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These are some I reworked. I really love the black cherry, It has a great shimmer to the wood when the light hits it at the right angle, there's depth to this wood.
 

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The shimmer reminds me of the shimmer in padauk and zapote just lighter. I'll have to pick up some cherry to work with!
 
It's lighter but black cherry darkens with age, turns red.
They say if you put it in the sun for a day you'll get a years worth of darkening, I haven't tried this myself.

I really like the wood enclosure you made for your CMOY, Great shimmer on that!
 
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Well, I’ve been trying many ways to get a nice finish as I didn’t have a clue and I’m still looking for better ways. First I brushed on Polyurethane and then Varathane but would always see brush marks. I tried Tung Oil but the finish looked dull. What seems to work for me is to sand to 1500 grit and just rub on a few drops of fast drying Varathane with a lint free cloth. I repeat this three or four times with light sanding in between at 1500 grit.
How about you?

This new piece of Black Cherry has a darker tint to it.
 
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I have found that the aerosol application Vrathane gives a smooth and even finish compared to other types of finishes. I usually apply it fairly heavy, let it dry for a few hours, then bake it in the oven on preheat for an hour. I let it cool, then bake it again for 30 minutes. Seems to do the trick! I use brush on poly for my headphone stands and haven't seen any brush marks, but dust and other particles always seem to find their way in.
 
For case parts, I usually like to use a heat gun on high about 18" away from the item with a back and forth motion. Spray paint fumes seem to linger more than the Varathane ones due, but the varathane doesn't seem to smell as bad.

For referance though, my over goes down to 170F, which is the "warm" setting. It will come out a bit soft and tacky after the first bake, but it will harden quick after it cools for an hour then rebakes and cools again.

Also, I have noticed that some clear coats go foggy after baking, so test it on a similar piece of material and same paint and clear coat before doing your project.


I personally am not really fond of the fumes, even if it is only for like half an hour.

I am working on a paint drying box, which will actually consist of a 10 gallon fish tank and a 250W heat lamp. This way I can dry parts in my shed instead of in the house. I will be experimenting with "bake" (Under the lamp) times when it's done.
 
Really interesting...and some sound ideas regarding the fumes.
I was gonna spray paint the mesh in my case, as well as some detachable plastic parts.
I already was planning to get a heat gun so I guess I'll go down that route.
 
I built two amplifiers using TI's hybrid digital chipsets, they're amazingly efficient and have great audio quality.
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/appliances-gadgets/358-amanda-harris-prius-home-audio.html
http://ecorenovator.org/forum/appli...rid-40-next-generation-ti-hybrid-digital.html
I might build a third one to embed in my upcoming D2700 home server/media center PC.

For those who wonder how it actually works, http://www.beis.de/Elektronik/DeltaSigma/DeltaSigma.html explains it very well. A Delta Sigma modulator converts the incoming audio signal into a bitstream that can be efficiently amplified. But unlike most audio amplifiers, TI integrates the actual modulators, drivers, and MOSFETs onto the same piece of silicon, keeping parasitics to a minimum. Compared to my old Philips digital amplifier (TI DSP/modulator but discrete drivers and IPMs), it sounds much better. (I haven't tried hybrid digital chipsets from other manufacturers, but it's clear that TI set the bar very high.)
 
I have found that the aerosol application Vrathane gives a smooth and even finish compared to other types of finishes. I usually apply it fairly heavy, let it dry for a few hours, then bake it in the oven on preheat for an hour. I let it cool, then bake it again for 30 minutes. Seems to do the trick! I use brush on poly for my headphone stands and haven't seen any brush marks, but dust and other particles always seem to find their way in.

I just made some cups out of padauk and after putting Varathane on them they stay sticky, I think I'll try putting them in the oven for an hour. Thanks for the tip.
 
Here's the Padouk cups I made. Finished with two coats of Danish oil.
 

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Working on fixing my pictures in the thread again! I moved from San Diego to Mechanicsburg PA in 09 for a job. I did our have away all my audio gear except my trust pair of sennheiser jd 580's. Shortly after moving I made a fairly large investment in what I thought would be my dream two way monitors. I bought a set of GR-Research neo-2x's with sonicap and mills upgrades along with parts express curved gloss cabinets. All in all I spent about $700 on the parts. I will say this, these speakers exceeded my expectations. They are the best monitors I've ever heard.

I ran into a situation where I sold just about everything I had and stupidly sold the neo's as well. But as luck would have it I was able to buy them back last year! I'm not paying with them again. I an slowly rebuilding a system. Right now I in the speaker world I just have my diy neo's, and a Dayton t amp.

My headphone rig consists of hifiman he-300, sennheiser hd-439, TDK Eb-950's.

My next step is likely getting a parasound zpre and zamp (or two) for the neos.

I want to share the source for the speakers and cans. I will likely get a schiit modi DAC. For the headphone amp I'm turn between the schiit Asgard 2 and Vali.

My next DIY project will likely be buying and modding a pair of fostex t50rp cans. I also really want to build a tube amp :). Right now it's just trying to get funds for things.
 
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