How to Restore Speakers with Wood Veneer
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- čas přidán 24. 06. 2024
- I have some old floor standing speakers that were in pretty bad shape. The vinyl was bubbling and peeling and the speaker grill cloth was in terrible shape, but they still sounded good! They have been in my family since I was a kid and mean a lot to me so I decided to restore them using walnut veneer. Watch along to see how I did it and to learn how you can restore your speakers!
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Resources:
Speaker Grill Cloth Install Video: • How to Replace Speaker...
Disclaimer: The following contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product through one of the links, I may receive a small commission (at no cost to you) that I can use to feed the platypus. And it’s always hungry.
Materials I Used:
(most products will be available at your local home improvement store)
Walnut Veneer: amzn.to/3uJ3rBi
Wood Glue: amzn.to/3sxfQW8
Tack Cloth: amzn.to/3gCrPw4
Wipe-On Polyurethane (Satin): amzn.to/3HMtH19
Speaker Grill Cloth (Black): amzn.to/3Bf3WEd
Speaker Cloth Adhesive: amzn.to/3Jmy2Zu
Hammered Machine Finish Paint (Silver): www.lowes.com/pd/Rust-Oleum-S...
Superglue: amzn.to/3oCOk8D
Felt Furniture Feet: amzn.to/3JgBiW0
Speaker Wire: amzn.to/3gLM6iF
Tools I Used:
(in order of appearance in the video)
Ratcheting Screwdriver: amzn.to/3E5tT95
Heat Gun: amzn.to/33dHFKr
Plastic Pry Tools: amzn.to/3HRcNyI
Putty Knife: amzn.to/3aprSbf
Utility Knife: amzn.to/33ZcT56
Router: amzn.to/3sEjgpm
Flush Trim Router Bit: amzn.to/3synjo3
Router Offset Base: amzn.to/3uIehY1
Random Orbital Sander: amzn.to/35Uluam
Sanding Discs (120, 150 Grit): amzn.to/2W2PBak
Scraper: amzn.to/3JjP8XQ
Brayer Roller: amzn.to/3H9gik6
Clothes Iron (any iron will do, but don’t ever use on clothes after!)
Centerpunch: amzn.to/3gBNBPM
Portable Drill: amzn.to/3qxstxH
Sanding Sticks: amzn.to/3JlkehH
Awl: amzn.to/3GHFiNB
Hot Glue Gun: amzn.to/369G2yH
Wire Stripper: amzn.to/3GK4SBV
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Music:
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro and History of the Speakers
0:44 Taking the Speaker Apart
2:28 Prepping the Speaker for Veneer
3:37 Gluing on the Veneer
8:22 Finishing the Wood Veneer
8:52 Replacing the Speaker Grill Cloth
10:56 Making New Speaker Grill Logos
12:27 Putting the Speaker Back Together
14:11 Doing My Best Mime Impression - Goodbye! - Jak na to + styl
Speaker building and restoration is fun. I'm in my 70's and waiting for some caps to get here so that I can freshen up a pair of BIC Venturi's I built cabinets for back in the 80's.
I pretty much never comment on videos but this was exquisite. Detailed, informative and paced perfectly.
Thank you!
You're welcome! Appreciate the comment
My toxic trade is that I think I can do this on my own LOL
I believe in you
I do this for a living and have to say you’ve done a cracking job and exactly as I’ve been doing it for over a decade now. You can use a power sander on the veneer but only with light pressure. You’re better applying the veneer a little sooner whilst the glue is slightly moist and be careful how long the iron is applied for as excess heat destroys the glue which might initially stick but can provide a poor bond and fail with too much heat. Use a wooden block to move out from the centre to edges, removing air bubbles and also taking the heat out of the glue causing it to grab. Great job overall👍
Thanks for the tips! Stuff like that is super helpful
I've never attempted this side of speaker repair but I can honestly say that this video really gives me the confidence to try!
Why doesn’t this have more views? I never thought of dressing up items like this with veneer but the idea really opens a realm of possibilities
Published the video earlier today so you're one of the first to see it!
Thank you for this video. I need to recover some mdf bookshelf speakers and this is the perfect guide for me. And I now have an excuse to buy more implements of destruction (router and heat gun).
The best restoration video I’ve seen so far
I think this video was an awesome tutorial on speaker restoration! I also think the production / editing values are very high - something I know about from my career in film! It was fun to watch and learn from and VERY inspiring. I think Bill is a very multi-talented young man.
Thanks Ari for the kind words!
Now upgrade the crossover and add new wire inside 🙋♂🙋♂
I received a pair of similar looking speakers a couple years ago. A co-worker offered them to me for free, or else he was going tho throw them away, as he was tired of moving them around. I brought them home, re covered the grills, looked into the brand as I hadn't heard of B&W's before. Turned out that Bowers & Wilkins are high end speakers made in England, and he had just given me an $1,800 pair of them, plus a center channel B&W and two Paradigm surround speakers . They are hands down the best sounding speaker I've ever owned!
That's awesome! Glad they didn't get thrown out
well done. old is gold if maintained like this.
That was satisfying. Great work!
This was absolutely fantastic to watch. You orchestrated the video perfectly. So much so, that I will be trying to duplicate your handiwork with a couple of Bose 301 speakers whose vinyl had peeled away. I greatly appreciate all your links as I was greatly interested in the router offset base. Bravo for truly a great video. Ciao, Rocco
Awesome! Let me know if you have any questions when you're working on your speakers
wow, they turned out pretty good 👍🏻
Thanks for the video, nice explanation about applying the new grill cloth
You're welcome!
Dude.... I'm so proud of you. That was excellent, excellent work.
Thank you! Appreciate the compliment
This is pusing me to do the same on my Cerwin Vega AT-12's, they're a bit busted on the back so I'll be repairing that. You my sir got a new subscriber.
Excellent piece of work.
Thanks! I'm really happy with how they turned out
Great job. You're a patient guy.
Thanks! Didn't used to be. I've learned what it takes to get the results I want
When it comes to subscription you had me at "Hey there, i'm Bill". Totally made my day. Cheers!
He’s pretty damn handy with that router. I own one, but I’ve never learned how to use it properly. This video makes me think I need to start practicing!
And beautiful work!!
Great job! It looks really great! Congratulations!
Thanks!
The average folk can’t do this , LOL! Amazing job! Safe to say you’re a craftsman!
Nice job! I especially appreciate the fix for router roller guide scars.
I was pretty proud of being able to fix those!
Beautiful job they came out awesome great job
Thanks!
Very nice. Helping a friend refinish some Klipsch and you’ve got a great example to follow!
Awesome! Glad the video was helpful
Amazing job - so well edited and a professional outcome.
Thanks!
That was a really well done make over. Nice touch with the painters tape too. Thanks for sharing :0)
You did an amazing job, they look awesome! I also think the lighter veneer makes them look more modern. Black wood veneer was all the rage in 90s speakers.
It's always funny looking at back at what was in style in the past. Wondering what's in style today that people will wonder in 10 years why the heck did we ever like that?? My guess is gray wood floors
Honestly, really underrated speakers
I certainly agree! They sound much better than I'd expect given the cheap internals
Excellent job! Well done
Thanks!
Beautiful work..I’m starting the same project soon!..Thank you sir!
You're welcome! Good luck with your speaker restoration
Awesome im going to do some speakers that are super rare but are in need of a restoration you inspired bro thanks
Love to hear that. Good luck restoring your speakers! Let me know if you have any questions
Great job !! Kept my interest too ... They turned out fantastic looking
Thanks!
I have some Klipsch La Scala's that need to be veneered. Apparently, from the seller, I rescued them from a college dorm/band practice space. Your video gave me the confidence to give it a shot. Thanks!
That's an awesome find! Let me know if you have any questions
@@ProjectBilld I actually do have one question after finding the veneer I need. Is it normally expensive? It's almost $100 for a 4x8 sheet of white birch veneer and I need 3 sheets 😟
That seems like a pretty reasonable cost to me. Definitely not cheap but when you consider the cost of those speakers it hurts a little less
@@ProjectBilld that is true! And it'll increase the value when I put them up for sale. This was a project I wanted to take on and I also wanted to see what they sounded like 😉 thanks for your help!
REALLY good video! Take pictures of the wiring lol, excellent advice. Nice job matching grain and even steaming to hydrate and raise out the router bit denting. I like the wood glue/tack up idea over contact cement, more flexible realignment/open-time window. And, possibly even adhesion over your radius at the edge. Great video.
Can't begin to count how many times I've started a project without taking pictures and the forgotten how it went back together when I got to the end
Awesome build my friend
Thanks!
Great video. I wish everyone was good at explaining important steps
Thanks!
amazing work
Thanks!
Vary well done I will try this Bill thanks for doing this I appreciate it Ray
You're welcome!
Great job. Really enjoyed this video. Thank you!
Appreciate it!
Excellent! Thank you for the great video
You're welcome!
Great video, very detailed. They look awesome! I just bought a pair of vintage Sansui speakers and want to refinish them. The old veneer is peeling.
How bad is the veneer peeling? If it's not bad you could use a glue shringe to inject wood glue underneath, wait for it to tack up some and then iron it like in the video
Really nice job 👍
Thanks!
Nice job!
Thanks!
Very nice!
This is so good to to learn, if you don’t mind some DYI.
Awsome job
Thanks!
Very impressive!!
Thanks!
Those look amazing! Such a well laid out video with good instructions.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the video
Nice work.
Thanks!
Excellent
Nice work!
Thanks!
Great Job and video
Thanks!
Fantastic finish, looks much better than the original!
Thank you! It was a fun project
Great video. Congrats on a super refresh for those speakers. I'm about to do this with a new pair that I'm building. They 48x17x12 so a decent sized box. Going to do white oak for the veneer over the plywood. Anyway great video!
You're welcome! I bet those speakers are going to be awesome
Nice. Job
Wow nice Job
Thanks!
Perfect!!
Well done
Thanks!
Great video!!!
Thanks!
Nice video, good job, much nicer now.
With relatively little tools achieve great results.
There’s something in me wanting to comment on missing a chance an easy sound quality upgrade as well, exchanging and adding components and dampening. But thats not the essence of the project, and anyone watching can fill that in themselves.
nice job!
Thanks!
Thanks!
Nice video! Rarely do I see someone turn black speakers to brown. In my experience, it's way more common (and much easier) for people to turn their old brown laminated speakers to black or other color. Spray paint is the most popular option. A 2-tone paint job can also make the speakers look pretty impressive.
Yeah, a lot of those brown laminated speakers haven't aged well at all. I think the walnut veneer is pretty timeless
Good job and thank you! I subs!
Great job ! :) I would share more shoots after restoration just to show how nice it is. BTW i restored similar Sony speakers today 🙃
Thanks! Appreciate the kind words and suggestions. Enjoy your restored speakers!
Great job veneers are awesome Maybe later you should upgrade the drivers and crossovers
Thanks! Down the line at some point I'd like to do that
Those cheap Sonys look like a million bucks now! Great job!
I love how they turned out
Good Job Bro👍
Thanks!
Damn good video. Thank you.
You're welcome!
Nice video.
Thanks!
Молодец, красиво получилось👍
...a very good job....
Thanks!
One thing to consider when doing this is to replace the speaker grill fasteners with magnetic ones. They work better and give a cleaner look as they would sit behind the veneer.
That's a good tip, thanks!
Definitely look better without the speaker grill cloth! Awesome job!
Thanks! I'm sure eventually where there are small children running around here I'll have to put them back on haha but for now, no grills!
I did this with JBL 4312b's. The new oak veneer ended up looking better than anything from the factory.
Seeing this speakers disassembled I can say those are some high quality speakers. Just the crossover itself is a work of art. and that inert baffle, internal bracing and damping. Joy to see. Great job on the veneering though. Educational.
Internal bracing is important on a lot of speakers but I don't think it is so important on tower speakers where the sides are very narrow. Simply would not make that much difference. Yes the drivers were cheap but perhaps they still sounded good. the first order crossovers only for the tweeters is typical for inexpensive speakers. inductors significantly increase production cost. If they were mine I would do a test with a calibrated microphone on the woofers then the tweeters and most likely build a second order crossover. I would not say that baffle is inert I am sure it was sized accordingly. This guy is a good craftsman and did a great job on this project. He never claimed to know a lot about crossovers. He preserved these speakers as a family heirloom. He can always upgrade the drivers and crossover later if needed.
Not really, very cheap wood used.
nice
Great job!!!
I have no use for this information as far as I know, but I was transfixed regardless. I think I could do this too!
That's awesome! I think it's a pretty approachable project, not too many tools needed which is nice
Should have upgraded the crossover components, binding posts and wires too! Great job.
I considered it, but it's not something I know much about yet and didnt want to spend the time figuring it out at that point
Good
I was looking through YT on how to veneer speakers, because I have some black speakers from the 90's and early 2000's, I was surprised to see a video on the exact speakers I have! I bought them in the early 2000's from Fry's, and they were cheap. However, they sound better than they should. They are worth veneering IMO, if not just for practice! I was surprised to see cast woofer frames. Now that I've seen inside these, I'd probably upgrade the wiring a bit (I think 16AWG would be plenty on these) and maybe consider a 12db crossover (maybe not, these are engineered this way, may not be an improvement). I use my Sony towers with lower power Pioneer SX-636 receiver, so it'd be cool to use walnut veneer and brownish/tan speaker grill cloth to match the SX.....
Sounds like you've found your next project haha
Well done. A follow vid could include building a 2nd or 3rd order xover and adding some internal bracing or batting to improve the sound.
Thanks! That's definitely a possibility at some point
dont forget to mask up with mdf its toxic,great video im about to restore a bunch of speakers soon,make shure your capacitors are ok to they go bad over time....
I do need to do a better job wearing a dust mask! Particularly with mdf
Are you sure this was your first restoration?? You did a great job.
First time doing a speaker restoration and using wood veneer. And thanks!
Nice 😄😄😄😄
maaaaaan. That looks so good. Can I send my speakers to you for veneering?
Only if you want me to keep them 😁
I have almost the exact same speakers with the exact same issue. I’ll mail em to ya! 😆
Send em over! Though you may not get them back 😁
Wow, you really improved on the look of these!
Would be quite easy to improve the sound of these too by building a crossover for it, upgrade it's internal wiring and treating the cabinet with some more dampening material. For something like this, some bitumen on the panels covered with rockwool would do quite well without costing a lot I'd say.
For the crossover; No need to use expensive high end filmcaps for something like this. Just a simple 3 way LR2 network with some cheap NPE's and some inexpensive inductors would be a massive improvement in comparisson to a speaker that just uses two caps as a first order high pass filter.
To decide on crossover frequency you just run a few sweeps in its current form and measure the drivers in REW.
Don't get me wrong, it will never be a audiophile speaker, but good gains can be made with not too much effort and money I think.
Thanks for the info! I'll definitely be revisiting this comment if I decide to do any internal work to the speakers
Since the speaker doesn't have a proper midrange, but essentially two tweeters, the frequency response of them will never match properly. Not worth investing in a measurement set up for this. They will sound ok-ish, no matter what. Bass and treble is present anyhow, and they will never have good midrange or flat frequency response. Unless the tweeter cone driver is replaced by a larger midrange, which will need a sealed compartment behind it. Overall - too much work for someone who I guess is inexperienced in electrical and acoustical engineering and too much money to be spent.
Adding some damping material is a good idea though.
Great job! shame they have yellow cones as it doesn't go with it at all, would look amazing if they were black but the wood finish looks fantastic!
Thanks! I don't mind the yellow cones, but I do think black would look really nice
I have a similar set of Sony speakers. The plastic baskets seem to get brittle and break. I've had to repair them multiple times
Those look fantastic!!! So, how long did it take? Weeks or, months???
Thanks! Took me a about 3 weeks I think working on them off and on most days. But I'm also planning, testing things, recording, editing, etc.
Perhaps next, upgrade the drivers, the crossover unit, maybe route the holes a bit for some flush mounting. Hate seeing woofers with a PLASTIC basket.
Yes, I like them better without the grills too.
Great job, only thing i would have done different is do top, bottom, and both sides in one continuous strip,use heat and steam to bend
Thanks! And that's a good idea worth trying, I'll look into it next time I have to veneer over a corner
My little brother had these speakers back in the mid 2000s
Haha probably the cheapest decent tower speakers one could buy in the early 2000s
@@ProjectBilld Yeah, these and KLH lol
You made those speakers look nice! You might whant to change the capasitors becurse thay tent to fail with time and might pass on tje full signal to the tweeter wich will kill it
Good call. Likely going to be redoing the wiring and crossovers entirely in the future
You quite right there, plus upgrading to higher quality over electrolytic. And even if film capacitor😊 being used. Can be sure the manf didn't buy the beer or best. Also some bracing added inside for resonances . So all in all, the veneer is nice but just a lipstick effort