fallen_trumpet

Reading this old thread (2010) and the thread CarlSpeak linked, http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Boar...?showtopic=5828 I'm not allowed to email CarlSpeak directly... maybe he's no long in the forum? Or maybe b/c he's an admin? Anyway... does anyone happen to have the Word document he referenced about 'capacitor performance' in that '5828 thread?

Hi, Stephen. I haven't addressed my crossovers yet (but need to start thinking about them soon). But JKent is the expert there, and I'll follow his guidance. I did order the sealant yesterday... RoyC was sold out so I ordered from "Vintage AR" on ebay... total with shipping to me in Texas ~ $35 for enough to do drivers in both cabinets. The wood working has taken a bit longer than I expected, partly because of my inexperience working with veneers (and trying to proceed cautiously so hopefully I won't mess things up too much...) and partly because of house arrest (aka, self imposed home lock down because of the virus, so moving more slowly instead of just running to the local hardware or wood working store each time I need something). I think I'm going to order some "Mohawk Stick Epoxy - Walnut colored' and give that a try to repair edges and corners of my cabinets that need a bit of attention. For surface scratches and gouges, I'll probably try the same initially and see how it looks, but wax sticks might be as good or better (and simpler) for certain scratches. Looks fairly inexpensive from Amazon.com with delivery in about a week. Fred

Thanks, JKent. If it looks good to an expert like you, then I must be on the right track! Thanks again for your ongoing guidance! Fred

After a bit more experimentation, it seems to me that 15-30 minutes of soak time with this soy gel stripper is just as effective as an hour or two, removing most of the old finish that comes off like 'sludge', as shown. Here's one cabinet stripped and drying and a bit of cleaning with mineral spirits... and then mostly dry (cabinet on the left), and probably ready for sanding and filling gaps (next to 2nd cabinet on the right that I haven't started stripping, yet). (Difference is more noticeable to me in person than in these photos.) Fred

Thanks for the reminder! Yes, I've seen other videos that show using wax paper to help ensure wood blocks aren't accidentally glued to the surface being repaired... so in hindsight, I should have used wax paper, which will also allow me to place my wood blocks more directly on the seam edges instead of slightly away from the seam edge. I will do that for the next seam repairs! Fred

After a bit of experimentation on a single 'panel' (bottom of one speaker), I believe I'm on the right track and am slowly building confidence working with veneer. I was able to first use an Xacto knife to dig a slight amount of substrate from under separated veneer along one edge and then glue and clamp with pretty good result. (Sorry for the blurry photo showing clamping.) I still need to sand and stain to make the newly glued seam less noticeable. I also tried Blue Bear soy based wood stripper (Paint & Urethane Stripper).... Franmar customer service told me this is the exact same as their "Soy Gel marketed as 600GL" but in a different package. I'm still not 100% certain how this product, their 600GL and their 605PRO products vary, when one is preferred over the other, etc. This was slow acting but I covered the surface with plastic wrap to keep it moist and let it work an hour or two before removing. I still need to sand and fill gouges and gaps, but I think I will proceed and do the same to both cabinets today. Photo of "before" working on the bottom panel of this speaker. Then other photos of the same bottom panel during and after stripping (but still prior to filling gouges, sanding, refinishing...). Thanks again for the guidance. More to follow after I spend a few nights on the wood, as well as the drivers and crossovers. Fred

Good ideas.. thanks.. I will try some ideas Saturday..

Seeing cabinet restoration guidance... Removed the crossovers this weekend and looking at the cabinets and seeing a lot more veneer damage now upon closer inspection. Any guidance regarding the cabinets? Repair first, then strip and refinish? Strip first, then repair and refinish? Continue efforts to patch and repair old veneer or too far gone? (Maybe my inexperience in wood working has scared me into thinking it may be best to just repair the cabinets and add new veneer, or is that a really bad idea?) Also... looking ahead a bit too far perhaps, but what is the best putty/caulk to use when replacing the old 'putty' and re-installing the drivers?

I finally found a little time today to start looking more closely at the restoration of my newly acquired KLH Model Fives.. Here are a few photos and misc. observations/comments after opening both cabinets thus far. But, before opening each cabinet, I played a little music... I heard sound from the woofer and mid range drivers, but nothing from the tweeter (as expected for ~50 year-old Model Fives that have probably never had the cabinet opened since they were purchased). But with components out of the cabinet, I was happy to confirm all drivers produce sound so look forward to the listening after the crossover has been rebuilt and woofer/mid driver surrounds have been sealed. Date code stamped on both tweeters is Feb 3, 1969 and mid range drivers are date stamped March 19-20, 1969. There appeared to be a date stamped on one woofer, but it was not readable. From these date codes, I assume these Model Fives were built/assembled perhaps mid-to late 1969 (assuming 3-9 months after manufacture of the components). Interesting that there is a 1/4" gap between mid range drivers in one cabinet, but metal frame of the drivers slightly overlap in the second cabinet. Just a sign of cabinets holes being cut by hand instead of a more tightly controlled manufacturing tolerance, I suppose. Perhaps not audible - just an observation. Behind the woofer is a thin sheet of a woven fabric (is it linen?) and behind that pink 'insulation'. I suppose the fabric is intended to help keep the 'insulation' from getting into the woofer. The cavity of the woofer is open to the tweeter and the same insulation fills the space behind the tweeter. The mid range cavity is sealed and is filled with a higher density 'insulation' of some sort. (I assume there was an acoustic difference that led KLH to use a different material in the mid driver cavity?) Tweeter, mid range drivers and woofer are all screwed directly to the particle-board type wood (no metal fasteners). I suppose if one only opens the cabinets every 51 years or so, this should not be an issue, but others that have restored these KLH speakers, have you added metal fasteners of some sort when re-assembling? I was a little surprised speaker wires are soldered to the woofer and then connected back to the crossover using wire nuts. (I suppose I expected some sort of slip on connector on the woofer like KLH used on the mid-range drivers. I've also added a photo of the point-to-point wired crossover, although I've not yet removed it from the cabinet (and haven't yet decided whether to replace the components myself or let expert JKent rebuild the crossovers for me). I certainly will seal the woofer and mid drivers with the sealant from RoyC as part of this restoration. I'll stop there for tonight. Any thoughts, comments, suggestions/recommendations are certainly welcome. I've purchased Franmar soy based wood stripper (formerly Soy Gel, now called "Blue Bear") to start stripping the old finish from the cabinets, after reading of good results from JKent and others, and hope to start that soon. (I'll test the bottom of one cabinet first, before proceeding to the full cabinets.)

Looks very nice...hopefully I can do the same for mine.

Just additional observations... grill fabrics appear to be in good shape... likely just need to clean and re-stretch (especially the black)? And the KLH logo is 'screwed' (not glued), but one is missing... so I'll search through the forum for guidance regarding replacement logo emblems. Fred

Ahh... i see now that the black border is not part of the removable grill.... and I see the woofer is screwed in (not glued), so must be from a somewhat later manufacturing year. (I believe early years, the woofer was glued to the cabinet.) Fred

KLH rookie question... I believe I read somewhere that the KLH Model Five grill is held in place by velcro, but what is the best way to 'grab' the frame to remove it? (I don't want to insert anything into the 'slot' between the frame and wood that might damage either or both.)

Hi, John. The price was definitely right! ;^) Here are more photos of the worst of the Model Five cabinet damages. (I'll probably get around to listening and opening these to look inside tonight or this weekend.) Fred

Hi, Norman. Thank you for the guidance. I am thankful for this forum and it's members, having already learned a lot by reading other posts and trading a few emails with JKent and RoyC to get me pointed in the right direction. More photos to follow shortly. Fred