Lots of Timber slats workflow advice

[Ronan James]

Good morning Friends,
I am currently putting the finishing touches on my recording studio which I have been building on and off for the last 18 months. I have to make lots of timber slats and I would like to use white oak. I can't afford solid white oak so will have to go with a veneer finish. I want to emulate the image below in various places around the studio. What is the quickest and easiest way to make these oak veneered slats?
I was thinking to 1st laminate the 3mm veneer to a sheet of 1/2" mdf, then rip the 44mm wide slates on the table saw and then edge band the edges of each slat. Is this the most efficient workflow or can someone think of a quicker way.
Thanks in advance for any insights
Regards
Ronan J

 

[AJB Temple]

To do that is an enormous amount of work to do in MDF and veneer, and will not fool anyone that it is solid white oak. I would be surprised if you save much money either.

If oak is too expensive, consider doing it in a cheaper wood such as tulipwood or redwood.

 

[J-G]

I have never considered using veneered MDF for any project - certainly not 3mm thick - but I suspect the time involved to do so would more than cover the cost of solid timber.

I've just investigated the cost of thick veneer and the best I could find was 2.5mm (I didn't spend too much time) and that would be about £30 per Sq.M. to which you have to add the cost of MDF and the labour element. Surely solid Oak 15mm thick would be less than that ? and wouldn't take anywhere near as long to manufacture a vastly superior product.

I see AJB beat me to it.

 

[Rich C]

Sawn oak would be about £20 sq.m in 15mm thickness, though you'd have to account for wastage from planing it. Still you could probably do solid slats for about the cost of the veneer by the look of things.

 

[Cabinetman]

Whilst I agree it would be quicker easier and probably cheaper to go down the solid oak route, you could buy Oak veneered MDF and then "just veneer" the visible edges. Not something I would like to do. Ian

 

[MARK.B.]

The time involved doing all the prep and veneering will be huge compared to using solid timber and imho will not look as good under closer inspection.The cost of your time should even up any price difference and then some.

 

[AndyT]

If you want something cheaper than solid oak, you could start with flooring. You can get "engineered" boards which have 3-6 mm of oak on a softwood backing. If you choose the right finish you'll "only" have to rip to width, losing the tongue and groove. Rather than veneering the edges, you could paint them a contrasting colour. You'll not be able to see them edge-on very much and the colour could blend with the background.

It would still be a lot of work though.

I'd be tempted to ask a few timber merchants to price up the slats, cut to size and planed for you. They should be able to do it much more efficiently.

Or to add yet another option, a decent sheet goods merchant could accurately cut veneered board into slats and run it through their edge bander.

 

[Sgian Dubh]

I have to make lots of timber slats and I would like to use white oak. I can't afford solid white oak so will have to go with a veneer finish. I want to emulate the image below in various places around the studio. What is the quickest and easiest way to make these oak veneered slats?
I was thinking to 1st laminate the 3mm veneer to a sheet of 1/2" mdf, then rip the 44mm wide slates on the table saw and then edge band the edges of each slat. Is this the most efficient workflow or can someone think of a quicker way.
Thanks in advance for any insights

As others have said, what you're proposing entails a great deal of work and time on your part, plus the cost of materials. I'd estimate, just off the top of my head without therefore properly considering a time allowance for all processes, a time of approximately 0.5 hrs per slat, which would involve buying pre-veneered oak MDF (that saves you one job you were proposing, i.e., veneering the face with 3 mm veneer which I would strongly advise against anyway), ripping the 2440 mm long board into twenty five or maybe twenty six slats 43 mm wide per board, then edging both edges of each slat with iron-on oak edging tape, and finally trimming the edging flush. So, let's say you need 25 slats for your project, that calculates out at 25 X 0.5 = 12.5 hours.

I did a quick search for material prices and found
1. 1 piece 2440 X 1220 X 18 mm crown cut oak veneered MDF = ~£60.
2. 7 rolls of iron on oak grain edging, 10m L X 19 mm W @ ~£7 per roll = £49
3. So a total of about £109 (~€121) inc VAT for 25 or 26 slats at 2440 mm long (plus your time to do the manufacture).

On the other hand, another quick look at local timber merchants shows the most economical one (British Hardwood) offering random lengths mostly between 2.4 and 3 m long planed oak finished at 44 X 19 mm costing £5.08 inc VAT per metre, with additional discounts for orders of 50m+ and further discounts the more you order. So, keeping it simple and ignoring discounts for orders over 50m, 25 pieces at 2.4 m X £5.08 per metre = £305 (~€337).

I think I'd go with the second option described above even though the cost is approximately three times greater, and I suspect that with a bit of phoning around near to you in Ireland, or online searching, you might find comparable solid wood pricing. I guess it mostly depends upon how much time you're willing to invest in manufacture from board material and edging tape prior to cutting to length and installing your slats rather than just buying in solid material already planed to size ready to cut to length. Slainte.

****************************************************
Oops, suddenly realised I'd made a calculating error, so came back and corrected.

 

[Freddyjersey2016]

If you are building a studio - have you looked at Accupanel - Acupanel Contemporary Oak Acoustic Wood Wall Panels
- £129 for a 240x60cm panel (not used it myself, but have seen their adverts)

 

[SamTheJarvis]

Can see Accupanel aren't veneered on the sides. I need to get into making acoustic "wood" wall panels.

 

[sammy.se]

Maybe route a groove along the acoustic sheets and paint those black, to give the effect of slats?

 

[Ronan James]

If you are building a studio - have you looked at Accupanel - Acupanel Contemporary Oak Acoustic Wood Wall Panels
- £129 for a 240x60cm panel (not used it myself, but have seen their adverts)

thanks for the link, these panels are not suitable for commercial studio use, from reading the acoustic data they are designed for living spaces to reduce flutter echo and small room resonances. Studio need a more balance attenuation of broadband frequencies. They look great though and could possibly put in front of other more effective treatment.