Another Troels Gravesen Jenzen build.

[oceanobsession]

Very nice they look great, im new to woodwork, never done any veneering to date

[awkwardbydesign]

Very nice they look great, im new to woodwork, never done any veneering to date

If you ever do any, try to get the paper backed type. I've been using raw unbacked oak veneer, and as it's old and dry (therefore cheap!) it keeps expanding and shrinking with the changes in humidity. And cutting long straight edges (to join two or more pieces invisibly) has been very hard. I'm obviously not as good at it as I remember, although I seem to have got the hang of it with the very last panel. Number 8! I gave the veneer a coat of lacquer first, to stabilise it, trimmed it with a sharp knife and a straight edge, then used sandpaper on a long block to get it to match up. And using a short pile roller for the pre-cat lacquer means 2nd and 3rd coats don't drag previous coats, as the solvents will soften the lower layers.
It's now time to modify and relocate the crossovers into their new boxes, and rewire with more of the Polk/Monitor Audio litz cable. I've measured the old steel supports for the top cabs, and will weld them up to their new lengths. This is to try to separate the top boxes from the bass cabs, which worked well for some earlier speakers.
Maybe they will be finished this year!
[IMG][/IMG]
I'm also looking for a Jungson amp, similar to Troels' but there don't seem to be any around.

[walpurgis]

I know exactly what you mean about working with oak veneer. It warps and won't lay flat and as you say cutting a straight edge, especially along the grain is tricky. I have used it successfully, but I'd sooner work with just about any other wood.

[slate]

I can see that the quality inspector approves of the veneer Work...

[awkwardbydesign]

I know exactly what you mean about working with oak veneer. It warps and won't lay flat and as you say cutting a straight edge, especially along the grain is tricky. I have used it successfully, but I'd sooner work with just about any other wood.

How about yew? And I have some old wenge with a surface like corduroy; it splits into strands as soon as you touch it!

I can see that the quality inspector approves of the veneer Work...

I think he's bored with it all!

[awkwardbydesign]

All 8 side panels veneered and lacquered. A small roller with short pile head worked well. The joins are adequate, just a bit of light staining on the edges that were exposed, but I wasn't going to trim it all off, as they are sides not fronts.
[IMG][/IMG]

I wanted some 64mm D handles to hang the crossover boxes, but I couldn't find any locally.
So I bought some 4mm threaded studding and 6mm aly tube (which has a 4mm hole through it). I'll slide the studding through the tube, leaving a bit sticking out, bend the composite rod into a D, trim to size, and have a 6mm D handle with an M4 thread sticking out of each end. Creating, in effect, a solid rod means it shouldn't collapse at the bends. Actually cheaper than buying 4 handles, and I can make them deeper than standard too.

[awkwardbydesign]

D handles made and fitted; not perfect but they will do. Switches installed, they are ready for the components now.
[IMG][/IMG]

I think I will cut and weld the steel top box frames next, and insert some M6 cross dowels in the top cabinets.

[awkwardbydesign]

Anyway, back to these things-
[IMG][/IMG]

They used to suspend earlier top cabs thus-
[IMG][/IMG]

They now look like this-
[IMG][/IMG]
I veneered the uprights to match the cabinets. They will be hardly visible, but why not? I will bolt the top cabs from the back into them and see if it makes a difference. At the moment I have just removed the sorbothane feet from between the cabs (on the advice of oceanobsession) and it has improved the sound, but I will still try this method. If it doesn't work I can just unbolt them and revert to a more usual configuration.

[awkwardbydesign]

Now I have pair of those trouser stands you get in hotel rooms.
[IMG][/IMG]

They will form part of the bass stands, but run up the back without touching the bass cabs, and the top cabs will bolt to them. I decided to fill them with expanding polyurethane foam to try to damp any ringing. I've never really used it before, but what could possibly go wrong?
BTW, how do you get it out of your hair? It oozed out everywhere; it's probably still doing it. And getting it off the veneer without stripping the lacquer took some thought. I had to get at it before it dried, so I used white spirit and elbow grease. That's a couple of hours I'll never get back! I've still got to do the other one, and to be honest, I don't think it's very effective. I'll stick to sand filling next time. Next time?
And the crossover boxes are too wide to fit between the rails! I'll trim them and re-veneer the exposed mdf. It would probably help if I had a cunning plan at the beginning, instead of making it up as I go along. But as fatmarley said, where's the fun in that?
Still, I'm actually enjoying the sound of them now, although there is more to come from them. Although the design is Troels', I'm using my own experience and ideas to (hopefully) improve them. There are some points where I disagree with him, so we'll see who's right.

[awkwardbydesign]

I cut down the crossover boxes, so they would fit between the stand rails.
[IMG][/IMG]

And made up the HF and MF internal wiring. Used some of the Polk/Monitor Audio litz that I had.
[IMG][/IMG]

I'm running out of excuses not to dismantle the speakers and finish the front panels and veneer the backs. I'm putting it off until absolutely everything is ready, as I won't have any music for as long as it takes to finish them.