Need Help Identifying Strange Vintage Speakers...

[Sebastien]

See if it will burn or melt under high heat. If it burns, cotton or wool. If it melts with a blow torch, fiberglass. If it sits there and laughs at whatever heat you throw at it, could be Chrysotile. If you want to know for sure without trying to melt it, send it to an accredited lab which can identify asbestos.

I don't really want to handle it now, can't it be identified in photos?

This is chrysotile below and it looks to have straight sections and a range of density

 

[mccalljd]

It's appearance would depend on how it was processed. You can't really tell by just looking at it. It won't hurt you so long as you don't breathe the fibers or swallow them. Wet down a small section, pull a bit of it off and let it dry. Take it outside and test to see if it burns. Other than than that, lab testing would confirm it.

 

[mccalljd]

If I had to guess, I would say it likely is angel hair fiberglass, but there really is no way to tell for sure without running some tests.

 

[Connor G]

Make sure it's not Chrysotile asbestos used for the damping .

It’s not asbestos. Looks nothing like chrysotile. The insulation used looks like either cotton or whool. It doesn’t even look like fiberglass to me.

 

[mccalljd]

Looks too straight to be cotton or wool. Again, it depends on how the chrysotile is processed as to how it looks, but this has more the appearance of angel hair fiberglass, like they used to employ in aquarium filters.

 

[Connor G]

Looks too straight to be cotton or wool. Again, it depends on how the chrysotile is processed as to how it looks, but this has more the appearance of angel hair fiberglass, like they used to employ in aquarium filters.

I work with asbestos every day that I go to work.
Asbestos can’t look like this, even if someone tried to replicate it.

There’s a possibility that it’s spun fiberglass like
you said.

 

[scoloheros]

I bet those sound pretty good and don't want a lot of wattage ....I've learned my lesson haha, wait, ..where is the "boohoo" smilie.

 

[toxcrusadr]

Eh, I very much doubt that's asbestos, it looks like glass wool to me. I don't think asbestos ever came in fibers THAT long and uniform. Although Chrysotile does make a white hairy fiber like that. But this is clearly glass wool. Google Images on both and see what you think.

 

[A400]

Part number on the crossover reads “ADF3000/8”
The only cross reference I can find is an ad off of google of a Philips branded crossover, model number “ADF3000/8.8”

I have seen Philips crossovers of a similar age use the same caps and the same style of inductors as your photo.

 

[Sebastien]

I bet those sound pretty good and don't want a lot of wattage ....I've learned my lesson haha, wait, ..where is the "boohoo" smilie.

They do sound great- i wish i was more focused on jazz because these speakers would really be a dream.

You're right they sound sweetest with around 8-10 watt peaks. Anything more and they go backwards a little - mind you that's probably my poor room acoustics becoming more noticeable too.

 

[Sebastien]

Eh, I very much doubt that's asbestos, it looks like glass wool to me. I don't think asbestos ever came in fibers THAT long and uniform. Although Chrysotile does make a white hairy fiber like that. But this is clearly glass wool. Google Images on both and see what you think.

After cruising the web yesterday morning and revisiting it i'd say its sheeps wool. I burnt some yesterday with a lighter.

Like you guys said chrysotile has shorter fibres, and inconsistent in strand width compared to this stuff.

It's still a good subject to cover for all of us dabbling with old hifi though.

 

[toxcrusadr]

I bet burning wool smelled delightful.

 

[mccalljd]

I work with asbestos every day that I go to work.
Asbestos can’t look like this, even if someone tried to replicate it. View attachment 1130576

There’s a possibility that it’s spun fiberglass like
you said.

I have no doubt that if you are in the abatement business, you see asbestos in its finished form quite frequently. However, chrysotile can have some very long fibers which is why it can be made into cloth. See the pic of some chrysotile in raw form below. I too, doubt that this is asbestos, but 16 years as an industrial hygienist and 6 years as a licensed asbestos inspector have shown me you can't always rely on sight, let alone a picture to identify asbestos, chemicals or mold. At some point you will get a surprise you weren't expecting The only way to be 100% certain is by lab analysis. That being said, the OP could carefully remove the exisitng damping outside, put it in a bag and dispose of it, with very little risk.

 

[toxcrusadr]

A wool like that would be a relatively unusual use of asbestos, even though that pic looks like it COULD be. The idea that a DIYer could find a bag of it at the hardware or sewing store at any time in history just seems unlikely. Besides the OP said it burned with a lighter so it's not asbestos.

 

[mccalljd]

A wool like that would be a relatively unusual use of asbestos, even though that pic looks like it COULD be. The idea that a DIYer could find a bag of it at the hardware or sewing store at any time in history just seems unlikely. Besides the OP said it burned with a lighter so it's not asbestos.

I missed his post where he followed my advice to see if it would burn. Problem solved for him. We still see asbestos containing products imported into the US unfortunately. My concern was that since he didn't know who made it that it might have been some foreign knockoff from the 70s in a country where asbestos was used in many different things. Glad to know it's not.