Rosewood Vinyl?

[skippy_ps]

Hey Rob, it looks great. :kissy: When I was thinking about doing the veneer myself, cutting the slots is exactly what I was worried about. I'd thought about using a router either with a fence or on a table but having to line up perfectly 12 or so times seemed beyond my skills.

Excellent!

Murray

 

[merrylander]

You will be happy to know that the top piece is flatter than p*** on a plate just a couple of spots near the edge where it needed more glue. I too thought of using the saw but decided that while it would work if I was cutting the slots for the first time, trying to match up with the existing slots would require a high precision fence.

Rob

 

[kcollins4]

The vinyl version of those slots ain't no piece of cake either. This is the cherry wood vinyl, but the picture turned out alot redder than it actually is.

 

[pustelniakr]

JVC liked to use those slots on their high-end stuff too. They look like a genuine PITA. It would almost be easier to make new, than to try to line up with the originals...

Rich P

 

[LBPete]

The next time someone wants one of these 'saw-slit' vent style cabinets veneered I will build them a whole new cabinet with an aluminium vent in any color they want. Making those slits in the veneer is a bitch. An alternative would be to make a new top, veneer ths whole thing, then cut new slots on the saw and rout out the backside.

Rob

I've been struggling with the vent slots on a G-22000 case that I'm veneering. It's no picnic. After screwing around for a couple of hours trying to cut them with a utility knife, I stumbled into a technique that works pretty good.

After applying the veneer, I roughed out the vent slots by driving a single edge razor blade through the veneer with a hard faced mallet. The original edge of the slot acts as a guide. I put cardboard from a cereal box under the case to provide a backing surface to drive the blade into. The original slots are about twice the length of the blade, so cutting one slot takes four whacks. The razor and mallet cuts trough any dried glue pretty well too.

Next, I used emery boards, the kind woman use to file their nails. These are just the right thickness to clean up the edges. They also will cut both sides of the slot simultaneously. They fit tight so you have to feed them in from the good side and then pull them through to the inside with one motion so you don’t chip the veneer. Still takes a bit of patients but it worked pretty well.

I’ll post a picture after I’ve applied the finish.

- Pete

 

[skippy_ps]

Hey KC, nice job on the vinyl and the slots.

Interesting idea with the razor blade, Pete - you're cutting from the inside or out? I hadn't thought about using an emery board to clean up the slots. Sandpaper on a stick.

Murray

 

[LBPete]

Cut from the inside out. That way you can use the edge of the original slot as a guide.

- Pete

 

[merrylander]

The problem with the slots is the coloration. I used needle files on Murray's case but whatever you use you end up with bare wood and no way to darken it without also darkening the veneer. At least if you were doing it with vinyl there would be no need to file or sand so you could spray the slots flat black before hand.

Rob

 

[LBPete]

Rob, I was wondering the same thing. I'm not to that point yet. Sanding the slots did expose raw wood and I was wondering how to address it.

how did the original case builders do it? The Sansui wood veneer cases stained all the exposed edges that were not covered with veneer. A good example is the raw edge of the back of the case. They are all darkened with a dark brown stain. They do the same thing in the saw cut case vents. Did they stain the veneer at the same time so there is no problem with bleed through?

Murray, sorry for highjacking your thread.

- Pete

 

[skippy_ps]

No problem. This is some good info.

Re: Light colored wood on edges of vents. When I was in the shower this a.m., I was thinking that one way would be to mask off the outside of the case, say 2 or 3 slots at a time, then apply stain to the inside of the slots with a paint brush or whatever. Remove masking tape and cleanup with mineral spirits any stain that leaked thru.

There's a few places where the slots are covered on the bottom and you'd have to touch up these from the top. Mask, stain, cleanup.

Might work.

Murray

 

[merrylander]

I treid with a small artists brush, you would be amazed at how much stain you need to get on the brush to have it come off from the side of the brush. No idea how the vendors did it unless as I suggested earlier that it was done before the vinyl went on.

I was going to pack it up tonight but it still feels a tad tacky, I will cover it with freezer wrap or wax paper when I do pack it. This is the best I can do with it, the silver you see through the slots is an Xacto knife underneath.

Rob

 

[skippy_ps]

Cowabunga!

Fantastic job Rob. Much better than I thought it would just from eyeballing the veneer before I sent it to you. You're the best.



Murray

 

[pustelniakr]

Concerning exposed wood 'after' a nice veneering job...may I suggest 'spraying' on a color that does not penetrate. Mask the veneered surface, and spray from inside. Some of my gear looks like the exposed substrate is spray painted, rather than stained. I think, if you select the right stuff, you will get a more uniform cover than applying a stain to a wood product with varying amounts of glue in it.

Just kibitzing...

Rich P

 

[LBPete]

Do you have any suggestions for a color that doesn't penetrate? Are you talking about spray paint or some other type of coating?

- Pete

 

[pustelniakr]

I'm thinking about a very light coat of flat paint, or the desired color. If light, it should not penetrate from the edge of the veneer, inward, maring the veneer work (wood veneer).

Rich P

 

[gamalot]

I would agree with the spray painting from the inside idea. I would first use the blue painters masking tape on the veneer and be sure it was fit to all the slot tops. Then from inside the case I would spray a number of light coats of flat black and from both diagonal directions.
If you are concerned with the flat black on the inside of the case then mask off the inside also.
I have looked at a couple cut slot units and this appears to be what they did.

Rob is 100% correct in that it would be easier to build a new top and cut new slots on a table saw. Trying to line up even my Paralock Precission rip fence for each individual cut would be painstaking.

Finished case sure does look great though.

Gary