[johnnyfamous]

thanks. there is a day of cure on it.

 

[Mike P.]

Looking good!

 

[johnnyfamous]

hey Mike, i have seen you recommend foam tape to seal around the sub and passives on other posts. I always assumed the sub was self sealing as it seems to have a rubber surround of some kind. Is this not the case? and if i should use foam tape, the smallest stuff i can find is quarter inch thick by various widths. Seems too thick to me? I have seen speaker gaskets before and none seem to be thicker than a sixteenth.

Thanks.

 

[Mike P.]

Rubber gaskets have been known to leak. The quarter inch thick weather stripping will compress to a sixteenth.

 

[johnnyfamous]

installed the t nuts and started polishing . I sand with 2000 grit wet with a touch of dish soap. I have found the key to a good polish job is pre soaking your paper and then sanding in one direction. I then use three different polishes, Coarse, swirl remover, glaze.

Sorry my camera battery died so i used my cell phone.:rubeyes:

 

[Mike P.]

Did you apply glue to the T-nuts?

 

[robbo266317]

Mike, I can see Araldite or similar running from under the T-nuts in the previous post (14)

 

[Mike P.]

Mike, I can see Araldite or similar running from under the T-nuts in the previous post (14)

Yes, I see it now.

 

[mwmkravchenko]

Hey John

Lookin good.

It's funny I have the same polisher I think. I got mine from Princess Auto. Works like a charm and cost me $35.

Mark

 

[johnnyfamous]

indeed! i dont often buy cheap tools, but if you dont use it to often, why not. mind you i think the motor is already starting to go:gulp:

 

[mwmkravchenko]

Well mines behaving. Take it back as long as they have one they will replace it.

Mark

 

[johnnyfamous]

Progress continues,, but slowly:foottap: I wana listen to this thing already.

I finished polishing, The pictures dont really do it justice, I could not get my camera to focus properly. I started to lay out the top, so far so good.:R

 

[mwmkravchenko]

Nice x 2

I think that cheapo polisher is still earning it self a place in your shop!

Hey I see you have a munchkin visiting!

What do you mean bad focus!

Mark

 

[johnnyfamous]

Nice x 2

Hey I see you have a munchkin visiting!

Mark

Thanks Mark! my boy was down looking over things. number two on the way tomarow, have a c section booked. We will see if i have much time to completeonder:

After consideration I have decided to cold press my top. Without having any seems in past work there was never an issue with seem separation but now things have changed. One of the reasons I use ebony is because it is a very stable wood with little or no expansion. Thus there is none/little chance of delaminating using contacts. Birdseye Maple with several seems would be a totally different story. I think this would be one of the most demanding woods and probably would fail eventually using contact cements. I would hate to have any separation or delaminating after how long it takes to cut those tight seems. Without the time or interest in making a vacume press at present, I will cold press the top. ( i am about 240lbs so i figure i will stand on it until it dries:sarcastic

I checked out the ironing glue you recommended but i dont know how it will hold up to a heavly seemed piece. my intent is to use titebond "ultimate" wood glue. It is easy for me to purchase and if i am not mistaken will provide a stronger grip than an actual coldpress glue?? the cold press glues have been hard for me to locate. I found a gallon jug at Richelieu but did not want to spend $40,00. I dont think there is a big difference aside from being able to get them in darker shades or perhaps a little longer set up time. Or am I missing something? I will be using a 2 day masking tape for seems, I can not find veneer tape locally and dont want to order anything in the mail. the masking tape was free:clap:

 

[mwmkravchenko]

Hi John

Hope everything turns out well for the next kid. I have two and the first one was a C section. Not fun to feel so helpless being a big guy. I weigh the same as you! But mine are almost 14 and 16 now. You'll cope!

Now for your cold press glue. I have seen it and never thought it was worth it. But to press your top your are going to need a of a lot of clamps.

One thing about veneering that you probably already know is that compatibility with the substrate is the biggest factor to worry about. The thickness of the the veneer is what limits it's ability to expand and contract to much when it is glued down. MDF is about 8% to 10% uniform expansion in all directions. It will be a great substrate for your veneer.

If you are stuck buy a whack load of sand bags at Home Despot or where ever has a good return policy and stack them up as high as you can. Tamp down the sand and it will give an even pressure. Pile on as much weight as you have at hand. A vacuum press does 14.6 PSI at my elevation. That's a lot of pounds per square foot 2104 pounds. So park your car on top!

MArk

 

[johnnyfamous]

Made some progress on the top veneer. I still need to cut it down and do the edges and inlay. There was a little rippeling when i took all the weight off, but it seems to be workable. The veener is thick enough, so i think i will be able to sand it smooth, Hopefully not a sign of issues down the line. I suspect this was caused by to much glue,? I still think I got a better bond with the contact, I had a few pieces of scrap left over from my last contact build and tried to chisel off the veneer, it took the mdf with it. the finished product looked better anyway.

I used your sand bag idea Mark, Thanks! I feel a little bad for using home depot like that, but what am i gona do with 330lbs of sand:devil:

 

[mwmkravchenko]

Hey John

I have to say the pictures do not do the job any justice! It's going to look great.

A thing I should have told you about using glue like you did is that it will cause ripples because of excessive water retention in the veneer. I know. Now I tell you!

Here is what I would use next time. Polyurethane glue on the substrate. And a water mist on the veneer. Then use your Home Despot donated weights.

Ok the fix. Anybody can make mistakes but it takes a true craftsman to fix em!

Make a slit with a knife in the center of the bubble and put in some glue. Use a tooth pic or even the knife blade. Then clamp it down with either a C clamp or F clamp. If it to far in side the top then use a small block and a longer board. Place the block on the area you want pressure on and clamp down either end onf the longer board with your favorite clamp. This bends the board so that the pressure is greatest at the point where your block is.

Best to use a chunk of something that glue does not stick to well. Melamine comes to mind. Or use an interface layer like paper or plastic. Your inventive. You'll figure it out.

I know it's off topic for this thread but how did things turn out for the new little one? Good I'm hoping!

Mark

 

[johnnyfamous]

thanks mark, The little one is well, was a long three days. we are home now and i am off for three weeks, Hope to get some work done on the box, thats if i get any sleep:crying:

I took another close look, the veneer looks good, the ripples are small and I dont think it would be worth opening them up and gluing. I think most of them are glued, just a little ripply. There are a few on the ebony, that are not fully attached though, but they are small, i am worried about them getting worse if i open it up? they only way you can tell is if you run your hand across the grain. they are about a quarter inch wide and are 5inches long running with the grain. they are sitting up about 1/32" or less.

I have been toying around with the idea of using a eighth inch glass top to furthur protect the finish from cups and two small kids, dont know if i should or not? this may help with the ripply finish aswell but wont look as nice:yikes:


I am now leaning towards finishing the sides off with contact, they are straigt ebony with no seems and the workability on my end is much easier. I use a high solids solvent contact and have not had any issues at all.

 

[mwmkravchenko]

The only thing I have against contact cement and veneer is this. Over time it will fail. Contact cement does not like the seasonal shrinkage and contraction. I know your out west and it's drier. ( I grewd up in Manitoba ) But there are changes in humidity therefore changes in the veneer and substrate. The principle with veneer is that it is so thin that the woods tension created by the changes in size ( Oh yes wood objects change in size my friend ) is overcome by the adhesive. Contact cement has around 300 lbs/inch squared. Your yellow glue has around 1600 lbs/inch squared. That's the difference. The failure rate is around 6 to 10 years. If you are comfortable with that then go for it. If you still have flats and the sand bags. Then may I humbly suggest the polyurethane glue and a foam roller. As thin as you can roll on the substrate and then mist with water the veneer. It works well. But everything must have pressure on it or else the glue foams up and lifts the veneer.

One more trick for weight. Every litre of water weighs 1 kilogram or 2.2 lbs. A garbage can full of water is pretty heavy. Holes in the can? Use a bag.

Heres one more trick I have used when I'm up the creek with no boat paddle friendly rocks...

Take a piece of sheeting material about an inch bigger than your panel to be laminated. Get yeah some clamps about one for every 4 to 6 inches around the out side. Your panel size needs about 16 clamps. Go to princess auto when they are on sale John. I have two large drawers full of 6 and 12 inch F clamps.

Take your veneer and tape it in place like you have been doing. Put paper in the middle of the veneer about an eigth of an inch think then make a bit of a wide pyramid. The whole idea is this. The highest point of your pyramid should be about 3/16" higher than the outside edges. When you clamp down the board around the edges you can exert quite a bit of pressure from the middle out.

Another way is to use the same larger board and blocks and thinner boards to apply pressure to the center like the drawing below.

You have to apply the pressure as I have shown. If you curve the substate you will end up with a curved substrate when it dries. Bent lamination is a whole other ball game! They never unbend when the glue is dry.

Mark

 

[Mike P.]

The only thing I have against contact cement and veneer is this. Over time it will fail.

Which type are you referring to? There's solvent based and water based contact cement.

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