A Stereo Cabinet from Walnut and Baltic Birch Plywood

I designed and built this stereo cabinet using walnut veneer on Baltic birch plywood, leaving the plywood edges exposed. The sides are just Baltic birch. It's probably a love it or hate it look; the person I built it for loves it. The walnut veneer came from a single 14" wide board that I sliced into 1/16" veneer. The shelves are 13-1/4" wide, a single sheet of veneer covers each shelf. The finish is Rubio Monocoat. It's the first time I've used it and I'm a fan already. If it only yielded a little higher sheen, any sheen, actually, and I'd probably never spray finish again.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

It's roughly 49" wide x 31" high x 14" deep.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

John

I like it. I wasn't expecting the way you used the walnut - thought it would be all surfaces with plywood showing on the edges.

Cool look for a stereo cabinet and bet it looks even better with the full kit installed. Are the upper compartments to the left and right for records?

Glad to hear you like the monocoat-I haven't tried it but likely will. Can you get any sheen by waxing?

I like It a lot! Yes to seeing it loaded!

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Originally Posted by Christopher Charles

Cool look for a stereo cabinet and bet it looks even better with the full kit installed. Are the upper compartments to the left and right for records?

Glad to hear you like the monocoat-I haven't tried it but likely will. Can you get any sheen by waxing?

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Yes, the upper left and right compartments are for albums, as is the lower shelf. I'm sure you can increase the sheen by applying wax but wax presents its own set of problems so it would be best if you could adjust the sheen with the finish and/or application process itself. I have some testing going on right now and can report that the sheen is substantially higher if you sand the work to 600 grit prior to finishing; however, I have not yet tested the durability so I don't know if it's a truly viable approach.

John

Thanks John, that’s helpful. I plan to give it try.