need 1" and 1.5" mdf (1 Viewer)

[Walt Park]

I bought a kit that calls for 1" and 1.5" mdf, but I went to Home Depot and Menards, and they only carry 1/2 and 3/4. Does MDF come in 1 and 1.5"? Also can I just double up the 1/2 and 3/4 to get the 1 and 1.5? I'm a little bit concerned about the gap since that's apparantly the arguement against using a plywood. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

If you look around you ought to be able to find true 1" but most of it is 7/8". For the 1.5 simply glue two 3/4" together

 

[Andrew Walbert]

Good luck finding true 1" MDF, as just about nobody carries it. You could try talking to somebody at your local car audio shop and see where they get their stuff, as high-power subwoofer boxes require the 1" MDF. Other than that, I don't know of any national chains that carry it. As far as I know, there aren't any places that sell 1.5" MDF at all, though you might be able to find 1.5" HDF (high density fiberboard). But do yourself a favor and don't use HDF, as you'll destroy whatever you use to cut it. If you glued two 3/4" boards together tightly, it would be sufficiently strong that it won't break, bend, or otherwise fail structurally. Even 3/4" MDF is incredibly strong, so I can only imagine how tough 1.5" would be. MDF is really just sawdust that has been mixed with glue to form a board, so I would think that combining two boards that way wouldn't compromise anything.

Just my $.02

 

[RayJK]

The most common way is to glue and screw two pieces together to get 1" or 1.5" Depending on how large the panels are you need to put together you might be able to get by with just glue and clamps. 1.25" drywall screws are cheap so you might as well use them.

Marine plywood comes in 1" and 1.5" sizes but the price will cause a heart attack. Makes damn good speaker boxes though.

 

[Brian Bunge]

When building enclosures that need 1.5" thick walls, I simply build the inner box with 3/4" MDF and then glue and nail oversized pieces of 3/4" MDF on each side. Then I come back with a flush trim bit and trim the excess off. It's a great way to come up with perfect edges on your enclosure.

 

[Walt Park]

Thanks all. Looks like I'll be busting out the tools tomorrow.

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Even 3/4" MDF is incredibly strong,

MDF is increadibly dense and decently stong while multi-ply, void- free baltic birch is increadibly strong and decently dense.

I would personally do an inner shell of baltic birch (3/4") and an outer shell of MDF (3/4") for you 1" thickness

BB does come in 1" and 1.5" thickness, but it is about 2x the cost of the equivalent MDF.