My STATEMENTS II + STATEMENTS II Center build project.

[danwee12345]

Hi! Everyone.
New to this forum but following all those build threads for sometime now. And finally decided to build my own set of speakers.
They are going to be Jim's STATEMENTS II with complementary Center channel.
So now the decision has been made, I think I'd better start my own build thread here. So here it goes!!

Let me start with a couple of questions.

Q1.
I ordered the parts as a kit from Meniscus, but the crossover diagram they gave me is a bit different from the one I found online from Jim/Curt's homepage/posts. And want to be sure before I start my build, can Jim or anyone else tell me if the following links are the correct crossover diagrams for the Statements II + Statements II Center?

Statements II

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statement_II_4.html

Statements II Center
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/at...2&d=1403830464

Meniscus sent me the following resistors.
For the towers,
6.2 Ohm instead of 6 Ohm
8.2 Ohm instead of 8 Ohm

For the center,
6.8 Ohm instead of 7 Ohm
8 Ohm instead of 8.5 Ohm

Jim, If you see this, please let me know if there are any modifications to the resistor values .

Q2.
Regarding the Center cabinet, same rules apply as for the towers? That is, front baffle wall is 1 1/4" (3/4"+1/2" glued together) and all the other sides are 3/4" thick MDF.


Thanks.

[Jim Holtz]

Hi! Everyone.
New to this forum but following all those build threads for sometime now. And finally decided to build my own set of speakers.
They are going to be Jim's STATEMENTS II with complementary Center channel.
So now the decision has been made, I think I'd better start my own build thread here. So here it goes!!

Let me start with a couple of questions.

Q1.
I ordered the parts as a kit from Meniscus, but the crossover diagram they gave me is a bit different from the one I found online from Jim/Curt's homepage/posts. And want to be sure before I start my build, can Jim or anyone else tell me if the following links are the correct crossover diagrams for the Statements II + Statements II Center?

Statements II

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statement_II_4.html

Statements II Center
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/at...2&d=1403830464

Meniscus sent me the following resistors.
For the towers,
6.2 Ohm instead of 6 Ohm
8.2 Ohm instead of 8 Ohm

For the center,
6.8 Ohm instead of 7 Ohm
8 Ohm instead of 8.5 Ohm

Jim, If you see this, please let me know if there are any modifications to the resistor values .

Q2.
Regarding the Center cabinet, same rules apply as for the towers? That is, front baffle wall is 1 1/4" (3/4"+1/2" glued together) and all the other sides are 3/4" thick MDF.


Thanks.

The crossovers you linked to are correct and the ones that Curt created. The values Meniscus sent are fine and within 10% tolerance which is the industry standard so no problem there. If you think you're going to be driving them to super high volumes, I'd suggest paralleling the mid resistors for sure and possibly the ribbon just to be safe. It's not necessary unless you're really going to beat on them.

Did you get a CAD drawing for the center? If not, send me an email and I'll attach a CAD drawing KevinM did for us that includes a cut sheet. Yes, the front baffle is 3/4" and 1/2" for a total of 1 1/4" thickness.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Meniscus layout if you want to send it o me.

Thanks!

Jim

[danwee12345]

The crossovers you linked to are correct and the ones that Curt created. The values Meniscus sent are fine and within 10% tolerance which is the industry standard so no problem there. If you think you're going to be driving them to super high volumes, I'd suggest paralleling the mid resistors for sure and possibly the ribbon just to be safe. It's not necessary unless you're really going to beat on them.

Did you get a CAD drawing for the center? If not, send me an email and I'll attach a CAD drawing KevinM did for us that includes a cut sheet. Yes, the front baffle is 3/4" and 1/2" for a total of 1 1/4" thickness.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Meniscus layout if you want to send it o me.

Thanks!

Jim

Thanks Jim. Will try to buy the exact values then.
And I got the layouts from Meniscus and will PM you. (Sorry, only a hard copy I got. So I have to take some pictures before i can email them)
And please send me the KevinM's layout if you don't mind.

[danwee12345]

OK. Decided first thing is to build the crossovers.
Anybody can tell me do I have to worry about capacitor poles (+/-) when I connect them to the resistors,coils? I'm asking this because the diagrams in Curt's website do not show anything about which way +/- should be connected, but the Diagrams from Meniscus do.

And if the reply to above is a "Yes", please tell me how to tell the +/- of a Solen/Audin capacitor.

Thanks.

[Jim Holtz]

OK. Decided first thing is to build the crossovers.
Anybody can tell me do I have to worry about capacitor poles (+/-) when I connect them to the resistors,coils? I'm asking this because the diagrams in Curt's website do not show anything about which way +/- should be connected, but the Diagrams from Meniscus do.

And if the reply to above is a "Yes", please tell me how to tell the +/- of a Solen/Audin capacitor.

Thanks.

The caps are non polar and are not directional. No worries on which end to use.

Jim

[danwee12345]

The caps are non polar and are not directional. No worries on which end to use.

Jim

Thanks Jim. That is very quick.

[danwee12345]

This is a sketch when the 3 circuits are connected together.
All 3 circuits going to be on a single piece of wood and it going to be rested on the base inside the tower. So the wood piece will have a 3" hole cut in the middle and the parts would be assembles around that hole in a way minimum amount of circuit wires will be used.

Tell me what you guys think.

[Jim Holtz]

Hi Dan,

I'll probably get chastised for my ugly crossovers, the reason I rarely post pictures of them, but they are functional. A rule of thumb is to build the crossover so it can be easily removed if necessary. I'm not sure your selected mounting postion would allow it.

Here's a picture of the mid/tweeter circuit of the Finalists. I really like using terminal strips.

Jim

[danwee12345]

Hi Dan,

I'll probably get chastised for my ugly crossovers, the reason I rarely post pictures of them, but they are functional. A rule of thumb is to build the crossover so it can be easily removed if necessary. I'm not sure your selected mounting postion would allow it.

Here's a picture of the mid/tweeter circuit of the Finalists. I really like using terminal strips.

Jim

Thanks for the picture and advice. But I don't get it, after sealing the enclosures how do you going to remove them?
And is there any industry standard on the minimum distance between inductors?

[Jim Holtz]

Thanks for the picture and advice. But I don't get it, after sealing the enclosures how do you going to remove them?
And is there any industry standard on the minimum distance between inductors?

Hi Dan,

Size the crossover board or boards so they'll fit through the woofer cut out. I position mine for the Statements II's in the bottom next to the port attached to the side wall. The brace below the bottom woofer is also an excellent position. It takes a little creativity but it's worth the effort if they have to be removed for troubleshooting. Yes, I've had to do it more than once.

Here are suggestions for inductor placement.

Jim

[danwee12345]

Thanks JIM.

Going to be a little slow start, since Im waiting to get Audyns exchanged for solens.

And I have to buy some tools before I start the cabinets. So far I bought a Soldering iron, a circular saw, some clamps, a hand drill and a glue gun.
Still have to buy a sander and some more clamps. And a router and router bits of course. Really difficult to find a decent router here for a reasonable price. Those tools going to cost me, but I'm thinking they will be an investment for me down the road.
Will buy the MDF early next week hopefully. Im going to use 21mm thick sheets. For front baffles it will be 21mm+12mm glued together. (Oh,, Did I say here we use only metric system?)

Meanwhile I'm collecting more information reading other threads.
Somewhere I saw that you use some kind of sealing when you mounting the drivers for all the drivers. And in another thread I saw you said you only have to use gaskets for the tweeter since the woofer and the midrange come with gasket installed.

But when I look at the tweeter it seems it also comes with some kind of material glued to there back side. I took a photo of it. Any thought on this?
Here's the photo .

And the tweeter hole on the front baffle, you need to cut a circle with 3.53 inch (Just over 3 1/2 inch) diameter. I both measured and done maths from the datasheet, and it comes to that value. So if going to stick with the original layout and cut a 3 5/16" hole, you will have to cut rabbit ears to make way for the heat sink. Thought I should write down this so for someone reading this it might be useful.

Cheers.

[deewan]

The tweeter cutout can be a bit difficult. In the picture below you can see how I handled the hole in the baffle for the tweeter heatsink.

Image not available

Also, remember you need to notch out the mid tunnels a bit as seen here. The tweeter sits between the second and third brace from the top. You can see the notches I made.

Image not available

[kevinm]

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who free hands the routing on the tweeter and mid chamber notching

I believe the glued stuff you're referring to is the gasket that helps ensure a tight seal. Can't have any air leakage!

[danwee12345]

Thanks Deewan for the tip. I saw it everybody doing that notch out thing and wondering why they were doing it. This clarifies it.

Kevin, If the tweeter comes with the gasket glued, do I still need to add more gasket material behind the tweeter? I asked this because I saw Jim said somewhere that you need to add gasket only on tweeter since it doesnt come with it but Woofer and mid ranges dont need it.
Cheers.

[kevinm]

Hmmm. Maybe they didn't use to, but I know mine came with plenty and yours look like they did as well. I haven't had any air leak problems on my sealed set, so I think you should be good.

If k r,ember correctly, I didn't have to apply anything to any of the drivers for the Statement IIs

[danwee12345]

Hmmm. Maybe they didn't use to, but I know mine came with plenty and yours look like they did as well. I haven't had any air leak problems on my sealed set, so I think you should be good.

If k r,ember correctly, I didn't have to apply anything to any of the drivers for the Statement IIs

Thanks Kevin. That's a relief.
May be they didn't use to in the past.

[danwee12345]

Big progress.

Ordered MDF and had them cut from the home center. Not all but most of the cuts since it will be real difficult to cut them in my house since I live in a small apartment. We hardly have space to sleep here, so having a work space is out of question. But with the sheets cut to manageable sizes, I will be able to manage the rest. Here is the pile of wood I got.









So with the wood being cut, who can wait to start working on the cabinet. So immediately after brought them home from the home center I got to work and start gluing 21mm and 12mm pieces of front baffle.

[danwee12345]

But when pressing I didn't use clamps along the edge line, so after waiting for a few hours and checking the result I was shocked to see some air gaps between the two flanks along the edge. Hoping to remedy the issue, inserted some more glue to the air gap using a cutting knife and pressed using clamps.



Learning from the experience, 2nd baffle getting the right treatment from the beginning. Will check the result in the morning.



And also progress in tools department too. Got a circular saw, a cheap Makita second hand one and my mini-router (trimmer) will be arriving tomorrow. It's only a 6mm one because I didn't want to buy a mediocre but expensive 12mm one at this time, so will have to be content with it for the time being. Will buy a top of the line router in the future since it's an essential tool in your kit.

Hoping to make more progress tomorrow. Once you started you can't wait and you can't sleep.

[TEK]

Looks like progress is made.
As they say - you can never have enough clamps...
I usually add a piece of wood, for example a 2' by 2' or 2' by 4' between the clamps and on each side of the wood that is glued together to ensure that the pressure is evenly distributed.

[BobEllis]

You can also distribute the weights more evenly to the same end, but more clamps can't hurt.

Something I learned the hard way, you should rough up the MDF a little before glue up. Sand lightly with 100 or 150 grit just to give the glue something to grab. Sometimes the surface is just a little too slick for a good bond. I had baffles delaminate. I've done countless builds without an issue but this time it was a problem.

[danwee12345]

You can also distribute the weights more evenly to the same end, but more clamps can't hurt.

Something I learned the hard way, you should rough up the MDF a little before glue up. Sand lightly with 100 or 150 grit just to give the glue something to grab. Sometimes the surface is just a little too slick for a good bond. I had baffles delaminate. I've done countless builds without an issue but this time it was a problem.

Oh..Too late.
All the three baffles are glued. Anyway if it falls apart after speakers are made I will have them sanded before gluing again.
Anyone else had the same problem?

[kevinm]

In my experience, Bob and Tek have given solid advice. You should be fine squeezing some glue in there a reclamping - as long as you think it's limited to the edges. If you sense buckling in the middle, you might want to drive some screws/brad nails in it.

Bondo will be your best friend.

[TEK]

I agree with Kevinm. If you are unsure about your glueup of the baffel I would have added scruves around the edge of the baffel and the driver holes that goes almost trough from the inside out. That way you will be sure it will not split up and it will have no impact on tha outside/finish. If you do this, remember to predrill the holes. If not the MDF will be likely to split.

[danwee12345]

I agree with Kevinm. If you are unsure about your glueup of the baffel I would have added scruves around the edge of the baffel and the driver holes that goes almost trough from the inside out. That way you will be sure it will not split up and it will have no impact on tha outside/finish. If you do this, remember to predrill the holes. If not the MDF will be likely to split.

Thanks for the advice Kev and TEK.
Will think about adding the screws, but the way I spread the glue Im pretty sure aside from the edges the pieces are pretty tightly bonded.
Will have a look again after holes cut. Will have a pretty good idea about it then.

[danwee12345]

Can someone clarify this to me?
From Dayton site (and my own measurements) says the woofer inner circle diameter is 184mm. But Jims drawing suggests you cut a hole of 187.3mm (7 3/8") . Is there any reason behind not cutting it to the fit?

[Jim Holtz]

Can someone clarify this to me?
From Dayton site (and my own measurements) says the woofer inner circle diameter is 184mm. But Jims drawing suggests you cut a hole of 187.3mm (7 3/8") . Is there any reason behind not cutting it to the fit?

Exact fits are great for extremely accomplished cabinet builders, which I am not, so I leave a little extra for a "nice" fit every time. :W That is particularly applicable to the recess cut. Depending on how you're finishing the cabinet, will determine how much larger than exact I cut. My rule of thumb is 1/16" which only leaves 1/32" around the driver. The inner cutout can be a little sloppy to ease installation of the driver.

YMMV....

Jim

[TEK]

I would highly recommend to NOT do the cut before you have the drivers at hand.
Then I would highly recommend making test cut in a scrap piece before doing the actual cut.
I made a circle jig for my router and adjusted that until I got a "perfect" cut (that took several attemts) and then use the prepared and correctly setup jig to make the final cut.

[kevinm]

Exact fits are great for extremely accomplished cabinet builders, which I am not, so I leave a little extra for a "nice" fit every time. :W That is particularly applicable to the recess cut. Depending on how you're finishing the cabinet, will determine how much larger than exact I cut. My rule of thumb is 1/16" which only leaves 1/32" around the driver. The inner cutout can be a little sloppy to ease installation of the driver.

YMMV....

Jim

Additionally, it leaves room for some of the "finish" to get in hole. When I built some piano black bookshelves, I had to sand the inside of the tweeter recess because I did them too tight.

[danwee12345]

Exact fits are great for extremely accomplished cabinet builders, which I am not, so I leave a little extra for a "nice" fit every time. :W That is particularly applicable to the recess cut. Depending on how you're finishing the cabinet, will determine how much larger than exact I cut. My rule of thumb is 1/16" which only leaves 1/32" around the driver. The inner cutout can be a little sloppy to ease installation of the driver.

YMMV....

Jim

Jim, Thanks for the reply. Will try to cut exact diameter then.
I have few more questions regarding cabinet structure.
1. Would it be ok to cut out the center on the horizontal back braces? ( Just like Shelf brace: H)
2. If I have a sturdy way to mount the pass-throu tunnels without the vertical braces, is it ok to do without those braces? Or is there any sound effect taken into consideration other than strengthening the cabinets?
3.Should it be ok to make the hole on the back (C) 1" smaller from each side so the acoustic foam won't be exposed.



You can see the foam in the above image. If I make the hole smaller then the foam would be covered by wood. (More aesthetically pleasing)

Cheers.

[danwee12345]

I would highly recommend to NOT do the cut before you have the drivers at hand.
Then I would highly recommend making test cut in a scrap piece before doing the actual cut.
I made a circle jig for my router and adjusted that until I got a "perfect" cut (that took several attemts) and then use the prepared and correctly setup jig to make the final cut.

Additionally, it leaves room for some of the "finish" to get in hole. When I built some piano black bookshelves, I had to sand the inside of the tweeter recess because I did them too tight.

Thanks TEK and Kevin for the tips. I'm yet to put my hand on the mid rangers, but I've already got the woofers and ribbons. Mids are on the way.
Regarding the finish, if I choose a gloss finish, do I have to veneer it before polishing? This thread here suggests something like that.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?41958-My-full-sized-Statements-II-build/page2

Sorry. I have zero knowledge on finishing. And if I choose veneering, do I have to take the thickness of the veneer when routing the recess cut?

Thanks. You guys are really helpful.

[TEK]

Regarding the finish, if I choose a gloss finish, do I have to veneer it before polishing?

Hmm, polishing is, in my mind, something you do as the final touch to get a nice shiny finish. Often done on cars, but also on funiture etc.
Veneering is, again in my mind, adding a outer layer of thin wood onto a substrate to make it look like real wood.

From that perspective your question does not seem to make sence.
Could you refrase it?

[Jim Holtz]

Jim, Thanks for the reply. Will try to cut exact diameter then.
I have few more questions regarding cabinet structure.
1. Would it be ok to cut out the center on the horizontal back braces? ( Just like Shelf brace: H)
2. If I have a sturdy way to mount the pass-throu tunnels without the vertical braces, is it ok to do without those braces? Or is there any sound effect taken into consideration other than strengthening the cabinets?
3.Should it be ok to make the hole on the back (C) 1" smaller from each side so the acoustic foam won't be exposed.



You can see the foam in the above image. If I make the hole smaller then the foam would be covered by wood. (More aesthetically pleasing)

Cheers.

I'm out of town for a week with only access to my cell phone.

Short answer, follow the plan. You can be creative with bracing if you like. What is the benefit?

I've never made the mid tunnel smaller but it will change the rear radiated sound which will affect the speaker balance. Why not a grill instead?

Jim

[deewan]

I would highly recommend to NOT do the cut before you have the drivers at hand.
Then I would highly recommend making test cut in a scrap piece before doing the actual cut.
I made a circle jig for my router and adjusted that until I got a "perfect" cut (that took several attempts) and then use the prepared and correctly setup jig to make the final cut.

This is great advice!!!! Make sure you follow this advice!

I have few more questions regarding cabinet structure.
1. Would it be ok to cut out the center on the horizontal back braces? ( Just like Shelf brace: H)
2. If I have a sturdy way to mount the pass-throu tunnels without the vertical braces, is it ok to do without those braces? Or is there any sound effect taken into consideration other than strengthening the cabinets?
3.Should it be ok to make the hole on the back (C) 1" smaller from each side so the acoustic foam won't be exposed.
Cheers.

1) Yes, I think that would be fine. It will add a SMALL amount of internal volume since you are removing some mass, but nothing that would make a audible difference.
2) As long as your way of mounting the midtunnels doesn't cut the internal air movement from the upper and lower parts of the cabinets, I think it would be fine. However, those vertical braces are a good design to allow internal air movement and provide support and reduce vibration to the side panels.
3) I agree with Jim, I would not shrink the outlet of the midtunnels. It will have an impact on your sound. Depending on where these speakers are located, you will never see the foam. I have bright green foam on my midtunnels, but it's never see because I can see the backside of the speakers. 99% of the people who see my speakers do not realize the speakers are ported out the back.

Big progress.
Ordered MDF and had them cut from the home center. Not all but most of the cuts since it will be real difficult to cut them in my house since I live in a small apartment. We hardly have space to sleep here, so having a work space is out of question.

I don't think this needs to be said, but just in case. I would strongly advise NOT, DO NOT EVER, cut MDF in a place/room where you live. The dust from MDF is so fine you will be finding it for years. Also, it is not healthy to breath in the dust. While I am sure you did not mean you would cut the MDF in your living space, I wanted to be 100% sure you knew to not attempt it.

Other than that, you are off to a great start to this build. Keep up the good work!!!

[BobEllis]

...

I don't think this needs to be said, but just in case. I would strongly advise NOT, DO NOT EVER, cut MDF in a place/room where you live. The dust from MDF is so fine you will be finding it for years. Also, it is not healthy to breath in the dust. While I am sure you did not mean you would cut the MDF in your living space, I wanted to be 100% sure you knew to not attempt it.

Other than that, you are off to a great start to this build. Keep up the good work!!!

:agree::agree::agree::agree::agree:

I'll go a step further and recommend not using MDF at all realizing that you have already started down the path with it. Cabinet grade Baltic Birch ply is more expensive, but the dust particles are larger, they settle and can be cleaned up efficiently. I proved this to myself rather dramatically with back to back builds using MDF and BB. Even working outdoors the MDF dust got into my pores, and into my nose through a paint respirator fitted with dust filters. My girlfriend kissed me and commented that I tasted like sawdust after I showered. Just handling the mdf pieces seemed to be an issue - I vacuumed them after cutting but they still billowed clouds of dust when I put them down. Shop vac dust collection is a problem because unless you have a cyclone separator like http://www.oneida-air.com/category.a...5C357DFE131%7D the filter will clog in short order. Non HEPA filters will pass enough MDF dust that you end up spreading as much as you pick up.

Just an old fart who finally discovered the joys of working with BB ply instead of MDF.

[danwee12345]

I'm out of town for a week with only access to my cell phone.

Short answer, follow the plan. You can be creative with bracing if you like. What is the benefit?

I've never made the mid tunnel smaller but it will change the rear radiated sound which will affect the speaker balance. Why not a grill instead?

Jim

Yes. You are right. What was I thinking.ops:

[danwee12345]

:agree::agree::agree::agree::agree:

I'll go a step further and recommend not using MDF at all realizing that you have already started down the path with it. Cabinet grade Baltic Birch ply is more expensive, but the dust particles are larger, they settle and can be cleaned up efficiently. I proved this to myself rather dramatically with back to back builds using MDF and BB. Even working outdoors the MDF dust got into my pores, and into my nose through a paint respirator fitted with dust filters. My girlfriend kissed me and commented that I tasted like sawdust after I showered. Just handling the mdf pieces seemed to be an issue - I vacuumed them after cutting but they still billowed clouds of dust when I put them down. Shop vac dust collection is a problem because unless you have a cyclone separator like http://www.oneida-air.com/category.a...5C357DFE131%7D the filter will clog in short order. Non HEPA filters will pass enough MDF dust that you end up spreading as much as you pick up.

Just an old fart who finally discovered the joys of working with BB ply instead of MDF.

Thanks Deewan and Bob. I didn't know that MDF is that hazardous. You saved me a lot of trouble here. This forum rocks.

[danwee12345]

Hmm, polishing is, in my mind, something you do as the final touch to get a nice shiny finish. Often done on cars, but also on funiture etc.
Veneering is, again in my mind, adding a outer layer of thin wood onto a substrate to make it look like real wood.

From that perspective your question does not seem to make sence.
Could you rephrase it?

If you can go to the link I provided and see the post #27, you can see spleen21 (the builder) saying he finished veneering the cabinets and deciding on a finish. So finishing and veneering is two different things?

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?41958-My-full-sized-Statements-II-build

[BobEllis]

Yes, the finish is the stuff that goes on top of the veneer to make the grain pop or paint. Usually satin or gloss. If you're taking about polishing then it's a gloss finish and polishing takes out the last of the surface irregularities to give you a mirror like shine.

As for allowing for the depth of the veneer, raw veneer is about .5mm thick, 1/48" typically. Paper backed veneer runs close to a mm depending on the backing thickness.

[TEK]

Veneering is adding a thin layer of real wood to a substrate, for example MDF, to make it look like it is real wood.

"Finishing veneering" would mean that he is done veneered the speaker cabinets.
"Deciding on a finish" will mean deciding what to do after the speakers are veneered.
After veneering a surface (speaker or other) you will have a surface that looks raw wood and that is not suited for use. Any spill (for example coffe, would leave stains right away. The pores in the wood will catch dust and it will be almost impossible to keep the surface clean.
Finish is what you do after veneering. It might be paint, laquere, vax, shellac and so on all depending on what kind of surface you want. As there are many different finished, deciding on what you want to do is important.

[danwee12345]

Yes, the finish is the stuff that goes on top of the veneer to make the grain pop or paint. Usually satin or gloss. If you're taking about polishing then it's a gloss finish and polishing takes out the last of the surface irregularities to give you a mirror like shine.

As for allowing for the depth of the veneer, raw veneer is about .5mm thick, 1/48" typically. Paper backed veneer runs close to a mm depending on the backing thickness.

Veneering is adding a thin layer of real wood to a substrate, for example MDF, to make it look like it is real wood.

"Finishing veneering" would mean that he is done veneered the speaker cabinets.
"Deciding on a finish" will mean deciding what to do after the speakers are veneered.
After veneering a surface (speaker or other) you will have a surface that looks raw wood and that is not suited for use. Any spill (for example coffe, would leave stains right away. The pores in the wood will catch dust and it will be almost impossible to keep the surface clean.
Finish is what you do after veneering. It might be paint, laquere, vax, shellac and so on all depending on what kind of surface you want. As there are many different finished, deciding on what you want to do is important.

So can't we apply the finishing directly on the MDF. If I understood it correct, this video shows as such?

[TEK]

Yes uou can apply finish directly to the MDF, as shown in the video. But he does not veneer them first, he only paint them in a solid color.
Painting them in a solid color might as well be called to "apply finish".
But again, then you do not veneer them first.

[danwee12345]

Yes uou can apply finish directly to the MDF, as shown in the video. But he does not veneer them first, he only paint them in a solid color.
Painting them in a solid color might as well be called to "apply finish".
But again, then you do not veneer them first.

That's what I wanted to ask. Since spleen21 and the guy in the video both are after the same finish (which is high gloss), spleen21 does it on veneer, but the guy in the video does it on MDF itself. Apart from the veneering, the process in both cases seems to be pretty much similar. Apply primer, sanding , more primer , more sanding ...
If you can achieve the same thing without veneering, why the extra cost and time to veneer the cabinets?

[BobEllis]

I can't get to spleen's video from here, but a good reason to veneer before paint is to prevent MDF end "grain" from telegraphing through the paint. Bonding works, too, but is not fun to work with.

[TEK]

Ok, I think I understand what you are asking about.
Lets go back to your initial question:

Regarding the finish, if I choose a gloss finish, do I have to veneer it before polishing?

If you want a solid colored speaker with a gloss finish you do not have to veneer the speakers first. You do however have to make sure that you have a very smooth serface before painting them.
Example:

Image not available

If you want a wood-looking speaker with high gloss you will have to veneer them first.
Example:

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[danwee12345]

Ok, I think I understand what you are asking about.
Lets go back to your initial question:

If you want a solid colored speaker with a gloss finish you do not have to veneer the speakers first. You do however have to make sure that you have a very smooth serface before painting them.
Example:

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If you want a wood-looking speaker with high gloss you will have to veneer them first.
Example:

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Oh.. That explains it. Thanks TEK.