Agreed. I was almost pulled into doing this. Even though mine will be a stain or duratex. We'll see. Very helpful vid man! (Consider doing a time lapse build one of these days.). 😊😊
Great intro! Just a heads up that bad joints can project through veneer too. The best way to prep the cabinet is to use bondo on the seams and sand smooth. Then you can paint or veneer or whatever. But the key is good prep work.
I agree. This is the best way to finish MDF. If you decide to paint your seams and corners and everything must be perfect. The amount of prep to really do it right is substantial. To veneer a speaker is very fast and easy, and it looks amazing! I use contact cement, but like Randy said, you can use the peel-n-stick, wood glue and iron, or contact cement. Then after you've routed the edges and some very minor sanding, you can stain it, lacquer it, whatever. I made a pair of 10" subwoofers a while back using some old Boston Acoustic car audio subs and they look (and sound) phenomenal! They look like you could eat them! They look like candy. I'm very proud of them. I'm working on a pair of X-Statiks by GR Research right now. I'm gonna finish these the same way I did the subwoofers. Thanks Randy! You da man!
I am an electrician in a plant that makes wall paneling in a process very similar to MDF. Fires are common during the pressing and drying process. Half the plant is about 120 degrees, full of smoke and a stench of formaldehyde, the other half is about 120 degrees, soaking wet and filled with the stench of rotting wood pulp. Unless you're by a door or outside, then it is -10. So yes, MDF is from hell.
Nice job. If you have not yet decided how you want to finish the MDF then it is useful to make some templates for future veneering before you assemble. Use the preassembly flatpack panels to make templates on some stiff card or paper and draw around the edges including the holes for port and drivers. Cut out the holes with a craft knife. Keep these card templates and if you decide to veneer later they will always work. You can cut the port and speaker holes by sticking the template to your veneer with temporary spray glue and use a sharp craft knife or scalpel to carefully cut the holes and edges if you don't have a router. Use these to trace the outline on the veneer leaving the slack you need. In any case the best tool you have is patience, don't rush.
Bondo works on seams. Then primer. Then spray paint in high gloss. Sanding in between. Cheap and straightforward, but a little time consuming. You can get a piano gloss finish that way, though, without having to worry about veneer problems like peeling and cracking and shrinking/expanding. It’s even a little bit hearty against water damage if cleaned up quick enough. Still, some folks dig the wood grain look, I guess!
I'm not big on ever leaving bad comments about things, unless deserving, but this is definitely not the video I would recommend anyone to watch for learning how to veneer speakers.
next time you finish some, you should give truck bed liner a shot. i did a pair of towers in it. it covers thick,(i used the spray can stuff) and hides any imperfections! just a thought. great job though sir.
Great show, hard to believe that my favorite RU-vid channel is a guy talking about speakers. I'd love to see you do a superior DIY speaker set in the $150 range. And I mean superior compared to $150 store-bought set. I'm looking to tackle My first DIY speaker but spending $450 to $800 probably won't go over well with the wife. No matter how much she finds you amusing and weird.
I'm a klutz when it comes to stuff like this so I appreciate the "how to" video. If the speaker is not too big, I would probably just lay it on the veneer and trace an outline in pencil (I'd check first to make sure pencil marks can be erased off of the veneer).
Dancing with the devil (MDF tips) - when you've drilled and screwed the screw holes for the speaker drop some thin superglue in and around to stiffen up that area. For finishing MDF ends - soak in thinned down PVA glue, sand (when dry!) and repeat. Add a bit of white powder filler to last coat. You can easily achieve a surface a bit like the MDF top surface. Another surface idea (tried on other stuff) obtain a very thin cloth for epoxy/clothing/skinning in aeromodelling (very cheap if china sourced), paint this onto the (fully prepped and smoothed) surface - can give a slight texture, or can be built up to a mirror finish. You can put in edge 'reinforcement' as a first layer. Makes a very durable finish and adds a small degree of composite strength overall. MDF remnants actually burn OK so stick 'em in your woodburner (sparingly) - not your open fire though (probable nasty gases).
I'm going to build the CSS Criton's this winter and my plan is to Bondo the seams on the cabinet and then take it to a body shop or wood shop to have them finish it. There's a local home theater company that advertises custom finishes so I may reach out to them. I picture myself gluing my fingers to the veneer and then having a full frustration meltdown.
One of these days when I get motivated enough I'm going to veneer my swans they're kind of cool right now as a notepad for the kids to write on lol... They've got a little character. One of them actually says why am I so ugly when I sound so pretty ?
Wow i have been wanting to veneer my klipsch klf20 they had the factory glue fail and this time was bad both speaker cabinets needed a full rebuild. my klipsch kg5.5 i used to have just 1 needed the back right side reglued. but the klipsch klf20 i did front and back on both of them one the front and back was totally detached the other one the front and all but a foot on the back left bottom i put in extra wood inside so the glued surface was a 1/2 inch wider on the sides and top and bottom i used finish nails in my nail gun then glued and clamped the front and back on and nailed them in from the side filled all the holes with wood putty but i am tired of the light oak i like this way better because i just didn't want to deal with the glue mess now that i know about the self adhesive veneer its a go i like the mahogany looks good on amazon with a light oil to darken it up i thank would look nice . so far my klipsch rb 35's are fine i hope klipsch fiigured out there glue issue because the 80's and 90's were bad. i listen to 2 channel a and b speakers thanks for the video's
You run a router around the piece of veneer and trim it to speaker size. If you have little edge you can use a sanding block or a file to take it down flush. Just alway sand or file with the grain.
Another great video, Randy! I'm not handy enough for all that, though. Assembling the cabinets is fine, but the veneering is a little tough for me. Maybe a few coats of Krylon, or with more money, a trip to auto body paint shop, and have it done by a pro............. Like the Speaker City t-shirt! Congrats on 25,000+!!!!
PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) veneer is by far the easiest fastest way to get a good looking speaker cab. Next would be any paper backed veneer using contact cement. My experience.
14 and a quarter "heavy" you must have worked construction! My old man taught me about light/heavy my first day hanging drywall. It's much quicker than counting 16ths.
I have seen some really nice MDF builds. What I would do is use a router to round off all the corners (optional) sand it real good and use "filler" to fill in all the voids and sand it smooth all over. Then paint it, and wet sand between coats to get rid of the "orange peal".. One can get a Piano gloss finish with this approach. Check out the "Home Theaters Gurus" Channel and look at his video has the title Piano Gloss finish where he has an MDF sub woofer build with a piano gloss finish. I learned a lot. Using Veneer as suggested in your video is nice too.
If you add up the time for multiple coats of filler sandale primer, the sand paper, elbow grease, then the final paint coat, maybe with a clear coat that you could color sand and buff, veneer is so much simpler. Whatever you spend for a reasonable piece of veneer, you will probably spend at least that in paint and prep work. Not to mention the dilemma of how to paint six sixes of a box and have it look good. I thought about it and figured I'd make two pedestals from two and three inch PVC plumbing pipe and mount them to a board and suspend the speaker through the speaker openings cut in the cabinet but, it just seemed like a hassle and a mess. You would have to shoot the front first then put it on the mount etc. Ugh.
just measure at each end of the veneer set a mark, then lay out a ruler and match it up to the markings, take an exacto knife and score the veneer along the ruler, just a little easier
I have veneered a few projects but, I've never used self adhesive veneers. Have you had any issues with it delaminating or coming undone? I'm just curious as I've always used contact cement.
MDF always has to be sealed. You have to sand it smooth and then seal it to keep the edges from changing shape. I'd seal it even if you're planning on us veneer on it honestly
What prep work needs to be done to the MDF other than sanding? Do you need to coat the MDF with shellac or lacquer to make it smooth prior to putting on the PSA veneer, or does it stick fine to the bare MDF?
Hey Cheap audio man...how come I'm also seeing you with bookshelf speakers. Why don't I ever see you with a small mini tower. ? Your place doesn't look that small.. I'm pretty sure you have a sub...or am I wrong. Cause some of your some.of your big or large bookshelf are louder and or requires more power than some small towers
Randy, The router bit you show for cutting the veneer for the speaker recess was not clear in the video. Do you have a link or description for that bit? I cannot find any router bit to cut just the recessed speaker circle.
@@SqueamishPuppet I see how that bit would work for the speaker hole but, the recess cut is too shallow for the blade to engage the veneer, the bearing surface of the bit is taller than the recess
They're still called a flush trim bit but they don't have the bearing on the end. This comment is 9 months old, but in case someone comes across it you can find them on Amazon: solid carbide flush trim bit
But friend... why do veneer instead or of using Real Plain Natural Wood, like Walnut or even Bamboo ? Do u think Stradivarius are veneered ? Who told u that ?
Because using solid wood is the best way ever for building speakers. Said no one ever. No manufacturer does that in large production nor does real wood have great non-resonance qualities.
