I was talking about real veneer. A thin sheet of wood, one side coated with a meltable glue, the other side with a beautiful wooden grain. Not the plastic, photographed fake.
Then it's easy. Buy Birch plywood, and varnish with clear urethane lacquer. (Several layers, for a more durable surface. Birch itself is quite soft.) Birch plywood isn't cheap, but it's one of the more environmentally-friendly materials.
I've already got my revenge. It was easy and unexpected, and it went like this:
Kev: Maybe you've never seen me do it before, because I've never done it before, but how hard can it be to saw some wood?
Jane: Wood?
Kev: Er... What did you think speaker cabinets were made from?
...
Jane: (embarrassed) Felt?
Oh right. When you said you just iron it on I assumed the nasty fake stuff, I didn't know you could get glue-backed veneer sheets.
Yeah that's sort-of what I was thinking of doing, but now I'm not sure if ply is a good idea. Especially if it splits easily, because I'm good at splitting wood easily.
Yunno what she's thinking, she'll have seen the front covering on a speaker and thought that's all there is to it, and not realised there's a big wooden box full of electrical stuff stuck to the back of it. Women, i used to think they did this sort of stuff to be all cutesy and alluring in a needing a man sort of way. But i'm coming to the conclusion they really are that stupid. Either that or they're all completely bonkers and really do come from another planet......Mazz runs off to get a flame suit and full body armour just in case Becky reads that bit.
It largely depends on how you'll be working it. If you'll be hammering nails or even putting screws into the side (i.e into the joints of each layer) of it, then yeah it'll most likely split. But it you're drilling into the face/front of it then it should be ok, but remember to use proper wood drill bits and set the drill to a low rpm otherwise you'll end up charring the wood around the hole. .
Although i've never used birch ply, most other plys can chip and fray at the edges sometimes when you're cutting it, especially if you're a bit cack handed. Although a decent wood saw and a guide block should minimise this.
But i'd say if you already have the plans for this thing, then just stick to them, even if it does recommend using ply.
I'm guessing it's because all my previous (and current) speaker cabs have that felty carpet covering on them. Another reason I want to avoid that is because it's so good at retaining stale beer smells. And I don't want to stick Tolex on because I've never seen a Tolex-covered cab that didn't have at least one big ugly rip in it.
I just ordered the plans. I bet they insist on particle board.
Then use chipboard or MDF: it crumbles rather than splits.
In any case, massive wood won't do. The grain in the wood causes resonance. (The more regular the structure of the material is, the more resonance you get.)
A couple of things you can do against splitting:
Use thicker plywood, 18mm or more.
Use sharp tools, and a fine-toothed saw. You can buy special saw blades that make a clean cut.
Another trick is to stick masking tape along the line where you're going to cut. (You can draw the line on the tape with a pencil.)
Pre-drill holes for screws. Use wood drills, which have a center point. The all-purpose HSS drills often make a mess.
Use thin screws in combination with glue. PUR construction glue is great for this. It expands as it hardens, which also prevents air leaks.
Wsinda sounds like he knows what he's talking about.
But i will add, if you do use particle board then you must, MUST get a good quality face/dust mask. Especially if you'll be using MDF, as it's got lots and lots of very nasty stuff in there that you really don't wanna be breathing into your lungs.
Best of luck with it if you do decide to build it. And if you do lets see a few pics so we can have a good laugh, erm so we can congratulate you on all your endeavours.
I've been toying with the idea of making an electric guitar... or a bass. I don't play either, and will most likely never actually learn, but it'd be fun to do. I've also been toying with the idea of making myself a new corner desk.. a really big one. A space for my desktop PC, three monitors (in the corner part of it), keyboard, steering wheel/shifter, a space for my laptop on one side of it, and another spot with a lightbox (which can either be rotated like a drafting board or just be on an angle) for doing my automotive drawing overlays... Big job :P Can't be any worse than the POS from Wal-Mart I'm using right now.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice....
Take lots of pics Kev! I wanna see how this turns out. I quite like the idea come up with earlier, though - slot them into a secondary cabinet in the livingroom that's all finished up nicely. Gives you some new options.
