[aharami]

yea I've been thinking about how to go around that same issue you mentioned.  Right now I have the back, sides, and braces glued.  I can either:

A: glue brace H and the bottom, veneer the back, install the tube connectors, then finally glue the front on and veneer the rest of the sides. 

or

B: glue the front, put 3/8" roundover all on all 4 vertical edges, veneer front/back/side, install tube connectors by reaching up thru the bottom, then install Brace H and bottom, veneer the top.

B will allow me to put a roundover on all vertical edges, whereas A will allow me to put roundover on front vertical edges only.

[HT cOz]

Big progress is being made and I'm feeling better about my 2 week deadline for the project and entire room.  Here are some more pics for you guys. Today I lightly sanded with 320 grit, dyed them very lightly, sanded with 0000 steel wool, and applied the first coat of Waterlox.

[Danny Richie]

Man, those are really looking good.

[HT cOz]

So the deadline for having my room presentable is this Friday, per the boss.  Well I'm getting pretty close to having it atleast look like a media room.  I have five coats of Waterlox on the speakers and will wait until next week (it needs to harden) to do some sanding and start the final coats. The sound boxes are covered.  I only have to hang some brown velvet drapes to cover the front corner bass traps.  Here are some pics of the progress.

The Waterlox is awesome so easy to use.  I have some nibs that fine rubbing pads will take care of.  Honestly they look really good until you are a foot away and you feel a non-perfectly smooth serface.








Thanks,
Robert

[skeeter99]

Robert,

That's fantastic work! The grills look great, overall very very nice. Can't wait to see the finished product

[ebag4]

Really nice job, love the veneer!

Best,
Ed

[Nick77]

Those look like a million bucks!! Now get them loaded! 

[sl_1800]

Your work is looking really good, just one question.  Are you going to put dark drapes below the screen as well?  When I had my dedicated home theater room the picture looked best when the wall around the screen was blacked out.

[HT cOz]

Your work is looking really good, just one question.  Are you going to put dark drapes below the screen as well?  When I had my dedicated home theater room the picture looked best when the wall around the screen was blacked out.

Thanks Guys!!!  Believe it or not they are still not finished.  The biggest kick in the pants was going to Lowes the other day and seeing a $10 router bit that would have made the tweeter cutout perfect

I certainly could add drapes around the screen.  Maybe I need to head back over to HomeGoods and see if I can find some more material!

Another funny thing happened when I thought the box was not square so I built a brown frame to put over the screen box, loaded it all up and it became very apparent that the el cheapo $200 screen is not square.    Oh well movies are pretty secondary to what I'm trying to accomplish in the stereo realm.

Thanks,
Robert

[Randall Kepley]

Robert, your build is realy coming together quite nicley. If you dont mind me asking why the need for all the coats of Waterlox as stated you already have 5 and next week you will add the "Final coats" . Thanks R.K.

[HT cOz]

Robert, your build is realy coming together quite nicley. If you dont mind me asking why the need for all the coats of Waterlox as stated you already have 5 and next week you will add the "Final coats" . Thanks R.K.

According the Waterlox instructions 3 liberally applied coats is standard.  I have been using sponge brushes so my coats are not all that liberal.  If you look closely you can see that the later coats start to fill in the grain and self even out.  I wanted to get enough material on the speakers to be able to rub them out with Mirlon Pads http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/2020922/23086/Mirlon-Total-Scuff-Pad-Assorted-Grit-3-Pack.aspx

Last night I rubbeb out the back of the center channel speaker using the 1500 and 2500 grit to a smooth surface.  I got all the nubs and irregularities like threads from initial sanding smoothed out.  This was done without getting down to the wood grain which I think is important.  I then applied one very light coat of Original Waterlox.  It looked great this morning.  The final step will be to apply the final coat of Waterlox Hight Gloss Finish.  Here is a pic of the different finish sheens.




So basically the plan is get enough original on to fill in the grain and get a smooth surface, rub out to a very smooth surface, then apply the final coat according to the desired sheen.  After all this, I will have to evaluate the results and then figure out if I want to polish or just call it good.

I will say that I believe anyone can do this as these products are pretty much dummy proof.  I know that is a bold statement but it is not hard to get good results.  It just takes a little bit of time.

If you all would like, I can try to get some photos showing exactly what I'm trying to smooth out etc.

Hope this helps.

Robert

[aharami]

The biggest kick in the pants was going to Lowes the other day and seeing a $10 router bit that would have made the tweeter cutout perfect

which bit is this?

[HT cOz]

which bit is this?

Sure this one will work Bosch  1/4" Flush Trim Router Bit
Item #: 36617  |  Model #: 85285MC




http://www.lowes.com/pd_36617-353-85285MC_4294857533+5003696_4294937087_?productId=1084639&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl_10%2B15_4294857533%2B5003696_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr%7C0%7C%7Cp_product_quantity_sold%7C1&facetInfo=$10%20-$15

[aharami]

i bought a similar flush trim bit from HD, but I think the nose of the bit is going to be too deep for the short recess we're trying to trim on - i.e. the cutting part of the bit will sit higher than the face of the baffle.  I'm not sure about this yet, as I havent opened the bit from its packaging yet.  Maybe I can shave down the nose a bit...but how do you even cut/shave a solid carbide bit!

[HT cOz]

Tonight is a definate milestone, I played music!  Just got my BluRay player hooked up to my tube amp and popped in Dave Mathews and Tim Reynolds at Radio City BluRay.  I like it a lot.  If I can get this kind of sound with a BluRay player, stone cold gear that hasn't seen electricity in 18 months, new drivers, new caps, no real positioning.  Things are look bright!  I think all the hard work will pay off bigtime.

Here are some pics for your photo junkies.  I can't wait to post final pics of a completed room with speakers!







If I can do it, anyone can.  Like a proud Papa, I think they look great.  I will post the wifes opinion, that's the real judge!

[HT cOz]

Well here are the final pics of this project.  I must say that I am totally happy with the outcome  The speakers are so good for Home Theater.  They are also very musical and the 2 channel rig has never sounded better.  Thanks for all those that helped along the way

[skeeter99]

Wow! They look absolutely stunning! Seriously beautiful work 

[jparkhur]

Totally hot, very nice!

[Ron]

 Great looking system. Nice job!