"The Widgets" update

[demon]

statement: this is the most beautiful tweeter EVER!!
im stunned and stunned again by drivers that even look great on the backside.
(got the pic after updating my browser)

cheers,
mikey

[Wardsweb]

Veneer is done. Time for sanding.

[Krunchy]

Hello Wardsweb, the sapele looks gorgeous, cant wait to see it with a finish on, always one of my favorite woods. Speaking of finish, which route will you be taking, oil, lacquer or poly, (shellac)?

Mr. Widget, I loved the birds eye maple, another classic, those speakers are stuning, beautiful work!

Thanks guys!

[Wardsweb]

Hello Wardsweb, the sapele looks gorgeous, cant wait to see it with a finish on, always one of my favorite woods. Speaking of finish, which route will you be taking, oil, lacquer or poly, (shellac)?

Thanks guys!

I am going to use Deft lacquer in a high gloss finish. I plan on finish sanding and buffing the final layer for an ultra high gloss.

[allen mueller]

Great job, that veneer looks fantastic. I just finished veneering some 4435's that i'm restoring using the same method but went with with the factory walnut look. Did you find the iron method tough at all on the curved surfaces?

Allen

[Wardsweb]

Great job, that veneer looks fantastic. I just finished veneering some 4435's that i'm restoring using the same method but went with with the factory walnut look. Did you find the iron method tough at all on the curved surfaces?

Allen

Not at all. I started at the center front and worked my way out and then back and forth working my way to the back. This after I first sprayed the sheets with Super-Soft 2™ Veneer Softener, pressed them between two very large solid wood doors for a couple days. This let most of the moisture wick into the butcher paper I had sandwiched the sheet in. What was left was a sheet that was more like leather than wood. It was very supple and easily made the curve. You can make very tight turns too, as the one sheet starts at the front of the speaker and makes a pretty tight turn about 2" in, then the gentle curve to the back of the cabinet.

[JeffW]

I'd be interested in the construction details on those curved grills if you have anything handy or any tips.

[Mr. Widget]

Not at all. I started at the center front and worked my way out and then back and forth working my way to the back. This after I first sprayed the sheets with Super-Soft 2™ Veneer Softener, pressed them between two very large solid wood doors for a couple days. This let most of the moisture wick into the butcher paper I had sandwiched the sheet in. What was left was a sheet that was more like leather than wood. It was very supple and easily made the curve. You can make very tight turns too, as the one sheet starts at the front of the speaker and makes a pretty tight turn about 2" in, then the gentle curve to the back of the cabinet.

I thought I'd compare veneer techniques.

I approached veneering my Mark II cabinets a bit differently. There are many ways to skin a speaker. Before I tackled the sides I approached the tops. Since the sides are butted to the tops, this is true for both the original version that Luther has as well as the Mark II version that I have and I have veneered, I was concerned that the sides will likely expand and contract at different rates than the tops causing surface issues that could telegraph through to the top. To avoid this I crossbanded the tops with 1/16" maple veneer. Crossbanding is when you put a preliminary veneer layer with it's grain running perpendicularly to the facing veneer. I did this by rolling on white glue and clamping the hell out of it with a dozen or so pipe clamps and using a platen board and carefully placed battens. I trimmed this crossband veneer layer and then tackled the sides. For the sides, I placed the veneer in my vacuum bag veneer press and bonded it to 1/8" bending poplar. I then took the poplar and glued it to the curved sides of the speakers with battens and band clamps. The back of the speaker was veneered using a platen board and then band clams. The front beveled edges and the 5/16" returns on each side of the baffle were veneered using contact cement. After trimming and sanding all of the vertical faces I veneered the tops with the face grade veneer. I used the same technique as I had with the crossband layer.

Yep, lots of words and an even greater amount of time and effort, but the result is perfect and still looks as new almost three years later. For the finish, I fully prepped the the cabinets, sanded them out completely and filled any slight imperfections. My friend who I built these for had requested a specific finish he had seen elsewhere. It is a type of clear coat called conversion varnish... fairly toxic, but very nice looking on tight grained woods and is damned near bullet proof. I took the speaker cabinets to a professional finisher and had them sprayed with a satin conversion varnish. I might have done the spray work myself, but his work was exemplary and I didn't feel like learning how a new material behaves after spending that much effort and over $1000 on the veneer.


Widget