does anyone use plastic laminate on thier speakers?

[nikbrewer]

does anyone use plastic laminate on thiere speakers? I ask as i have tons of scrap and thought of using some. The only issue i could see is that the front baffle would have to be seperate, probally painted black so you could put a round over on it. But it seams a great way to get a nice smooth surface in any solid color, pattern, or wood grain you could want

[Pete Schumacher ®]

does anyone use plastic laminate on thiere speakers? I ask as i have tons of scrap and thought of using some. The only issue i could see is that the front baffle would have to be seperate, probally painted black so you could put a round over on it. But it seams a great way to get a nice smooth surface in any solid color, pattern, or wood grain you could want

Sure. I've used varying Formica laminates. They're extremely tough and when done right, can look quite nice.

Both these large floorstanders use Formica laminate.

[Dirk]

I don't see why not. I've done that with the PE vinyl laminate:



If the laminate has a substantial thickness, I'd want to finish the body of the cabinet and THEN size the front baffle accordingly to account for the additional buildup.

[LouC]

No reason why you couldn't. The roundover is more aesthetic than functional in most cases. You can chamfer edges and apply a contrasting laminate.

Biggest issue I've seen is consistent filing of the edges to keep people from cutting/gouging themselves.

[nikbrewer]

I FIGURED YOU COULD, I JUST DONT SEE IT DONE OFTEN. figured it was easier then all the prep work to paint

[Dirk]

No reason why you couldn't. The roundover is more aesthetic than functional in most cases. You can chamfer edges and apply a contrasting laminate.

Biggest issue I've seen is consistent filing of the edges to keep people from cutting/gouging themselves.

Just take your router & set a very shallow chamfer? Or is that a recipe for chipping on the edges?

[mike1234]

[blue934]

i 've seen some cabinet guys use a belt sander with variable speed to GENTLY take down the edge. i use a laminate file made by nicholson to do my countertops. it's not cheap but works like a hot darn. the router trick might work but you would sure want to be careful not to cut to deep.

blue934

edit - mike you beat me to it. i'll have to check into that bit. sounds handy.
________
BBW live

[nikbrewer]

eith get a no file router bit ( looks like a 1/16 roundover, or a laminate file.

[lhwidget]

Nick, the only reason I wouldn't go to Formica is the expense. But if you have scraps available, you can't beat it.

It's easy to apply, no finishing costs, etc... Just use a flush cut router bit for edges with pieces of laminate overlaping them, and a 15° bevel bit for the finished edges that show.

Jay

[tubbsbright]

Slightly off topic...
but what about these resin/fiber boards?

http://www.paperstoneproducts.com/

http://www.trespa.com/na/

Not sure how easy that stuff cuts, but I'm sure it's pretty similar to MDF. (Uniform, but more dense)

[nikbrewer]

scraps is a understatement. i probally have over 100 full sheets of old stuff here, not counting scraps. we get it in my the semi load sometimes. anyone use phenolic back veneers? it basically a real veneer on a phenolic backer just like plastic laminate, so it routs like p.lam, and stains like veneer

[johnastockman]

does anyone use plastic laminate on thiere speakers? I ask as i have tons of scrap and thought of using some. The only issue i could see is that the front baffle would have to be seperate, probally painted black so you could put a round over on it. But it seams a great way to get a nice smooth surface in any solid color, pattern, or wood grain you could want

I used the different varieties for most projects before I started using the PSA veneer. Got great results as long as the surface is clean and smooth.



Here's some with the black ash vinyl. It's been on there for about 10 years now and held up very well. These speakers get carted around a lot to other folks homes for comparisons and the adhesive hasn't shown any signs of coming loose.

John A.

[gc1]

Slightly off topic...
but what about these resin/fiber boards?

http://www.paperstoneproducts.com/

http://www.trespa.com/na/

Not sure how easy that stuff cuts, but I'm sure it's pretty similar to MDF. (Uniform, but more dense)

Awesome awesome stuff.... yes to a GREEN future!!!

GC