted pine boards. The world changes...