Hello all,
I was thinking of building a bookshelf speaker. I am aiming for around 500$ for parts and wanted something with a small form factor. I also wanted to try something with a ribbon tweeter as I have never built anything using them in the past. They will most likely be used on a desk as near field PC monitors to play a variety of music genres. I expect them to be close to a back wall.
Finally, I wanted to use this build as a test ground for some upcoming projects. I am eyeing the build of a small thor (modified from D'appolito's design) or Statement II's, but with a curved baffle. Current Thor design shown below.
I found a few bookshelf speakers with a small form factor, but the one that stood out for the expected use were the Speedsters by Paul Carmody shown here.
I originally wanted to use TangBand's new coax driver for their looks and performance, however cannot get them easily in Canada. So I stuck with an MT design.
The rear ported Speedsters near a back wall may not be ideal. Hence I originally thought of making one with a front slotted port like this, but the curved sides made it more difficult.
The baffle will be made from 0.5" MDF. The curved sides will be laminated 0.125" MDF. The front will be solid walnut. The rest of the enclosure will be veneered with walnut. I was looking in different finishes and liked the look of walnut although I am open to other options. I was also thinking of incorporating some metal elements or woven carbon fiber plates on the front baffle for a cool effect. These are still just ideas...
The curved enclosure kept similar dimensions, however the front had to be widened by 0.5" to 6.5" to compensate for the curve. The front is 6.5" and back 3.5" (outside dimensions). The inside volume is 0.185ft3 (vs. 0.19ft3 in Paul's design).
Before I start my build, would anyone have feedback on the following:
1. Any other speaker design to recommend (small-ish form factor, nice lows, known performance at price point)?
2. Any issues with the curve and with the wider front baffle (its only 0.5" wider now...)?
3. Any experience with the Speedster's rear pot near a back wall or any suggestions with regards to that is appreciated.
4. Any ideas for finishes to add an extra wow factor?
Thanks for your help.
I was thinking of building a bookshelf speaker. I am aiming for around 500$ for parts and wanted something with a small form factor. I also wanted to try something with a ribbon tweeter as I have never built anything using them in the past. They will most likely be used on a desk as near field PC monitors to play a variety of music genres. I expect them to be close to a back wall.
Finally, I wanted to use this build as a test ground for some upcoming projects. I am eyeing the build of a small thor (modified from D'appolito's design) or Statement II's, but with a curved baffle. Current Thor design shown below.
I found a few bookshelf speakers with a small form factor, but the one that stood out for the expected use were the Speedsters by Paul Carmody shown here.
I originally wanted to use TangBand's new coax driver for their looks and performance, however cannot get them easily in Canada. So I stuck with an MT design.
The rear ported Speedsters near a back wall may not be ideal. Hence I originally thought of making one with a front slotted port like this, but the curved sides made it more difficult.
The baffle will be made from 0.5" MDF. The curved sides will be laminated 0.125" MDF. The front will be solid walnut. The rest of the enclosure will be veneered with walnut. I was looking in different finishes and liked the look of walnut although I am open to other options. I was also thinking of incorporating some metal elements or woven carbon fiber plates on the front baffle for a cool effect. These are still just ideas...
The curved enclosure kept similar dimensions, however the front had to be widened by 0.5" to 6.5" to compensate for the curve. The front is 6.5" and back 3.5" (outside dimensions). The inside volume is 0.185ft3 (vs. 0.19ft3 in Paul's design).
Before I start my build, would anyone have feedback on the following:
1. Any other speaker design to recommend (small-ish form factor, nice lows, known performance at price point)?
2. Any issues with the curve and with the wider front baffle (its only 0.5" wider now...)?
3. Any experience with the Speedster's rear pot near a back wall or any suggestions with regards to that is appreciated.
4. Any ideas for finishes to add an extra wow factor?
Thanks for your help.
Attachments
Last edited:
fouchagalaga,
Designers generally discourage changing the width of the front baffle and distance between the 2 drivers. 0.5" is not much though... maybe others can comment.
Your baffle is becoming 6.5" wide in order to maintain cabinet volume with you planned curvature? Uou can aim for 6" wide and increase the height by a little at the bottom or increase the depth slightly to maintain the volume.
Designers generally discourage changing the width of the front baffle and distance between the 2 drivers. 0.5" is not much though... maybe others can comment.
Your baffle is becoming 6.5" wide in order to maintain cabinet volume with you planned curvature? Uou can aim for 6" wide and increase the height by a little at the bottom or increase the depth slightly to maintain the volume.
Fouchagalaga,
I purchased a set of built Speedsters about 5 years ago. The builder used parts express boxes out of maple. He also upgraded the caps to Jantzen superior z's. They sounded incredible with a Denon PMA 737. Very detailed for a near field speaker. Very enjoyable.
You should like them a lot. My son and I also built Paul's Cores and Overnite Sensations.
The Speedsters are a class above the Sensations which are also good. The Cores are fantastic for floorstanders in a medium sized room. We were surprised at how nice they are and he received many compliments from friends on them. Paul has an incredible talent.They
Try to keep the internal volume close to his design. Also I became a fan of Jantzen caps from the Speedsters. Just my experience, yours may vary as our hearing is different.
I purchased a set of built Speedsters about 5 years ago. The builder used parts express boxes out of maple. He also upgraded the caps to Jantzen superior z's. They sounded incredible with a Denon PMA 737. Very detailed for a near field speaker. Very enjoyable.
You should like them a lot. My son and I also built Paul's Cores and Overnite Sensations.
The Speedsters are a class above the Sensations which are also good. The Cores are fantastic for floorstanders in a medium sized room. We were surprised at how nice they are and he received many compliments from friends on them. Paul has an incredible talent.They
Try to keep the internal volume close to his design. Also I became a fan of Jantzen caps from the Speedsters. Just my experience, yours may vary as our hearing is different.
Build start
Hi Boris,
Thanks for your feedback. I bit the bullet ad ordered the parts for the Speedster. I took zman's advice and kept the baffle width the same (6 inch external). To keep the same volume I have raised the height of the speaker by 1 inch. This allowed to lower the woofer by 1 inch to prevent the overlap of the original design.
I originally wanted to make a curved box with pieces of brass trim for extra effect. However I had a hard time coming by the brass I needed. I tried some aluminum and other wooden trims, but they just didn't seem right. I settled on a black walnut baffle with curved sides that will be veneered in back walnut.
I started with a rough plank of black walnut for the front baffle. I CNCed the rest of the 0.5" MDF on a 3 axis I had access to. I worked the black walnut for two days. Long story short, I did not have the right tools and I lost a few more along the way (RIP table saw...).
I ended up using biscuit joints to join the MDF with the black walnut. The gluing together was a bit of a pain at first as I only had massive clamps which made it hard to work with the small enclosure. Keeping things square was especially hard. Thankfully it worked out fairly OK. Also, I thought I had yellow wood glue left at home, but unfortunately had run out. I ended up using the Titebond cold press veneer glue I had bought for my veneering job. It might not have been ideal, but the bond seems quite good and it gave me extra work time to set things straight.
The back board ended up being too short and I have had to make shims an glue them on both edges to fill the gap.
I made the crossovers and tried my best to keep things as compact as possible. The curved shape makes space inside the enclosure a bit harder to work with. I am a bit worried about the inductor being close to the woofer. I'll upload pictures of this later when I get time.
Few questions I have for my next steps:
1) When applying veneer to the two rounded sides and the back, should I split the veneer into three and glue them (side, back, side, for a total of 3 pieces) or should i try and wrap it in one single piece?
2) There was an issue with the tweeter polarity of the Fountek CD1.0 being flipped after a certain batch. Has this issue been resolved or should I still swap polarities on the tweeter? Any cheap methods to measure FR to make sure the tweeter is wired with correct polarity?
Thanks alot for your help!
Hi Boris,
Thanks for your feedback. I bit the bullet ad ordered the parts for the Speedster. I took zman's advice and kept the baffle width the same (6 inch external). To keep the same volume I have raised the height of the speaker by 1 inch. This allowed to lower the woofer by 1 inch to prevent the overlap of the original design.
I originally wanted to make a curved box with pieces of brass trim for extra effect. However I had a hard time coming by the brass I needed. I tried some aluminum and other wooden trims, but they just didn't seem right. I settled on a black walnut baffle with curved sides that will be veneered in back walnut.
I started with a rough plank of black walnut for the front baffle. I CNCed the rest of the 0.5" MDF on a 3 axis I had access to. I worked the black walnut for two days. Long story short, I did not have the right tools and I lost a few more along the way (RIP table saw...).
I ended up using biscuit joints to join the MDF with the black walnut. The gluing together was a bit of a pain at first as I only had massive clamps which made it hard to work with the small enclosure. Keeping things square was especially hard. Thankfully it worked out fairly OK. Also, I thought I had yellow wood glue left at home, but unfortunately had run out. I ended up using the Titebond cold press veneer glue I had bought for my veneering job. It might not have been ideal, but the bond seems quite good and it gave me extra work time to set things straight.
The back board ended up being too short and I have had to make shims an glue them on both edges to fill the gap.
I made the crossovers and tried my best to keep things as compact as possible. The curved shape makes space inside the enclosure a bit harder to work with. I am a bit worried about the inductor being close to the woofer. I'll upload pictures of this later when I get time.
Few questions I have for my next steps:
1) When applying veneer to the two rounded sides and the back, should I split the veneer into three and glue them (side, back, side, for a total of 3 pieces) or should i try and wrap it in one single piece?
2) There was an issue with the tweeter polarity of the Fountek CD1.0 being flipped after a certain batch. Has this issue been resolved or should I still swap polarities on the tweeter? Any cheap methods to measure FR to make sure the tweeter is wired with correct polarity?
Thanks alot for your help!
Attachments
fouchagalaga,
Why did you "prevent the overlap of the original design".
The overlap was part of the design to keep the driver center to center distance as close as possible. The XO has been designed accordingly too.
Why did you "prevent the overlap of the original design".
The overlap was part of the design to keep the driver center to center distance as close as possible. The XO has been designed accordingly too.
Fouchagala,
When I veneered my projects it was three pieces. The set of Speedsters I purchased had the battle done up just like yours. I was told the builder and Paul C. conversed on that and Paul said that would be ok. That's what I was told. You might be able to find his build in the archives of Parts Express' Tech Forum. If I remember correctly his name was TechnoDan.
I don't remember anything about the polarity and I gave them to my best friend to enjoy. Some experienced people on the tech forum can answer your question. The walnut will be gorgeous. Boris
When I veneered my projects it was three pieces. The set of Speedsters I purchased had the battle done up just like yours. I was told the builder and Paul C. conversed on that and Paul said that would be ok. That's what I was told. You might be able to find his build in the archives of Parts Express' Tech Forum. If I remember correctly his name was TechnoDan.
I don't remember anything about the polarity and I gave them to my best friend to enjoy. Some experienced people on the tech forum can answer your question. The walnut will be gorgeous. Boris
Quick build update with few lessons learned.
Zman, where did you get that the tweeter and woofer were designed to be as close as possible? I read through some other builds and Paul himself (the speaker designer) mentions in post #89 that the enclosure can be build taller to avoid the overlap with negligible effect. That is what I based my decision on.
I got the crossovers fitted to the enclosures and glued in place. As mentioned in earlier post, picture of the woofer and how close it is to the coils is attached. Not the best, but the best I could do to fit within the narrowing geometry of the curved sides.
I started laminating the curved sides and decided to do two 1/8" thick boards at once. This was in my opinion a mistake. I should have done a single sheet for the first bond to reduce how much everything can "shift". Also, it requires alot of attention to detail to make sure that there is good pressure where the 1/8" panels meet the inner ribs. Only one sheet thick would make that process alot easier.
I also forgot to chamfer the inside of the woofer hole. The front walnut board being 1" thick, I'd like to have the chamfer to minimize effects on the sound. I will try to get it done after the glue dries with , hopefully, little hassle.
Zman, where did you get that the tweeter and woofer were designed to be as close as possible? I read through some other builds and Paul himself (the speaker designer) mentions in post #89 that the enclosure can be build taller to avoid the overlap with negligible effect. That is what I based my decision on.
I got the crossovers fitted to the enclosures and glued in place. As mentioned in earlier post, picture of the woofer and how close it is to the coils is attached. Not the best, but the best I could do to fit within the narrowing geometry of the curved sides.
I started laminating the curved sides and decided to do two 1/8" thick boards at once. This was in my opinion a mistake. I should have done a single sheet for the first bond to reduce how much everything can "shift". Also, it requires alot of attention to detail to make sure that there is good pressure where the 1/8" panels meet the inner ribs. Only one sheet thick would make that process alot easier.
I also forgot to chamfer the inside of the woofer hole. The front walnut board being 1" thick, I'd like to have the chamfer to minimize effects on the sound. I will try to get it done after the glue dries with , hopefully, little hassle.
Attachments
Since Paul himself has stated that the design can accommodate a little offset, then you should be golden. I was not aware of this discussion on the PE Tech-Talk forum. In most cases (not all) designers stress that the center-to-center distances should be followed.
You can do that with a rasp. Will need some elbow grease, and will generate some saw dust.
Good luck with the pending work and look forward to updates.
fouchagalaga,
have a look at this my build: Another 6.5”+1” BR design (Peerless HDS + Seas Prestige)
I think that a solid wood glued baffle can be a problem.
You absolutely need to do it. I concur with zman01, you probably need a rasp but it will be a PITA. I don't know if there is a specialized bit for doing this with a router.
Ralf
have a look at this my build: Another 6.5”+1” BR design (Peerless HDS + Seas Prestige)
I think that a solid wood glued baffle can be a problem.
You absolutely need to do it. I concur with zman01, you probably need a rasp but it will be a PITA. I don't know if there is a specialized bit for doing this with a router.
Ralf
]
Why is that? The one problem I had with this method was to get the veneer flush. This was calculated in my design, however I messed up. The baffle width was designed to acomodate 1/2 inch either side of the baffle of laminated MDF as well as the veneer. However, having had such a hard time making the pieces of walnut perfectly square and flat made it that the baffle is about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch narrower than wanted.
I have laminated 3 panels on my first enclosure up to now. Here is my dilemna:
3 panels are slightly not enough, but can easily accommodate the veneer and I can then sand the front baffle flush with the veneer. However, I would only have 3/8" of material on my curved sides. Is this enough??
Adding a fourth layer of 1/8" MDF would exceed the baffle's width slightly. I would then have to trim it (somehow...) to accommodate the veneer's thickness. This seems like a hassle. Is 3/8" enough thickness on the curved sides?? I do have a brace in the middle to help with rigidity.
I have started chamfering the un-laminated enclosure. And truly is a PITA. I tried with a dremel with rotating sand paper. Worked kind of OK but not that great. Made a custom tool where i slotted a bolt and wrapped my own 60grit sand paper. Put the other end of the bolt in a drill chuck to make my own dremel like tool. This was quite terrible. Now I am with a rasp using elbow grease. I am unsure how much is enough. I was able to get about half the thickness at a 45 angle degree.
Any thoughts on:
1) laminating of the curved sides being only 3/8"?
2) How much is enough chamfer?
Why is that? The one problem I had with this method was to get the veneer flush. This was calculated in my design, however I messed up. The baffle width was designed to acomodate 1/2 inch either side of the baffle of laminated MDF as well as the veneer. However, having had such a hard time making the pieces of walnut perfectly square and flat made it that the baffle is about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch narrower than wanted.
I have laminated 3 panels on my first enclosure up to now. Here is my dilemna:
3 panels are slightly not enough, but can easily accommodate the veneer and I can then sand the front baffle flush with the veneer. However, I would only have 3/8" of material on my curved sides. Is this enough??
Adding a fourth layer of 1/8" MDF would exceed the baffle's width slightly. I would then have to trim it (somehow...) to accommodate the veneer's thickness. This seems like a hassle. Is 3/8" enough thickness on the curved sides?? I do have a brace in the middle to help with rigidity.
I have started chamfering the un-laminated enclosure. And truly is a PITA. I tried with a dremel with rotating sand paper. Worked kind of OK but not that great. Made a custom tool where i slotted a bolt and wrapped my own 60grit sand paper. Put the other end of the bolt in a drill chuck to make my own dremel like tool. This was quite terrible. Now I am with a rasp using elbow grease. I am unsure how much is enough. I was able to get about half the thickness at a 45 angle degree.
Any thoughts on:
1) laminating of the curved sides being only 3/8"?
2) How much is enough chamfer?
Attachments
Last edited:
Solid wood will try to shrink and expand with changes in humidity and temperature, but if it can’t because it is glued, then there is the possibility of cracks.
Ralf
Ralf
Exciting news. I found a rasp that fits on a drill. Took me 15 minutes to make the chamfers as opposed to the 3 hours I fiddled this morning.
It worked extremely well.
It worked extremely well.
Nice work on the build!
I built mine but very quickly changed to the floor standing 2.5 way MTM version (one of the pictures in your first post). That was about about 5 years ago. They still get used every day. The depth of bass is amazing.
Andrew
I built mine but very quickly changed to the floor standing 2.5 way MTM version (one of the pictures in your first post). That was about about 5 years ago. They still get used every day. The depth of bass is amazing.
Andrew
Well underway amidst few setbacks
Hello all,
Wanted to post an update of the work.
I have continued working on the laminating of the speaker with fairly good success. I really disliked having only three layers of 1/8" laminated on either side so decided to make a jig to shave off parts of an 1/8" sheet. This allowed to add a fourth laminated panel without having excess at the front baffle while still allowing space for veneer.
This was fairly successful. However, after clamping them during the lamination step, one side got "pushed in" too much somehow making it necessary to fill the gap I had just made...
Final clamping:
Before trimming of laminated enclosure:
Trimmed enclosures:
Hello all,
Wanted to post an update of the work.
I have continued working on the laminating of the speaker with fairly good success. I really disliked having only three layers of 1/8" laminated on either side so decided to make a jig to shave off parts of an 1/8" sheet. This allowed to add a fourth laminated panel without having excess at the front baffle while still allowing space for veneer.
This was fairly successful. However, after clamping them during the lamination step, one side got "pushed in" too much somehow making it necessary to fill the gap I had just made...
Final clamping:
Before trimming of laminated enclosure:
Trimmed enclosures:
Veneering
I then started the veneering process. This was a big question mark as to whether or not I can do a good job. I have not veneered myself before although I had helped with iron-on veneering in the past. Having access to vacuum bag hardware at work, I wanted to use Titebond's coldpress veneering glue and do it with vacuum. However, my experience with laminating the 1/8" panels taugth me that with glue things can sometimes shift slightly. Having no real room for error (once bagged and vacuumed, hard to see if everything is going right), I seriously considered trying the contact cement or iron-on methods. I spent maybe a whole day researching pros and cons until I bit the bullet and just decided to vacuum bag it. This ended up in my opinion, being a good call.
I started out by laying out my veneer and planning which parts I wanted where on the enclosures. This was a pretty satisfying experience making me want to veneer more project in the future.
Walnut Paper backed Veneer
Being very wary at first of the vacuum method and the use of the cold press glue (especially since the website clarifies it is to be used only on FLAT surfaces...), I took my time with the first side placing tape to hold the veneer in the exact spot it needed to be. The gap betwen the veneer and the solid walnut (front baffle) was quite tricky as nothing was perfectly straight and square. Even trying to clean it with a chisel, there was still a bit of glue here and there making it a bit tricky.
The shiny bag showed some unseen defects...
Then what I thought was me sanding off excess glue ended up being me sanding through the veneer..
Deeming this unacceptable I tried chiseling off the veneer and correcting the crazy curve.I re-veneered that side on top of the existing veneer. Not optimal, but hey there's a learning curve.
Everything else worked out much better than expected. There are many flaws, but only I could probably tell they are there.
I then started the veneering process. This was a big question mark as to whether or not I can do a good job. I have not veneered myself before although I had helped with iron-on veneering in the past. Having access to vacuum bag hardware at work, I wanted to use Titebond's coldpress veneering glue and do it with vacuum. However, my experience with laminating the 1/8" panels taugth me that with glue things can sometimes shift slightly. Having no real room for error (once bagged and vacuumed, hard to see if everything is going right), I seriously considered trying the contact cement or iron-on methods. I spent maybe a whole day researching pros and cons until I bit the bullet and just decided to vacuum bag it. This ended up in my opinion, being a good call.
I started out by laying out my veneer and planning which parts I wanted where on the enclosures. This was a pretty satisfying experience making me want to veneer more project in the future.
Walnut Paper backed Veneer
Being very wary at first of the vacuum method and the use of the cold press glue (especially since the website clarifies it is to be used only on FLAT surfaces...), I took my time with the first side placing tape to hold the veneer in the exact spot it needed to be. The gap betwen the veneer and the solid walnut (front baffle) was quite tricky as nothing was perfectly straight and square. Even trying to clean it with a chisel, there was still a bit of glue here and there making it a bit tricky.
The shiny bag showed some unseen defects...
Then what I thought was me sanding off excess glue ended up being me sanding through the veneer..
Deeming this unacceptable I tried chiseling off the veneer and correcting the crazy curve.I re-veneered that side on top of the existing veneer. Not optimal, but hey there's a learning curve.
Everything else worked out much better than expected. There are many flaws, but only I could probably tell they are there.
Towards finishing touches
After veneering all afternoon yesterday, I did all the rest of the finishing before danish oil today.
I trimmed off excess veneer and sanded the boxes down. Made holes for the ports, connectors, drivers. Took alot of care to not mess anything up. Made sanding blocks of various grit to do so. This was by far my most rewarding day as very little went wrong (unlike everything else I have done up to now!).
I can spent a bit more time on the sanding IMO before danish oil. I have started making sample tests. I am still unsure as to how to "seal" or topcoat after the danish oil. I do not want to use a varnish and hoping to use what's available at the hardware store. I bought a hard natural oil sealer at the specialty wood store, but that may not cut it. Maybe it will... I just have nothing to compare it to for now.
One question for the savvy:
As I was sanding the walnut I thought the coarse grain was getting much nicer. When cleaning the wood I realized it is because the pores were just getting clogged by dust making it feel "smoother". Here is a picture of the wood after 180 grit. Is this normal? Or am I doing a bad job at sanding it?
Cheers,
After veneering all afternoon yesterday, I did all the rest of the finishing before danish oil today.
I trimmed off excess veneer and sanded the boxes down. Made holes for the ports, connectors, drivers. Took alot of care to not mess anything up. Made sanding blocks of various grit to do so. This was by far my most rewarding day as very little went wrong (unlike everything else I have done up to now!).
I can spent a bit more time on the sanding IMO before danish oil. I have started making sample tests. I am still unsure as to how to "seal" or topcoat after the danish oil. I do not want to use a varnish and hoping to use what's available at the hardware store. I bought a hard natural oil sealer at the specialty wood store, but that may not cut it. Maybe it will... I just have nothing to compare it to for now.
One question for the savvy:
As I was sanding the walnut I thought the coarse grain was getting much nicer. When cleaning the wood I realized it is because the pores were just getting clogged by dust making it feel "smoother". Here is a picture of the wood after 180 grit. Is this normal? Or am I doing a bad job at sanding it?
Cheers,
fouchagalaga,
That's a lot of hard work you have put in, and the results are impressive.
Good luck with the final part of applying a nice oil finish!
Look forward to pics of the finished speakers, and then your listening impressions in due time.
That's a lot of hard work you have put in, and the results are impressive.
Good luck with the final part of applying a nice oil finish!
Look forward to pics of the finished speakers, and then your listening impressions in due time.
Oiling Process
Hello all,
I wanted to provide an update on the cabinets. I will try to make a long story short as there is over a month of work tat I have done.
This is my first time finishing wooden cabinets and have read for many weeks on different wood grain structures, filling of the grain (or not), the available finishes, durability, and have done a lot of testing to better understand the small details of what I have researched.
I originally wanted to do a simple danish oil using Watco dark walnut in a few coats then cover with a polyurethane topcoat. I have since changed strategy from the various tests I have done.
I ended up doing one coat of said danish oil to provide better color. Then I covered using 4 coats of a hard natural oil sealer that was bought at a premium price (over 60$ for 750ml 0.0). Tis sealer provided a much better "pop" of the wood while softening its color a bit from the danish oil. It is hard to explain, but bottom line is I liked it. I am now waiting four weeks for it to properly cure and to test the "hardness" of the oil surface. I am at the 2.5 weeks point and will most likely cover using a water based polyurethane topcoat.
I started by making many samples using the left over veneer and the scrap HDF panels:
Cabinets prepared for finishing:
Made some holders to be able to do the entire thing at once:
The oil took few coats to really get that layer. I will be scuffing the surface before I put on polyurethane, but will still wait few more weeks.
Hello all,
I wanted to provide an update on the cabinets. I will try to make a long story short as there is over a month of work tat I have done.
This is my first time finishing wooden cabinets and have read for many weeks on different wood grain structures, filling of the grain (or not), the available finishes, durability, and have done a lot of testing to better understand the small details of what I have researched.
I originally wanted to do a simple danish oil using Watco dark walnut in a few coats then cover with a polyurethane topcoat. I have since changed strategy from the various tests I have done.
I ended up doing one coat of said danish oil to provide better color. Then I covered using 4 coats of a hard natural oil sealer that was bought at a premium price (over 60$ for 750ml 0.0). Tis sealer provided a much better "pop" of the wood while softening its color a bit from the danish oil. It is hard to explain, but bottom line is I liked it. I am now waiting four weeks for it to properly cure and to test the "hardness" of the oil surface. I am at the 2.5 weeks point and will most likely cover using a water based polyurethane topcoat.
I started by making many samples using the left over veneer and the scrap HDF panels:
Cabinets prepared for finishing:
Made some holders to be able to do the entire thing at once:
The oil took few coats to really get that layer. I will be scuffing the surface before I put on polyurethane, but will still wait few more weeks.
Why do you want to put on a water based poly topcoat? I'd just hit it with a good coat of wax and buff it. The nice thing about oil with wax is that it's easy to touch up if it gets scratched ... just rub it out. Poly .... not so much.