"Engineered" veneer

Why Not Indeed · 13 Feb 2021

Is "engineered" veneer made of ayous/abachi/obeche likely to be any good?
eg this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284090425147
Leaving aside the listing being pretty sneaky about what it's really made of [it's not oak], how durable a finish can one get with this stuff? I am intending to cover an MDF speaker cabinet. It's not going on tour, just being moved around the house as I do bits of DIY.
I've never veneered anything before. I was going to paint it but am doubtful about getting a decent-looking finish on a single piece of MDF, never mind a crudely knocked-together cabinet.

Notch7 · 13 Feb 2021

It should be fine.

Veneering is tricky....how are you doing it?

Contact adhesive is probably the easiest way, but it's a difficult method to get clean corners

^woody^ · 14 Feb 2021

For painting MDF, if you treat edges with a sanding sealer (shellac) then roller on some primer, then fine sand, then (optional) another primer coat, then fine sand then your top coats, you'll get a great finish. Last coat a clear varnish if you are using emulsion/multi surface paint. All this can be done in a day with water based paints.
Fine sponge roller.

With veneers, you can get a sheet of hot melt adhesive that you use to glue the veneer on with an iron.

For that engineered veneer, I'd want to look at it first to see what the indents look like.

foxhole · 14 Feb 2021

Buy veneered mdf.?

Why Not Indeed · 14 Feb 2021

Still at the research phase...I was going to build the cabinet, then veneer it. I already have a few odd bits of 18mm MDF that I don't really have another use for. I suppose a badly-done veneer job is likely to look a lot worse than a badly done paint job. And the corners...yes...I've no idea what I'd do there to make it look neat.

Deleted member 174758 · 15 Feb 2021

Have you also considered the effects of mot balancing the veneer? What adhesive and technique were you considering to affix the veneer?

Why Not Indeed · 16 Feb 2021

I had seen mention of balancing it, but wasn't sure how seriously to take it. MDF is stable substrate, right? It's only going to be 250x250x450mm.
Titebond veneer glue, some sash cramps and some scrap wood.
Maybe I should paint it and have a go at veneering over that if I'm not happy with the painted finish.

Deleted member 174758 · 16 Feb 2021

MDF might be a stable substrate but that still doesn't guarantee that it won't move if you veneer the outside only, especially if you use a glue which feeds water into the MDF. You might get away with it, you might not. I am left wondering, though, why you'd need sash cramps. Are you using cauls? Surely a simpler approach might be to use either a glue-backed veneer (iron on veneer) or buy some iron on glue film adhesive which is designed for veneering. Neither of these approaches introduces moisture to the MDF and neither requires sash cramps - a dry iron, cloth, roller and knife or better a sharp plane iron (used as a knife to trim the overhangs) will do pretty much all the work required

Why Not Indeed · 17 Feb 2021

Good point about the moisture from wood glue, I hadn't considered that. Yes, I was going to clamp it all together to dry. I've got plenty of slightly twisty timber that might work as a caul. However, ironing it on sounds more sensible.

Deleted member 174758 · 17 Feb 2021

Certainly easier to use for repair work and smaller pieces

Why Not Indeed · 11 May 2021

The corners....as I thought, it wasn't easy to get a neat finish. The backing on the veneer also stuck out like a sore thumb. However, 10 coats of gloss PU varnish later, it doesn't look too bad:

This was the veneer I used in the end: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/283998392508
with iron-on glue sheets.

sxturbo · 11 May 2021

Looks good.

Did you design the speaker yourself or did you use a pre designed drawing?

PS what speaker elements did you use?

Why Not Indeed · 12 May 2021

I kind of designed as I went along, which is to say, I didn't really design it at all. Unfortunately that means it ended up about 2x-3x the size I had originally intended so it's not especially portable. It's probably not going to move much at all, I'm paranoid about the edges of the veneer being vulnerable. At least it's pleasant enough to look at.

The speakers are "new old stock" car speakers + crossovers that were going for a song on eBay. The colour is a bit...loud...but I'm a sucker for a bargain.
The amp is an "Inno Maker Hifi Amp Hat" connected to a Raspberry Pi Zero running PiCorePlayer.

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"Engineered" veneer

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