Refinishing Statement Speakers - Adding Depth to Front Baffle - Will This Be An Issue

[mcl]

Thanks for providing feedback, Jim.

This was the info I was looking for (and hoping for) right from the man himself.

Thank you very much!

[Jim Holtz]

Many many years ago I built a set of Statement speakers.

http://speakerdesignworks.com/Statements.html

Love em to death but I am getting tired of how they look and want to give them a facelift.

Currently, the front baffles are painted black and the sides are dark mahogany stain. That was kind of the in style back then. I would like to now do a nice wood front baffle and paint the sides and back white. More European looking which seems to be the new in thing. And, I like the look.

So, hear is my main question.

I can get a really nice sheet of 1/4" hardwood plywood. I was thinking of "veneering" the front baffle with the 1/4" and then trimming that in matching hardwood flush to the sides of the speakers. I would then do a round over or 45 chamfer in the hardwood edge.

I know I would have to recess the drivers into the new 1/4" veneer, which I am cool with doing. I am just nervous that adding that depth will negatively impact the speakers.

Would adding 1/4" depth to the front baffles negatively effect the acoustics of the speakers?

Any thoughts and/or advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Adding a 1/4" won't hurt the sound quality at all.

HTH

Jim

[djg]

Example of high grade vinyl probably 3M.

[JRT]

In your redecorating efforts, I would suggest cleaning the surfaces without damaging those, and then cover the surfaces with vinyl wrap.

There are some nice wood grains available in the 3M Di-Noc product line. The plain white should be easy enough to find.

https://www.google.com/search?q=3m+di-noc+wood+grain&tbm=isch

When your decorating tastes change, you can change the vinyl wrap again or revert to what you had.

[Wolf]

How deep are they? I figure not more than 18", right?
Set the fence to the far left, and lay the cab on its side and run it through. Flip, and run the next 3 sides perpendicular to the baffle. Obviously the baffle is wider than the blade cut, so you need 2 passes, but 4" is usually not of concern.

I'm just inquiring further because sometimes the mental picture is not the actual procedure.
Wolf

[mcl]

Unfortunately, my table saw is no where near big enough to cut 1/4" off the current baffle.

[mcl]

Yeah. I am going to have to weigh up the effort and if it is worth it or not. I agree there are some cool veneers out there. Just wanted to see what my options were with the possibility of using the 1/4" on hand.

[Wolf]

If able, you could slice 1/4" thickness off by using the table saw and 2 passes, one on each side. This preserves the depth, and apply plywood, rebate, and done.

Wolf

[djg]

You'll have to weigh the extra work involved with your friends wood source against the cost of a sheet of veneer. 1/4" more baffle thickness won't hurt anything, I would just veneer it myself. I'm sure you could find equal or better visuals to your friends plywood in the vast veneer world.

[mcl]

I was going to cut out "rings" and insert them into the current speaker flange rabbits.

[jhollander]

The RS225 flange is about 1/4 inch thick so what's going to be under the 1/4 inch veneer at the driver cut outs?

[mcl]

Basccially because I have a ready source of some really cool looking 1/4" plywood.

My original plan was to veneer with 10mil. But, then a buddy of mine turned me on to this source of 1/4" hardwood ply that is pretty neat and readily available.

So, I just wanted to see if this was doable or a really bad idea.

[djg]

Why not just a piece of regular thin veneer? Shim the speakers out to flush with the added 1/32" or so of thickness. Do your edge treatment, done.

[mcl]

The current drivers are flush mount and I would keep them flush mount if / when I add the 1/4" plywood.

My main concern is the new "depth" of the baffle and if it will introduce any sort of "tunneling" effect with the drivers? I thought I read somewhere that you have to be careful with the driver cutouts in some baffles because the thickness of the baffle can hinder the speaker's breathing / resonance / acoustics?

[billfitzmaurice]

Assuming the drivers are surface mounted now adding a 1/4" layer that in effect makes them flush mounted won't hurt, and may help. As I recall Acoustic Research speakers, or maybe it was Advent, did essentially the same thing, but the 1/4" layer was also the grille cloth frame.