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Glue Only?
BrianAbington:
Back in my car audio days I saw a couple of glue only enclosures come apart. Granted this was smooth MDF joints and Elmers wood glue. My enclosures were always heavy and about half the weight was from coarse dry wall screws.
I still use screws in everything I build to me it just makes it more solid in case something is dropped.
If I am cutting after the panels are put together and the screws will be close to were I am cutting I wait untill after I cut to install screws in that immediate area.
I feel screws are worth the weight for the extra strength. Even if it requires a bit of filler.
If you want to avoid screws as long as you use something really strong like PL premium you should be okay even if you drop your enclosure while lifting it up on a stack. ???
Tim Weaver:
You should clarify; Was it the glue that came apart, or the mdf itself? I've destroyed a few MDF cabinets and the glue always holds tight while the MDF itself delaminates and tears at the joints.
In my experience MDF is a poor choice of materials when you are talking about a cabinet that will be moved a lot. Even cheap plywood is a better choice for PA cabs.
MDF is great for prototyping and building home hi-fi cabinets though. Its very easy to work with and is very uniform and non-resonant.
BrianAbington:
I've seen the glue come apart before. I've also seen the MDF delaminate.
I think that if your going to line-x your enclosures then MDF is a good choice, but if you need light weight and plan to just vinyl or carpet the cabs then birch is probably best.
I'd still add some screws though.
Art Welter:
--- Quote from: Ray Buksa on January 25, 2011, 07:09:02 PM --- I've been working on a sub project and was wandering if anyone had built with glue only Joints.
I've tried to take apart previous boxes I've put together with glue and screws, and it always ends in destruction of the joint.
The glues are stronger than the wood.
All these joints are quite tight by design no butt joints. Mostly dados or some combo. Clean well managed cuts.
So how does a glue only joint hold up? No cheapo glues here either
--- End quote ---
Glue can be far stronger than wood, and you don't need exotic stuff to achieve that, regular yellow wood glue is fine.
That said, cabinets used on the road are subject to the plywood itself delaminating or breaking with the grain at corners, where stress is concentrated.
I've had biscuit jointed stuff fall apart, but never had screwed cabinets using good plywood fall apart under normal use and abuse.
For the above reasons, screws are still needed.
Using a pocket jig and screwing from the inside can make rounding over the edges less subject to destroying router bits.
I avoid that problem by rounding over individual panels before putting in the screws.
Art Welter
duane massey:
I use screws and glue, mostly butt joints and normally glue blocks as well. Everything I build is big, heavy, and complicated, and clamps are just not a practical solution for me. Yep, filling the holes is a drag, and getting the screws to countersink without tearing up the wood is tricky, but the assembly is much faster for a one-man operation.
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