About six months ago I ran across two small batches of South American Tineo veneer and just had to buy them. I didn't know exactly what I would use it for since its color pallet is quite unique - reds, pinks, oranges, greys, greens, straw, caramel, etc. But it was so gorgeous, I just had to have it.
I finally decided to build a pair of Tineo HT3's for myself, since no one was likely to ask for it. But first I had to find some trim to match up with it. I looked at cherry, mahogany, walnut and a few others. I actually cut some walnut trim and was just about to glue it up. But I thought I would first take a trip to a local mill works to see what else might be available. I saw two boards there that I thought might work - Brazilian cherry and South American Leopardwood (which looks like Australian lacewood only darker). When I got back to the shop and matched things up, the leopardwood was a clear winner. So I went to work.
About that time, Greg contacted us. He was moving from Minnesota to Arizona and wanted a pair of HT3's to work in his new Adobe-style home. He had a few things in mind and asked if I had any other ideas. As I thought about it, the colors in the tineo came to mind - pinks and reds that reminded me of rock formations I had seen in AZ and a book-match grain pattern that reminded me of southwest native blankets. So I ran the idea by him and sent him a photo.
After running it by his wife, he wanted to go for it.
It was very hard to get photos that even came close to the look of these speakers live and in person, but here are some shots...
A close-up of the side detail...
A close-up of the front detail showing a little of the book-match grain pattern...
And a closeup of the new nameplate that will adorn future custom projects...
Happy listening Greg!
- Jim
