[Peter J]

Can't say enough about the "sleep on it" approach. By and large, we hurry too much, methinks, but I guess that's the luxury of being jobless. Seems we have some common ground, fishboat.  I once took a class from David Marks on gilding and chemical patination. I wondered about him when the fires were all around Santa Rosa. Was that last year?

In another thread, you mentioned that you were a polymer chemist. I bet we could have some laughs about "all that glitters is not gold" jargon that adorns things in the woodworking and furniture world, especially finishes. One that I remember to this day was a tag on a piece of furniture that read; "authentic simulated hand-rubbed finish". Yep, you guessed it... old school wood grained vinyl wrap.

I'm enjoying your thread. Been thinking about your edgebanding on the curved surfaces and how I might approach it. Perhaps a big dowel or small roller to follow the hot iron, but you'll get it done, I'm sure.

[fishboat]

Glad you're enjoying things so far Peter. A few hiccups along the way, but I'm managing to mostly land on my feet.

Being jobless is undoubtedly the best job I've ever had. I put in 4-6 hours in the shop if I want to or do something else if I prefer.  Today I'm riding bikes with my significant other and her son. We usually put in a solid 30+ miles. For an older fart..it's enough these days.

About a month ago I finished watching all the 20-21 seasons of the New Yankee Workshop(youtube). It took me about a year, but it was good to see Norm again.  David Marks started putting his shows up on youtube also.  I've been digging into those too.  "Well, let's get started, but first we'll make a jig..."  (it appears the fires never reached Santa Rosa, or thankfully, the Gamble House in Pasadena)

A lot of modern furniture, and even furniture 50 years back, does look pretty, but often when you look under the hood.."Oy!"  One trend that has me scratching my head is the zeal that young woodworkers seem to have as they produce items in the MCM(mid-century-modern) style.   Not a fan here. I understand the design and where it came from, but, still, it's a total yawn for me. Maybe it's due to having grown up on the tail end of the years when that stuff was new.  I really like distressed-looking furniture and make some pieces now and then. When my Mom was still around I'd point out a nice piece we'd see..she didn't care for it, at all. She said she grew up(during the Depression) with pieces that looked like that, as that's all they had.   I digress..

Back to speakers..

Edgebanding..I think I did mention way up on the top of this thread about using wood veneer on the SV's.  That plan has changed over the years.  I agree, edgebanding these curved surfaces would be a trip.  I think where I was at back then was a veneered outer (and inner) face on the sides and black, painted edges.  Where I'm at now is possibly textured black inner parts(baffles & sub boxes) probably Duratex and a Target Coatings satin black lacquer on the inside of the side faces and edges.  On the outside of the sides I'm thinking, don't ask me why but it seems to be sticking, an authentic simulated hand rubbed..laminate.  It is authentic in a sense as laminates (and vinyl wood floors) are actually photographs of the real thing printed on laminate surface.  I've considered many options and I keep coming back to "Sahara Noir".  I think it might look pretty good. It's not locked in yet, but, as I'm quickly running out of parts to build, I'm going to have to really start thinking about finishes and what to do, when.

This is "Sahara Noir"...



...and speaking of gilding and chemical patination(that must have been a great course), I've considered using a patinated copper leaf to accent the edges of just the side panels.  The patination would be subtle, like a copper penny, to match the copper streaks in the Noir.  The edges would accent the black grills rather than having a completely black pillar when viewing from the front. Something like this



I've seen there are some materials that darken copper without going various colors. Maybe you have some thoughts on that. Marks did a lot of great patinations.

[fishboat]

..oh, and new power is in da house!

[Tyson]

Super V is pretty much a perfect match for those 2.  Nice!

[Peter J]

Here's a sample board I saved from that class. IIRC, sodium sulfide is what I used on baffles of X-Otica. That would be top row second from left. Bare copper far right. Purchased from artchemicals.com. Other gilding is Dutch Metal and Silver.

[fishboat]

Cool..very nice, thanks.  Any idea what was done on the very top left corner?

I remember the copper work you did on your speakers.  Looked beautiful.

I've watched a number of videos from Pedulla Studio on u-tube lately and he uses copper leaf in some of his work.  Looks nice. I ordered some and have been looking for some application.  Not sure I'll use it the the SVs..I have to do some trial runs to see how it looks. It'll be after final painting so I really don't want to mess anything up.

[Peter J]

Fortunately, I have a grid on the back identifying what did what to what. Far left top is Copper with Sulfated Potash. A couple of things I might mention with patination and gilding. Patination results are often uneven and somewhat unpredictable, so factor that into design. Also, if the size is too wet when you apply gilding, it will saturate through it and thus seal the top surface and interfere with the patination process. It's not exact science. If one were just clearing over it that wouldn't pose much of a problem, but the chemicals used must contact the actual metal to have an effect.

There are some really pretty laminates out there but unfortunately, in the residential building world at least, they play second fiddle to almost all other countertop materials which means manufacturers don't develop a lot of new stuff for a shrinking market. They still have all the virtues, just not the public appeal. I've used it some for speakers and would again.