Veneering

[neosoul]

I have a set of klipsch quartets that I'm thinking of having professionally veneered. Wondering what I should expect a professional job would cost. I know it depends on the wood used but just trying to get an idea of what range I'd be looking at. I'm out here in the vegas area if that matters at all.

[LTusler]

No telling these days.  I'd look for a custom cabinet or furniture shop or furniture restoration shop.  With the cabinet dimensions, they could give you a good ballpark.

[neosoul]

ok thanks

 

[OO1]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:51 AM, neosoul said:

I have a set of klipsch quartets that I'm thinking of having professionally veneered. Wondering what I should expect a professional job would cost. I know it depends on the wood used but just trying to get an idea of what range I'd be looking at. I'm out here in the vegas area if that matters at all.

can you post pictures to see what the speakers look like , and what condition they are in ,  that could help members chime in

[ricktate]

Its not that hard to do ...practice on some wood first. You will be even more proud if you do t yourself. The new iron on stuff works well from woodworker supply. 

[Dave MacKay]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:51 AM, neosoul said:

I have a set of klipsch quartets that I'm thinking of having professionally veneered.

I hope you have better luck finding such a professional than I did. I called all of the furnture restorers within a reasonable radius (I live near Toronto, Canada) trying to find one to veneer my La Scalas. None would do the work.

 

As a result, I'll be doing the veneering myself.

[OO1]

On 3/22/2022 at 8:51 AM, neosoul said:

I have a set of klipsch quartets that I'm thinking of having professionally veneered. Wondering what I should expect a professional job would cost. I know it depends on the wood used but just trying to get an idea of what range I'd be looking at. I'm out here in the vegas area if that matters at all.

 definitely a wood shop can better  quote you ,

[geezin']

I picked up a pair of Polk Audi Monitor 5b for $25. They're skinned in vinyl and have a couple dings but sound great. I think I'll be veneering them myself for practice. if I don't do a great job they'll still sound good on my bedroom system anyways so what the hell? Y knot?

[Chandz]

On 4/19/2022 at 8:04 AM, Dave MacKay said:

I hope you have better luck finding such a professional than I did. I called all of the furnture restorers within a reasonable radius (I live near Toronto, Canada) trying to find one to veneer my La Scalas. None would do the work.

 

As a result, I'll be doing the veneering myself.

 

I’m near Toronto also.  I was just about to start looking around for someone to veneer a gr research diy build.  Did they tell you why they wouldn’t do work on speakers?   If I find anywhere  I’ll chime back in.  If not I’ll be doing it myself also and then they are true diy

[Dave MacKay]

4 hours ago, Chandz said:

I’m near Toronto also.  I was just about to start looking around for someone to veneer a gr research diy build.  Did they tell you why they wouldn’t do work on speakers?   If I find anywhere  I’ll chime back in.  If not I’ll be doing it myself also and then they are true diy

 

Most of the restorers I spoke with were not keen on doing veneer. I think that their typical work involves stripping and refinishing so that they didn't have the tools (e.g., vacuum press) that they felt would be needed for a large veneer job.

 

The only one (Johnny's) that was prepared to consider the work has a wait list of about 6 months. He estimated that veneering and refinishing my La Scalas would cost about $3000. At the time I thought that was high (I only paid $2800 for the speakers) but I've come to appreciate that it was likely pretty reasonable.

 

If you'd like to bounce ideas, share tools, or work together send me a PM. I'm in the Port Credit area of Mississauga.

[Khornukopia]

4 hours ago, Chandz said:

Did they tell you why they wouldn’t do work on speakers?

Because it is not the type of routine production work they normally do and therefore not profitable for their business.

[Khornukopia]

On 4/19/2022 at 5:44 AM, ricktate said:

Its not that hard to do ...practice on some wood first. You will be even more proud if you do it yourself. 

 

Kind of like remodeling your house or changing parts on your car, etc. It can be fun if you properly prepare tools, workspace, parts and have a good aptitude, but there is still a bit of work and care involved to do a good job.

[JimMeader]

I have veneered my 1987 La Scala's, and it is not easy, basically the issue is inside of the dog house. It is a slow pain in the *** process.

 

We used a small piece of railroad track ( very heavy ) and a lot of sand bags to put pressure on the veneer during the drying process.  Allowed one full day for each piece for a total of 6 days for the dog house area alone.

 

Also I did not put veneer all the way back within the dog house. I stopped where the center section juts out. I choose to paint the part that juts out and all the area behind that flat black before we veneered.  when your looking at the finished product you do not even notice it as it is dark in that area anyway.

 

BTW even my wife likes the end result.  Hope this helps

 

 

 

 

[Khornukopia]

23 hours ago, JimMeader said:

I have veneered my 1987 La Scala's, and it is not easy, basically the issue is inside of the dog house.

Looks good!

[geezin']

Do you cut the veneer for every side or try to run a continuous piece? I'm thinking about doing the Polk 5b I got for $25 as practice for later.

[JimMeader]

we used 3     4x8 sheets of veneer @ $60.00 a sheet for my La Scala's

 

how you run the grain has a big impact on how much veneer you end up using.

 

the sides we ran them top to bottom, in the dog house we ran the grain front to back.

 

We did paper templates of all pieces and then laid them out on the veneer  - I would highly recommend this process  but verify measurements before you cut.

 

you need a large  flat surface to cut the veneer   a clamped metal straight edge helps as well as a very sharp knife

 

we also used a  metal roller to get the veneer flat with no glue bumps

 

any trimming was done the next day

 

Good Luck 

[OO1]

On 5/4/2022 at 5:37 AM, Chandz said:

 

I’m near Toronto

you can ask @HPower  for contact information ,  he's in Toronto as well , or close by in NewMarket  , and is quite good with veneer work

[Khornukopia]

43 minutes ago, JimMeader said:

we used 3     4x8 sheets of veneer

I am in the process of veneering some FH-1 bass cabinets, similar in style to the La Scala. Eleven pieces of veneer cut out and glued on each cabinet, plus the 4 strips of front edge banding. Almost as much work as building a completely new cabinet using pre-veneered plywood, but I want to practice and learn all the details about veneering.

[Dave MacKay]

9 hours ago, RandyH said:

you can ask @HPower  for contact information ,  he's in Toronto as well , or close by in NewMarket  , and is quite good with veneer work

Thanks!

 

PM sent.

[JimMeader]

Yes I would  agree building and veneering are almost equal in required work.

 

As to La Scala's there are many good detailed plans on the web so I would build next time. Why, first I would build two boxes separating the woofer from the mid and tweeter, because that would allow better room positioning during setup. Second my La Scala's are very heavy to move around having the weight split would make moving and positioning easier.