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View Full Version : My 4344 cabinets (& what oil to use??)



jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:17 PM
Well finally the raw cabinets for my 4344s are done. Last Sunday was a trip to a friends house some 2 hours drive away to my birthplace of Colac, Victoria. He is a kitchen cabinet maker so this was a trivial build for him with the full workshop at hand. I have made them with a 16mm MDF shell, covered with a mitred american walnut 18mm MDF outer wrapper. The baffle and split section back are both plain 25mm MDF. The dogbox is 16mm MDF and braces 25X75mm MDF.

The next few weeks will see me doing the fit-out of drivers, painting the front and back (JBL BLACK) and oiling the vaneer. My question is what do I use for that?

Some pics follow.....

jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:18 PM
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jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:19 PM
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jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:20 PM
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jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:25 PM
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jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:26 PM
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jarrods
09-23-2004, 08:28 PM
The raw American Walnut (yes i got the yank stuff not our ozzie stuff)... so anyone recommend an oiling procedure????

Ian Mackenzie
09-23-2004, 08:51 PM
Huh,

You got someone to do all the hard yakka for you.

Okay, when's the demo.


Ian
:cool:

boputnam
09-23-2004, 08:53 PM
Dood...

That's a hella nice job. Wow. At some point, if you're game, you should email your plans to Techbot and Don so they can be archived. The look worthy...

On the oiling, Audiobeer is one of the finest woodworkers I've known, so maybe he'll pitch-up here and offer some ideas.

jarrods
09-23-2004, 09:53 PM
Hey Ian.... yeah i had always intended to chicken out on the actual build of the cabinets.. i know i can drive a soldering iron but my woodworking skills are average. to be with him in his full-on workshop; buzzing the boards through the table saw, then at 45 degree for the mitres, the router for the holes and the pheumatic nailer, drill and screwdrivers... wow!!! anyway he did a great job of the boxes and i am so happy with them. hmmmm the other deciding factor was i live in a second story unit with no garage etc so the build is happening in my formal dining room (come temp JBL factory). the painting will be ok. cutting, routering & assembling may have been a bit messy. i hope to do the fit-out over the next few weeks. the demo soon after.. man this has been a 9 month project now.

and Bo.... yeah thanks. i actually have most of the plans drawn up in visio. when i get it all finished i should tidy it all up and post it in. I mean most of it is just a slight variation to all the GREAT works i have seen presented here anyway but someone may find the PCB layout of the crossovers useful. i still have full scale graph-paper layouts of them...

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2574


jarrod

Mr. Widget
09-23-2004, 10:13 PM
Originally posted by jarrods
The raw American Walnut (yes i got the yank stuff not our ozzie stuff)... so anyone recommend an oiling procedure????

I won't speak for the beer, but I think he has been using lacquer and then rubbing it out with pumice or sanding it to kill the shine.

I prefer the oil finishes to the lacquer or polyurethanes for open grain woods like walnut. For closed grain woods like maple I prefer to spray lacquers or polyurethanes.

I like Watco Danish Oil which is an American product that is probably not exported. It is a blend of alkyd resins, tung oil, petroleum distillates such as naptha, and I am not sure what else. A serious woodworker friend used to make his own finish by blending, linseed oil, polyurethane resin, and a bit of naptha to thin it out.

Using an oil doesn't require any special equipment and can be easily done in any well ventilated area. Dust isn't even a problem. You can get a finish with more gloss by using a mixture with more polyurethane or alkyd resin or by using additional applications.

I sand out the wood to a 600 grit level and then apply the oil. I let it soak in keeping the wood saturated for about an hour. I then wipe it off. I have to come back and wipe it off about once an hour as it seeps back out from the wood's pores. If you do not do the follow up wipes with fresh rags or paper towels you will get unsightly shinny spots. After a few hours I come back about every six hours. After a day or so it is dry. After about a week or two the finish dries out further. I then repeat the process usually wet sanding with 600 grit paper and the oil. After this application and subsequent wipings the wood has an amazing glow. It isn't too shiny, but it has a deep rich look to it.

Widget

Mr. Widget
09-23-2004, 10:37 PM
It looks like your buddy did a great job! :thmbsup:


Keep us posted with your progress.

Widget

jarrods
09-24-2004, 02:15 AM
hey Widget.

thanks for the info on the oil..

i hunted for Watco on the aus google and found a hit.

http://www.arbortech.com.au/articles/017.html

they have a distributer very close to me so i will check them out next week.

the Watco got an Excellent in this dudes review, some other got exceptional but may have been on different species of wood so act differently. i'll go with what you know works if i can get hold of it.

cheers, Jarrod

still4given
09-24-2004, 05:57 AM
Thanks for posting this. I have been thinking of building a second B360 and have wondered about using MDF. JBL seems to use partical board rather than MDF. I prefer working with MDF but wonder why JBL doesn't use it. Does anyone know why?

Those cabinets look great! Looking forward to seeing and hearing about the finished product.

Blessings, Terry

Robh3606
09-24-2004, 07:29 AM
Oooo! I like them!! Nice cabinets. Wait till you get them loaded up they are really worth the work!

Rob:)

Mr. Widget
09-24-2004, 09:47 AM
Originally posted by jarrods
hey Widget.

thanks for the info on the oil..

i hunted for Watco on the aus google and found a hit.

http://www.arbortech.com.au/articles/017.html

they have a distributer very close to me so i will check them out next week.

the Watco got an Excellent in this dudes review, some other got exceptional but may have been on different species of wood so act differently. i'll go with what you know works if i can get hold of it.

cheers, Jarrod



If you use Watco, they have slightly different instructions than what I posted. My method has worked for me and has evolved over the years that I have used the product. The main point is to keep wetting the surface for that first hour and then keep wiping it as I described. It takes more hours of hands on time than they suggest, but it is a simple procedure and if you follow it and then repeat after a week or two you will be amazed by the results.

Oh yeah one very important point, if you follow my instructions you will generate many oil soaked paper towels or rags. They will spontaneously combust if not handled properly. I know of two school woodshops that have caught fire due to students leaving a pile of oil soaked rags lying around. You are supposed to submerge them in water. I have found this inconvenient, so I put them into airtight bags and take them to an outdoor dumpster. I have been using the stuff for 30 years and so far haven't had an issue.

Widget

Audiobeer
09-26-2004, 06:30 PM
In my opinion there isn't much that beats a good oil finish. The reason it isn't more popular is because of the mantainence and just importantly lack of. If you have no one around setting a drink on it or a planter it can't be beat! WIDGET IS RIGHT ABOUT THE FIRE HAZARD. I've gone to lunch and come back with the rag ready to flame as it was hot as hell. Made a believer out of me. I have a dedicated container for those rags now!

Tom Loizeaux
09-26-2004, 07:08 PM
I also agree that a walnut surface needs a real oil finish. Oil won't seal or block up the grain but will add a deep richness and protect the wood at the same time. I would suggest that you can make your first application rather light, Simply rubbing a soft cloth, wetted with the oil of your choosing, and then wiping it dry, will apply a light oil finish that will give the walnut a beautiful color. It is easy to apply a second coat the next day, or when you feel you want a deeper glow and a little more shine.
Lemon oil will not build into a shine, but tung oil, when built up with heavy or multiple coats on walnut, will start to produce a shiny finish.

Your cabinets look great. I'm sure you'll be happy with them.

Tom