fury161 Posted January 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2019 Nice! That is beautiful work there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 8, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2019 So, I thought I'd update this thread a bit. Caps are in, woofers and new foam are on their way. Having a bit of down time, I though I'd work on the boxes a bit. They came from a smoker's house and so they were a bit stinky and dingy. But, I got lucky and the walnut veneer was in real good shape, save a few scratches. I started with a good wipe down with some Murphy's which got a ton of smoke residue off. Then a few applications of Restor-a-finish and some 0000 steel wool. In a bit, I will give them a final application of some beeswax polish to really make them pop! Before/After Looking good now Really Starting to shine! Will update some more when parts start showing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 13, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Woofers are in and refoaming has begun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted January 13, 2019 Report Share Posted January 13, 2019 Those are looking good! As further evidence that I’m losing my mind.....Right now I’m sitting in my friend’s living room (800 miles from my home), listening to his AR17s THAT I RESTORED and gave to him several years ago. So ignore my previous statement that I never heard of them ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 LOL! It happens to the best of us...a bit more each year, it seems though... ha So, here's where we are as of this morning. All glued in and trued with a 30hz test tone. Firing beautifully. But... dust caps.... I've got a 2.5 inch dust cap in there. both are shot though and need to come out. However, it's real hard to determine if the originals came with a paper/felt dust cap or the poly ones on there now. I see them both ways. I'd like these to be as true as possible to the original specs. Any one know what the original dust caps were? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuja Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 My pair of AR17 have the porous textile dust caps (over the flat paper ones), which I believe are the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 1 minute ago, Kuja said: My pair of AR17 have the porous textile dust caps (over the flat paper ones), which I believe are the original. Thanks! Based on this post, I'm inclined to think that a 2.75" lip up felt or paper will fit the bill nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 Just my $0.02 here, but I always prefer the look of smaller dust caps on AR woofers. If you look back at my previous post with pics of three 8-inch woofers, they show, in order: 1) p/n 001(from AR-7) with 2-1/8" flat cap; 2) p/n 037 with 2-1/2" soft solid cap; and 3) p/n 050 with 2-3/4" with mesh cap. For comparison, the typical AR-4x woofer uses a 2-1/4" mesh cap. It appears that you have what I've described above as case 2), so unless you can cleanly remove all evidence at the perimeter of your existing 2-1/2 inch cap, you may indeed have to use a 2-3/4 inch diameter cap to ensure a neat appearance with the re-foamed woofers. Comparative drawings attached show 037 woofer on left with single domed soft cap; and 001 woofer on right with both flat and domed caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 4 minutes ago, ra.ra said: It appears that you have what I've described above as case 2), so unless you can cleanly remove all evidence at the perimeter of your existing 2-1/2 inch cap, you may indeed have to use a 2-3/4 inch diameter cap to ensure a neat appearance with the re-foamed woofers. Your $1/50 is always welcome here. ha ha Yeah, I agree with your assessment. The caps are 2.5" on the dot. While I'd prefer to go smaller as well, I'm also aware of the trickiness of getting all the existing cap and glue off (and the other projects I am neglecting), so I'm thinking a 2.75" cap is in my future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefertem Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 Ra.Ra Good afternoon I like your reply do you know how many different 8 inch woofer AR used up unit they left Massachusetts I remember my original 93 used two different ones for the midrange and two for the base smaller brother to the 9s Thanks Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 24 minutes ago, nefertem said: ...do you know how many different 8 inch woofer AR used.... Hi Tim, I don't think I can fully answer your question (how many woofers?), but in these threads we've been discussing several of the more frequent part numbers and details of 8-inch woofers that show up in multiple speaker models. The AR93 confuses me because I think there were several variations of 93 (with letter suffix?), but the original version is interesting because I think it may employ two drivers not found in other AR speaker models. If your speakers look like these, I believe the front lower midrange driver with flat dust cap is p/n 200036 (60uF capacitor), and the side-firing woofer(s) with white domed cap is p/n 200035 (120uF capacitor). Not sure if either of these part numbers shows up in any other AR speakers. Crossover frequencies for the 93 are noted as 350 and 2000Hz. The tweeter should be p/n 200034 (virtually identical to tweeter 038), with a 4uF cap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefertem Posted January 14, 2019 Report Share Posted January 14, 2019 Thanks Ra.Ra. that is what I meant for the most part I got mine at Lechmere after they were discontinued from the other audio stores these are mine after Dr Frankenstein aka me did a upgrade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 Four different 8 inch AR/Tonegen woofers that I have run across and counting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 5 hours ago, nefertem said: I got mine at Lechmere .....these are mine after Dr Frankenstein aka me did a upgrade Yeah, I miss that old Lechmere store, which was located one block from the old AR building on Thorndike Street in Cambridge. Looking at your "upgrade", it appears perhaps you no longer have real AR-93's, since all drivers shown are not original. Did you make any crossover revisions to accommodate these interlopers? What about the (4) side woofers....replaced or original? If you need any of these 035 drivers, I have two that I cannot find a proper home for - - - send me PM if interested. 2 hours ago, DavidR said: Four different 8 inch AR/Tonegen woofers that I have run across and counting. Hi David..... any further details to elucidate this statement? If there is any place where this info on part numbers, pics, or further descriptions will be appreciated......this is the place to share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted January 15, 2019 Report Share Posted January 15, 2019 26 minutes ago, ra.ra said: Hi David..... any further details to elucidate this statement? If there is any place where this info on part numbers, pics, or further descriptions will be appreciated......this is the place to share. Just from my harvesting of drivers from AR94s and a recent thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 Waiting on some parts so I had a bit of time to kill so I decided to work on the boxes a little bit. First thing, I broke out some flat black enamel and darkened up the relief cut to give it a bit more contrast, Then another treatment with Restor-a-finish and a quick sealing with some Howard Feed n Wax. This was just a quick coat. I will do a longer coat this weekend. All in all, I'm very happy with the way these boxes are turning out. Simply put these are some of the nicest veneer I have seen on a speaker, let alone one that is 40 years old! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 17, 2019 Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 16 minutes ago, fury161 said: I broke out some flat black enamel and darkened up the relief cut to give it a bit more contrast, That's a really great detail highlight - - - looks great - - - - now I want some AR-17's! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2019 Thanks, pal. I'm dying to get these things put back together and into the living room system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 Finally got a chance to get in the shop and do a bit of work tonight... Dust Caps are in: And on: And new caps are installed: So, realistically, all that is left is to paint the mounting screws a nice deep dark black and hopefully, tomorrow night I should be enjoying some new(er) AR17's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2019 And while I'm at it, taking a quick moment over a glass of wine to reflect on how far these woofers have come (warning, big pictures...) Before Done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 And done! They sound incredible! I am totally in love with them. Thanks to everyone for their help and advice on this project. So. What should I get next??? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted January 26, 2019 Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 Congrats and condolences. You’re hooked! 2ax, 3a, 10pi, 5.... Many many choices! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 26, 2019 Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 On 1/24/2019 at 10:44 PM, fury161 said: And new caps are installed: Your pic certainly looks like the original cap - - - did you post the correct pic here? On 1/24/2019 at 10:44 PM, fury161 said: ...to paint the mounting screws a nice deep dark black... nice touch.....looks good. Even with the offset tweeter in the AR-17, perhaps a shallow grille frame (and new fabric) might might make for a great-looking grille cover. Shown is an AR-25 project in progress (not mine). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fury161 Posted January 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2019 Ha ha. Yeah, they look pretty similar to the original ones but they're new and sound great. Thanks for everything. If I don't find the original foam grilles, that's pretty much what I plan to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted January 27, 2019 Report Share Posted January 27, 2019 Sorry this is totally useless at this point but not only did I "have" some 17s, I wrote up the restoration: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?/topic/7904-ar-17/&tab=comments#comment-97823 and I found pics on my computer of the original woofers AND specs. Original woofers are AR part # 120001-1. Tweeters are 1200014-3 and the same as used in AR-7x, AR-18. And, fury161, I was also wrong about the eggcrate foam grilles. Re-reading that earlier thread I see that Roy had informed me the eggcrates were NOT original. Should have known. If they were original they'd be all crumbly by now. Sorry to be so late and un-helpful. -Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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