Good to be Back! Time to Upgrade?

[BigJim_inFLA]

Hello all! Been away for a while finishing school, but now I am done, employed, and no longer broke! A few years back I built sonosub. Then a pair of Modula MTs, loved the sound and the build. You might say I became addicted to speaker building. A set of Nat P's, the RS 3 ways and center channel soon followed. All this with minimal tools in a 1 bedroom apartment. I had to stop to focus on school, and because I had run out of room.

Now I have a house with a big garage and a work seven days have seven days off schedule that is just perfect for some new projects. I am currently finishing up some bass bins that I built a few years ago but never painted or veneered. When those are done I was thinking a new sub or subs. My sonosub does not fill this much larger room as well as it did my smaller places. I was thinking going to a sealed arrangement using the Maelstrom 18" or the Maelstrom 21" driver. Are there any other big subs that I should be looking at?

[BigJim_inFLA]

I'm finally getting around to finishing my bass bins. They will be cherry veneer with piano black lacquer baffles. I don't have an air compressor yet, but I have been using my SCUBA tanks as an air source for the spray gun. Works like a charm.

[Dean100]

Welcome back Jim. Your bass bin build was a lot of help to me when I built some bass bins to go under my Nat P's. Keep up the great work.

[BigJim_inFLA]

Thanks Dean, glad I could give a little back after all the help I got here.

Today I started applying the cherry veneer to the bass bins. I have never veneered anything so large before, but it all is going rather smoothly.



Applying the glue with a foam roller.



The veneer wrinkles a bit after applying the glue.



Ironing it on.



Ready to trim. In the past I have always trimmed my veneer with a sharp x-acto knife and a straight edge, but because these are so big I am trying a veneer edge trimmer and a veneer saw. I'll see which one is easier.

[TacoD]

On the first photo I could not really judge how big your bass are, but when a big fellow stand next to them it became clear. These are some serious bass bins .

Nice work, good look with trimming of the veneer.

[Johnloudb]

Jim, Nice Work! What kind of glue did you use to apply the veneer? I am planning on using contact cement for a veneer job soon ... first time. I'm going to use a veneer scraper to apply pressure and smooth the veneer.

Looks like you've gone a different route. What does the ironing do? I've never applied veneer before, but have 2 sheets of walnut veneer to put on.

[Jed]

Looks like you've gone a different route. What does the ironing do?

Iron-on method is described here:

http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Better-Bond-Heat-Lock-Veneer-Glue.html

[Johnloudb]

Thanks Jed, That site gives a good description.

[BigJim_inFLA]

I use Titebond wood glue thinned 50:50 with water, goes on smooth and dries fast. Once it is dry its easy to position the veneer where you want it before bonding it by ironing. When you veneer get one of these...



makes trimming a breeze. Easily saved me hours over the way I used to do it. Had the whole thing trimmed in just a few minutes, and only needed a bit of sanding to get it just right.





Finished with veneer.

[BigJim_inFLA]

Putting on the first coat of boiled linseed oil.





I had some left over cherry veneer from when I built my Nat P's that was big enough for the tops and got new for the sides. The older cherry is a bit darker than the new. It is not quite as noticeable as in this picture, but it is darker. I'm hoping it will even out over time.

[Johnloudb]

I've had some piece of wood outside for some time, but out of the weather. And they now have a darker shade that those that were indoors, but from the same sheet. I think maybe the sun did it. Don't know. But, maybe overtime they could look more the same shade ... maybe give them some sunlight.

[Hdale85]

Yes the sun and other elements change hardwood finishes over time. In a few years they won't even look the same shade at all. Finishes age over time.

Just like the orange wood.....I forget what it's called but when you first finish it, it's crazy bright orange. Over a few years though it turns into this gorgeous red color.

[BigJim_inFLA]

When I first built my Nat P's everyone I asked told me the cherry would darken over time due to UV exposure. I did a number of test panels to decide how I wanted to finish them and ended up using a little bit of red dye, just a tiny bit actually, in the shellac to darken then up a bit. If I knew they would have ended up looking like the tops of these cabinets I might have forgone the dye. Too late now as I will try to match these to the Nat P's that will be sitting on top of them. Here is a pic of the Nat P when it was newly finished, just after completing the bass bin build in March of 2007. (yes it really has taken me three and a half years to get around to finishing these.)



I will take a pic of how they look now and post to show how much darker they have gotten in 3 years, it is quite noticeable.

[BigJim_inFLA]

Here is a pic of the cherry veneer as it looked just after finishing, on the left, and a pic taken this morning on the right.



They have darkened quite a bit in 3 years or so.

[Hdale85]

Yes any real natural wood will darken with age. Some people are horrified at a new finish, but you have to explain to them it will change over time.

[BigJim_inFLA]

A little more progress today. I padded on two coats of shellac...



then started with the first of a few coats of polyurethane.



Hopefully they will be done before I have to start back to work on Wednesday.

[TacoD]

To me they look finished, you only have to mount the woofers + x-overs But this can also take some time, especially if the driver cut-outs do not fit any more due to the paint swells the MDF a little bit.

[BigJim_inFLA]

DONE! No crossovers, actively crossed with Behringer CX2310. I had the driver cutouts swell once before so now I always sand them a little oversize before I paint.

[Hdale85]

Looks good!

[Face]

Looks great! Just wipe off the surround and they'll be perfect.

[Dean100]

Very Nice! :T

[richnen]

Very nice build!

[Johnloudb]

Jim,

I think I'm going to do something similar with the finish on my speaker project. I plan on painting the back of the speaker black, and a walnut veneer on the front and then putting polyurethane over the whole thing.

I don't know much at all about doing finishes though. What was the purpose of the boiled linseed oil and shellac?

I don't plan on putting any stain on the walnut, just a natural finish.

Also, was that just a flat black paint you put on? And then did you put the polyurethane over it?

Any tips would very welcome. Thanks.

John

[Solid7]

Yes any real natural wood will darken with age. Some people are horrified at a new finish, but you have to explain to them it will change over time.

Actually, some woods will LIGHTEN with age. Teak comes to mind...