I've been listening to these for over 3 years
I finally broke down and took them apart to veneer. I started with raw sapele pommele. I used Super Soft veneer softener and two solid wood doors as a make shift press to straighten it. I applied the veneer with Better Bond Heat Lock glue. The front baffle is Rustoleum multicolor textured paint. Now for a lot of sanding and high gloss Deft lacquer.
I finally broke down and took them apart to veneer. I started with raw sapele pommele. I used Super Soft veneer softener and two solid wood doors as a make shift press to straighten it. I applied the veneer with Better Bond Heat Lock glue. The front baffle is Rustoleum multicolor textured paint. Now for a lot of sanding and high gloss Deft lacquer.
Veneer looks good, but a bit dark to be flamed maple ?
And the design is just perfect
Ahh, sapele pommele, never seen that before
Its a special flamed or figured ?
More to come I hope 🙂
And the design is just perfect
Ahh, sapele pommele, never seen that before
Its a special flamed or figured ?
More to come I hope 🙂
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If you ever make it down to San Antonio, drop in for a listen.
The cabinets are made from MDF and Baltic brich ply with CNC machined Baltic birch internal bracing.
The drivers are JBL 2235H woofers, Altec 802-8G driver mounted to Altec 511B horns and JBL 077 slot tweeters.
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Sapele can be found many ways, quarter cut, rotary cut, quilted and pommele. Each gives its own look of the same wood. Just Google sapele and you will find lots to view.
Wow, those look fanstastic. Did you create a construction diary, as I would love to know more about the hardware in those! 🙂
Very nicely done! 
Excellent build quality.
That veneer is spectacular. I had considered it for my mains but not in raw form, it is available in softened paper backed sheets that would make life a bit easier, but at nearly $400 per 4' x 8' sheet it isn't very economical:
Richelieu - Cedan
Excellent build quality.That veneer is spectacular. I had considered it for my mains but not in raw form, it is available in softened paper backed sheets that would make life a bit easier, but at nearly $400 per 4' x 8' sheet it isn't very economical:
Richelieu - Cedan
The way that it is cut does not determine the figure. The figure is an act of nature. The figured logs are rare in comparison to the normal varieties. I used to sell figured hardwoods as a business (hence my handle "Curly Woods").
Rotary cut is a term that is used when talking about veneers. It is cut from the log on a rotary cutter. The entire long is chucked up and spun as a blade "slices" the thin veneer off the log. It could also be straight sliced across the face of the log, but this would not give you the full widths that rotary affords.
Kiwazinga Bubinga is a rotary cut fugured Bubinga as another example of rotary cut figured veneers. The very finest figured logs generally wind up as veneers as these logs offer the greats return for the seller and the buyer of these figured logs. If these were sawn into lumber, the cost per board foot would be in the $40.00 to $60.00 per board foot range. Sometimes the lumber guys can buy a few logs, but the veneer buyers typically out price the lumber log buyers.
I do get to San Antonio every now and then as the wife and I love the city. It would be great to have a listen to your system and these speakers anytime! Wonderful job. I bet they sound glorious with those tubes. Are those SET amps that you are driving them with there?
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Do you mean to say that the entire void of the kerfing has been filled, top to bottom? Or that you used a microbeads filler to bring the surface flush for finish?
If you mean that the sides have been filled completely, how did you go about it, and where did you get the filler?
If you mean that the sides have been filled completely, how did you go about it, and where did you get the filler?
Thanks Curly Woods ! I stand corrected. As you can tell, I know just enough to be dangerous. LOL I would say these sheets were rotary cut. They measured 25"x49". The ends had some splits that I cut off after pressing, but they still yeilded enough to have one sheet cover the entire side of the speaker.
I got lucky and won 7 sheets on Ebay for less than $100. It was shipped rolled in a tube.
I got lucky and won 7 sheets on Ebay for less than $100. It was shipped rolled in a tube.
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The entire length of the kerf is filled. When I did the first side, I forgot to seal the botton of the kerf. So, when I went to move it, the beads started pouring out the bottom. 😱 After I vacuumed it up, I turned the cabinets upside down and sealed the kerf with some synthetic wood filler. I then turned them right side back up and filled them to the top. I finished by sealing the tops with the same wood filler. This makes the cabinets acoustically dead. Without the filler, the cabinets resonated around 150 Hz during testing.
I found the media at a bead blast shop here in town.
:O Prompt response! 😀
Do you expect the beads to compact inside the walls during use? I'd be scared that cabinet excitation would shake it down and cause voids.
Gorgeous design btw ;P
Do you expect the beads to compact inside the walls during use? I'd be scared that cabinet excitation would shake it down and cause voids.
Gorgeous design btw ;P
I made sure to fill slow and vibrate the cabinet with the backside of a random orbital sander and use a rubber mallet. I don't know if that was really needed, as this stuff pours like water. Over three years later and I've had no issues.
Here is a shot showing the back of the cabinet. It will be a few days before I get the gloss finish on.
Many suppliers of veneer will also offer some or all of the following patterns in the paper backed veneer MJL21193 mentioned. I have also seen the thicker veneers pre cut into to these patterns and taped on the front side, ready to be glued to a surface.
The first coat of DEFT lacquer finish went on last night. It soaks into the veneer almost acting like a sealer. Some sanding today and several more coats. The final will be sanded with 1000 grit, polished and buffed for a ultra gloss finish.
With two more coasts they are looking pretty good. A couple more to go and then polishing and buffing.
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