Pics of Oak veneered speakers?

[Jim85IROC]

Has anybody built speakers with a white oak veneer that they're willing to show pictures of? I'm building a pair of 2 ways (XT19 and Usher 5.5") for my cousin as a house-warming gift to him and his wife. Their new house has a beautiful oak banister and railing in their living room, and they've decided to match their new furniture to it.

My cousin also loves the piano-black cabinets that I constructed for my Tangband W3-871s, and has an overall taste for a more modern appearance similar to that, so I'd like to incorporate a similar feel to compliment the oak. My plan is to veneer the cabinets in oak, but do the front baffle in either a gloss black, or a silver to match most modern electronics. Does anybody have pics even remotely similar to this type of style? If so, please post them!

[BobEllis]

Jim,

No pictures, but a caution. Oak is a very open pore wood. Filling the pores is a must if you want a high gloss finish. It'll take a lot of work to achieve that piano gloss type finish, but it can be done. You should be able to find some finishing information on Fine Woodworking's website.

White oak is a little tighter grained and smaller pored than the usual red oak you find in homes/oak furniture. It has good decay resistance and makes a great boatbuilding wood. Its color is a little lighter than red oak, but under a finish they are similar.

You might want to try www.pianolac.com for a finish. It is a waterbased finish that claims exceptional gloss and durability, as well as ease of application. He has pore fillers, high build sealers in black and clear, and a high gloss clear topcoat. Not to mention the best prices I've found on sandpaper by far. You could fill and seal your veneer and spray black on front face then shoot the whole thing with clear coat.

I am in the middle of applying it for the first time and like the results so far. This is my first time spraying a finish with a real sprayer. It has very high solids content and builds quickly. I used Pianolac's pore filler on raw mdf and after three base coats of black had a flat surface without rubbing through anywhere. As advertised, it built up a lot more quickly and with better results than the automotive rattle cans I have used before.

Arthur recommends 9 or more coats of clear before rubbing out to a high gloss. I got three coats on before the weather turned too cool to spray outdoors. It's as good as most commercial satin finishes as it stands now. Pretty good for a spray painting noob. I hope we get the warm dry weather promised for next week so I can finish spraying.

I'm using a Harbor Freight HVLP touch up gun. You'll probably get better results with your experience and the better quality guns you have available.

I also shot the clear topcoat (without sealing first) on some scrap walnut and maple. It is dead clear - it didn't give the milky cast I have seen with other water based finishes. Walnut looks great with the black pore filler and clear.

I have no connection with Pianolac, except as a customer. Customer support is exceptional - although hismarket is high end furniture and instrument finishers, Arthur was very helpful and answered all of my newbie quiestions promptly.

[azira]

I do a lot of woodworking. If you can swing it, try and use a Quartersawn White Oak veneer. Quarter Sawn oak is a lot prettier and has a lot more figure (and medullary rays) than flatsawn oak. For the regular observer it'll look more interesting and for the knowledgeable observer, they'll admire/appreciate the choice of wood.

As far as filling the pores, you can use shellac as a sanding sealer. Put on two coats and then sand it down and that'll seal it. Then you can apply almost any finish coat on top of it. You may instead prefer the look of shellac by itself and just apply a couple more coats. I personally prefer the look of shellac or satin polyurethane on my pieces that need protection. Some oil finishes look fine but I think they offer much less protection.
--
Danny

[Jim85IROC]

Thanks for the advice guys. I guess I should have been more clear though... the paino finish will be reserved for the painted front panel. Whether that is black or grey hasn't been decided yet, but I've had good luck using automotive urethane paints on MDF. The oak pieces will probably be a satin or perhaps a gloss urethane, whatever it takes to make it match what's already in their house. Likewise, the veneer I choose will be whatever best matches their current stuff.

But, since this plan is likely to change 10 times, all of this information should prove to be very handy to have!

Thanks!

[MBK]

Not sure if it's *white* oak, and probably not to the high standards people here lacquer their stuff... But FWIW, Here we go, my open baffles...

[MBK]

The edge profiles are oak too btw, glued on and the corners chiseled round by hand

[MBK]

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