Paul Carmody Speedster Design

[MrBoat]

I did manage to fit the crossover boards. I need to remove them briefly when I seal the inside of the cabinets. I can permanently fit the back panels, since the crossover board can fit out thru the woofer hole. Slow going. I kind of goofed off all holiday weekend. I'm at that catch point where I still have to veneer the cabinets and permanently attach the baffle after that.

 

[panteragstk]

I did manage to fit the crossover boards. I need to remove them briefly when I seal the inside of the cabinets. I can permanently fit the back panels, since the crossover board can fit out thru the woofer hole. Slow going. I kind of goofed off all holiday weekend. I'm at that catch point where I still have to veneer the cabinets and permanently attach the baffle after that.

Goof off on a holiday? Blasphemy...

What finish are you thinking?

 

[MrBoat]

Goof off on a holiday? Blasphemy...

What finish are you thinking?

I have this ribbon mahogany veneer around for awhile now.

 

[MrBoat]

Got the cabinets veneered. I like this veneer but it is very fragile to work with.

 

[panteragstk]

Got the cabinets veneered. I like this veneer but it is very fragile to work with.

Impressive as usual

 

[MrBoat]

I should add that I used the wood glue/iron method for the veneer this time. First time trying it. It works. I liked having the ability to adjust the veneer without worrying about getting locked too quickly like with contact cement. This is non backed veneer. I am curious if this will keep it from creeping over time. I do intend to completely seal them inside and out.

 

[MrBoat]

Filled all the pores with this "Timbermate" filler. Good stuff and water soluble pretty much indefinitely. Can even restore the sanding dust back into it. Dries fast, and very little to no shrinkage.

 

[MrBoat]

Got the pore fill sanded off and the first seal coat of shellac applied. I am sorely tempted to do a French polish finish, since it has become one of my favorites but I also have some gel wipe on satin poly I would like to try out.

 

[Pogre]

Those are looking very nice boat!

 

[MrBoat]

These steps are what often lures me into glossy finishes over satin. Once you see that grain pop like that it's hard to want to tone it down.

Epoxy coating the veneer and speaker fronts. This veneer has no backing and has not been stabilized. I thin epoxy to like a water consistency with denatured alcohol, and saturate the veneer with it. I keep adding it until it won't take anymore. Since I did not use a proper veneer adhesive, this encapsulation will keep the veneer from creeping due to changes in climate.

With the MDF speaker fronts, this plasticizes the porous substrate quite deeply. As the alcohol evaporates over the time I am working these, the coats automatically get subsequently thicker, or, it turns from a super-penetrant, to a high build surface treatment. Clean, sanded epoxy will take paint, lacquer, oil/water based paints and varnish beautifully. It is the absolute best sealer/primer/surfacer all in one process. I once left a scrap of MDF, and a piece of marine plywood coated this way outdoors for 3 years and it was still as sound as the day I left it out there. This, over an argument on the internet about epoxy not being a suitable enough sealer for marine use.

I am still brushing this up for the next couple hours about every 20 mins or so on the veneer. This will somewhat suddenly level out pretty slick like near the end of this process.

 

[Pogre]

Those are looking beautiful. That's a professional glossy looking finish.

 

[MrBoat]

Those are looking beautiful. That's a professional glossy looking finish.

I am still brushing it occasionally until it kicks. It will level out almost slick towards the end of this process.

 

[Alex2507]

I see you've been two timing us on FB.

 

[NINaudio]

That looks amazing to me already!

 

[MrBoat]

I see you've been two timing us on FB.

I had nearly forgot I was a member of that page. I had kind of fallen behind with FB and forum following for awhile.

 

[MrBoat]

That looks amazing to me already!

The mahogany itself is gorgeous.

 

[ski2xblack]

I came out of curiosity about how these kit speakers sound, and damn, your amazing craftsmanship steals the show. Top notch work, lookin dead sexy so far.

 

[MrBoat]

I came out of curiosity about how these kit speakers sound, and damn, your amazing craftsmanship steals the show. Top notch work, lookin dead sexy so far.

I ordered gloss music instrument lacquer for the finish. I can always go satin or matte because I would put down gloss coats for the build regardless. This epoxy coat is just a sealer/ surfacer, and it will get sanded quite thin, and then top coated with the lacquer.

Here I used French polish shellac method over epoxy. This is a pretty foolproof way to get a slick finish with minimal tooling. I really like this finish and it's just a satisfying process all around. I would use this if I was going to be the only one handling this speaker, or it was pretty much just going to sit in the same place. It's certainly durable enough for most interior environments and is pretty much indefinitely renewable.

 

[Eppie]

I was curious how it was going to compare to the epoxy finish from Saturday but it's simply beautiful. When my bookcases are finished I want to look into building speakers and the biggest unknown so far was how to get a nice gloss finish. I really like your approach. What brand / type of epoxy did you use?

 

[MrBoat]

I was curious how it was going to compare to the epoxy finish from Saturday but it's simply beautiful. When my bookcases are finished I want to look into building speakers and the biggest unknown so far was how to get a nice gloss finish. I really like your approach. What brand / type of epoxy did you use?

The epoxy is from US Composites, but you could use any brand. Raka, West, System 3 etc. The chemicals to make it all comes from the same handful of chem corps so flip a coin, for this particular purpose. Be warned that epoxy is messy and has a way of getting on you. You could call to order it on the phone and manage to get it on your ear.

Shellac and sprayed nitro-lacquer are my two favorite gloss finishes. LPU automotive clear is nice too but is hazardous to apply for non professional application, and without the proper facility. Definitely don't want those clouds drifting over to the unprotected neighbors lungs.

This is sprayed lacquer over epoxy on Karelian birch. I managed to get the solvent amount just about right that day.