Where To Buy Solid Wood For Diy

[lhotse8501m 0]

I plan to DIY a Hifi Rack. I intend to use solid wood for stability. Do anyone know where can I buy them cut to size in small quantity ?

[hihihi 0]

IKEA has limited selection of solid pine plank.... raw... so u gotta paint it DIY

[lhotse8501m 0]

Thanks, IKEA wood's pine plank are kinda soft for me liking. I would prefer much more solid or MDF.

[manutd1972 1]

for a hifi rack, IKEA's stuff cannot do. in fact, even MDF is not good enough.

wat u need is really solid wood. wood such as solid oak. it's not gg to be cheap. and if u're gg to budget this, den i'd advise u to just get 1 of those metal racks frm any specialised audio shop and set them up on spikes. spend on spikes at each level of the rack will cost less than making a whole rack out of d*** solid wood.

at least tt's wat i knw when i was still dabbling in home audio. dun think much has changed as far as vibration absorption and isolation is concerned.

Edited October 22, 2010 by manutd1972

[mafacifa 0]

i would recommend u to get plywood and laminate from those laminate companies. pretty cheap for a big piece. contact them directly and u can get catalogues from them. looks better and lasting with laminates than real solid wood.

[watzzdown 0]

Any good laminate companies to recommence? thanks. : )

[manutd1972 1]

i'm sorry. plywood with laminates overlay may be lasting, but it cannot outlast all solid wood. it depends on what type of solid wood that u're comparing with. Teak, oak, maple, pine, etc, all have different characteristic, strengths and weaknesses.

and as far as audio applications are concerned, laminated plywood will never be as good as truly solid wood. again, for such applications, some types of solid wood are also not as suitable as others.

ultimately, it depends on wat u want to achieve. if it's just a budget rack, den anything also can use. even cheap plastics, so long as it can take the weight of your audio equipment.

but if it's sound quality that you're looking for, den pls spend a bit more to get the most "value-for-money" rack. one that balances the compromise between performance and price. set urself a budget, check ard, and get the best one tt ur budget can afford. bt bear in mind the limitations of watever that u're getting and ask urself if u can accept the weakness if that rack, if any. buy with ur budget in mind, but also with open eyes.

i used to spend thousands of dollars on my home audio system. even my speaker cables cost me over $10/m. but i've given up this "hobby". sold all my components years ago when i moved.

[morganwu 0]

try nature wood wood @ 56 sungei kadut street 1, or Kenwood, also located at sungei kadut.

[lhotse8501m 0]

Actually I want to built a rack similar to these.

It blends with my other furnishing. I guest it will be cheaper then shipping them here.

I plan to order those isolation spikes from US.

Hopefully the wood price dont cost a bomb

[mafacifa 0]

bro, ikea has similar ones in pine wood. u can stain them also

[morganwu 0]

pine is not strong enough for Hifi equipment.

like i mentioned, you can get Solid White Oak, Walnut or Maple, even birch and beech planks at Kenwood. They are along Sungei Kadut Street 1 also.

However the thickness shown in the pictures are gonna cost quite a lot. It is more practical to use a 20 or 25mm plank.

PS: Kenwood cuts to size for u.

Edit: Kenwood's address is 10, Sungei Kadut St3, Kenwood Industries

I am the distributor for OSMO Woodwax and Oils, which are very user friendly and great for DIY. Check my signature link for more info.

Edited October 26, 2010 by morganwu

[manutd1972 1]

pine is not strong enough for Hifi equipment.

like i mentioned, you can get Solid White Oak, Walnut or Maple, even birch and beech planks at Kenwood. They are along Sungei Kadut Street 1 also.

However the thickness shown in the pictures are gonna cost quite a lot. It is more practical to use a 20 or 25mm plank.

PS: Kenwood cuts to size for u.

totally agree! Pine simply cannot fulfill the requirements of a proper hifi rack.

Oak and walnut are very good choices. But yes, at that thickness, it's not gg to be cheap. Solid Oak is quite ex, but very very good.

And pls pls pls don't use laminates. Unless you want "extra" noise coming from the rack.

[morganwu 0]

@manutd1972

Lol, we have an audiophile here.

To TS, to cut down on the cost, choose lesser grades of White Oak and Walnut like 1 common or 2 common. The grade of the wood does not affect the sound. The best grade, First and Seconds (FAS) are gonna be very expensive.

You can try Maple if you fancy pale color tones. I just updated Kenwood's address on my reply above. They are the one whom i source my lumber from, if i only require small quantities.

Edited October 26, 2010 by morganwu

[manutd1972 1]

@manutd1972

Lol, we have an audiophile here.

No no....no audiophile here. Just an amateur. Moreover, I gave up the hobby years ago.

[manutd1972 1]

TS, wat abt ur speakers? Floor-standing or mounted on speaker stands? And ur cables? Connectors? U need to consider all these factors too.

The quality of any audio system is only as good as the "worst" component of the whole system. So if u spend on everything but scrimp on the cables or connectors, the sound reproduction of your system may still not be as good as you expect it to be.

This is a very very expensive hobby if you really wanna play with it.