Kriton

So it is not necessary to put it back in the disaphragms, right? Hey Bob, explain the advantages adn disadvantages of titanium to me, would you? Is the frequency response the same, etc as the "older" poly diaphragms?? I have listened to them now, and they are bright, which I personally really like...is this the general case? K

Tom, What wax product would you suggest? I used just natural Minwax oil stain on these... Doesn't wax yellow with age? Any way to avoid "waxy build-up" or is that a myth? K

OK, I didn't have a chance to PM Chris because I need to get these things done pronto. Here is what happened, if you are interested. I stained the speakers several times with the natural stain, let it sit, wiped them down and felt for rough spots. I then sanded them again, NOT using steel wool (which I think like the rag was pulling up the cell hairs as you call them), but with a synthetic ultra fine 3M pad I got at HD. The last time I let the stain sit over night on the speaker, and it was very tacky the next morning to my horror ( I forgot them, this was not planned). Rubbing in one direction, I got the tackiness off with that same sanding pad until smooth (really more just rubbing off the dried on gunk then actually sanding the surface). I then rubbed on a last coat of the stain, and wiped it off immediately. The surface is very smooth and doesn't sppear to pick up the fibers of the rag I used to rub it down with this time...I think the gunk filled in the holes? Can't tell there is anything wrong with the speaker surface, they shine (dully) and are quite pretty. I will try to post picts when complete. Thanks for all your help. K

OK, last post, please bear with me... I replaced the tweeter diaphragms in my Cornwall II's with new Crites titanuim d's. WHen I broke open the old tweets, there was a yellowed round cotton ball looking damper/something in the dome of the tweeter. The new d's didn't have this ball o'stuff, do I need to transfer the things from the old tweets to the new? What purpose was served with the round fluffy thing? Any ideas? Thanks! K

OK, after researching this here, I chose (was really forced) to replace the paper thin old speaker gasketing that came on my Cornwall II's when rebuilding them. I chose to go with 1/8" thick, 1/2" wide foam rubber weatherstripping. The stuff goes on well, and I am sure it will last a long time, but it is just too darn thick...Yes, the screws pull the speakers down and squish the gasket in place, but without cracking the plastic horn enclosures, the horns and woofer stick out a good 1/16 from the surface of the speaker face, which will interfere with the grills when I finally get them back on...I am concerned about sonic effect (which I can't see that there could be any?) and the relative soldity of the speaker mounting (will there be more vibration with the speakers off the face this much, searate by a rubber piece of weatherstripping?) Also the speaker surrounds are misshapen by the uneven placement of the screws around the enclosre (especially the tweeter, whose screws in each corner, and none in the centers, have pulled the crners of the horn in and the middles are left bulging outward). ANy suggestions on a thinner but airtight material to do this gasketing? Thanks! K

Ok, I have researched this ad nauseum, but I still have a follow up on the grills to my Cornwall II's. Ihave kind of sorted out the refinishing problem, and now I need to fix the grills. The fabric is the woven type bamboo colored grill material and it is in stellar shape, even with cats in the house, no rips or tears on the facia, however, the fronts warped outward, and pull away from the face of the speaker drastically on one side. I read where someone suggested taking a hot irom to the underside of the grills and straightening them out, but...the substrate looks like simple plastic to me under the grill cloth, what precatuions might I need to take to make sure I don't ruin the grills, fabric or my wife's iron? Also, while the grill cloth is in excellent shape, it is coming off (peeling away from) the back of the grill substrate, the glue is old and crusty...how can I glue the grill cloth back onto the substrate (I think someone said is what melamine, or masonite or something?) How glue gun? epoxy? folded over and then clamped with a shop clamp? How do I keep the shop clamp from sticking during the cooling process? FYI, put in new B. Crites crossovers in these things, replaced the tweeters with titanium, and they are kicking some serious fanny...need to spend some more time with them before I can say how much. I have a few other questions, but will ask those in another specific thread... Thanks alot guys, K

OK...what are the options? I see the pictures and those are some gorgeous Corns... the cosmetics of my speakers are just as good (as good as they get for Corn II, no decorators with those beautiful fronts... What exactly did you do to finish those Corns in the above post? BUT, what the options, how do you implement them, pros and cons, where is a good place to get the finishes and supplies? I am using Home Depot stuff here, and it just aint cutting it...I am disappointed with the outcome here (even though it is far better than it was...) Also, any suggestions for blackening up the face of the Corns behind the grill with out repainting? I was think ig of black shoe polish rubbed into the black and then wiped off, is this a bad idea, should I just try to repaint? The paint is good, but it is fading and I would like to get it nice and dark with out painting if possible... Just a thought... Thanks! I appreciate the feedback, it has been really helpful. K

OK, how about this...could I use the oil you suggest as a "wet" substrate and attack the surface with wet/dry sandpaper in the 600 grit range? What would that do to the raised whiskers? I put the pre-stain sealer on the speakers and I think they are as dark using natural oil as they are going to get, but I would really like to try and get the surface as flat as I can... Yes, I can use a vac to take off the dust, but I am thinking down the road, whe I want to dust these things, I would just like to run a rag over them, and feel that nice baby butt smoothness...get me? Thank for the replies! What about my idea? K

Thanks for the reply...I really don't want to put a hard seal on these, I would rather the "just wood" look hence the reference to no polyurethane, etc. So, I am still looking for any other options...anyone? Surely someone has some ideas? Thanks! K

Hey ya'll, Long time lurker with a few questions...I have a pair of late 80's Cornwalls that I got as second owner some 6 years ago. The cabinets were never finished (raw birch) and are mint(no cosmetic problems at all - they have been babied something fierce), and I recently decided to refinish them. I didn't want to stain them in a dark finish, so I decided to buy some "natural" stain and just oil them down. My question is this; after sitting for 20 years without any kind of preservative on them at all, the birch raised up in spots and was pretty rough to the touch..I used some very fine sanding blocks, and 0000 steel wool to smoothe the wood down which worked well to the touch. However, when I tried to run a rag over the surface to get rid of the stray dust, the rag would catch on very small splinters, tearing out minute fibers of cloth. No matter how hard I have sanded this thing, nor how fine of grit I use, I am still having the rag catch on the grain. I smoothed them down as far as I could (being careful not to pierce the thin veneer) and went ahead and stained them, using a prestain conditioner and the natural stain. The stain turned them a warm golden color which is fantastic, but I am still experiencing the rag pull. Short of laminating veneer on these things, or painting on poly (neither of which are acceptable to me), do I have any other recourse? Should I perhaps put some wax on them now in an attempt to fill in the grain? WHat do you think? Thanks in advance.. K