DavidDru Posted June 20, 2016 Report Share Posted June 20, 2016 I need to make some new side woofer grilles for my AR9's and need photos and measurements. Who can help? Will share the fabrication process as we go. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briodo Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I just finished a pair of AR90s that required all 4 frames fabricated and new cloth. I was less than impressed with my results than on other projects due to the challenge of getting the cloth to lay correctly. They look ok, but would like to learn more about correct method to do the cloth. The the drawing is based on the plastic side panel from the late model AR9 where they were using plastic instead of MDF for the panels. I made mine from plywood and it worked fine. The hole for the AR9 is actually 13" in diameter, I cheated and used a smaller measurement due to limitations of the hole cutting tools and the fact the AR90 has 10" drivers. However in the end, I used a jig saw freehand with a circle drawn on the plywood. I struggled with laying the cloth smoothly at the corners as you can see in the pic below. Grill covers do not work well with brute force methodology! The finished appearance hides the lumps, but I know they are there... The grill guides are from Parts Express, part number 260-367. They fit perfectly into the existing holes. Love to see pics and hear how others have succeeded in finishing the cloth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 briodo, Nice work, and great pictures! Thanks for sharing. Also, your 90s have an "AR90" grill badge. Is that stock? Just curious, as my 90s have just an "AR" badge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Very nice drawing & photos, briodo. I've found one image of an AR-9 panel from several years ago; the double-knit fabric was stretched tightly, and stapled around the perimeter of the panel. Excess material was then trimmed with an X-acto blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted June 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Good work briodo! Thanks for the info/dimensions too. For someone with the right tools, these are about as simple as it gets. There are a few good videos on youtube showing techniques for stretching and attaching grille fabric that I have got tips from for others. I think simply speakers even has some videos out there. A.R. - Is that an original grille? It appears to have a countersunk edge that the fabric sits in? Also, are the outer edges slightly beveled? I have tossed around the idea of changing the shape of them (the designer in me). When I sit in front of them and listen I try to imagine what other shape might look better. Angled or rounded top? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 Yes, that's an original panel, David. If I recall correctly, the recess was present to accommodate the plastic "chrome" trim that AR used with these panels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briodo Posted June 21, 2016 Report Share Posted June 21, 2016 I appreciate the feedback. The AR90 badges are the original ones that came with the speakers and are very similar to ones you will see on other 9 series. I bought the AR90s from a young guy here in Colorado Springs for $125 - 6 years ago and they were in poor condition. They required lots of work to repair water damage on the bottom of one, missing screens, and repairing a torn woofer. Lots of help from the forum got me on track though it took almost a year to complete the project. One badge was covered in candle wax, which had also dropped on the acoustic blanket. Came clean quickly once I knew what I was dealing with! AR_Pro - Impressed with photo where the cloth lays so smooth at the corners. I may have been using thicker material, but could never get it to lay flat, resulting in lumps at the corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted June 22, 2016 Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Hi there, My AR9 grill covers are slightly different, not too sure they are original but done rather nicely if not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted June 22, 2016 Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Those certainly appear to be original (excellent close-up photos), with the plastic/chrome trim in situ. I've never seen a replacement for that trim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted June 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 22, 2016 Yes very helpful, thanks. Don't know if I like the chrome trim piece enough to worry about replicating it. BTW, I compared the grill fabric material with the better stuff from Parts Express and the original black on the AR9's is a bit lighter weight and a finer mesh. Although, not enough to worry about if doing all grilles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted June 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Hold the presses!! The AR90 is smaller than the AR9 thus so are the grilles. Can someone with 9's please now provide the measurements of their side grilles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 David - although I've never actually measured the two, I believe the panels are the same size. On the AR-9 - with the front grille panel removed - the side panels do not extend beyond the face of the cabinet; on the AR-90, the side grilles extend beyond the cabinet's face, to the face of the front grille. In other words, on the AR-90 with the front grille removed, the side panels will stick out a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briodo Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 AR_Pro is spot on, the grills for both 90 and 9's are the same dimensions. The grills begin at the back of both systems, but the 9 terminates flush with the wood front of the speaker (no grill), while the 90 terminates flush with the front with grill in place. Although some may complain about the grill layout on these two systems being somewhat awkward, it impressed me they were able to design a single part to fit both systems despite dimension differences. Note that both systems have a front grill with beveled edge at the bottom. The bevel angle works perfectly with both 9 and 90 side grills and their 45 deg cut. Hard to describe, but if you google images for both 9 and 90 you see how those side grills terminate slightly different at the front. See pic below at earlier post from my repair thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted June 24, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 Okay, great. Thanks for the quick clarification guys. I looked up photos and could not quite tell. Now, one last verification. The dimension of the round cut-out. That drawing in the other thread shows 12.5". Above you said 13" for the 9's and you did 12" for the 90's. Also, I am assuming the cut-out is centered. ? (The dimensions on the drawing from the other thread don't add up to 15" so I want to make sure) How wide does it look like the countersunk edge is? 1/2"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted June 24, 2016 Report Share Posted June 24, 2016 I will get some measurements this evening when I get home if it is not too late . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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