A few thoughts...

mccreadyisgod

Well, I'm getting ready to build a couple speaker cabinets. I have 4 10" guitar speakers from my old Crate cabinet, and I want to make 2 matching 2x10" cabinets. I went down to Home Depot tonight, and they have 1"x12" pine... I want to use solid one-piece pine for this cabinet, but 12" is the widest they had. I'm a bit concerned that 12" isn't wide enough for the baffle... 10" speakers will require a 9" hole, that only leaves 1.5" on either side of the speaker cut. I'm pretty sure I want a sealed-back enclosure, but if I used a 3/4 back, that might be interesting. My other option is to seal one of the speakers in each cabinet and make the other speaker a half-back. I dunno...

I was on Mojo Tone's web site looking at hardware, too. I'm not sure if I want a Fender-style top handle or a pair of Marshall-style side handles. I kinda prefer the Fender style, though... less cut from the wood, and a bit easier to carry both cabinets at once. I would probably just use a nice laquer finish on the wood, rather than a tolex... it will wear a little harder, but it'll make for a nice woody look. I can't decide on a grill-cloth, though... I'll probably build the cabinet with room for a grill frame, but I don't know if I'll put one in. It would probably look pretty cool exposed, but some dark-brown (think Fender blonde-era) grillcloth would look great, too. And it wouldn't be too pricy, maybe $35 for both cabinets. The last option is the jack-plate. I want to be able to parallel connect the cabinets, but the only 2-jack panel I found is almost 4 times the cost of a single. I could get two single jacks and parallel wire them inside for about half the price, but it would require two holes instead of just one, and a tad more wiring/soldering.

Anyone have any thoughts or opinions? Other sites with cabinet hardware for sale? Does anyone think a 1/2" particle-board baffle would be a terrible idea? Just looking for ideas here...

who's_pearljam?

I always have been meaning to build some cabinets.
I wouldn't go with pine boards for the cabinets, though. That wood is relatively unstable over time and I know home depot lumber. (Soft and twisty)

3/4 inch thick Italian poplar is supposed to be the best. It's light, and it has resonant qualities, too and is dimensionally stable. You'd have to get it at a hardwood plywood dealer, (ahem, not HD.)

This is what I will build some day very soon, in the far far distant future:D:

http://www.buzzfeiten.com/Merchandise/Buzz_Feiten_Speaker_Cabinets/buzz_feiten_speaker_cabinets.html

I've heard these and they are great. One speaker is mounted in front of the front, one behind. They're pretty light too, for aging Americans with bad backs!

Check out the 3 speaker cab on the bottom of that page. I think that looks pretty good, too.

djyman15

Im by no means an expert on speakers, but i know a little about woods. Id also recommend poplar. While not a very fancy wood, its very light, and VERY easy to work with.

mccreadyisgod

I had thought about poplar, too... pine just seems to have great resonance. I know I can find solid poplar around here, but I'm not sure about poplar plywood. I don't want to dump a bunch of money into these cabinets, though... If I'm spending $100 a cab on the wood, it's not going to make a lot of sense. I was hoping to get the wood for about $20 a cabinet or less. Montana has a healthy lumber industry, so our local wood prices are pretty reasonable, but imported stuff (Georgia pine, Italian poplar, etc) would be quite a bit more. I could use pine plywood for the back and sides, and get a solid poplar baffle... that wouldn't be too bad. It's already going to be about $25 a cab for the hardware (handle, feet, jackplate).