quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Now to begin veneering the edges. This was a worry of mine, I've seen bad veneer jobs and felt the whole thing would be a waste if mine turned out like that. I went with the materials Greg describes on his site...paper backed veneer (not the cheaper, ready made edge banding) and heat lock glue. For the first run I started on the back of the mid plate, which would not show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Masking beforehand really paid off...there was seepage of the glue in a few places, this would stick out like a sore thumb since I'm going with a light finish. With a darker finish, maybe not so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Outstanding work!!! Your attention to detail is superb!!! Keep posting!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 I bought this edge trimmer from Joe Woodworker.com, I think. I was a little skeptical about it and at one point had decided to trim with a router and flush trim bit. But I've seen Norm Abrams use it on his show, and Greg Roberts' results speak for themselves, so I went with it. The trimmer is reversible so you can use both sides of the blade..the blue tape is so I could keep track of which side I had used. More on that later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 The veneering process was one of my biggest concerns starting out. My experience in woodworking is that there is always a learning curve in doing something for the first time, sometimes steeper than others. For me, it seems that no matter how many books or articles I read or videos I watch there are always little "tricks of the trade" in technique that one is not aware of until shown first hand, or as usually happens with me, I screw it up the first time or two. As for the paper backed veneer and heat lock glue, all I can say is fantastic! I am just not sure there is a way to screw this up. It's not tricky like laminating with contact cement, there is all the time in the world since you have to wait for the glue to dry anyway, and if for some reason there is an inconsistent bond just reapply heat and a little pressure and it's fixed. If I were to embark on another project like this I wouldn't hesitate to buy an expensive and exotic veneer and apply it to the entire speaker front. In fact, I'm looking for another project where I can use these products..it's fun and the results are consistent. As for the edge trimming, well...the trimmer works effectively as long as the blade is sharp. I didn't order extra blades, assuming the one blade would last for this one time project. What I found was that as the blade loses its edge the trimmer will wander and you won't get a consistent edge. When I realized what had happened when I made my first mistake I marked the unused side of the trimmer so I could save that edge for the remaining front "show" edges and continued to march. Why didn't I quit, apply heat, remove the damaged veneer, order more blades and wait? Yeah, why didn't I...there's that patience thing. Here's a photo of what I'm referring to. It's not that bad, really, I couldn't even get the camera to focus that close up and it's not visible at all from two feet away. But Greg Roberts' high standard is what I aspired to and I could have come close but for a few 50 cent blades. If I were doing this again I would use a fresh blade for every edge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Veneering is complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Now to paint the bottoms of the plates and the non "show" edges. I did better with the patience thing here...freshly veneered edges were taped and retaped until I was confident they were consistently masked... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Continued... Once the paint dried I did a loose assembly of my beloved Klipschorns...wow. This was the first time I got close to a finished picture of what these things would look like and it really recharged me. I think I just sat and stared at them for a half hour or so, with a couple of celebratory cold ones... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 By the way, in the previous photo you can see I finally purchased a couple of those carpet covered, rolling furniture carts...$9.95 each at Harbor Freight. It's safe to say that these added immeasurably to my professional pleasure. Up until that point I was dragging these things around on a piece of old carpet. the carts saved my life (and my back)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Once the paint dried I did a loose assembly of my beloved Klipschorns...wow. This was the first time I got close to a finished picture of what these things would look like and it really recharged me. I think I just sat and stared at them for a half hour or so, with a couple of celebratory cold ones... Wow is right! They are really transformed. Looking forward to seeing more pix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 This is better than the movies. Keep 'em coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Continued... The next step was the bottom trim pieces. I decided to go with a close facsimile of the manufacturer's original design, although I used 3/4 inch stock. To my eye the thicker bottom trim just seems in better proportion. I got the solid birch stock from my regular supplier, although after finishing them I'm pretty sure it was red birch, not white birch. In the picture you may be able to make out a slight darkening below the trim piece. I had anticipated glue squeeze out here and was ready to wipe it up immediately with a damp sponge, but I guess I had trouble getting it all from behind the clamps. This was a headache for me later and I kicked myself for not masking below the joint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Now I'm ready to begin staining. I selected a country pine color to best coordinate with other furnishings in the room where the speakers would be placed. It took two coats, three coats on the bass bin fronts, for some reason, to get the desired effect. The results were as good as I could have hoped for, given my aforementioned concerns. I didn't think of starting with a sanding sealer, as was mentioned earlier. Overall I'm pleased with the final results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 Next was the top coat...I used a wipeon, satin polyurethane. Three coats. Here's the assembly line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 3, 2008 Author Share Posted December 3, 2008 This shot is from later in the process, but shows the final finish. As I mentioned earlier, my expectations in staining birch were not that high to begin with. I love the look of mahogany, or walnut, or rosewood but even I had to agree with my wife that it wouldn't look right with the other furniture. After all, she put up with the "monstrosities", as she called them, for 26 years, and she was right...as much as I love these speakers, they were just butt ugly. I was more than willing to settle for something less than a beautiful finish in order to have the speakers fit with her decor. The end result is, I'm pleased, and perhaps more importantly, so is she. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Less than beautiful? Looks great to me. If it coordinates with the rest of the room, the effect should be really easy on the eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blvdre Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Looking good. What did you sand with between the coats of poly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvan Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 SMASHING! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Continued... Time to begin some assembly..felts applied to top of bass bin and side grill frame attached. In the interest of full disclosure, this is the second speaker in the assembly process. On the first I applied the grill cloth to the side frame before fitting it to the bass bin and locating the hangar bolts in the side of the bass bin (here's where you hear the sound of me slapping my forehead). Locating the hangar bolts is much easier without the grill cloth in the way. In my only defense on the first speaker, I purposefully attached the grill cloth first because I wasn't sure if the thickness of the grill cloth would prevent the frame from fitting correctly if I located the hangar bolts before it was applied (if all that makes sense). On the second speaker, though, it fit fine, maybe requiring just a bit more juggling and fiddling. By the way, in answer to an earlier question I hand sanded with 400 grit between the coats of poly topcoat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quinlanmw Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Continued... More assembly..this was somewhat of a milestone, not only because things are finally coming together but it was nice to begin consolidating all the loose pieces, meaning no more shuffling stacks around to make room for the next stage of the process. I attached the riser to the bottom plate and the mid plate to the riser before attaching the bottom plate to the bass bin..it was easier to do while these were on my bench. As for the hangar bolts, this was a facet of the assembly I pondered over for a very long time. Greg had not specifically made mention of it on his web site, and it was only after studying many of his photos, as well as others found on this forum, that I was able to reverse engineer and figure out how all the pieces of the speaker's top section went together. Hey, sometimes I'm slow but remember I've never actually seen the inside of the B model "live"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.