Veneer wrapping technique
Through years of experience working with real wood and real-wood veneer techniques, especially for curved baffles, we have now developed a real-wood veneer process that to our opinion is exclusive and unrivaled: the membrane press / handcrafting veneer wrapping technique.
As you can follow in the accompanying pictures, the manufacturing starts with a medium-density fiberboard, which is milled to its final shape. Glue is applied to the board in carefully selected areas, then a sheet of veneer is wrapped around it, pressed, and dried. As is evident in the pictures, the veneer can follow only the two curves on the long side and then must make the complex transition at the corners. In this critical corner area, where the two curves meet, the joiner has to approach the optimal transition line carefully by cutting out veneer with a knife, step by step.
Obviously, this technique requires considerable handwork and demands a craftsperson with talent, patience, and extensive experience in joinery.
After the cutting is done, the two open curves and the overlapping veneer are raked in glue and must immediately be transferred to a special machine, the membrane press. The complicated operation that is performed by this machine can succinctly be described as compression of the baffles on all surfaces by a warm bag, which wraps itself over the baffles exerts very high pressure.
The baffles remain within the machine until the glue is dry, and then the corners of the baffles are refinished with a sharp knife. Following a final all-around inspection, the baffles are released for the next steps of fine workmanship, including the construction and assembly of the whole cabinet, (please read cabinetry general) staining, and a seven-layer lacquering process.
Our new veneer technique complements our real-wood joinery solutions and all their advantages to further enhance the character of Vienna Acoustics cabinets: exceptional beauty through great workmanship.