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Cabinet construction begins with complete measurements of receiver, tuner, amp or pre-amp. Enough space is allowed to clear any case screws or other projections. Your case is made to fit your item, and is kept close to original if desired. Most cases are done in book matched walnut veneer, and the side-top-side is matched for flow of grain. Some cases are done in raw walnut burl wood, the sides, and top may not flow exactly as raw veneer is sold in small sheets rather than 4 by 8 ft rolls. Construction ¤ Cabinets are precision cut from 3/4 inch European Birch 13 ply Cabinet Grade plywood or particle board, and are routered for bottom case screw attachment and top screen if any. European Birch is beautiful and is from their virgin forests, it is in short supply as it is cut only part of year and has a high European demand. Particle board is used in almost all higher end furniture construction, for its easy machineing, stays dimensionally flat and veneer bonds well. ¤ All cases are glued with a high quality waterproof glue and then doweled for additional strength on case sides, top & bottom, the number of dowels is normally two per glue joint or 8 dowels per cabinet. Heavy amps can receive up to 4 per glue joint, or 16 dowels per cabinet. Cabinet is kept under pressure while glue joints cure. The case is then sanded to get ready for veneering. ¤ Veneering is next, sheets are normally purchased as 4 x 8 ft, the veneer is cut so that the grain flows from side to top to side. If not using a solid walnut wood in front, extra is allowed so that veneer front top and sides also flows into grain for a perfect match. Veneer is applied with a high quality veneer adhesive designed for no bleed through on wood. Each side and top piece is individually done with matching backing block and put under pressure for 24 hours (takes 3 to 4 days to veneer a cabinet). Veneer is hand trimmed and final sanded to cabinet. ¤ The grill is made from "albrass", which is aluminum and brass, it has slightly larger hole pattern than many original grills, but I am able to make the grill a little smaller, as it dissipates heat better. Albrass also will not discolor or corrode like the grills of years ago. Replacement grills are available. ¤ Finishing is normally done with China Tung oil purchased as 100% and thinned as necessary. Tung oil is a deep rich honey color and this helps impart a beautiful wet wood look and really brings out the grain. Normally 2 Tung oil coats are applied, taking 2-3 days to dry. Then finished with your choice of finish: Liberon Finishing Oil - a blend of tung and other oils/varnishes and gives a semi-satin finish; McCloskeys Heirloom satin varnish, also thinned and hand applied like Liberon finishing oil; Mylands wax, is also applied for those than want a low lustre, I apply three hand rubbed coats over 3 days, you will see a full deep lustre after applying several more coats over the next couple of months - it just gets better and will show a buffed sheen to the finish. Due to additional labor of hand buffing there is a small premium price for this and is well worth it. For a small premium, I can also apply Mylands wax to the Liberon and McCloskeys finishes for a small premium. Any of the finish methods are great and I give care and maintenance instructioins with each cabinet delivered.