Very impressive👍
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Just to say , how much I am enjoying this thread- thanks for taking the time to share and to show us.
Best wishes
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Thanks fellas I appreciate the feedback.
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Great thread. What a craftsman you are, Mark.
Looking forward to the next installment.
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Really enjoying this thread, thank you for sharing. I’m sure I’m not the only one looking through the website, trying to find something suitable to have a go at, so I can’t wait to see how these come out.
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Will you be veneering them? If so - anything exotic?
Yes I’ll be veneering them. Currently waiting for delivery. It should turn up in the next few days so I can start. I Just have to give the veneer 24 hours to acclimatise to the humidity level here. My wife chose the veneer this time and nothing exotic due to the limited availability in paper back. Paperback is much more stable and easier to get right for someone without all the proper equipment. She chose maple. I wasn’t sure at first but I have warmed to the idea. They are quite large speakers so anything that makes them less intrusive is a bonus. There will be some left overs too so I think I’ll veneer a chunky floating MDF shelf to go under the tv for the Atom.
Amazing work . Would love to try this but skill level would preclude that. Hope they sound and look fantastic. Looks like the last pair were a resounding success, so pretty sure these will be even better.
Veneer delivered this morning.
As mentioned nothing special but there is limited options in the paper backed selection. I suppose this is where a large portion on money goes in commercial speakers with really nice veneers.
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Will you stain that or going “au natural”? (Or is that a stained finish already - hard to tell from pics.)
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Sorry I forgot to send my reply… At this stage, the plan is to leave bare and finish with an oil based finish to highlight colour I think.
Any thoughts on finishing maple are welcome.
I used clear satin lacquer (water based) and then finished off with wax.
Steve
Yeah, ok. I am wondering about using water based as It doesn’t darken as much over time. Do you know how much maple will darken? What was it you applied it to?
Just realised you used maple on your speakers. Do you have any more closer pictures of the finish?
I would say that water based finishes generally cause much less initial darkening of the wood that oil based finishes. Some timbers, particularly cherry, darken over time, especially when exposed to UV from strong sunlight, and become more orange, but maple is not really prone to this. Some finishes contain UV filters to prevent it, but I don’t think you need to worry too much about this with maple as it seems to stay light.
One issue I’ve found with maple is that it can have a rather uneven absorption of the finish which can make it look blotchy, and it’s not easy to tell if this is going to happen until it’s too late. It can make a stained finish look particularly bad, but is not so much of a risk with clear finishes. Even so, as a precaution I would consider a wood pre-stain conditioner coat if you want a really good even finish. Traditionally you would use a thin shellac for this.
Hi Steve , can I be rude and ask for a picture of the speakers in question?
Best wishes
How flat is the veneer? Do you have to press it on evenly over the surface to get a smooth flat finish? It looks quite tricky. Lovely craftsmanship by the way.
Thanks, I like the look of this. It hasn’t darkened much by the looks of it.
