So I picked up these early DCM Time Windows a couple of months ago. In pretty good shape for probably mid 1970's, but I always seem to need to have a project to work on. All of the drivers work, the walnut tops need to be refinished and even though my research indicate these are a pita to get into to work on them, I decided to go for it. Hopefully this thread will be useful to others to keep these vintage speakers working.
Not knowing how the walnut end caps were attached, I decided to use a piece of scrap wood ( it was cherry, but I am sure it doesn't matter) and a hammer to tap on the top end cap to see what would happen. Success!. There were 3 wood screws and 5 or 6 long staples securing it to the 1" particle board.
Next task was to try to remove one of the 6" drivers. I used a putty knife to carefully remove any of the black goo from around the screw holes and then with the assistance of a hammer I worked the putty knife around the entire driver. I then carefully bent the edges inward so I could gran them with a pair of needle nose pliers.Using a heat gun, I heated up the edge of the driver and then tried pulling on it with the pliers. It started to come up. I continued to work at it until I could get a screw driver under it and continue to work it out. Pretty happy and ready to keep going.
Next task was to figure out how I was going to remove the particle board top. I noticed that there were a couple of places where there was a small gap between the top and the sides. I used an old fillet knife to widen the gap until I could get a hack saw blade in there and began sawing through the glue and staples. Tedious and it was hard to not bend the blade all up. Decided to try a jig saw and it worked great. I just took my time and was rewarded with the removal of the top. Woohoo!!
On a roll. I decided to try a tweeter. Heat gun and a small screw driver worked. Got both out. My intentions are to clean everything up and when I put them back in I will use Armacell foam and wood screws.
I removed the crossover mounting board by prying it of the particle board top with a putty knife and a mini pry bar. The masonite board is pretty messed up from the removal, but that is ok as I will make new ones. I ordered new caps and resistors today to rebuild them, as in my humble opinion 40 plus year old caps are way beyond their useful life. Not going boutique components, but anything will be an upgrade. While I am at it I am going to replace/upgrade the binding posts and the internal cabinet wiring. Hard to believe that lack of quality in this build from back in the day. In the late 70's I really wanted to buy a pair of Time Windows but could not afford them. I believe at the time they were going for $800?? I ended up buying a pair of Polk Monitor 10's for around $400 on sale. I still have the 10's (amongst quite a few other Polks) but now I want to breath new life into these Time Windows. Will continue to add to this thread as I progress in the overhaul
Not knowing how the walnut end caps were attached, I decided to use a piece of scrap wood ( it was cherry, but I am sure it doesn't matter) and a hammer to tap on the top end cap to see what would happen. Success!. There were 3 wood screws and 5 or 6 long staples securing it to the 1" particle board.
Next task was to try to remove one of the 6" drivers. I used a putty knife to carefully remove any of the black goo from around the screw holes and then with the assistance of a hammer I worked the putty knife around the entire driver. I then carefully bent the edges inward so I could gran them with a pair of needle nose pliers.Using a heat gun, I heated up the edge of the driver and then tried pulling on it with the pliers. It started to come up. I continued to work at it until I could get a screw driver under it and continue to work it out. Pretty happy and ready to keep going.
Next task was to figure out how I was going to remove the particle board top. I noticed that there were a couple of places where there was a small gap between the top and the sides. I used an old fillet knife to widen the gap until I could get a hack saw blade in there and began sawing through the glue and staples. Tedious and it was hard to not bend the blade all up. Decided to try a jig saw and it worked great. I just took my time and was rewarded with the removal of the top. Woohoo!!
On a roll. I decided to try a tweeter. Heat gun and a small screw driver worked. Got both out. My intentions are to clean everything up and when I put them back in I will use Armacell foam and wood screws.
I removed the crossover mounting board by prying it of the particle board top with a putty knife and a mini pry bar. The masonite board is pretty messed up from the removal, but that is ok as I will make new ones. I ordered new caps and resistors today to rebuild them, as in my humble opinion 40 plus year old caps are way beyond their useful life. Not going boutique components, but anything will be an upgrade. While I am at it I am going to replace/upgrade the binding posts and the internal cabinet wiring. Hard to believe that lack of quality in this build from back in the day. In the late 70's I really wanted to buy a pair of Time Windows but could not afford them. I believe at the time they were going for $800?? I ended up buying a pair of Polk Monitor 10's for around $400 on sale. I still have the 10's (amongst quite a few other Polks) but now I want to breath new life into these Time Windows. Will continue to add to this thread as I progress in the overhaul
