Does anybody know how to get this finish?

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#102
gday!
first hand - it's no a problem realy. do you want to transport it often? I'm not sure. 🙂
second - anyway you have to use very strong material, or thick wood, or veneer for nice box damping. and your box will be heavy as well. isn't it?
should you will make it yourself - you want to get maximum quality, so it's not easy way.
 
#105
OK, back from a long delay (finishing school) I finally have time to finish these darn things.

I was doing some more experimentation with the veneer/practice blanks and I really like the look of just spraying on some dye and then sealing with shellac then lacquer. The wood has a little bit of irradescence that makes it look really nice.

My question now is how to get rid of the wood grain texture in my final surface. I know that pore filling is how this is usually done, and I would simply use plaster of paris, but this seems to eliminate the irradescene of the veneer. Can I fill with multiple coats of lacquer and then sand back? Or do I need to get something like polyurethane?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Wes
 
#106
YEah BAby!

Yes you can!

You need thre or more coats before you start sanding. Use a block and soapy water as a lubricant. Sand it down with 320 until it looks decent and then coat with a couple more layers of laquer. Then sand it down. It is a good idea to coat the layers within a hour or less. Let it dry thoroughly for at least a day or two. THen sand them and give them the subsequent coats. Let it dry again for atlest a couple of days. Then sand it well. Give it a beauty coat. Let that set up a couple of weeks and then if you want the whole nine yards you sand it with 1000 lubricated at all times with the water and soap. And then buff it with automotive cream buffing compound. Yes it can be done by hand. Will look like a million bucks.

Bottom line think this way. A good coat of laquer wet is about 0.012" If you have thinned it correctly and taking into consideration the actual solids content you may build up a layer of around 0.005". Not much!
When I was doing some board room tables the first time I did what you want to. It took 36 coats of laquer to get that glass smooth surface. I since have cut that down to less than 12. Practice makes perfect!

MArk
 
#107
:bigeyes:

36 coats!!! Oh man, these things are 5 feet tall! I better buy some more pints of lacquer... or maybe a case.

I cracked and bought a small air compressor and I am planning on buying a spray gun next weekend. It won't run an HVLP system, but I figure it should be better than trying to brush on coats. I think its about $75 from home depot.

A quick question about where the veneer edges meet. I know there was some previous discussion about pounding/malleting/killing cats, but I was still unclear as to how this method works. I have angles that are only 30 degrees along one side and I like to keep them relatively sharp so bending a single sheet isn't an option. but fortunately the angles should make edge matching unnecessary. I'll post pics soon to hopefully make is more clear.

Thanks so much for all your help so far. I know that many of my projects and possibly my interest in speakers in general might have crashed long ago if not for this site.

-Wes
 
#108
... if not for this site
Click to expand...

Amen.

30deg...when I have such angle I build a jig to hold a razor blade at a corresponding angle to cut the venner with...but bashing some butt joints together works damn well too(I think I mentioned it a month or two ago). I'm a little confused though...30deg is pretty acute, are you sure it's not sixty( it all depends on how you look at it). Got a drawing/plan?

Mark's block sanding suggestion is spot on... personally, I like to use a balsa wood block(nice and true) and let it's own weight do the work...smooth as a baby's bum.

Edit...What's wrong with butt? can't say butt 'round here without getting a hassle?
 
#111
DC,

That shop is only 20 mins from my Apt. I've been there before, but they wouldn't even take the time to talk to me and their veneer selection was very limited and expensive.

I've had better luck with Constantines and Joewoodworker.

-Wes
 
#112
Pics Pics and yay veneer

Ok, I think that angle is somewhere between 30 and 60 degress anyway. Here is a pic of the cabinet, along with the fresh sheets of veneer. This stuff is too expensive, I really hope I don't screw it up. Can you explain further/give suggestions about how to get those corners not to look like crap??

Thanks,

-Wes
 

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#116
Re: Pics Pics and yay veneer

wrl said:
Ok, I think that angle is somewhere between 30 and 60 degress anyway. Here is a pic of the cabinet, along with the fresh sheets of veneer. This stuff is too expensive, I really hope I don't screw it up. Can you explain further/give suggestions about how to get those corners not to look like crap??

Thanks,

-Wes
Click to expand...

NICE wood- where did ya get it? $$ huh
DC
 
#117
While I'm on a role here. I have triangular pieces that fit in the top and bottom to allow access to the electronics. Does anyone have suggestions about how to attach those?

I want them to be removable, but stable. I was thinking screws, but that might not be convenient enough to remove, and I don't want hinges on the outside.

Any suggestions??

THANKS,

Wes
 
#120
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