Rosewood 4412's.

[jackgiff]

I bought this pair of 4412's some time ago from audiobeer. He sent pictures of the damaged areas, so I knew exactly what I was buying. And he packed them like there was no tomorrow. Took about a half hour per package to get to them. I wanted to repair them without doing a total re-veneer, but since that takes artistic talents, and I am just a woodworking grunt, the matter was settled. A trip to my veneer supplier looking for some exotic hardwood veneer was very productive. They had ordered an extra sheet of rosewood, and sold it to me for $120. I like deals like that.

Here is a couple pix of the speaker cabinet damage being puttied.

[jackgiff]

I cut the sides and ends from two single lengths of the sheet, so that the grain appears to wrap around the corners (at least on three of them).

[jackgiff]

I was really amazed to see walnut veneer under the black face panel paint. I sure can't bring myself to paint the faces of these guys, even though they have new grilles. This is after being oiled with natural Watco Danish oil.

[Zilch]

Beautiful!

[Even did the fronts.... :D ]

[jackgiff]

I am not sure where they will go, but there must be someplace special for this pretty pair. Hope James B. would forgive me for this sacrilege if he were still alive.

[spkrman57]

James B. would be proud I'm sure!

Ron

[Regis]

That is some beautiful work, but I've got to crack up on the image of the face that appears on the far right speaker! It looks like possibly an old man crying about his hair cut or the fact that he's grown horns! But really, the rosewood looks very, very nice!:applaud:

[edgewound]

Hey Jack...those are stunningly beautiful. Very nice work!

[57BELAIRE]

I am not sure where they will go, but there must be someplace special for this pretty pair. Hope James B. would forgive me for this sacrilege if he were still alive.

...forgive you?....my absolute favorite tone/figure wood.


They're spectacular!

:applaud: :applaud: :applaud: :applaud:

[Mr. Widget]

Now that's worth the effort! Those really are beautiful, and I'm sure they will sound as good as they look!!!

Congratulations on the lucky find and excellent work!


Widget

[dancing-dave]

Those sheer grilles are very sexy.

[pelly3s]

Those look amazing. Wanna come do a couple pairs of my speakers lol. Im too damn lazy

[yggdrasil]

Very nice work. Beautiful finish.


Congratulations on a beutiful set of speakers.

[briang]

Wow! Oh, wow!:applaud:

[Robh3606]

That has got to be the nicest looking pair of 4412 I have ever seen!!!

Great Job:applaud:

Rob:)

[SEAWOLF97]

I was really amazed to see walnut veneer under the black face panel paint. I sure can't bring myself to paint the faces of these guys, even though they have new grilles. .

The look of the wood through the sheer grills is much better than stock. I looked at mine and they too are black painted veneer.

Am wondering if it is possible to strip the black paint from the baffle without making a mess ?

[jackgiff]

but I am not sure of the chemicals needed to strip off the paint. The black paint is probably just some simple flat black enamel, so it seems like a non aggressive type stripper such as paint thinner or petroleum based solvent would clean it off. There are many more exotic chemicals, but something non aggressive would be best so that you don't upset the glue holding the veneer on. I discovered the painted veneer while sanding the face, but solvent would be a better way to completely clean the face without the risk of sanding through the veneer.

[briang]

The look of the wood through the sheer grills is much better than stock. I looked at mine and they too are black painted veneer.

Am wondering if it is possible to strip the black paint from the baffle without making a mess ?

It should be possible to strip the paint from the baffle, depending upon what was used.

I stripped the paint from a painted pair of L96 to bring back the wood look. I used Formby's "Poly & Paint Remover". The paint did get stuck deep in the grain so I had to pick it out (took a long time) with a utility knife. Black won't look so bad in the grain, but white just looked silly.

Link to restored L96

http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=5776

[LowPhreak]

Nice job on both the L96's and 4412's. Now if i could just find a local source for some veneer...

[HipoFutura]

jackgiff, I preparing to build a pair of 2235H subs and have been planning veneer them with rosewood. I've always felt it is the prettiest of all wood, with a beautiful light/dark grain contrast. My only concern is that my walnut L100s might look goofy sitting on the rosewood subs.

Did you get your veneer at Rockler? Is is a two-part veneer with a backing? On the last pair of subs I built I used a two-part walnut veneer and am very happy with the results. However, in searching the web for rosewood veneer I find most of it to be one-part without a backing. Don

[jackgiff]

Did you get your veneer at Rockler? Is is a two-part veneer with a backing?I bought the veneer at Spellman Hardwoods in Phoenix, and it was a Formwood product, paper backed. I have used a lot of their products, and am very satisfied with it, but the veneer is very thin, and easy to sand through. If you use their products, be careful when sanding.

Let us see the pictures when you are through. :applaud:

[Mr. Widget]

...and it was a Formwood product, paper backed. I have used a lot of their products, and am very satisfied with it, but the veneer is very thin, and easy to sand through.I have used their veneers before and agree about the uber thin nature of the stuff... I prefer veneer from Oakwood veneer these days... http://www.oakwoodveneer.com/index.html

They offer several options in their backing material and while their veneer is pre-sanded and also thinner than buying raw flitches, the paper backed or wood on wood sheets are much easier to deal with. If your project is very small, they may not be your best choice though as they only offer 4 X 8 sheets.

For rosewood, there are very few sources for actual Brazilian rosewood these days. I recently sent a sample of actual Brazilian rosewood to Oakwood and they said they had some veneer that matches it's appearance. Most of the veneer sold as rosewood these days is Pau Ferro... also sold as Bolivian Rosewood. This can range in color from pinkish tan and brown to a deeper red and dark brown... the nicest examples look pretty close to real rosewood, but rarely have the intricate dark ropey veining. If you want the real stuff I do know of one source, but it costs $40/sq ft with a minimum order of 32 sq ft... ($1280!)


Widget

[LowPhreak]

Well, Widget got me thinking...(always a dangerous thing to do :blink: ). After digging around a little, I found some very nice looking options to Brazilian Rosewood.

In order: Blackheart Sassafras, Ebony, Macassar Ebony, Olive Ash Burl, Redwood Burl.

Of course, the actual veneer you get will be different from the swatches here, but with any luck these could be some very desireable finishes.

[LowPhreak]

And one more I like, Walnut Burl. Is this some gorgeous stuff or what?! :bouncy:

[jackgiff]

While visiting a Woodworkers Supply store, I found two small pieces of Mappa Burl. It was expensive, but so pretty, I couldn't resist. Not enough for a pair of speakers, but just enough to make covers for the two Altec 704's in my collection of Altec stuff. The finish is much nicer looking in person than it appears in the pictures.

[HipoFutura]

I know this is drifting off topic. However, Zebra wood has a beautiful light/dark grain contrast. When properly stained/dyed it is eye-popping! I built the bases for my mono-blocks with solid zebra wood. It is available in a veneer. Would make for a very unique set of speakers.

[LowPhreak]

Zebrawood is another one, :applaud: and that Mappa came out nice too jack.

So many wonderful finishes...how do I (we) pick just one for a pair of speakers?!

:idea: Need more speakers! :idea:

[timc]

Beautifull work Jackgiff!

Great craftmanship :)