Wood treatment before building...

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_Markos_
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Wood treatment before building...

Post by _Markos_ »

Hii!

I am going to build a original 18w from scratch and if my own hands...I really like to put my hands on this kind of work!!

Well, as I am a Biologist I really like to recicle things, and in this case I think it will be a very god choice. The thing is... I already have a wood to make my cabinet...it is a very good wood which once upon a time :lol: was a archithecture drawing table from my mother... but it is a solid wood which I think it might add to the tone of my amp. I don't know the name in english now, but I'll research it and the update here ;) .

But here is the thing... can I use any product to treat the wood so in the future it wouldn't get infested with termites?? Can this product negatively influence in the tone of the amp? Or after it drys doesn't change anything?

I don't know if it is clear... sorry my english!

Thank you!
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CurtissRobin
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Post by CurtissRobin »

Many varieties of wood are suitable for building cabinets for amplifiers. In the 1940's and 1950's cabinets were often built from solid wood and in the 1960's plywood became more common. Most combo cabinets (those with both amplifier and speaker in one cabinet) for the 18 watt amp are built using Baltic birch plywood 1/2" (13 mm) thick, though some builders prefer thicker material. With respect to building amplifiers, every builder has an opinion and a preference. My opinion is that nearly anything that you build should be similar to the equipment you can buy in a store. Most of the problems you might encounter with design have already been solved there.

If the drawing board is more than 3/4" (19 mm) thick I recommend choosing something else. It will work but the finished cabinet will be extremely heavy. Also, there should be no need to treat the wood to deter termites. If anyone has done it I've neither read nor heard about it.

There is some very good information on the Downloads page http://www.18watt.com/modules.php?name= ... oad&cid=35.

KennyO
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_Markos_
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Post by _Markos_ »

Thank you!!

I think the thickness of mine wood is 15mm...it will be a very heavy amp...because this is a good and heavy wood, and besides my chassis wil be made of stainless stell..that's because I have a stainless stell plate to recicle here... 8O but I don't think this will be a issue....

But the first thing I would like to know is about the treatment of the wood before starting anything.... I am concerned with having problems in the future with termites....so I am thinking of prepering it with some chemical that are available for treatment of funiture against termites...but I don't know about the possibility of this influenciate in the final tone of my amp....so, if there is this possibility I might let the wood as it is... so, anyone knows anything about it??

Thank you anyway!!
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Post by juse »

Hi Markos,

I've been around amps for over 30 years & I've never heard of anyone having termite issues. Is there a particular reason you have pinpointed this as an area of concern? I would say don't worry about it and go for it and build your amp. But, if it worries you, throw some cedar chips in the cabinet when you're done :wink:
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_Markos_
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Post by _Markos_ »

Hi juse!

My concern is because I just moved to a new apartment, and almost everything (the floor, doors, windows...) are infested with termites...so, I am worried to bring a brand new cabinet made with a good wood and then get it infested as well....what do you think?

Well, I am also concerned about my acoustic and eletric guitars...is it possible to happen anything the instruments?

Thank you!!
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_Markos_
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Post by _Markos_ »

Can´t anyone help me? :?
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CurtissRobin
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Post by CurtissRobin »

The only furniture that I've known to become infested with termites was an end table at my mother-in-law's house (in Southern California) and that table had sat in one place for somewhere between eight and fifteen years. When the bugs got in there it was through the unfinished wood bottom that was in direct contact with an old wood floor and it had been wet from time to time. The termite specialist said that the exposed wood and occasional moisture was the risk and if there had been a finish on the bottom they probably would've avoided it.

Some thoughts:
Cover the cab with vinyl (Tolex) and you should have no trouble.
I 'm sure that termites aren't inclined to eat their way into things that get moved around so move it a few feet every week.
With regard to treating the wood, I suggest you talk to someone who does pest control for a living. I wouldn't ask an exterminator about amp circuits and I doubt that any amp builder here has any experience with insect pests. I think you're the only person to ask about termites since I've been here (five years) so there's an extremely small body of knowledge to draw upon.

KennyO
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Post by _Markos_ »

Thank you!!

It is really hard to find any information about that... I´ll start building it without concernig to much about that...

Thank you anyway!!
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Post by PeddlerPete »

There's no reclaimation to termite damage.
...Pretty sure I heard that sealing wood takes care of any/all bug trubble, never had enough bugged wood to experiment with though.
I'm not sure at what temperature termite expiration occurs, I'd guess they won't last long at >140 degrees, a black plastic bag [taped closed] makes a 'sun oven' arrangement and oven thermometer would do the trick I guess.
Various woods make great cabinets, thickness planing and joinery techniques can be varied to better accomodate wood 'tendancies' like weight/density, vibration resistance or resonance [resonance is tricky, easier to calculate for adequate stiffness].
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Post by SpentMusic »

Put a small container of moth balls in the bottom of the cabinet or spray some insect repellant under the cabinet where it sits in the house. Would not suggest spraying the cabinet as the chemicals in the spray could start to loosen up the tolex glue, speaker cone, etc.
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Post by spud »

Well, I'm glad that's all settled about the termites. One other thing is your SS chassis - how thick is it? SS is pretty hard material to drill/cut - IRRC. You might want to reconsider the choice of chassis material.

Jim
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headstack
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Re: Wood treatment before building...

Post by headstack »

If you put some rubber feet on the bottom of the cabinet it will keep the termites from getting to the wood.

More importantly, it will improve the low end response of the cabinet by decoupling it from the floor.

What is the wood called in your language?
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It doesn't need to be loud, just nicely saturated

Wayne_Alexander
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Re: Wood treatment before building...

Post by Wayne_Alexander »

simply painting the wood (all of it, sides, top, bottom) with regular colored paint (not clear stain) should stop termites from ever getting in. They don't like to eat through paint. Varnish or stain or clear sealer will not stop them. The very experienced contractor who rebuilt my termite-infested redwood deck taught me this. If you're going to cover the cabinet with tolex paint it before you do that This will absolutely not have any effect on the tone.
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