Researching beater cabs available for cheap builds

[olddawg]

Well..... I blew it with that cab. I could have got it for $140 ten minutes away, no tax. A working amp with a 12" Celestion. So I checked out some 1"x12"x12' clean pine boards from Dixieline. $42 plus tax. I should have bought the damn amp. By the time I bought the wood, the Tolex, the corners, the handle, and a speaker it would be that much. That's not counting the time and effort involved. I guess I'll keep looking. I've always recycled cabinets for my builds before. I'm not in a huge hurry. Just bored.

[bob p]

there's another thread where we've been talking about how bugera is blowing "refurbished" amps out so cheap on ebay that it's not cost effective to shop in the used market. even cabs. there's a Bugera 412 that they'll sell you for $210 shipped.

[Tqi]

Looks like even in good working order, these 2x12 amps are dead cheap where I am.

I've been kinda hoping for a dead Frontman 212R or Champion 100 to turn up, so I can try building an ultra-low-watt 'twin' in a 'twin' cab. They're pretty rare, and when they do come up dead, they're about the same price as these Line6 amps are good.

[rjb]

The greyish board often seen in Silvertones, Danelectros & similar amps is what I call homasote, also known as beaverboard. It was popular in the 1930's - 60's as a cheap wall & ceiling board...

If this is the same stuff, I see that it is still available at Menard's and Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sound-Ba...6136/202090212
https://www.menards.com/main/fiberbo...795-c-5779.htm
I haven't seen it person. Can someone say if it works for baffle board as well as cabinet shell?

Thanks,
-rb

[Steve A.]

If this is the same stuff, I see that it is still available at Menard's and Home Depot.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sound-Ba...6136/202090212
https://www.menards.com/main/fiberbo...795-c-5779.htm
I haven't seen it person. Can someone say if it works for baffle board as well as cabinet shell?

Thanks,
-rb

Sound Barrier Sheathing 1/2 in. x 4 ft. x 8 ft. R-1.2 Sound Board
• Improves sound insulation
• Guards against termites, rot and moisture

Huh?!?

Steve A.

[rjb]

Sound Barrier Sheathing...
Huh?!?

Back in post 14, Leo_Gnardo said that old Silvertone amp cabs were made of Homasote, AKA Beaverboard.

Wikipedia sez this:
Homasote is a brand name associated with the product generically known as cellulose based fiber wall board...
And this:
Beaverboard is a fiberboard building material, formed of wood fibre compressed into sheet...

Homasote's site says this:
440 SoundBarrier® is a special-density, structural board made from 100 percent environmental Homasote® cellulose fiber...

Relying on those descriptions, we can surmise that, despite the purpose for which 440 SoundBarrier is marketed, it definitely may or may not be the same material used to build Silvertone cabinets.

I'm asking if anyone knows whether or not 440 SoundBarrier is the same material used to build Silvertone cabinets.
And whether that material can be used for speaker baffles.

-rb

[Leo_Gnardo]

Back in post 14, Leo_Gnardo said that old Silvertone amp cabs were made of Homasote, AKA Beaverboard.

Yes I remember that. Perhaps there are new developments on the homasote front since 50-60 years ago. Sound absorbing qualities for instance. If you're planning on building a cab with a 5 year horizon like Dan-o did back than, you might consider it. And you can use some crappy masonite for baffles if you don't plan on mounting anything but the lightest duty speakers.

I think besides obvious cheapness, another attraction for homasote back then was, you could run a couple parallel saw cuts then bend it "around the corner" saving some cleat wood and of course production time. It's more or less a miracle any of those old amps are still around. I sure wouldn't advise standing on one. And as far as being vermin proof, I can say I've witnessed lots of homasote-box amps that have served as fine homes for mice, rats and various insects. Seems they're more distracted by having nearby wires to chew on and tend to leave the homasote alone. If that's a concern...

[galaxiex]

I have an old Silvertone 1481.
Here's a shot of the inside.
Yes... I call this amp "Bruce".

I did make a plywood baffle for it, the masonite baffle was quite bad, left the rest of it alone.

Last 2 pics are of how the amp came to me.

[Chuck H]

A good question. To me the stuff in the photo looks like pressed sawdust. What I call chip board - perhaps incorrectly - is the stuff that looks like large flakes of wood, like an inch or two or three across, all hunked together to form a sheet.

what I call chip board:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]44982[/ATTACH]

That "chipboard" stuff is called OSB (oriented strand board) and is made from thin sheets of wood flakes laminated together like plywood. It's not suitable for cabinet making, though THAT may not keep some manufacturer from doing it. "Particle board" comes in a few different densities, with the denser product used by cabinet makers usually being MDF (medium density fiberboard). The same stuff they make pre finished trim boards out of. The sawdust looking stuff is LDF (large density fiberboard) and is the cheaper (but slightly lighter) of the two, though it makes little difference to the cabinet.

[galaxiex]

................ is called OSB (oriented strand board) and is made from thin sheets of wood flakes laminated together like plywood. .....................

Should be called DIS-oriented strand board.

[Bill Moore]

Back in the 80's, I built my PA cabinets from OSB, I got the idea from some EV monitors I had. The main problem is their weight! They are dense, and I suppose airtight.
Here's one: