It will never look original. You’ll always be able to see remnants of the repair. Is the humidity where they reside subject to fluctuation? A steady humidity of 40 give or take 5 would be ideal. Winter drying can cause cracks. Anyway, I’d get some fish or hide glue, paint it on the crack and force it into the crack using a small suction cup. Then it’s a matter of finding a flexible piece of plastic to place on top of the crack while it’s being clamped. Just a suggestion.
I'm in the Phoenix area, so hot and dry most of the year. Most of these options are probably beyond me - and if I do try anything, a high probability of making it worse. I'll just hope it takes a while to get noticeably worse My fault for not taking better care, unfortunately.
He's in AZ as I am, bone dry except for July - end of August, but if using central AC then, it should be a more normal / constant 30-40% humidity inside. But who knows if the speakers spent time or were built in a more humid place. He might even run a swamp cooler a couple months out of the year, common in AZ before the dew point rises and you switch over to central air. (much cheaper too, but raises the humidity inside the house with a swamp cooler). There are so many possibilities on why the joint popped, I covered four or five in my dissertations above. And if lathered it with some off the shelf "oil" and it got into the crack.... This sort of thing is tough to diagnose over the net, but agree, it could be difficult for someone inexperienced to ever get the result they're looking for, could screw it up.
If you do attempt a repair, of course as you said don’t use sand paper but you could do a little touch up by carefully scraping excess glue with a razor blade. Tape each side of the crack so as to protect the veneer on either side where the ends of blade could drag.
Just saw your post, that could work if all the right things line up... but could also at minimum have a couple of complications, even backfire as I think I described earlier. But I'm getting the impression (not from answers though) that the OP is foregoing the task.... and living with it.
Honestly, I'm not even sure when this happened. We recently moved and I happened to see it. It could have been there for a year, or more - who knows. That side is kind of hidden, so I think I'll just live with it. I've contacted the manufacturer, so I hope to get some insight from him. They're great speakers - probably a stupid question, but I can't imagine something like this would compromise the speaker over time? Would it just be cosmetic? Thanks, again, for all your opinions and thoughts - especially your time, VinylAddict Much appreciated.
Thanks for the nod, I was starting to think I was on your ignore list. Hope the dissertations helped!!! I'm going on a limb, but not too far but 110% cosmetic. Frankly and as you touched on, I'm wondering about progression as I noted earlier, signs of other spots popping.
Just another chiming in to hopefully not confuse you more. Looking at the photo I see the long "crack" is at a point where two pieces of veneer are butted together, called a "book end" because the grains line up almost perfectly. That means the long trouble spot is not a "crack" at all. The long trouble spot is where the adhesive is beginning to release....for a number of possible reasons. The veneer could use a hot set, heat activated adhesive, which would make for a plausible repair using a heated iron and pressure.....but if not things can go wrong quick. I would bet the adhesive is a contact cement sprayed on at the factory and then a special roller is used to squeegee out any air while also pressing the adhesives together. It could also have been applied using a vacuum form machine that gets technical in operation so think of it as basically impossible to reproduce without such a machine. While the book end lifting is troubling I see another crack/lift area to the right of the long joint trouble. This is what really concerns me because seams do lift from time to time, but the middle of a veneer sheet, at a random place in the grain, is not usually a problem unless an external something induced the crack. Heat, moisture, impact, imperfection in the base wood, imperfection in the adhesive application...etc. Many things have been suggested to potentially repair the issues. I concur with staying away from any wax/oil based items specifically because that will enter the underlying wood, get imbedded in the wood structure, and make any hopes of sticking any kind of adhesive, or epoxy, to that area all but impossible. Once the oil/wax is in the wood structure it is all but impossible to remove it. The first thing I thought was check on the warranty...even if you don't think you have a warranty. Contact the speaker maker and see what they tell you....who knows, they might repair it for you regardless. Some places still provide that type of service. If things continue to crack and lift I suggest you find a wood working shop that specializes in veneers and talk with them to see if they can make a repair, or simply re-veneer the entire speaker. Another place to check would be a luthier. A luthier makes and repairs guitars and other similar instruments. They deal with a lot of veneered woods and they deal with a lot of veneer issues they have to repair rather than replace. For now it appears to be a cosmetic issue.....one you don't want, and one that bugs the heck out of you, but cosmetic none the less.
Nice write up, concur with everything said, and that's rare. I could fix a problem like that, if it's fixable, where it'd be tough to notice, but if any suspicion of wax or oils in the joint, I'd say sorry and not even try. I get the feeling you could too (fix it).... if the goal is to fix that and not see under close inspection, it could be a little tricky, but doable perhaps. I'm more worried about progression of the problem though, from what I saw in the pics.
This is what’s is called veneer creep, and typically occurs more often on glue ups done with contact adhesive as opposed to pva glue. Literally every material has movement based on humidity and temperature, even thin veneer. Probably the veneer and substrate aren’t moving in complete unison and the small changes in size in both of those materials is slightly different than they want to be. This has caused the veneer to become slightly larger than the substrate and that tension has to go somewhere. Looks like the pucker is at a seam between two pieces of veneer. This seam is always a potential weak point and the material movement has found that. You mentioned a move, was anything stored in a hot box truck for an extended period? That heat could have caused this issue. Also worth asking are you moving from an area with more or less humidity than you currently have? If you’d liked to get it fixed it might be worth finding a reputable furniture repair person. I know there’s some things that can be done with heating the adhesive, but it’s probably not something you should try for the first time on your speakers.
Yup. If there is wax/oil in there you would be setting yourself up for failure, and likely a full tilt re-veneer job...I understand the refusal idea for sure. I also suspect this issues will continue to grow over time. Meaning more future repairs regardless of how perfect the first repair comes out. I'm bummed for the guy because they are not cheap speakers, and they look like nice wood was used to veneer the cabinet. I think the separating seam could be repaired nicely (sans any oil/wax) with proper adhesive injectors, a little heat, and a very flat, true plate to clamp with. I think some of the adhesive would fill some of the wood grain though, making for a repaired area that is a bit too perfectly flat as compared to the rest of the surrounding wood grain.....essentially ending up with a more glossy area where the repair took place. It's hard not to fill in the wood grain a little when injecting adhesives into cracks. This means you finish with delicate cutting and scraping tools to reestablish the wood grain texture, as well as buffing the finish to match the overall sheen....without ruining the veneer. Not a novice project by any means. The other crack/lift may present issues with pressing totally flat without any buckling, further cracking, or chipping of the veneer during the adhesive press....Which may just shift the crack to a different area as the adhesive presses into place, dries, and forces the stress area to crack someplace else nearby. If the only issue was the lifting seam I might make suggestions about repairs, but that other crack changes everything, and signals other issues unfortunately.
As you said, Yup. I've used syringes, exacto knives, fine tipped awls to attempt everything you stated. But I'm still in an uncertain state in this particular scenario with only pics... still some unanswered questions in this engineering brain to assume I have 100% surety about materials in this case. Zonka and I have exchanged a few PMs, sounds like he's going to watch it. Also turns out the OP and I have a lot of common threads of life over the last 40 years. He's a cool guy.
I've had that on my speakers. It's from UV (most likely) and/or dry environment. It will continue to get worse unless you change the location. Old English furniture polish/oil is one of the best and will keep the veneer at bay by oiling and protecting it. I oil all our fine furniture a few times a year with this. Amazon.com Amazon.com
The speaker maker website states they are using a "rosewood veneer" for this speaker so I am assuming it is acutally rosewood and not some type of poly-wood impersonator (which can look awesome) but is much different to repair. I'm glad Zonka and you have talked and he is going to leave this to see what time does. Yes, the photos only give an idea about what might me there, making all suggestions and advice should be tempered with that in mind. It could stay exactly like it is for the next 40 years, or continue to have growing issues and get much worse over the next two years....He's gonna find out. If he is anything like me the real problem is me....I know the issue is there so every time I come onto the house my eyes automatically focus on the issue and my mind can not let it go...even when I choose to leave it be. The daily battle between try to fix it, and leave it alone...... His speakers will still play perfectly, unless the veneer begins to buzz, making this aesthetic issue more a personal thing to deal with. Still, I feel for him because many of us consider the aesthetic of our speakers an important part of speaker ownership....Well figured, well finished wood is beautiful, and we like to look at them as well as listen to them. Great advice given in this thread and I wish Zonka well with this issue.
First, Silverline is still in business and has contact info Contact Silverline Audio so you can ask what adhesive your dealing with, about the veneer, etc. Second, since you say the speakers are deemed "expensive", it should be worthwhile, armed with the veneer and glue info, contacting re-finishers that you can find out are used by high-end decorators or antique dealers to see what repair costs may be. If you brought them to me I would likely assume that a glue-starved area (not uncommon) abetted by seasonal wood movement, caused the split. (Some here with better eyes purport to noticing additional splits and bubbles which support that). Even after using time-tested methods to deal with and re-glue the loosened veneer, there will still be a split. As someone mentioned above, colored wax is the remedy for that but it's a bit of an art. Color-matching and blending are required by someone with specialised tools and extensive experience. Take it to a refinisher/restorer in your area.
The question is..... does the split press down? If it does you can get some fresh glue beneath using a scalpel or similar. The factory would have used a urea formaldehyde veneering glue which has failed on the veneer joint. You can use wood glue (PVA) and a warm iron to press down the raised split. If the above sounds too daunting, take it to a furniture maker to repair the veneer.
You guys are all great. This is what I love about this community - all willing to put in there time and experience to help out a fellow traveler I'll be exchanging emails with the manufacturer. I'll see if he is willing/able to fix, re-veneer, or whatever is necessary and at what price. Thanks, again, everybody. If I get any answers or get it fixed I will post an update. Otherwise, I'll let it ride a while and see what happens
No repair will look better than it looks now. Best bet is to reactivate the adhesive with an iron set to the lowest setting. Place a sheet of clean paper over the veneer and gently pass the iron back and forth over the seam. Tilt the iron at a slight angle so that only the edge makes contact at the seam. Pause to check progress after every few passes to assess condition. If the veneer is not sticking then the only invisible repair will involve a complete teardown of the speaker to strip, repair, and refinish the veneer. Both cabinets should be done as an exact match otherwise will be nearly impossible. Good luck with it.
Yes. This is a big part of it, Zonka is contacting the manufacturer who built them, that'll be the final tell. Probably the best resource. If it is hardwood (which I'm starting to lean toward), the reason(s) it popped in the first place could be things already discussed, in conjunction potentially with wood movement over the seasons (dry, moist, dry...), combined with adhesive failure. Wood moves all the time in many pieces and the joint/ adhesion doesn't fail - so wood movement by itself isn't always the only culprit. Wood movement combined with some moisture that got in, and/or adhesive failure is probably likely. OKC's post above touched on the potential root cause and fixes if it was hardwood too - he focused on it being hardwood with his reply. Agreed with what he said if it is hardwood. The only thing that might be an open question is many times on large, hard to clamp or press veneers like this, some still use contact cement for its quick tack, no clamping required, where it's "rolled pressure" with tools that press and adhere it. So there's not a guarantee its PVA glue, but the manufacturer could clear that up too. The hope is that this is not a start of a problem that is getting worse, again the pic showed other spots starting to pop too. That's where the manufacturer could come in too. Also, if any foreign substances got under the raised areas, like wax/oil mentioned before, could complicate matters as mentioned a few times now. Zonka, keep us posted!
It is most likely that the speakers are mass produced using normal veneering practice. Urea formaldehyde veneering glue is thermo-setting meaning it cannot be reactivated with heat.
I'd talk to the maker and see what they used to attach the veneer. There's a chance you could re-activate the adhesive with heat. Maybe a cloth over top and an iron, but get the facts first. Nevermind
Typically, that's more of a problem than a solution. It's Youtube and Google that makes many pose as experts on things they know nothing about there and on discussion forums, and why many things get screwed up too... Sorry, off rant, won't even start.
