Veneering opinion?

[mazeroth]

I'm in the process of building my line arrays and would love to use real wood panels on the sides all the way up, but after pricing nice, real wood, I think I'm going to have to pass. This set of speakers will be "budget" arrays and I'd like to keep the cabinet costs low while still making them look nice. I've tested with the black truck bed liner spray paint and boy does it come out NICE! What I'd like to do is something similar to what Polk does with their speakers (pic below). Do you guys recommend something like this this? Any idea the best way to do this? I'm thinking gluing all the MDF together, then applying the veener and cutting it flush with an Exacto knife. Then using a small rounder on the sides (maybe 1/4"). Next I would cover the veneer with tape and paper and paint the front, back, and top of the speakers with the black bed liner. Does this seem like a plan or is there a better way to do this? I don't even own a router yet but plan on getting one in the next few days.

I appreciate everyone's opinions and criticisms. If you think there may be some way to get solid hardwood cheap I'm all ears. The veneer I priced is about $1.00 - $1.50 per square foot, and each side is a little over 4 square feet so it should only cost about $5 to do a side, compared to the $40+ per piece for the wood. My speaker sides are 9in wide by 70.5in tall.

Thanks!

[tktran]

Your plans sounds good. As usual, I would try on a piece of a scap MDF if this is your first go.

I also veneered first and painted second. Then finished the veneer.

The only quibble I have with my veneering is long-term stability (glue, sun, oily veneer? no idea) Don't let this scare you off though- YMMV.

Painted to veneered sides:

[Grahamt]

Hi Maz

Sounds like a good idea. I like the thick veneer that you apply wood glue to and iron it on. I find it looks great and I have had no durability problems.

My speakers look similar to what you described. I put red oak veneer on all sides and then painted the front baffle with textured spray paint. They look better than that description sounds. The veneer came in a roll 2' by 96".

Then using a small rounder on the sides (maybe 1/4").

I am not sure what you mean by this. Putting quarter round on all the corners? Or rounding off the corners with a router?

A plunge router with a flush trimming router bit will make things much easier than using an exacto.

[mazeroth]

Thanks for the replies!

I e-mailed tktran some questions but I'll ask yours here, GrahamT. Any chance you could post a picture of how your speaker turned out? When I said do a roundover I meant I would flush the veneer (with exacto or flush bit I guess) then use a roundover on the front left and right sides to give it a better appearance, although I'm not sure if I'll need to. I was just thinking having the veneer start ~1/4" back (due to the roundover) would make it look better. That way the whole front and 1/4" back would be black, then the wood would come into play. Maybe even going to a 1/2" roundover would look nice. That way it would look like the front baffle was a solid piece of 1/2" wood and the side panels would look like real, thick wood.

Any recommendation on which type of veneer to get (brand?)

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys!

[Grahamt]

I'm gatemplin over at CP by the way.

I dont have any pics of my speakers sorry. I might have some at Christmas time though.

Your plan for the speakers sounds good. I think a 1/2" bevel on the corners would look better than the round over here though, just my opinion.

What I did was veneer all six sides of the box, trimming the veneer with the flush bit. Then I built another baffle ( 1/4" smaller) for the front of the box. The front baffle has the recessed driver cutouts and a 1/2" round over and is made of 3/4" MDF. I then taped around the front baffle and painted it with the textured paint. The paint is Krylon make it stone. I like it and plan to use it again on my next project in about a month.

I dont recall what brand the veneer was though.

Good luck and hope this helps.

[Hornlover]

I like Tape Ease for veneer. They are very good, have good prices, and a great selection.

http://www.tapeease.com/

If you want to do the painting after the veneering, I would recommend at least 1 coat of finish on the veneer first. If you get any paint on the raw unfinished veneer, the wood soaks up the paint deep into the grain, and you will probably not be able to sand it out, because it will have soaked in too deep. By applying at least one coat of varathane first, it seals the grain, and any overspray can be wiped off fairly easy.

[tktran]

actually, now that hornlover said it, i think i mixed up the order. I think i /did paint it last. Simply because it was a last minute decision to go for a high gloss black finish on the back.

Which really is unnecessary as far as the back of a speaker is concerned, but I took at as an opportunity to have a go at a piano gloss black, in case I ever want to do proper speaker front/side in black....

[VT67]

I also first veneered the top and front of my speakers and painted the sides and back second.
Only thing you must never do is "rush things". You will be rewarded with a nice finish afterwards.

[joster]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but on the same subject, what do you do to prepare the mdf cabinet before applying the veneer. My cabinets are not perfect near the corner seams, and need filler of some sort. I've heard of using bondo(autobody filler) and sanding, any other ideas? Thanks, good info so far!

[qxlxp]

Originally posted by tktran
The only quibble I have with my veneering is long-term stability (glue, sun, oily veneer? no idea) Painted to veneered sides:

if the veneer is applied with even a minimal level of skill and care, it should far outlast your interest in the speakers themselves. i have several pieces of furniture where the veneer is well over 100 yrs old and it is in great condition.