Some RTA-11tl Love

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Comments

  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    You have a bigger set than I. I would foul that up bid as sh...

    Looks good.
    One question is from wood class yrs ago we always needed a paste wood filler on certain woods walnut being one of them. Is that not necessary with veneer?

    Any wood or veneer with larger pores should be filled with paste wood filler if one desires a glass smooth final appearance. There are other ways of getting there, but paste wood filler can get you there faster.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 4,636
    It's nice to see a different veneer that's looks great and classy. Nice choice and work.
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
  • First, Thanks to everyone for the compliments. I appreciate the feedback.
    As for the questions..
    -Yes, this particular veneer is as porous as any walnut that I've ever run across. And,
    as F1nut aptly pointed out, if a glass smooth finish is your goal, then using a filler is a quick way to get there.(Thanks David for the Wunderfil tip-Ive never heard of the stuff before). There other options as well, but the ones I'm aware of involve using your own shop-made(you supply the elbow grease) 'filler' like pumice and rottenstone and an oil(like Tung, perhaps) or creating a slurry of wood dust by wet sanding the veneer with an oil as you finish your layers of 'finish'. There are multiple ways to skin this cat.
    Fortunately, for me, my goal has not been to fill the pores entirely. I'm just hoping for a 'finish' that looks and feels like wood-but I am experimenting a bit on just what that's going to look and feel like.

    -Contact cement.. Once I decided that I wanted this particular veneer, and the only way to get it was by using it in a raw form, then I had to toss the contact cement option for two reasons. First, my veneer supplier(veneersupplies.com (no affiliation)) pretty staunchly recommended against using it for raw veneer because it would not provide the necessary bond. Yes, he sells the heat-activated glue I did end up using, but he also sells contact cement as well, so I don't think there's a conflict here in that regard.

    https://www.joewoodworker.com/veneering/faq-veneer-glue.htm#VG15

    The second reason... I have used contact cement on laminates/countertops and they worked wonderfully(including a router table I built(cough-cough)2+ decades ago and still use, but my experience is,, once you let the two glued surfaces touch at all-they are bonded, for better or worse! In short, I knew there was no way that *I* was going to successfully line up the grain patterns on the speaker corners using contact cement, even if I tried using dowel rods as roller bearings under the veneer. I'm just not that lucky/skilled. Not..a...chance. Ha.

    -Dyes...Thanks for this F1nut, I'm definitely going to read up on ILVA stuff for future reference. I've have zero personal experience with these dyes.

    -Softeners....yes they are out there. I ended up purchasing a small spray bottle(SuperSoft2) *after* I had the cracking issue, but actually ended up using very little of it going forward. Supposedly it will make the veneer more pliable and lay flatter, but w/o affecting its ability to take adhesive or a finish. I just dont have enough personal experience yet to say how well. No, Gardenstater, I would not recommend using water as a substitute for the exact reasons you listed.

    Going forward...
    I set up a quick test veneer from a couple of leftover pieces. The larger one on the left is divided into four sections, the smaller on the right is separate. Sorry, but I wouldnt spend too much time trying to discern exactly "what looks like what" in this photo because no matter how I held the samples for the photo, they dont look in the photo exactly like they do to the naked eye.
    ivendzbm7y87.jpg

    The large scrap piece is sanded to 220 only!
    going clockwise..
    -top left corner is the Minwax, and F1nut nailed it, the pigment did obscure the grain.
    -top right corner is 2 coats of Watco Danish oil(no top coat yet)
    -bottom right is 2 coats of Maloofs poly/oil (a blend of linseed,tung,and poly)the manufacturer recommends at least 2 more coats at 24 hour intervals-so no top coat yet.)
    -bottom left is two coats of Danish covered by a single coat of maloofs.

    OK, the minwax(top/left=t/l) is now out of the running. Not a good choice for this particular veneer. The Danish(t/r) and Maloofs(b/r) are very similar in appearance, with the Danish appearing more neutral and the Maloofs slightly warmer in tone. The Bottom/left square was an afterthought, and needed more thought! Its just for ****s and giggles going forward(most likely).

    The smaller scrap on the right was sanded to 400 instead of just 220. This did remove some of the 'curl' character of the veneer(unavoidable)... and also seems to have provided a lighter overall tone-which is not unusual. This piece is only coated with Maloof's, and seems to be getting noticeable warmer with each coat, and with at least 2 more coats to go, I'm wondering if it is going to end up just too 'orange' in appearance. I'm going to go ahead and finish the 2 additional coats of the Maloofs and then take the samples to the living room and see what they look like there.

    Yeah,, this whole process is getting just a little drawn out.. I agree. Sorry. My wife has already decided that she likes the Danish oil, but I have been an admirer of Maloof's work with walnut for a long,long time, so I want to finish the 2 additional applications in the next 30 hours and see what I end up with.


    -glenn
  • Very nice Glenn. Those are going to be the sharpest pair of RTA-11s around.
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    My choice, the smaller sample as it has a warmer tone. The others are too cold.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    F1nut wrote: »
    My choice, the smaller sample as it has a warmer tone. The others are too cold.

    I agree I like the look of it
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    New walnut has a natural cold tone, but as it ages it develops a rich warm tone with a yellow background hue. One can make new walnut look like it's 200 years old by first applying a yellow dye, then applying a dark brown toner coat or even a dark brown wiping stain over it. If you want a bit of an orange tone apply an orange toner coat between the yellow and dark brown. Presto, 200 year old walnut. Of course, I have no idea what that will look like in 200 years.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    I have no idea what that will look like in 200 years.

    400 yr old walnut....
  • Those look absolutely gorgeous Glenn.
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 49,708
    I approve B)
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • Very nice. Great job matching the grain on the corners. Any finish with tung oil will take some time to fully cure, but successive coats will build up and look lovely. They are going to sound great when you are all finished and will be a joy to look at.
    Polk Audio first generation RTA-12s; 12 inch Polk Stands; DHS Speaker Service upgraded crossovers w/ Sonicap/Mills; the "westmassguy anti-lobing mod" (hyperdamped outer drivers/mirror imaged); tweeter anti-diffraction mod; Cardas binding posts; Neotech UPOCC internal wire; foam-lined inner driver baskets; xschop phase plugs; deleted fuses; Hurricane nuts; Sonic Barrier; Dynamat Xtreme
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  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 4,636
    Eye and ear candy all in one package. Nicely executed.
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
  • Gorgeous
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    Bea U ti ful!!
  • stevep
    stevep Posts: 327
    A great finish goes a long way in improving the Wife acceptance factor.
    Nice work!