This project will now grind to a near halt, due to the lack of squiggly lines. Other than attaching the feet and some cosmetic touch-up I can go no further. Changes made since the last update:
And now the visual tale as it stands today —>
Sir, I see all kinds of squiggly lines in your photos. I think you’re golden!
Kinda ironic, isn’t it? Being Windows free since '21 has been a great retirement boon, until now. 
Adequate reliable data has been acquired. Enough to take a shot with the original goal. Next step will be to determine if the baffle can be cut without destroying it. Otherwise July could be pretty slow going. I turn 69 on Saturday and we have an Alaska cruise on the docket for later in the month. If you’ve never taken a loved one with Alzheimer’s on a major bucket list vacation before, believe me, the anxiety will be, no, IS through the roof.
Looking for experience here on routing driver holes through paper-backed veneer over mdf. Should I score the veneer with a razor or exacto, cover with masking tape, both, neither or other? TIA.
I normally wood glue veneers down. I just have at it.
If your rebates are already cut, you veneered over them, and need to recut…no clue.
If it’s a fresh hole, a good sharp spiral downcut bit has worked for me. Just make sure that first pass is deep enough to go through the veneer and into the MDF a little. You have some crazy grain changes, so that does make things…worrying.
The holes are not cut, and I’m most worried about the seams where I switch from one veneer to another. I’ve used solid hardwood many times and have occasionally experienced a bit of tear-out. I’m just a bit spooked before that first cut.
My suggestion… Clamp something thin like 1/8-inch tempered hardboard (aka Masonite?) on top and use a brand new spiral down-cut but.
Always new blade/bit when mission critical.
If the rebate is over 1/8" deep they make shallow trim bits:
I wouldn’t trust that bit to trim veneer cleanly, but I also wouldn’t cut the holes first, then veneer.
I like the thought of clamping a thin layer of something like 1/8” Masonite or such on top, but I’d really have to be creative in my clamping to have space to spin my router. I basically need the whole territory of the baffle, and then some, to get 3 holes cut.
Use the yellow “delicate” painters tape to cover most of the baffle, but not where the router bit will cut. Then use double sided tape to tape the masonite to the tape-covered baffle. Press it together tightly and let it then sit for a few minutes and you probably don’t need clamps.
The double sided tape I get at Menards is VERY strong and will damage the veneer if you don’t cover it with painters tape. I usually use the blue tape, but in this case I’d use the yellow.
