Glue up begins. I was going to use gorilla tape for the hinges, but the gorilla tape was pulling wood fibers out of the mahogany during removal. So I switched back to standard Scotch blue masking tape. I added several additional strips of tape along the grain to keep the miters from pulling apart.
Looking great Bill. If you have enough scrap test pieces I would suggest trying the 1:1:1 mix of boiled linseed oil, a thinner, and satin or gloss oil based poly. For the thinner I have used turpentine as DaveFred does... but recently I used low odor mineral spirits and it worked the same (and a whole lot less stinky). Basically flood the wood with the 3 part mixture using a foam brush, let it soak in for 30 to 45 minutes, then wipe off any excess with an old T shirt. After it has dried over night you knock the dust bibs down with some 0000 steel wool. Then it's totally up to you to decide if you want to leave it as is, just apply a coat of furniture paste wax, do a few coats of wipe on satin poly, a few coats of gloss poly... etc.
Def do some test pieces with your entire finishing process. My suggested sequence would be to use a alcohol dye for a slight contrast, sand back the raised grain and re-stain. If spraying I'd go straight to lacquer. If brushing I'd use poly with splash of mineral sprits (1-10 ratio) to slow the drying. Minwax poly needs less than Varthane poly.
I like to flatten and de-nub with 220 glued to a MDF block and then 3M pad everything else before the last coat. I hate steel wool (sorry Craig).
Good info, thanks for all the great tips. Craig, I like the look of the small 2-way you brought to Iowa a couple years ago. It had a nice curly maple baffle with just the right amount of yellowing and grain structure. Correct me if I am wrong, but the reason you mix up a batch of 1:1:1 BLO, thinner, and poly is to save time, correct? The thinner probably reduces the yellowing effect a little and then the poly hardens the finish so that you then are basically done. What would happen if, after final sanding down to 220 of the entire cabinet, I would apply BLO to the entire cabinet, full strength (all parts, mahogany and maple alike)? Then, after waiting 2 to 3 weeks for the BLO to dry, lightly sand off the nibs, and then hit the cabs with 7 to 10 hvlp spray coats of satin or semi-gloss lacquer?
I had the same problem spraying lacquer over Watco danish oil on my Stromberg-Carlson amp. I initally gave the oil about 3 days to dry and then sprayed several coats of lacquer. After several days, the lacquer felt "oily" and would not harden. So I sanded it all down again, re-applied the danish oil, waited 3 weeks, and then re-sprayed the lacquer. Much better results.
I will have plenty of scrap mahogany and maple once the baffles and backs are glued in place and trimmed to size. Will mix up a batch of Craig's suggestion and compare it to a few other ideas. I will make sure that I test the entire finishing process from beginning to end. I am also thinking of testing Arm-R-Seal (general finishes) to see how that compares. Anyone have experience with Arm-R-Seal?
My favorite oil is Tried and True Danish. No bad odor, dries pretty quickly, and you can mix it 50/50 with poly for a more durable finish and much, much faster drying than using regular BLO. I used Arm-r-seal on some projects and liked the water based version, but you need to get some canned oxygen block, because once the can is opened, the air inevitably starts to thicken the poly. I've seen some outstanding Arm-r-Seal projects on PETT.
But Chahly - Stahkist don't want speakers that look good, Stahkist wants speakers that sound good!
Just glued on the bottom panel, which will be a finished mahogany/maple board as well. No unfinished, bare bottoms on this project!! I glued this panel last so that I could tweak the bevels for a perfect fit. As you can see, it took a total of 13 clamps to hold it in place.
Hi Bill, that is my Keramiskas project and thanks for the compliments. The maple baffles have two coats of the 1:1:1 mixture applied (with a light 0000 steel wool rub between coats) followed by one good coat of Johnson's furniture paste wax. On those I used gloss poly in the 3 part mix instead of my normal satin poly. The coat of wax actually knocked down some of the sheen.
I love that 3 part mix because the BLO really makes the wood's grain pop and only slightly changes (darkens) the color. In my experience Danish oil changes the color much more. For a hack like me it is almost fool proof. You apply it on as heavy as you want (I use a cheap foam brush), no worries about runs/drips/errors. After 30 mins or so you wipe off what didn't soak into the wood. The thinner makes it dry over night. Otherwise BLO takes weeks/months. The poly adds just a tiny bit of surface film. I probably wouldn't use this finish on a coffee table but for speakers it's just fine. The steel wool rub between coats isn't for layer to layer adheasion, it's just to knock down any dust bibs. A good vacuuming totally removes any shedding...
@PWRRYD said:
Hi Bill, that is my Keramiskas project and thanks for the compliments. The maple baffles have two coats of the 1:1:1 mixture applied (with a light 0000 steel wool rub between coats) followed by one good coat of Johnson's furniture paste wax. On those I used gloss poly in the 3 part mix instead of my normal satin poly. The coat of wax actually knocked down some of the sheen.
I love that 3 part mix because the BLO really makes the wood's grain pop and only slightly changes (darkens) the color. In my experience Danish oil changes the color much more. For a hack like me it is almost fool proof. You apply it on as heavy as you want (I use a cheap foam brush), no worries about runs/drips/errors. After 30 mins or so you wipe off what didn't soak into the wood. The thinner makes it dry over night. Otherwise BLO takes weeks/months. The poly adds just a tiny bit of surface film. I probably wouldn't use this finish on a coffee table but for speakers it's just fine. The steel wool rub between coats isn't for layer to layer adheasion, it's just to knock down any dust bibs. A good vacuuming totally removes any shedding...
Thanks, Craig. I have a big assorted bag of about 40 foam brushes I picked up a while back. Also have a big bag of 0000. Have to pick up a can of BLO and gloss poly at Menards tomorrow and give this a try. It is supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, so I can still work out in the garage.
I have used a similar mix on walnut, maple and pine.
You can tweak it to your liking/needs.
Add more thinner and dries faster, want a more oily look? Add more blo.
Yes I agree Silver1omo. Also you can change the final sheen to your liking by applying coats of wipe on poly (or sprayed on). A few coats of gloss poly can really make it shine. I prefer the wipe on because I don't have to worry about runs/sags and it dries so quickly that dust and bugs in my garage hardly have a chance to land on the project and get stuck.
Bill, one more thing to note: when you do this finish or any other finish that involves oils (BLO, Danish, Tung, etc.) don't wad up the rags and just throw them in a closed trash bin. As the oils oxidize (cure) they generate heat. Technically a wadded up rag could get hot enough to ignite.
FWIW Minwax "teak oil finish" is essentially this blend, it's a wiping varnish made of BLO and poly. Rather durable, I used it on furniture that is a good 5 years old now and its held up well.
BLO does darken up a bit with age so keep that in mind. I like Tung Oil myself, it doesn't darken with age and I've yet to use something that is as easy to apply and looks as good. The stuff I use does take a long time to fully cure, and application does take a bit of time as well waiting a full 24hrs between coats. For my Northern Pikes, I used a gel poly on top of the tung oil, I can't remember but I think I waited a week between applying the last coat of Tung and the poly. If I were doing it again with the Mahogany I'd probably skip the poly. I don't really need the durability for a speaker, and think I prefer the more natural look of just Tung oil, for mahogany at least.
In my personal experience Minwax products are generally bottom of the barrel quality, but super cheap and readily available at all big box stores. The really nice finishes like General Finishes are a bit pricey and on-line only, at least for me. As a penny pinching Swede, I go for what I think looks great and doesn't cost more than my weekly beer budget
General finishes are available at Lee Valley if you have a store nearby. I use a lot of Circa 1850 products, its the Tung Oil I've been using anyway, but you won't find that stuff in the US.
Comments
I always use DNA to show the grain.
...man, that could be taken the wrong way.😛
Glue up begins. I was going to use gorilla tape for the hinges, but the gorilla tape was pulling wood fibers out of the mahogany during removal. So I switched back to standard Scotch blue masking tape. I added several additional strips of tape along the grain to keep the miters from pulling apart.
Sheesh. Now I feel like a real woodshop idiot again. Way to go!
Looking great Bill. If you have enough scrap test pieces I would suggest trying the 1:1:1 mix of boiled linseed oil, a thinner, and satin or gloss oil based poly. For the thinner I have used turpentine as DaveFred does... but recently I used low odor mineral spirits and it worked the same (and a whole lot less stinky). Basically flood the wood with the 3 part mixture using a foam brush, let it soak in for 30 to 45 minutes, then wipe off any excess with an old T shirt. After it has dried over night you knock the dust bibs down with some 0000 steel wool. Then it's totally up to you to decide if you want to leave it as is, just apply a coat of furniture paste wax, do a few coats of wipe on satin poly, a few coats of gloss poly... etc.
Def do some test pieces with your entire finishing process. My suggested sequence would be to use a alcohol dye for a slight contrast, sand back the raised grain and re-stain. If spraying I'd go straight to lacquer. If brushing I'd use poly with splash of mineral sprits (1-10 ratio) to slow the drying. Minwax poly needs less than Varthane poly.
I like to flatten and de-nub with 220 glued to a MDF block and then 3M pad everything else before the last coat. I hate steel wool (sorry Craig).
Why?
It sheds.
That's what a good vacuum is for.
Good info, thanks for all the great tips. Craig, I like the look of the small 2-way you brought to Iowa a couple years ago. It had a nice curly maple baffle with just the right amount of yellowing and grain structure. Correct me if I am wrong, but the reason you mix up a batch of 1:1:1 BLO, thinner, and poly is to save time, correct? The thinner probably reduces the yellowing effect a little and then the poly hardens the finish so that you then are basically done. What would happen if, after final sanding down to 220 of the entire cabinet, I would apply BLO to the entire cabinet, full strength (all parts, mahogany and maple alike)? Then, after waiting 2 to 3 weeks for the BLO to dry, lightly sand off the nibs, and then hit the cabs with 7 to 10 hvlp spray coats of satin or semi-gloss lacquer?
BLO takes forever to dry/ oxidize so the lacquer takes longer to harden off. The C-Cakes were lacquer over BLO and took 2-3 months to harden.
I had the same problem spraying lacquer over Watco danish oil on my Stromberg-Carlson amp. I initally gave the oil about 3 days to dry and then sprayed several coats of lacquer. After several days, the lacquer felt "oily" and would not harden. So I sanded it all down again, re-applied the danish oil, waited 3 weeks, and then re-sprayed the lacquer. Much better results.
Here are a couple pics of Craig's speakers with the curly maple baffles. This is the look that I am going for:
I will have plenty of scrap mahogany and maple once the baffles and backs are glued in place and trimmed to size. Will mix up a batch of Craig's suggestion and compare it to a few other ideas. I will make sure that I test the entire finishing process from beginning to end. I am also thinking of testing Arm-R-Seal (general finishes) to see how that compares. Anyone have experience with Arm-R-Seal?
Armor seal works well, it's a little different color than minwax.
My favorite oil is Tried and True Danish. No bad odor, dries pretty quickly, and you can mix it 50/50 with poly for a more durable finish and much, much faster drying than using regular BLO. I used Arm-r-seal on some projects and liked the water based version, but you need to get some canned oxygen block, because once the can is opened, the air inevitably starts to thicken the poly. I've seen some outstanding Arm-r-Seal projects on PETT.
Just glued on the bottom panel, which will be a finished mahogany/maple board as well. No unfinished, bare bottoms on this project!!
I glued this panel last so that I could tweak the bevels for a perfect fit. As you can see, it took a total of 13 clamps to hold it in place.
Hi Bill, that is my Keramiskas project and thanks for the compliments. The maple baffles have two coats of the 1:1:1 mixture applied (with a light 0000 steel wool rub between coats) followed by one good coat of Johnson's furniture paste wax. On those I used gloss poly in the 3 part mix instead of my normal satin poly. The coat of wax actually knocked down some of the sheen.
I love that 3 part mix because the BLO really makes the wood's grain pop and only slightly changes (darkens) the color. In my experience Danish oil changes the color much more. For a hack like me it is almost fool proof. You apply it on as heavy as you want (I use a cheap foam brush), no worries about runs/drips/errors. After 30 mins or so you wipe off what didn't soak into the wood. The thinner makes it dry over night. Otherwise BLO takes weeks/months. The poly adds just a tiny bit of surface film. I probably wouldn't use this finish on a coffee table but for speakers it's just fine. The steel wool rub between coats isn't for layer to layer adheasion, it's just to knock down any dust bibs. A good vacuuming totally removes any shedding...
Another note... The 3 part mix has worked really well for me on maple, walnut, cherry, and mahogany. I don't like it on oak at all.
Thanks, Craig. I have a big assorted bag of about 40 foam brushes I picked up a while back. Also have a big bag of 0000. Have to pick up a can of BLO and gloss poly at Menards tomorrow and give this a try. It is supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow, so I can still work out in the garage.
I have used a similar mix on walnut, maple and pine.
You can tweak it to your liking/needs.
Add more thinner and dries faster, want a more oily look? Add more blo.
Yes I agree Silver1omo. Also you can change the final sheen to your liking by applying coats of wipe on poly (or sprayed on). A few coats of gloss poly can really make it shine. I prefer the wipe on because I don't have to worry about runs/sags and it dries so quickly that dust and bugs in my garage hardly have a chance to land on the project and get stuck.
Bill, one more thing to note: when you do this finish or any other finish that involves oils (BLO, Danish, Tung, etc.) don't wad up the rags and just throw them in a closed trash bin. As the oils oxidize (cure) they generate heat. Technically a wadded up rag could get hot enough to ignite.
PWRRYD, why would you not use your 1:1:1 mix on a coffee table?
It's not quite as durable as straight poly.
10-4. I thought as long as 33% was poly it would be fine. I suppose the lengthened dry time would make it undesirable for a table as well.
Thanks
FWIW Minwax "teak oil finish" is essentially this blend, it's a wiping varnish made of BLO and poly. Rather durable, I used it on furniture that is a good 5 years old now and its held up well.
BLO does darken up a bit with age so keep that in mind. I like Tung Oil myself, it doesn't darken with age and I've yet to use something that is as easy to apply and looks as good. The stuff I use does take a long time to fully cure, and application does take a bit of time as well waiting a full 24hrs between coats. For my Northern Pikes, I used a gel poly on top of the tung oil, I can't remember but I think I waited a week between applying the last coat of Tung and the poly. If I were doing it again with the Mahogany I'd probably skip the poly. I don't really need the durability for a speaker, and think I prefer the more natural look of just Tung oil, for mahogany at least.
Then there is this interesting finish. Oil and thinner?
https://www.minwax.com/wood-products/specialty-finishes/minwax-antique-oil-finish#overview
In my personal experience Minwax products are generally bottom of the barrel quality, but super cheap and readily available at all big box stores. The really nice finishes like General Finishes are a bit pricey and on-line only, at least for me. As a penny pinching Swede, I go for what I think looks great and doesn't cost more than my weekly beer budget
General finishes are available at Lee Valley if you have a store nearby. I use a lot of Circa 1850 products, its the Tung Oil I've been using anyway, but you won't find that stuff in the US.