For veneer, I chose two-ply Honduras Mahogany from Tape-Ease. (See my Finishing page for more background information.) One 4'x8' sheet was enough for both cabinets. I highly recommend Tape-Ease. They were very prompt, and sent free samples of several types of veneer.

In case you've never ordered veneer and wondered how it ships, mine came in a 48"x16"x16" box. Even the two-ply type (where the backing ply runs perpendicular to the facing ply) is flexible enough to roll into a 16" diameter roll.

This was my first veneering project, so I did a lot of research about tools and techniques before I started.

Bonding Methods

There are several methods for attaching the veneer to the cabinet. As with many things, you'll hear conflicting advice.

• Don't use contact cement. It's meant for attaching plastic laminates to countertops. If you use it, it will fail, by bubbling and/or lifting. Plus, if you use a penetrating oil finish, it may dissolve the cement. Use a different method instead.
• Don't use the dry-bond, iron-on method with PVA glue. The bond is not strong enough, and the veneer will bubble and/or lift over time. Use a different method.
• Contact cement works great. It's much better than the iron-on technique. Use the water-based type if you don't want to smell the noxious vapors. Just be careful, because once the veneer meets the substrate, it's there for good.
• The iron-on method works great. It's much better and easier than using contact cement.
• Using cold glue or hide glue with a veneer press (either mechanical or vacuum) is probably the best way to go, provided you are willing to buy or build the necessary press (and provided that you are veneering flat panels.)

I hope you can tell that I'm joking... sort of.

The Dry-bond, Iron-on Method

In the end, I chose the dry-bond, iron-on technique, for several reasons:

• It seems like a more forgiving process. If made a major mistake, I could re-heat the veneer and carefully remove it. That's not possible with contact cement (without destroying the veneer).
• I could do it inside the house without fear of poisoning myself or blowing up the house. (Reading the label on a can of solvent-based contact cement is pretty scary. Plus, I used it once on a different project, and it smells really, really bad. I'll never use again without a proper respirator.)

In case you're not familiar with the iron-on technique, here's a summary. The idea is that you apply ordinary yellow wood glue (Titebond, Elmers, etc.) to both the MDF and the veneer, let both dry, position the veneer on the MDF, and use a regular clothes iron to iron on the veneer. The heat from the iron melts the dried glue, which blends together and bonds as it cools. The heat also relaxes the veneer and makes it lay very flat. See my Links page for more information.

Here's how I veneered each side:

• I cut the veneer pieces about 1/2" larger (both length and width) than the corresponding cabinet sides. I used a utility knife and straight edge (a board) to cut these pieces.
• For each cabinet, I cut the left side, top, and right side from on continous length of veneer so the grain would flow from one side to the other. I've seen other people do the same with the front and top. My speakers will have grilles, so having the grain flow from the front to the top was unimportant to me.
• Before spreading glue on a cabinet side adjacent to an already-veneered side, I put painter's tape on the edge of the veneered side to prevent glue from getting on it.
• To spread the glue (I used Titebond), I first squirted the glue in a zig-zag pattern over the MDF and the back of veneer. Then I used a 4" foam trim roller to spread the glue into an even layer. I didn't thin the glue at all. The veneer curled a bit after I applied the glue, but it uncurled as it dried. I went through about four of the foam rollers, because they tended to disintegrate after a few sides.
• I applied two coats of the glue to the MDF, and one coat to the veneer. I applied extra glue to the end grain of the veneer. I let the glue dry between coats.
• After the glue was completely dry, I laid the veneer over the cabinet side, then ironed the veneer from the center out. I used the cotton setting on the iron, and I place a cotton dish towel between the veneer and the iron to prevent scorching. After I ironed near the edges, I pressed down on the veneer with a wooden block. I don't know if that really helped or not.

It was pretty easy to do, and I think it worked out well. I just hope that it still seems that way in a few months, and I don't find myself wishing I had used contact cement instead.

Trimming

Each piece of veneer that is glued to the cabinet must be trimmed flush before the next piece can go on. Most people on the web suggest using a router with a flush trimming bit to remove the excess. I was a little worried about doing that, because I was worried about tear-out on the cross-grain trims, and because I know how quickly you can ruin a piece with router if you lose your concentration for the slightest amount of time. I also worried that my flush trim bit was not as sharp as I wanted it to be after all of the MDF trimming I did with it.

As a result, I decided to use a manual method. I trimmed each edge with a veneer saw. I layed the newly veneered side face down on a scrap piece of MDF, then used the cabinet sides to guide the saw. Any drift in the cut was therefore away from the desired edge and could be cleaned up with sandpaper.

This method worked very well with the grain, but I still got a little bit of tear-out across the grain. (I think some of the tear out actually occurred when I removed the tape I used to keep glue from getting on the veneer. I think the tape pulled small "hairs" from the veneer.) If I had to do it over again, I'd just use the router. (I cut the driver recesses with a rabetting bit, and it left nice clean edges where it cut the veneer.)

Cutting the Driver Recesses

After applying and trimming the veneer, the last pre-finishing task is cutting the driver recesses. Because the driver holes were sized with my 7/16" rabbeting bit in mind, the only question was how deep each recess should be.

I glued a scrap of veneer to a scrap of MDF, the cut progresssively deeper test rabbets until the depth was just right for both the tweeter and woofer (and the woofer gasket).

To cut the recesses, I first drilled a 1/2" diameter hole in the veneer where it covered each driver hole. I then used a router and flush trim bit to expose the driver holes. Finally, I used the rabbeting bit to cut the actual recesses. I covered the veneer with masking tape before routing to avoid scratching the veneer.

Front view of the veneered cabinets.

Close-up view of the finished driver cutouts.

Close-up view of the back of the veneered cabinets showing the access panel cutouts.