More DIY Fullrange Speakers: Finish Prep

So, I'm getting ready to sand the veneer so I can put a finish on it and I discover that some of the edges - from the corner generally - aren't glued down well.  I think what happened is I had so much overlap of veneer that I didn't press the veneer down well enough on the edges.

This turns out to be an easy fix; I just run some thick CA (aka superglue) under it, press the edge down and whoosh! we have a nice glued-down edge.

During the actual sanding process I discover this on almost every panel.  Oh well...proof of concept/learning project!

I also discover that I have a couple of chips that have been taken out of the veneer during the trimming process.

Since I have some strips of veneer that will never be used, it's easy enough to cut a piece to suit.  At first I tried matching the exact shape of the missing piece, but that was a bit futile.  So I cut a piece that was close, placed it over the veneer and just cut through the veneer so the two pieces matched. 

Then I glued it down with CA.

The result isn't too bad.  From a couple feet away you can't notice it.

When I go to apply the finish, I'll put a bit of filler in the crack you see here - that should make it less visible.

Now with those preliminaries out of the way, I can sand the veneer.

I started with 220 grit, went up to 320, then finally 400. 

One thing I learned in this veneering process is you don't need to get the edges trimmed super close.  They'll get sanded down at this point.  When I trimmed, I still had a bit of veneer hanging over the edges (maybe 1 or 2mm), but this goes away.