JKent Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 I believe it's common softwood plywood--most likely pine or fir. Those are the "utility" cabinets, not the "unfinished Ponderosa pine" or birch.Roy has pointed out that the unfinished "utility" cabinets are fetching relatively high prices. So... You could finish them with a clear matte finish such as a flat polyurethane.Another option would be to seal them with poly or shellac, then apply whatever color paint you like over that. The idea is to seal the wood so the next owner can easily restore them to the unfinished plywood.One caution: Do NOT be tempted to apply stain to the plywood. The result will look like crap (if you search the forum you'll find examples). Want to get fancy? Veneer them with an exotic real wood veneer.Just my 2 cents....Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 These are definitely the pine cabinets, which would have come unfinished (no protection). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 I think I will go the polyurethane way otherwise I wouldn't have striped the white paint off in the first place.It will take me some time to remove the remaining paint from between the grains.One thing I am curious about is that the woofers are very light as if there isn't a magnet attached to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Nice job with the process of paint removal - - - not long ago I experienced much the same procedure, albeit with smaller 4x cabinets, so I can appreciate how much work is involved. Your cabs are definitely the unfinished pine (nice ones, too! ), which I believe was the only "utility" option offered as a stock finish. Totally agree that it would be a shame to strip and then re-paint the cabinets, so if you do wish to apply a minimal protective clear finish, a very light coat of poly or shellac might be a good choice. Shellac is sometimes nice to work with because it can so easily be removed with an alcohol rub, but before you proceed with any finish, it is always advisable to try tests beforehand.I have thus far left my pine cabinets raw (no finish), but if/when I do select a finish, my primary objective will be to minimize the contrast of the wide grain patterns. That said, my first impulse may be to apply a light coat of matte spray lacquer, which sits "on" the wood, rather than the shellac or poly, which may tend to soak "into" the wood. With the more typical walnut cabinets, my intent is just the opposite - - I like the deeper look and feel of an oil-rubbed finish.I find your comment about the light weight of the woofer very interesting, and I couldn't agree more. Several years ago when I was restoring my 2ax's (same woofer as yours), I was also restoring another pair of similarly sized speakers from the 70's that employed a 10" woofer. The difference in the weight of the two woofers was astounding (see pic) - - - the AR woofer (left) weighed in at about 3 pounds, while woofer B (right), with a massive magnet, tipped the scale at nearly 8.5 pounds!Second pic shows re-foamed AR woofer with salvaged and re-used dust cap replaced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2015 I will be using the attached pic of the caps for the AR4.Any opinions?Solen 4ufalcap 72ufalcap 2x12uf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Any thoughts if these electrolytic caps will be ok? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_C Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 See also Kimmo's post #19 I used Alcaps for my rebuild and am completely satisfied. Having said that it is hard to know if anything else could have been better. I was able to get 2% tolerance for one of the values I needed and 5% tolerance for the other value needed. Falcon Acoustics check each batch and you can pay a few extra pennies for tighter tolerances than the nominal 10%. I considered that was worth it, if I was hoping to get many more years service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I really haven't done much since the last update.Cabinets still sitting there unfinished.Received the new caps but haven't got time to replace them yet.Still waiting for the surrounds to arrive from the Netherlands.Sometimes I wonder how come it takes over a week for something to come from Europe into UK, but at the same time, 3-4 days coming all the way from the far east !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Blame the Euro?Maybe those of us in north America have it easy on shipping. My wife shipped a tube for me from her office yesterday afternoon for $5.99 via UPS and it will be across the country and delivered today. Includes tracking etc.Sometime cabinets can be difficult to complete, especially in winter.Here is a photo of by white Heresy's for reference. They look pretty good on the black stands. I have a mid century modern vibe going on so the white works well enough. The Heresy's are the decorator series which is birch. When I purchased them the were already painted so i do not know what the birch would have looked like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iso Posted January 14, 2015 Report Share Posted January 14, 2015 Blame the Euro?Trouble is not the currency. Different shipping companies do have different ways to handle cargo.Sometimes you can see from tracking information that it will take 24 hours for parcel to travel first 10000 km and it will take 36 hours to clear the last 200 km. It is also difficult to understand how shipping of 10 kg parcel from Belgium to Finland can cost 80E if same parcel can be delivered from UK for 30E... even Belgium is closer to Finland. Fortunately days when it took 90 days for UPS boat mail parcels to arrive here are gone now...Nice looking Heresy´s... how they compares to your AR´s. I have also 2 "horn loaded speakers"... Tannoy LRM´s and Altec 604E´s. Tannoy´s are very close to mint condition and I like them. I have´t decided yet what kind of cabs I will build for Altecs.... but I fear that they will not be too easy to move.Best RegardsKimmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Just managed to refoam one of the woofers.The cone material is very, very soft.Hopefully get the other one done this evening and then get the caps replaced and test, hopefully all by this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Trouble is not the currency. Different shipping companies do have different ways to handle cargo.Sometimes you can see from tracking information that it will take 24 hours for parcel to travel first 10000 km and it will take 36 hours to clear the last 200 km. It is also difficult to understand how shipping of 10 kg parcel from Belgium to Finland can cost 80E if same parcel can be delivered from UK for 30E... even Belgium is closer to Finland. Fortunately days when it took 90 days for UPS boat mail parcels to arrive here are gone now...Nice looking Heresy´s... how they compares to your AR´s. I have also 2 "horn loaded speakers"... Tannoy LRM´s and Altec 604E´s. Tannoy´s are very close to mint condition and I like them. I have´t decided yet what kind of cabs I will build for Altecs.... but I fear that they will not be too easy to move.Best RegardsKimmo They sound very good depending on the type of music. I have a sub in use with them as well to capture a little bit of the bottom end that these don't seem to have. Horns are fairly new to me so I am just gaining an understanding of what they do and what they do well or not. The AR's will be on the Solid State gear once I put them back together again. Meanwhile these Heresy's and some Altec Valencia B's reside with tubes.David, looking forward to the final. Thats the most colorful refoam job I have ever seen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted January 15, 2015 Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Thats the most colorful refoam job I have ever seen!You threw down the gauntlet so I had to post this pic :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I figured you for sure would be using some vintage hardwood pins, maybe even teak! You continue to surprise me.Actually I have looked for good old wooden pins and they are not easy to find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 I don't think I can compete with that colourful displays of pegs !Now, some updates on the 'reclaim'.Woofers refoamed and the caps replaced.Put a coat of satin black paint on the baffle and haven't decided yet what finish I want.So far not connected up yet.Just a few pictures of the progress.Best regards,David. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 One more pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted January 17, 2015 Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Your progress is looking really good on the AR-5's, and it looks like you've got a fine collection of AR's lurking in the backround. Just guessing here, but it looks like maybe you've got some AR-18's and some 11's or 12's, as well as some tall profiles - - - maybe 92's and 90's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2015 Just tested the AR5 and luckily all drivers are working.But I have noticed that they are really difficult to drive.I have to turn the volume way past my normal listening level to get something reasonable.Any ideas if there could be something wrong here?Some of the speakers in the background are indeed AR18s, AR14, AR925, AR93Q, AR94s, M5 and hidden away are the AR3a and AR6.The tall boys are the original AR9 and Limited Model 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iso Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 If everything is connected and phased correctly and cabs are leak free... is it possible that woofer magnets have got demagnetized?Best RegardsKimmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted January 18, 2015 Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 Turning up the volume is the nature of these beasts. Every pair I have had, they require more strength to push them than the other speakers I own. Roy has the explanation for the reason so it is not something wrong with speakers. Just their nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2015 With the light basket/magnet, I am not too sure how strong the magnets should be.But funny things happened last night. After the initial 30 minutes of listening, the whole thing seems to have opened up. Not too sure why. Maybe I have got used to them. But 30 minutes ?????Ok, they may not be as efficient as others, but as lakecat has pointed out, turning the volume up seems to have done the trick.They do sound very good.I will have to listen to them a bit longer and let the new caps run-in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 I will have to listen to them a bit longer and let the new caps run-in.What do you mean by that? "let the caps run in" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted January 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 As far as I understand it, it is like running in a new engine to make it smoother !I know others here will have a better explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iso Posted January 19, 2015 Report Share Posted January 19, 2015 I suppose something is happening in electrolytic´s when voltage is applied across them. Week ago we compared H/K Citation 11 and 17 pre amps with Citation 12 power amp to Quad 34/405 set. Quad set sounded quite dull compared to Citations this evening... however next day Quad set was considerably more detailed. I have rebuilt all these amps with fresh electrolytic´s recently... but Quad set was not used since last summer... so I suppose caps formed during first hours of operation and consequently performed better next day. Re demagnetization... alnico magnets loose their magnetization faster than ceramics even in normal use. Over diving speaker or bump to magnet can demagnetize alnico even faster. It seems that quite often Altec 604 magnets are first demagnetized and remagnetized for optimum performance during rebuild of drive unit... I do not know how necessary this operation is... maybe Carl, Roy or Tom have better understanding for this issue?Best RegardsKimmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted January 20, 2015 Report Share Posted January 20, 2015 New caps do need to form, or if old reform. Thats what I understand anyway. Even the tech guy I use asked me if I was first forming the new caps I was installing in the speaker rebuilds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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