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Let's see some really BAD projects.......

Kamakiri

Kamakiri

The New Dynamic
Thought this would be a good weekend thread :yes:

Do any of you have any projects that are so bad, that fixing the thing and making it useable again would be like turning a turd back into a cheeseburger?

(Don'cha just love the analogy? :lmao: )

Now I don't wanna see pics of things that are DONE, show me some pics of things that are as they are, the stuff that's so bad that willl make us all scratch out heads as to why you'd bother :D

I have quite a few to choose from around here :para:

I'll take some pics over the weekend, let's see yours!
 
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This one is strictly a mission of mercy. A pair of old Grundigs that just had that "save me cause I look kinda cool" thing going.:D
 
All right you asked for it

(sounds of Marky grabbing the camera and scurrying, rodentlike, to the depths of the basement...)
 
So, like most tales of disaster, this one started innocently enough. PartsExpress had a buyout on some SEAS (or maybe Vifa... one's mind can suppress truly traumatic memories) 5-1/4" FR, twincone drivers. They looked really cool, with shorting rings (something about controlling VC inductance and extending HF response), high-tech poly-something-or-other cones, and a "polymer basket" (yup, one word, Benjamin -- plastic).

They were cheap, so I got a pair and asked the collective wisdom at AA (oopsie) about optimal cabinets for the published T-S parameters. Someone suggested something, so I bought a sheet of plywood and went at it.

Well.

1) The plywood I bought must have been, like, grade FG instead of AC or so.
2) I owned no table saw, but I did own an ancient circular saw, a 4-ft level (straightedge) and some C-clamps.
3) I cannot cut a straight line with scissors

Bought some PVC pipe to make the port, but only learned too late that the OD of 2" (or whatever) PVC isn't 2". Wrong hole saw.

So, the four photos show the final result. The better one of the pair, in fact. (I bought the right size hole saw after what I did to the other one)!

I've provided front and back views, a good look at the port (underneath -- the idea was to put these on some kind of feet) and a good look at the corner detail. I am particularly proud of that.

Funnily enough they don't sound too bad at all.

OK, anyone willing to admit to topping this? :-)
 

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oops, I missed the whole point, didn't I?

well, it felt good to get that off my chest.

Time for another trip downstairs...
 
OK, here's what you're looking for, I think! My AR-3's. You can guess where I got 'em. The price was right. They sound great. They look really nasty. Really nasty.
 

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mhardy6647 said:
OK, here's what you're looking for, I think! My AR-3's. You can guess where I got 'em. The price was right. They sound great. They look really nasty. Really nasty.
Click to expand...


WOW! Put some grills on those things.:D And I thought my KLHs were ugly with the fronts off.:no:
 
First up (the first 2 pics) are 5 electrostatic motorolas in various states of completeness, from all those 5, I'm planning on making 2 complete sets. Next a 10" GE and a 12" Hallicrafters, electronically they just need the usual stuff, but both cabinets are really nasty. And finally my RCA 630TS, it's missing the top, glass, back, and crt, I got a few spare 10BP4s, don't know what I'm going to do about the top yet though. I actually sold, gave away, or junked alot of my crappier stuff in the past 6 months or so.
 
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My runner-ups are my DCM timewindows. I paid real money for this pair ($10). They work perfectly, so I wasn't ripped-off too badly. They're on loan to thedelihaus, who has offered (masochistically, I expect) to spruce 'em up while they're in his care.

timewindow.jpg
 
WOW! Put some grills on those things.
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Unfortunately, the cabinets look almost as bad as the fronts! They are in the queue for some sort of restoration... but it's a long queue.

EDIT: I think that Adam just may be winning.

So far...
 
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allot of stuff all broken ,were is my motivation?
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Why, this gear looks to have been crushed, under tremendous pressure... was it rescued from a deep-sea cargo container ship wreck, perhaps?

;-)
 
I tried fixing up this rust bucket. Surprisingly the motor and trans was ok but the body must have been 40% bondo.
oldstang.jpg
 
I'll be scurring around Casa Hanger later this wekend. I have lots of "why bother" projects. At least thats what my wife tell me.
 
mhardy6647 said:
attachment.php




Why, this gear looks to have been crushed, under tremendous pressure... was it rescued from a deep-sea cargo container ship wreck, perhaps?

;-)
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LOL What are all the little boxes? Looks like your rolling nuvistors or something.:D
 
jaymanaa said:
WOW! Put some grills on those things.:D And I thought my KLHs were ugly with the fronts off.:no:
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Jay, I can't tell how Mr. Hardy's 3's are very different from the way they came from the factory. Under the grills, that era AR's are the ugliest stock speakers hands down.
 
ozmoid said:
Jay, I can't tell how Mr. Hardy's 3's are very different from the way they came from the factory. Under the grills, that era AR's are the ugliest stock speakers hands down.
Click to expand...

Yep, those old East Coast speakers really needed the grilles on to cover up the mess underneath. I've seen similar on EPIs and KLHs too. The random black spray paint on the original EPI 100 Masonite tweeters was pretty cobby looking too.

But hey, these guys spent the money on making them SOUND good, not LOOK pretty underneath. Works for me!:thmbsp:
 
Andyman said:
But hey, these guys spent the money on making them SOUND good, not LOOK pretty underneath. Works for me!:thmbsp:
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Andyman, I've never gotten around to refinishing the cabs on my AR 2ax - when I get comments about the condition, I always say "I didn't buy 'em to LOOK at :D ."
 
Ok, you asked for it! I was planning on starting my own thread for this project, but you got me to get out the camera, so here goes:
Speakerman57 gave me this 4240 receiver with blown outputs. The original amps are crap, but the tuner is hot stuff and the preamp is good, so; Igor, hand me those prototype driver boards. "Yeth, marthter..." These are prototype driver boards that were designed by my friend, Andy Hefley, one of the past owners and designers of GAS. I got a transformer from a Marantz 2252 from another AK member, so I'll have + / 40V rails, and I have some nice Gold Tune Nichicon 10,000uF / 70V caps to put in. I have some MN2488 and MP1620 transistors that will fit on the old heatsinks. The plan is to turn a mediocre quad receiver into a very nice 2 channel receiver with some extra buttons that don't do anything. It doesn't have the decoder board, anyway. First I had to finish the driver boards because there were some parts missing. I got that done, now I have to put the thing together. But the project was put on hold due to an influx of repair jobs and an outflux of money. Gotta pay the bills!
The patient:
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The innards:
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The old driver board:
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The new driver boards:
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The new transformer:
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The new caps:
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Top this!
 
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