Curbed Rectilinear - Now what ...

[drbiggles]

Hmm. Well, I stuck live wires down in to the crossover to bypass the pot and the midrange worked fine. I ran the midrange pot back and forth repeatedly. And the entire speaker came to life, even the midrange. So, for this speaker I'm calling it done!
The midrange is held in with caulk only, am in the process of getting all the edges clean and will be reinstalling here in a few. Button that sucker up and move on to the other one. And since it seemed to have failed in the same way, I'm going to just "work" the midrange pot and see of that brings everything back too.
xo, Biggles

Nope, the midrange driver in the other speaker has a loose wire going from the paper portion of the speaker to the back of the speaker's terminal. I didn't check this connection on the other speaker, sigh. So, when the caulk cures a bit more I'll put it back together and burn it in for a bit to see if that's the case with both.

xo, Biggles

 

[drbiggles]

Alrighty then, and there we are. It took maybe 2 hours, but I'm back home with a repaired midrange speaker! My ex-boss was able to get the loose wire soldiered back on and it has continuity. It's time for a nap.

Biggles

 

[kirk57]

Nope, the midrange driver in the other speaker has a loose wire going from the paper portion of the speaker to the back of the speaker's terminal. I didn't check this connection on the other speaker, sigh. So, when the caulk cures a bit more I'll put it back together and burn it in for a bit to see if that's the case with both.

xo, Biggles

sounds like you describing a loose tinsel wire. if that's the case you can probably solder it back in place

 

[onwardjames]

Tell me you have new caps on order...cause I can't wait to hear a full report after they are back together and done.

 

[drbiggles]

Tell me you have new caps on order...cause I can't wait to hear a full report after they are back together and done.

Well, yeah. No money at the moment, so no caps. But that's okay, I can always take care of that later. I got the midrange speaker repaired and am soaking portions of the enclosures in the CPES today. Am planning on being able to get all the drivers back in and the enclosures ready for staining by the weekend. Maybe the first application of stain on by Sunday afternoon?

This should be a decent pair of daily drivers that I can work on, upgrade over the coming weeks as money permits. Am already trolling CL looking for other Rectilinears that will need to be added to my new "collection", some day.

Biggles

 

[onwardjames]

while all the drivers are out would be a great time to flat black the front wall, and stain as well. Simply a suggestion. Helluva turn around on those.

 

[drbiggles]

while all the drivers are out would be a great time to flat black the front wall, and stain as well. Simply a suggestion. Helluva turn around on those.

Well, the tweeters are still in there, but I'm right with you. I've been thinking maybe I don't want a flat, maybe more of a semi-gloss? The flat may get a little dusty looking and if abraded might be a little more obvious. The semi could very well give a little deeper black.

Then I kinda thought maybe a JBL blue? Being original is good, but these really could go anyway I want, as long as it's tasteful. JBL blue?

And while we're talking about such things, I also really should soak the backs in CPES a few times, then paint with the black. They're funky too.

Biggles

 

[onwardjames]

Semi-gloss might be better.

JBL blue...hmmm.....I think I may agree. Could turn out real tasty.

 

[drbiggles]

Semi-gloss might be better.

JBL blue...hmmm.....I think I may agree. Could turn out real tasty.

That it could. I'll sit with it for a few days and see. On the other hand, you can't go wrong with black. So, we'll see.

Biggles

 

[BrocLuno]

CPES the backs too, inside and out. No point in having them start to disintegrate just when things are getting interesting ...

 

[drbiggles]

CPES the backs too, inside and out. No point in having them start to disintegrate just when things are getting interesting ...

Egads yes, they're even crumbling down at the speaker terminals. I've been mulling that exact point over for the last 3 hours or more and will start that tomorrow morning. I need to head out and get some disposable natural bristle brushes, I'm out! If I can get those saturated tomorrow, paint on Saturday for sure. I'll also get the second and last midrange driver in tomorrow as well. Depending on the stank coming from the wood around where the woofers go, they may go in as well.

I do have a question if anyone has some input. I would like to get some kind of bolt/nut configuration for the woofers. The wood screws may have been good enough 40 years ago, but they're on their way out today. Even with the epoxy repair, they could be better. I could do more with another 2 epoxy products, but it's getting tedious. I would rather have something in there that doesn't aggravate the particle board. And I expect to be removing the drivers a few more times to rebuild the crossovers and anything else that might come along. I'll peruse the hardware section tomorrow while I'm grabbing some brushes.

Biggles

 

[kirk57]

I've never had to remove the woofers on mine; I just undo the screws and pull the entire baffle out...much easier to work inside the speaker that way.

 

[drbiggles]

I've never had to remove the woofers on mine; I just undo the screws and pull the entire baffle out...much easier to work inside the speaker that way.

Yeah but, you know what you're doing. And I'm learning, hopefully. And there were less screws around the woofer, so that got pulled. That's how that went.

Biggles

 

[Barncats]

Biggles, I like your approach to everything. Great project.

What about using tee nuts with the woofs? I know the particle board is soft, so the prongs of the tee nuts might be pretty "invasive" -- but on the other hand, then you have a solid flange on the rear surface of the baffle, and you can run bolts in from the front as many times as you want without fear of having anything come loose. And of course with the tee nuts you can really reef down on the connection, too. (Mebbe drill some little "pilot holes" for the prongs to go into so they don't stress the particle board quite so much as they would if you just rammed them in?)

Btw, I'm ancient enough that I can still vividly remember hearing some Rectilinear IIIs in a hifi shop in Hartford back around 1971. They sounded wonderful. I had Large Advents at the time and was not tempted to switch but liked the RIIIs a lot. Seems to me they garnered a fair amount of good press at the time?

 

[Wayniac]

Send me a PM with your mailing address, I'll send you some Deoxit.

 

[michiganpat]

I do have a question if anyone has some input. I would like to get some kind of bolt/nut configuration for the woofers. The wood screws may have been good enough 40 years ago, but they're on their way out today. Even with the epoxy repair, they could be better. I could do more with another 2 epoxy products, but it's getting tedious. I would rather have something in there that doesn't aggravate the particle board. And I expect to be removing the drivers a few more times to rebuild the crossovers and anything else that might come along. I'll peruse the hardware section tomorrow while I'm grabbing some brushes.

Biggles

glue blocks of wood on the backside of the baffle, and put T-nuts in them.

as far as the speaker back and baffle, another interesting look might be spray in bedliner or plasti-dip spray, available at most automotive parts stores....

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/bedArmorAerosol/

 

[drbiggles]

Biggles, I like your approach to everything. Great project.

What about using tee nuts with the woofs? I know the particle board is soft, so the prongs of the tee nuts might be pretty "invasive" -- but on the other hand, then you have a solid flange on the rear surface of the baffle, and you can run bolts in from the front as many times as you want without fear of having anything come loose. And of course with the tee nuts you can really reef down on the connection, too. (Mebbe drill some little "pilot holes" for the prongs to go into so they don't stress the particle board quite so much as they would if you just rammed them in?)

Btw, I'm ancient enough that I can still vividly remember hearing some Rectilinear IIIs in a hifi shop in Hartford back around 1971. They sounded wonderful. I had Large Advents at the time and was not tempted to switch but liked the RIIIs a lot. Seems to me they garnered a fair amount of good press at the time?

Hi Barn!

Hmmm, 1971? I remember it to some degree, I was in second grade. As far as good press goes, I've found quite a bit of old and recent reviews of the III's and it looks good. From what I've heard from my pair, I am impressed. And I really like the size of the enclosures too, something to really sink your teeth in to.
I just got back from Homely Depot, I was able get my cheap as %$#@ throw-away brushes, but nothing else. They're selection of hardware was disappointing and a real let down at best. Heck, they didn't even have the 5 gallon pail tool caddy !!!!!!!! Yeesh. So, the search continues.

glue blocks of wood on the backside of the baffle, and put T-nuts in them.

as far as the speaker back and baffle, another interesting look might be spray in bedliner or plasti-dip spray, available at most automotive parts stores....

http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

http://www.duplicolor.com/products/bedArmorAerosol/

Hi M Pat!

As I stated in my last post, Homely Depot had NOTHING for me. So, the search continues. Which is fine, I have another day before I can do anything with the woofers.

Thank you for the suggestions for coatings on the baffle and/or back of the speaker. I've got a personal aversion to the bedliner paint. 20 years ago my sister did her apartment kitchen in "trunk paint" and it looked atrocious. She liked it though, what with being somewhat "goth" at the time. But it left a lasting impression on me. Shudder! I like the plasticky dip idea though, we'll see how that goes.

Biggles

 

[Barncats]

Bigs,

You should be able to find tee nuts at any modest hardware store. Very surprised HD didn't have them. Aren;t they supposed to represent the Cult of Bigness and therefore they are supposed to have everything? Our little Aubuchon Hardware in a small NH town has 'em.

 

[drbiggles]

Bigs,

You should be able to find tee nuts at any modest hardware store. Very surprised HD didn't have them. Aren;t they supposed to represent the Cult of Bigness and therefore they are supposed to have everything? Our little Aubuchon Hardware in a small NH town has 'em.

I couldnt' even get a quart of black paint off the shelf, feh. We've got a really cool Ace Hardware down towards the harbor that has marine fittings, I thought I'd check there for any cool solutions. If not, there are quite a few other places that I can visit easily enough. I just figured I'd attempt a 1-stop situation and see if I could just take care of it all at once.

I just finished soaking the backs of both speakers with the CPES, am pretty excited. Even with that they look so much better. It's getting juicy and I can hardly wait! In a few hours I'll remount the midrange driver and tomorrow hook up both speakers for the first real test!

xo, Biggles

 

[drbiggles]

editor's note: Thank you all for letting me get this down. It's helping with uncluttering my mind's process of getting this all done properly enough.

Welp, it's Friday and I've been eating, breathing and dreaming Rectilinear restoration now for 7 days. And I have to say my psyche is a little wracked. Watering and pulling weeds in the garden helps.

I still have momentum and I still have progress. What is slowing me down a tad is the solvent evaporation rate on the CPES. I soaked them earlyish yesterday and they're still too stinky to apply wood filler that's required on some holes I found in the back of one speaker, too solventy to "permanently" replace the woofers and get the backs/risers painted black. I should have used the Cold Weather Formula, even in this warmer weather. I'm impatient and would like to move on.

Another thought I've been thinking over the last 2 days is that since I have all this work going on, I should really burn some cash I don't have and recap the crossovers. I really should do this.

Today I'm going to temporarily replace the woofers and test all the drivers in the speakers to make sure they're all functioning. They should be, they tested all good on their own, ahem.

Once that's complete, remove the baffles and finish up the sanding/removing of the final splatches of black spray paint on one speaker. Do a finishing sand over both enclosures, get them all nice enough. Vacuum the dust, and run over the veneer with a "prep-sol" lacquer thinner. You know, the good stuff? The cheap lacquer thinner on hardware store shelves has trace amounts of silicone oils, moisture and whatever else might impede the adhesion of stain/paint.

I'm getting closer!

xo, Biggles

ps - I'm feeling the need for a donut.