Manhattanman Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Just found a pair of AR3a speakers in the rainy trash this morning. They're drying in my hallway, now. When I first saw them I thought they were homemade because I'd never seen quality cabinet veneers made from pine. Then, after reading the cabinet page on this site, I realized they were factory made. Apparently, they've never had finish or vinyl of any type. They are described here as "unfinished pine plywood utility cabinets". My questions follow: Did AR intend that these cabinets remain unfinished. If so, why? Can they at least be oiled with something without interfering with cosmetic integrity? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 3a's in the trash. Don't forget to play the lottery today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liangshan Marsh Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 I had collected several PIC of the minty ARa3 from google recently (unknown serial) . Here is couple PIC of the incredible minty AR3a unfinished pine. FYI I had saw a pair of AR3a unfinished pine sold for $900 over a month ago, in Craigslist Wichita, KS near Kansas City... . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Manhattanman, nice score. They were sold like this so end user could finish (often paint) to their liking to match décor. That being said to find unfinished "unfinished" pine cabs is a bonus at this late date some 40ish years later! Hopefully the rain and time have not destroyed the cabs integrity, pics will be helpful. Drivers if original are keepers for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhattanman Posted May 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Thanks, Liangshan: Yeah, that's them. Great pics. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhattanman Posted May 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Thanks, Stupidhead: I haven't even taken off the grill cloth yet. The mitered corner joints are starting to very, very slightly separate, but nothing serious. I like plywood better than particle board, anyway. I'll post pics later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liangshan Marsh Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Manhattanman! Is any back side paper still intact , any serial number recognized ...? TKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Hoo boy, that sounds like some excellent trash-pickin'. Congrats. The solid wood front nosing is normally birch, not pine, so that when situated on bookshelves, the unfinished pine is sometimes not even in view. It is a somewhat uncommon finish, and it often looks great, and if the cabinets are in decent condition, you may wish to restore these with very minimal finish, if any at all. The same finish was offered on the earlier AR-3's as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xmas111 Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 What an awesome find! Like samberger said.......you should play the lottery today! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Amazing....I often wonder how many AR's get tossed because of age....and people thinking they are trashed. I have saved around five sets now. Great find and hope they are worth saving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 I have 5's and 6's in unfinished pine. I built up a clear shellac finish on them to prevent any further deterioration of the wood. Also have an orphan 4x in pine but it has been modded. Nice find and at that price you can afford to spend some money on restoration. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted May 7, 2016 Report Share Posted May 7, 2016 Home run. A frozen rope into the seats; don't touch it before it cools off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 On 5/7/2016 at 2:08 PM, ra.ra said: Hoo boy, that sounds like some excellent trash-pickin'. Congrats. The solid wood front nosing is normally birch, not pine, so that when situated on bookshelves, the unfinished pine is sometimes not even in view. It is a somewhat uncommon finish, and it often looks great, and if the cabinets are in decent condition, you may wish to restore these with very minimal finish, if any at all. The same finish was offered on the earlier AR-3's as well. Without exception, the front moldings on all of the utility cabinets were always birch. Solid-stock pine was never used for this purpose. Birch is not an expensive wood, and it matches the pine color very closely. All utility cabinets were fabricated from plywood rather than MDF or NovaPly panels, as the finish is already in place. Plywood, on the other hand, doesn't hold veneer as well as MDF-type wood panels, so manufacturers got away from using plywood on veneered cabinets. --Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 Manhattanman, congrats on the find. Hopefully their age was the only reason the owner tossed them. Before you proceed too quickly with those, read teh AR3a restoration manual provided here on this web site. It will provide you with all the insight you might ever need, Follow that up with questions and of course there ar eplenty of past threads on these beauties. Even removing the grilles is not easy and worth being carefull. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 9, 2016 Report Share Posted May 9, 2016 13 hours ago, tysontom said: Without exception, the front moldings on all of the utility cabinets were always birch. Solid-stock pine was never used for this purpose. Birch is not an expensive wood, and it matches the pine color very closely. All utility cabinets were fabricated from plywood rather than MDF or NovaPly panels, as the finish is already in place. Plywood, on the other hand, doesn't hold veneer as well as MDF-type wood panels, so manufacturers got away from using plywood on veneered cabinets. --Tom Tyson AR never used furniture grade plywood like this unfortunately: Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 8 hours ago, owlsplace said: AR never used furniture grade plywood like this unfortunately: Roger Why would they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 2 hours ago, tysontom said: Why would they? Tom, Rhetorical, I guess ... they wouldn't have even if it was available as it would have cost more than the veneer. I think I would be using it if I was doing my own cabinets though. Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 oop! double post ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 11 hours ago, owlsplace said: Tom, Rhetorical, I guess ... they wouldn't have even if it was available as it would have cost more than the veneer. I think I would be using it if I was doing my own cabinets though. Roger KLH used some marine plywood for their early cabinets, but it was expensive, heavier and served no real purpose, and the company soon moved to MDF-type panels for veneered cabinets. It was part of the "trial-and-error" period at KLH in the late 1950s. Marine plywood is typically 9-13 ply and is stronger than cabinet plywood, but it's not necessary for speaker cabinets. --Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhattanman Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 Sorry about not responding to everyone's posts earlier, but I was locked out of my account Saturday afternoon. I emailed the moderator/admin 4 times and got no response. Eventually, I tried resetting my password, so for now at least, I'm back in. I'll post pics later. They definitely need new foam surrounds. Both look to have original drivers. As near as I can tell from the driver photos shown on the 3a restoration page, these speakers were manufactured in 1974. And no, Liangshan, the back paper's gone. Staple marks are evident and backs are painted black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manhattanman Posted May 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 I'm still having to reset my password if I want to log in. Can someone who has personal contact information with the moderators please let them know about my predicament? I get no response when emailing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted May 10, 2016 Report Share Posted May 10, 2016 On 9 maggio 2016 at 5:19 AM, tysontom said: Without exception, the front moldings on all of the utility cabinets were always birch. Solid-stock pine was never used for this purpose. Birch is not an expensive wood, and it matches the pine color very closely. All utility cabinets were fabricated from plywood rather than MDF or NovaPly panels, as the finish is already in place. Plywood, on the other hand, doesn't hold veneer as well as MDF-type wood panels, so manufacturers got away from using plywood on veneered cabinets. --Tom Tyson My AR 3's second pair are surely built with plywood , unknown finish , maybe unfinished pine or birch. The rear side of my first pair , oiled walnut, is surely plywood . It seems plywood-made AR 3 are slightly lighter than my AR 3a, built with MDF panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Manhattanman sorry you are having issues. Scroll to top of this page and click on staff tab and send a message to Carl outlining your issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liangshan Marsh Posted May 11, 2016 Report Share Posted May 11, 2016 Here is an other example unfinished pine of the Pristine set AR 4x, had listed in MO State Critlist for $225 (bought $300 shipped, on the way shipping to my house ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted May 12, 2016 Report Share Posted May 12, 2016 Wow, those look to be in stellar condition. No poor finish job done on the unfinished wood. And the rear stickers too look solid. If there was ever an unmolested example... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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