texican58

Just found out the right product to use. Auto-Parts store - regular bondo (gray paste and hardener). This stuff will adhere to wood just fine, is spreadable and shape-able, and can be worked. I'll be removing that crappy wood filler (where possible) tonight and using the bondo stuff. Since I have mucho experience using auto-body bondo, I'm very comfortable with working w/ this stuff. I can only offer that if you can avoid wood filler (minwax, Elmer's, etc.) do so. Bondo is the way to go! mitch

---------------- On 3/9/2005 9:26:51 AM colterphoto1 wrote: Mitch, good progress buddy. I agree with using the 3/16, as it's a little more stout and less prone to break when cutting the many port openings. What wood filler did you use? Looks a little lumpy and overfilled which leads to lots of sanding and possibly knocking your fillings loose. I do like the ledger board you clamped in place to aid in rebuilding the edges- good thinking. Do you have your veneer yet? Which approach will you take, the pre-backed or the double-glue and iron? I personally like the idea of the iron-on, since that's the edge approach in most cases anyway. I think this is a very interesting topic for many of us since it seems that so many people are currently in process with refinishing projects or will do so when weather improves. Keep us up to date with progress. Sorry the last deal fell through, but good college try there! Michael ---------------- Michael, I don't have the veneer yet. I'll get it soon. Greg gave me some good tips on what/where to buy. I will be going w/ the double-glue, iron-on type (like he used). I also emailed him to find out what bondo/filler he used. This stuff I'm using is waaaay too lumpy. I can't spread it. I need something that gives me some 'working' time so that I can create sharp, hard corners. I can't remember the name of this stuff, but suffice it to say that I'm abandoning its use, and going with something else as soon as I can identify it. As far as the grilles go, I'm leaning towards stepping it up even more than 3/16" and going with some 1/4" that I already have. One 4'x 8' sheet will do 3 grilles easily and I'm considering changing this speaker to a vertical. When it comes to selling a single, refurbished Cornwall, I think I'd have better luck selling a Vertical CW, vs a single Horizontal. Plenty of people would like to have a Vertical CW for their HT theater to complement existing CWs, LSs, or Horns. I'm not quite to that point yet, but I have all the equipment and material to do so when I make the desicion. Thanks for your input. Meanwhile, did you see that the 'barn' Scalas went for $475 to a one-time ebayer? She might have found a diamond in the rough...and then again a huge headache. later...Mitch

Blackmesa, The label on the can says bondo, but it also says wood filler. I'm having a hell of a time using this product and I'd love to find something that's smoother when applying and harder once dried. Any recommendations?

I used the 1/8" vs. the 3/16". I do believe that the 3/16" might be a good idea due to how thin & fragile the grilles can get in the bottom corners around the bass ports. consider also that there are numerous velcro strips applied at the bottom making for even more stressing of the Masonite in that area when grilles are pulled off. I don't have much $$ in them yet, so I may still go back and redo them w/ the 3/16" or even the 1/4" Masonite. I have the fabric (from Duracrest - #17) already cut out and ready to apply, but I'm waiting until I make the final decision on grille thickness. I'll take pix of the fabric tonight, but it is the same stuff that is on the conventional speakers. I can't tell the difference at all. Ralph's the guy at Dura Crest. I think they're in Melrose Park, IL. I don't have the phone number handy.

And Kevin Smith's 'perfect' Heresys currently in use as rears

A shot of my 78 CWs as fronts

Corners and edges are getting there.

A shot of the new Masonite grille molds that I made (painted flat black). I have no idea why these pix have those snowy flecks. I would imagine it has something to do with the flash capturing dust in the air....but, just a guess.

I used clamps and a piece of wood to work the bondo into a sharp edge

I applied plenty of wood filler. There's got to be something better than this stuff for shaping and filling wood.

Yes, Budman... I definitely considered it. I can't really say why I didn't go with a Vert other than the amount of work involved. However, the more I think about it, the easier it sounds. From what I've read, getting the old motorboard out and putting a new one in is easy! Another thing... It's not like I couldn't change my mind later and still do that. For the time being though, I think I'll at least get the veneering part done...and then make the decision on the conversion. Either way, the grill will still fit. After cutting out the new grills, the suggestion to go thicker is a valid argument. When you get into the area of the bass porting, the amount of Masonite is considerably more vulnerable to breaking. I have a sheet of the 3/16" inch Masonite if I choose to go that route. I would have to research the motorboard's configuration. Would the bass ports (3) be on one of the sides of the Vert, or would you change the motorboard and orientation of those ports to be on the bottom (long edge) respectively? I'll check the forum to see what others have done. Thanks for your input. Mitch

I'm making all-new Cornwall grills (3) w/ new Masonite (1/8"). Got the cloth from DuraCrest (2 yds = $35), got the glue (3M-777 $8.98), the paint (flat black $2.98), and Masonite from Lowes (4'x8' sheet = $5.99) for a total cost of $54. Not bad for 3 CW grilles. Got enough leftover to do another CW grill and then some. My leftover scrap was 16"x72" and 28"x36". Pix to follow tomorrow!

All sanded and ready for filler.

Chips along the edge of the birch...definitely fixable!

Lots of gouges, scratches, nicks.

The sides have some significant 'bumps' just from being knocked around. More filler!

I rounded the corners smooth. Next step is to 'square it up' w/ wood bondo.

Any input that any of you have on the steps to take from this point are appreciated. The objective is to prepare this cabinet for veneer. I want this center speaker to match the veneer on my other '78 Cornwalls. 1st Night: So far I've sanded the cabinet w/ both 120 and 220 sandpaper to prepare the cabinet for resin/woodfiller to fill in the gouges, deep scratches and corner chips. Note: most of the corners have been abused pretty bad, so I'll have to square them w/ filler also. How smooth do I have to have the cabinet prior to veneering? Do I have to have every scratch removed or will the veneer glue do some filling on its own? Watermarks all over the back.

Gentlemen, I'm doing the same thing that Colter's doing...by building a 3rd Cornwall for my center. However, I'm using a traditional CW vs. a Vertical. I still need the same components as Colter's (K33, K55, K77). I have the Type B crossover already built for me. I'd like to throw my hat in the ring for leftovers from Colter's project. Like him, I only need a single set of components. Meanwhile, I've attached the drawing of the Wall unit that's being built for me to house this HT system. Short of the Velodyne sub, my HT system will be exclusively "Heritage" very soon. NOTE: I've had all the openings sized to accomodate La Scalas, so when (not if) I can obtain a pair or even 3, they'll slide right into the unit. I also had this unit built so that if I move, I can take it with me...just like furniture.

I'm going through a similar scenario. Lots of help on this forum. If you look, you'll find exactly what you're looking for. Meanwhile, to help you along... The speaker grilles can be made of either heavy-duty cardboard, gator-board, or thin masonite. They are covered in fabric that I thought you could get from Klipsch, but if not, contact Dura Crest Fabrics (708)344-4900 (Ralph) and ask for #17 Black. If recreating from scratch, tape a piece of paper over the "motorboard"/front speakers board and trace the pattern of the grill and speaker openings. Cut out the pattern and transpose that onto the masonite Make your cutouts on the masonite. Glue or staple the new speaker cloth to the masonite. Affix velcro in the strategic spots and your new Heresy label/tags. You're done! There are more instructions within this section (Mods) for doing this. I haven't tried, but chances are you can still buy the grilles from Klipsch. Meanwhile, how do Runt's speakers sound. From what I can tell, the woofs are damaged. GOD knows what else those poor speakers have been through, but I bet they've seen some wild stuff. G'luck to ya! texican58 The remaining painstaking steps

The latest.... I was able to get another Cornwall cabinet from California (on its way) to round out the fronts and center. I have another forum member making me a crossover. I still need a K-33, K-55, and a K77. I'm currently using two A/D/S L980s as rears, but seriously considering adding two more Heresys for either a 7.1 or eliminating the 980s and using the Heresys as rears. If I go "all-Heritage" HT, I'll just use all Heritage in a 5.1 configuration w/ my Velodyne sub, but I am tempted to go 7.1 and use the 980's somewhere in this mix as well. Overall the HT systems is nice and will be nicer once the "wall unit" is completed, especially with my 3rd Cornwall as my center. Stay tuned and thanks for input. texican58

Thanks to all of you that replied/helped. I've already spoken w/ Eric (fellow-Texan) and he's got it all covered. I'm sure that once I have all the components (still looking for the K-33, K-55, and K-77), this project will be well worth the effort. I'll post the pix once this thing is complete. Thanks, all. texican58

I'm trying to find a Type B crossover schematic. I've searched the forum, found pics, links, etc., but I haven't been able to find the real deal schematic. Any of you have one or know where to direct me? I've emailed Klipsch - no response as of this post.

I know it's hard to put into words, Coytee, but you did an amazing job of grasping the concept COMPLETELY! That's exactly what I want except for the position of the speakers (I want to use my fronts(CWs) through my preamp and amp and let the HT A/V amp do the other stuff). This will take some serious diagramming and studying but I'm glad to hear that the idea has been kicked around a bit and can be made to work. thanks, texican58

Forum members, This may be obvious to many of you, but it's foreign to me. Any time I see systems that have multiple amps, either bridged/coupled/etc. together, I wonder why. The more I read the more it appears that some either like or need to drive their speakers with multiple sources (amps dedicated to subs, dedicated to bi-amping, etc.) I have (2) Cornwalls and (2) AR L980s. I'm adding a center and a sub soon. I recently bought a Yamaha VX2400 7.1 A/V receiver (plenty of power) and I already have a Hafler SE120 amp/preamp. (The CWs have better fidelity with the Hafler.) My worries originally were that they didn't perform/sound full until I really threw volume/power at them. I discussed this issue w/ multiple people and finally bought the Yamaha, thinking the issue was power (apparently not the case). Still, the Cornwalls don't sound like I had expected. I'm not sure if my expectations are too high, or if my logic/theory/guidance is completely wrong. I popped the rears of the CWs open last night, and a visual inspection of the innards..."pristine"! I see nothing wrong on the drivers, the horns, or the x-over. I know that visual inspection may not suffice, but things look fantastic inside. My desire is to have both an awesome 2-channel system, but also enjoy HT-surround\, and I was hoping that I could use the CWs as my mains, maybe add a Heresy for a center, and use some existing AR/ADS L980s as rears (sub to be added later). I'm still not sure that I can't do this... but it appears that for the fidelity I desire w/ my CWs, I either need to drive them w/ a tube amp(the Hafler), re-do the CW crossovers so that a SS amp will work for all speakers, or segregate the system among multiple amps (both SS and tube). I've been told that there's a large difference in fidelity b/t the sound of tube vs. SS. Is there any way that I can utilize the features of my new Yamaha A/V amp as a switching device for inputs/video/rear-and-sub driving, while using my Hafler to drive the CWs and a Heresy center? I guess I would basically be using both amps simultaneously. Notes and Scenarios: Note 1: My Acoustic Research ADS L980s can be bi-amped and like lots of power. Note 2: My Cornwalls should sound great with little power. Scenario 1: Simultaneously, use the Hafler tube-amp for my mains and center (CWs and Heresy) while using the S.S. Yamaha for the sub and rears (high-current/power). Scenario 2: Sacrifice the "wonder" of the CW sound by using the Yamaha exclusively for HT-surround (movie watching), and then switching to the Hafler when listening to music (2-channel). Any advice is appreciated. texican58