Birch baffle thickness

[Randall]

I'm having a cabinet built that should look like this when it's done:

https://www.mojotone.com/Cabinets_x/...aker-Cabinet_3

Fender and Mojotone use 1/2" for the baffle. I have some 5/8" baltic birch on hand. Is there any sonic difference if I use what I already have?

[Chuck H]

Of course there's a difference. A thinner, less sturdy baffle will vibrate more sympathetically and create it's own antiphase addition to the tone creating a signature chara... PLEH!!! I just barfed a little in my mouth.

The tonal difference almost certainly won't be significant. More significant is how the baffle thickness affects the fit of the grill board in the recess. You'll need the depth measurement for that to know if it's a problem.

P.S. The thread title is misleading. "Baltic Birch" is plywood. "birch" is wood wood.

[TomCarlos]

I found an interesting discussion for baffles on the Gear Page web site.

[bluesjunior]

I have just finished building a 50's tweed style cabinet for my BJr'. I did a bit of research and found that Fender used 1/4" ply but had a 3/4" x 1/4" ply strip attached to the perimeter on the internal side of the baffle and that is how I made mine. The narrow panel top and bottom piece on the front face of the cabinet I made from 1/2" pine glued and nailed in place, giving a total thickness of 1" at the corners. I used 5mm t-nuts for the fittings 11/4" x 5mm bolts to attach

[Randall]

"More significant is how the baffle thickness affects the fit of the grill board in the recess. You'll need the depth measurement for that to know if it's a problem."

I wasn't planning on a recess, is this necessary?

[g1]

I wasn't planning on a recess, is this necessary?

It butts up against something doesn't it? Is it going to stick out, or are you going to have to adjust the stops?

[Randall]

I was thinking I'd go blackface style and have the baffle secured to the 3/4 by 3/4 support rails on the sides and bottom. And recessed 1/4" from the front edge.

[Leo_Gnardo]

I was thinking I'd go blackface style and have the baffle secured to the 3/4 by 3/4 support rails on the sides and bottom. And recessed 1/4" from the front edge.

It's OK to beef up those cleats to 1x1, and deafinitely stand the grill cloth off the baffle to avoid dreaded baffleslap. "Beware the baffleslap my son..." It's been in classic literature for nearly two centuries, take good advice.

FWIW 1x1's are referred to as 5-quarter although the dimension is really one inch give or take.

[Chuck H]

It's OK to beef up those cleats to 1x1, and deafinitely stand the grill cloth off the baffle to avoid dreaded baffleslap. "Beware the baffleslap my son..." It's been in classic literature for nearly two centuries, take good advice.

FWIW 1x1's are referred to as 5-quarter although the dimension is really one inch give or take.

Yep. If you go to the local hardware or box store and buy 1x1 it's going to be 3/4x3/4. For some ridiculous reason.

[Leo_Gnardo]

Yep. If you go to the local hardware or box store and buy 1x1 it's going to be 3/4x3/4. For some ridiculous reason.

I've never found those for sale*, but I can always walk into Home Despot or Load's and find 5/4 x 5/4. Lacking a table saw and the patience to rip lumber, I just stick with what's available and enjoy the extra support in whatever I build/repair.

*Maybe just as well considering the typical "hockey stick" appearance of much dimension lumber at these joints. Feh!

[nosaj]

In the past, when a timber was called a 2x4 [or "two-by-four"], it actually measured 2 inches by 4 inches. Now, most timber is milled and planed to give it a little more of a finished look, and a little more of a consistent size and profile. Because of this extra milling, a 2x4 no longer measures a full 2 inches by four inches. Instead, a 2x4 is really only 1 1/2" by 3 1/2".

The same is true of pine. A 1x6, for example, actually measures 3/4" x 5 1/2". In this case, the planing is necessary for a smoother surface, so that the board could be used for interior applications.

nosaj

[Chuck H]

I wasn't planning on a recess, is this necessary?

I was thinking I'd go blackface style and have the baffle secured to the 3/4 by 3/4 support rails on the sides and bottom. And recessed 1/4" from the front edge.

There's always a recess for the mounting rails. What else would I have meant? Well, some amps are integral boxes with an inset grill cloth behind the speaker hole (I actually like that look). But yeah, I assumed there would be mounting rails. And I didn't know if you were flexible on the rail depth or working strictly from "plans". So I thought I'd mention it. Some amps have the grill attached to the baffle, usually with some sort of elevation for the grill cloth as Leo mentioned. And some amps actually have a baffle board and a grill cloth board. Either way you need to be aware of your recess (and how much room that's going to leave INSIDE the amp too). Not to mention planning it out so that your rails don't interfere with the speaker mounting. It's easy to miss something.

[Chuck H]

Bah on any intention of a "finished look". They're just plain cuttin' the lumber smaller and advertising it wrong. What sort of a finished look with extra planing or milling are they chasing when half the boards they sell are crooked. The rack of lumber at the store looks like a bag of french fries.

[nosaj]

Bah on any intention of a "finished look". They're just plain cuttin' the lumber smaller and advertising it wrong. What sort of a finished look with extra planing or milling are they chasing when half the boards they sell are crooked. The rack of lumber at the store looks like a bag of french fries.

Never buy lumber on Fri, Sat or Sun morning. Your buying picked over wood if you do. All the good stuff is picked over during the week and what's left for the weekend is the firewood.

nosaj

[Chuck H]

Never buy lumber on Fri, Sat or Sun morning. Your buying picked over wood if you do. All the good stuff is picked over during the week and what's left for the weekend is the firewood.

nosaj

In this age of the big box stores those are words to live by.