Also, will doubling the front baffle, but leaving the suggested inside dimensions the same, cause any acoustic problems?

I did basically what you are contemplating. After making the basic MDF boxes, I then made a second outer baffle, consisting of MDF with a solid wood frame. The trick is to think ahead a little. For example:

* Veneer the MDF portion of the outer baffle BEFORE you add the pieces that will create the frame.

* It's easier to do the round offs before cutting the strips that will form the frame. Take your solid wood board, round off one side, then cut the rounded-off strip off of the board.

I've made the front baffles so the frame is flush with the rest of the baffle, on the theory that soundwaves probably don't like the projections they would "see" if the frame were proud. YMMV.

Whether doing solid wood frames on not, I almost always double my front baffle anyway, on the theory that the thicker it is, the less prone it should be to flexing and resonating. Don't know whether it's true.

I don't have a picture of my Pi 2's, but here's a photo of another speaker with zebrawood veneer and a solid cherry frame.

• Zebrawood Veneer w/ Solid Cherry Frame

Bill had a good idea to make the front flush and then put a shallow reveal between the hardwood and MDF. That would be better I think as far as soundwaves are concerned.

Imagine a butt joint between two pieces of 3/4" MDF. The joint is 4" long. Once that glue dries, it's strong enough that you can't break it apart with our hands. And there's only 3 sqr inch of gluing surface in that joint! On your baffle, it'll have over 400 sqr inch of surface area for bonding.

What I would do is water down the wood glue and brush it on with a 3" brush. The water will let you apply a smooth even coat and increase dry time to let you cover the entire area. If you're still worry about sliding, take a carpet knife and score diamond patterns across the entire surface of one of the baffles. The grooves will let the glue squeeze out and keep the two pieces from floating.

Gar.

I guess my dillema right now is whether to try my hand at veneering, buy veneered MDF, or make the box out of double paneled 1/2" Baltic Birch.

Fabric stretched across just the driver cut out also looks really good as BillFort has done. Elecktratigs speakers with the hardwood surround to the baffle is awesome.
As for the glue, Terry Cain, 'whose hands we trust' opined that a squiggle zig-zag of glue is just fine for laminating panels. That's what I've always done making flattened "Z's" and then rubbing the 2 surfaces to get a surface tension attraction, then simply driving home a buncha screws. Countersunk, of course.
How 'bout that lamp?

Bill, do you have any advice on putting the mdf box together and veneering? It will be my first time using either material.

• Joe

Gar.