Veneer help

[danconway327]

I am working on a speaker project and need some help deciding how much veneer to purchase. The speakers dimensions are 38" tall 13" wide and 16.5 inches deep. to get enough veneer to cover all sides of 2 speakers I basically need 16.5" x 370" ( i know i will have some leftover) are my calculations correct?

[Kevin K.]

You need to plan on a little bit of overhang in all directions (1/4" per side if you have a helper to line it up, more if you are doing it by yourself). Have you decided on a supplier for the Veneer and what type of veneer you will use (paperbacked or raw)? Paperbacked is easier to work with if you haven't done this before. Your dimensions will require more than one 4' x 8' sheet if you decide to go that route. Give me a few minutes and I will post a drawing of what might be a better solution.

[thekorvers]

Questions like these in the TechTalk Forum please!

[Kevin K.]

This is how it could be cut if you were to purchase a sheet of 4'x10' veneer. I thought 10' would cover everything but as you can see it came up two pieces short on the 13.5 x 17 (tops and bottoms). I know some guys have omitted covering the bottoms of their enclosures since they will just be sitting on the floor anyway. Especially if you have a yield problem that would force you to buy another sheet for just a couple of small pieces. Here is a link to Veneer Supplies.com. My experiences with this company have always been great. He carries a pretty good selection in the 4'x10'. He also carries a few in the 4'x12' size which would take care of the two missing pieces. Maybe you will find something you like.

http://www.veneersupplies.com/categories/Specialty__Veneer/Paper__Backed__Veneer/Paper__Backed__Veneer%3A__4%27__x__10%27/

Best of luck and post photos of your project, we all like pics to look at.

[danconway327]

Thank for the reply Kevin. Wouldn't I want a piece at least as wide as my widest piece is? Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

[bullittstang]

Kevin has optimized the 4x10 piece of veneer/stock with a 0.25" overhang on each side, and he has accounted for your widest 4 pieces (2 sides of both speakers) which are the 17x38.5 pieces.
Try MaxCut software, you can DL a free beta version and it will optimize (as Kevin has done) for your stock (so you can try 2x4, 4x8 or 4x10) and decide which is the best cost/foot. You can also set it up to allow for the grain, if you are OCD about the grain running "around" the speaker, in that case you need to expect to buy 20-30% more than you actually have to have.

[Kevin K.]

Try MaxCut software

Hey Paul,

Really appreciate the suggestion on the freeware. It works great! I used something similar (a long time ago) in a 3-axis Cad software but it was proprietary to the software. This is a real time saver when you have a lot of different sizes to work with. Hope you are doing well.

Take care,
Kevin

[danconway327]

Questions like these in the TechTalk Forum please!

thekorvers if you would like to move it there, that is fine by me.

[danconway327]

You need to plan on a little bit of overhang in all directions (1/4" per side if you have a helper to line it up, more if you are doing it by yourself). Have you decided on a supplier for the Veneer and what type of veneer you will use (paperbacked or raw)? Paperbacked is easier to work with if you haven't done this before. Your dimensions will require more than one 4' x 8' sheet if you decide to go that route. Give me a few minutes and I will post a drawing of what might be a better solution.

Kevin I didn't see your foot notations and thought you were talking inches. My bad. I am looking at this veneer http://www.veneersupplies.com/produc...18-x-955.html#
and don't think I can find it in a 4'x8' sheet I really like the look of Sapele and want to use it.

[danconway327]

Kevin has optimized the 4x10 piece of veneer/stock with a 0.25" overhang on each side, and he has accounted for your widest 4 pieces (2 sides of both speakers) which are the 17x38.5 pieces.
Try MaxCut software, you can DL a free beta version and it will optimize (as Kevin has done) for your stock (so you can try 2x4, 4x8 or 4x10) and decide which is the best cost/foot. You can also set it up to allow for the grain, if you are OCD about the grain running "around" the speaker, in that case you need to expect to buy 20-30% more than you actually have to have.

Thanks Paul, I have that program and enjoy it very much.

[Kevin K.]

Kevin I didn't see your foot notations and thought you were talking inches. My bad. I am looking at this veneer http://www.veneersupplies.com/produc...18-x-955.html#
and don't think I can find it in a 4'x8' sheet I really like the look of Sapele and want to use it.

He carries the Sapele in 4x8 and 4x10. May not be as prominently figured as the individual pieces you are looking at, but will be considerably cheaper. The finish you choose will also make a big difference in how well the figure is pronounced. If you go with the individual pieces it's going to take 4 at $47.15 each, about $190.00. If you go with the 4'x10' sheet he carries, it cost $89.50. Saves you $100.00. I do like the ones you picked and you don't build these kind of speakers everyday, so maybe the extra $100.00 would be worth it to you. Here is a link to the 4'x10'.

http://www.veneersupplies.com/products/Paper-Backed-Sapele-Veneer-Quartersawn-4-x-10.html

Best of luck!

[danconway327]

Thanks Kevin, I did find some local Mahogany for about the same price so I am going to look at it soon. I think I would rather see it in person than buy it from a picture.

Cheers