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KLH 32

revox-b77

revox-b77

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I found a nice KLH all-in-one stereo curbside so I figured I would give it a go. The speakers are first. I checked the drivers, ok; Recapped the originals with Dayton's; Replaced fiberglass with poly fill; Doped the surrounds with the Vintage AR sealer; Used Velcro to attach the cleaned grills; Watco clear over as much of the original finish as I could save.

The cabinets had lots of spots and runs of white paint on them. Most scraped off fairly easily, the rest sanded off ok with 220 grit. Below is the result after 4 coats of Watco. I will do one or two more coats with light sanding between. BTW picture was taken on a cloudy day so not looking as glossy as they are in person. Can't wait to give them a listen.

Sorry to be brief but I figured AK did not really need another KLH Restoration thread.


KLH 32.jpg
 
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Beautiful job. And AK can always stand another KLH restoration thread.

"All In One." What other gear was included?

GeeDeeEmm
 
The Model 32s are kind of under the radar as far as vintage KLH speakers go, but IMHO they are a very nice sounding speaker. I've had two pairs, both were recapped and resealed, and now reside with friends of mine.
 
I have the same speakers, and the grill cloths are discolored. How did you clean the grill cloth?

I also tried to use velcro as opposed to the "embedded pins" to hold the grills on - but the glued velcro kept falling off the fiberboard grill material - was thinking I should have sealed the fiberboard with paint or epoxy so that the velcro could be glued to the board...
 
Staples are fine - if your staple gun has enough power to embed them in the hdf panels generally used for thin speaker grill frames. I've abandoned the staples and now use something that never fails - contact cement!

Coat both surfaces to be bonded, allow the cement to dry, press the pieces together and - permanent bond. Just be sure to use genuine contact cement and not the hobby store type that allows pieces to be bonded and removed.

GeeDeeEmm
 
Gave two pair of 32's to a friend of mine. It's amazing how much stoke the little woofers have in these. They punch above their weight. One set had blown tweeters. Watch out because the tweeters are hard to find. I identified a set on the big auction site that looked right but didn't identify what speaker system they were for. I was lucky as they were the right ones. I let my buddy do most of the wood work on them. He ended up with the same mounting problem with velcro.
 
gdmoore28 said:
Staples are fine - if your staple gun has enough power to embed them in the hdf panels generally used for thin speaker grill frames. I've abandoned the staples and now use something that never fails - contact cement!

Coat both surfaces to be bonded, allow the cement to dry, press the pieces together and - permanent bond. Just be sure to use genuine contact cement and not the hobby store type that allows pieces to be bonded and removed.

GeeDeeEmm
Click to expand...

OK, did you do anything to seal the porous, fuzzy, inside surfaces of the grill fiberboard to hold the glued-on velcro pads?

I tried the glued-on velcro pads too, but - - they only stuck to the baffle board - came right off of the grill fiberboard when I removed the grills. Which is why I was thinking of "sealing" the fiberboard with multiple coats of varnish so the glued velcro would stick better to a less porous surface.
 
I use staples on grill board (good ol' Arrow T-50). But like altec noticed, 3/16" is hard to find,
so I use 1/4" and angle them slightly (on original board- replacements I make are 1/4").
 
alteclipsch said:
Where in the world are there 3/16" staples? Smallest I've seen is 1/4".
Click to expand...
They are more common with the "desktop" type stapler, so yes, you probably won't find them at Home Depot, but I've had success with them on fabric and board modifications.
1/4" is probably the shortest for typical staple guns.
 
When applying velcro you can also use a dab of hot glue, but also remember that most velcro packages I've seen says it takes 24 hours for the glue to set, so once installed, leave it alone, nothing to look at most times behind the grilles anyway!

I do have a set of 32s in the stable as well!
 
Nice work on the 32's. I refinished mine with tung oil. Accentuated the wood grain nicely. I enjoy them very much. Matter of fact... got 'em from CT Jim about a year ago at Frankenfest.
 
nfafan said:
OK, did you do anything to seal the porous, fuzzy, inside surfaces of the grill fiberboard to hold the glued-on velcro pads?

I tried the glued-on velcro pads too, but - - they only stuck to the baffle board - came right off of the grill fiberboard when I removed the grills. Which is why I was thinking of "sealing" the fiberboard with multiple coats of varnish so the glued velcro would stick better to a less porous surface.
Click to expand...

Sealing the baffle board fibers won't hurt anything, but is not necessary with contact cement, as the cement will actually soak into the fibers and make them part of the bonding surface. If you are unsure that the first coat of cement has not adequately filled the area, just brush on a second coat after the first one dries.

The key to making contact cement work permanently, though, is allowing it to dry before bonding two surfaces together. If the cement on either of the pieces to be bonded is not completely dry to the touch, they will not bond. But if you follow the process, they will bond like crazy and never let go.

GeeDeeEmm

PS - There is another product that has proven quite good for this, too - 3M Super Black Silicone Gasket Maker. Forget all that you know about silicone adhesives. This stuff grips like crazy. But be careful, this stuff is messy and almost impossible to remove from your hands. With Super Black, all you do is apply it, stick it, and allow it to dry for several hours. Permanent bond. I use it as a last resort simply because it is so messy.
 
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