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No specific scandal at the moment but who knows what may happen over the three weeks. Rasmussen given the boot (by his team) while leading for lying about his whereabouts, the Saunier Duval teammates booted after winning two stages testing positive, leading to the remainder of the team to withdraw, Bernhard Kohl, last year's King of the Mountains, testing positive leading to a suspension that he has turned into a retirement. That sort of thing - what we don't know yet. I'm not sure Lance has returned to his pre-retirement form. To me he doesn't look as lean as he was, like he's regained some of his pre-cancer body mass. That will affect him in the mountains. We saw in the Giro that he could not stay with the leaders on the final climbs, but maybe he was playing his hand close to the vest. He tried a couple attacks that did not go, then faded. Maybe he was just testing his climbing legs and was happy, so let it go. On paper it's Astana's race to win or lose, but it doesn't always (usually?) go that way. Contador looks to be extremely well-prepared. Lance says he'll support the strongest rider, but will he really? Or will he seize upon a moment's weakness and ride for himself? Can Bruyneel keep the team from dividing?

Le Tour begins Saturday in Monaco, so who do you like? Astana - everyone thought they would dominate the Giro, did not happen. Will the team split but still be strong enough among the two factions to control the race a la La Vie Claire in 85 and 86, or will it crumble a la Telekom with Ulrich and Vinokourov just a few years ago allowing someone else to ****** it away? Contador, with his victory in the Spanish time trial championship, no longer has any weakness. He is the clear favorite, but can not win alone. Armstrong has not yet shown that he has regained the ability to climb and time trial with the world's best. He'll have to show me he can before I put him in the top five, much less on the podium. Evans is a solid rider, but lacks explosive climbing ability, the ability to rdop his rivals. That means he must dominate the time trials, but he has not shown that he can. Menchov, with his Giro win, finally showed some of his promise. Does he have anything left for the Tour? Can he eliminate the 1 or 2 bad days he invariably has? Sastre has been silent, so who knows. The Schleck brothers? Who else? Who is ready to step up and be rekoned with? Who do you like? And of course the big wild card - this year's doping scandal, what impact will it have? Can't wait. Your thoughts? Randy

I had posted a question on one of his threads a few weeks ago about some thing or other, but never got a reply. Shortly after, I saw that comment in his sig line, but it may have been there when I asked him my question. A shame to lose someone of his caliber. Hope all is ok. Randy

Here is groomlakearea51's article the guys referred to. This is outstanding. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/110684.aspx Randy

He played for Billy Tubbs at OU. Unstopable in college. And always seemed to be smiling as he killed you.

There's also cyclingnews.com with their live coverage, although not video. The sping classics are great, but for me the season really begins with the start of the Giro. The Tour is still the greatest race on the planet, but there's something about the Giro. The Tour seems choreographed to perfection, while the Giro just seems more pure. Don't get me wrong, I love them all, particularly the Grand Tours. I returned to Colorado in 1979 after getting out of the Navy. The first road race I ever saw was in the summer of 1980, a stage of the Coors Classic in Estes Park. It's been in my blood ever since. The mythical name in that race was George Mount - remember that name? First American to ride one of the Grand Tours. A year or two later a very young Greg Lemond came with his Renault Elf teammates. I remember seeing them sitting under a tree before the start of the North Boulder Park stage. There was a short story circulating on the front range last week about Armstrong having a conversation with the Governor about bringing a stage race back to Colorado. The writer of the story in the Boulder paper mentioned the usual names one thinks of who rode the race in the 80s - Lemond, Hinault, Grewal, Hampsten, Phinney, Kiefel. But how about Phil Anderson, Steve Bauer, Segei Sukorchenkov and the Soviet National team, John Howard, the Leprechaun Alan McCormick, Connie Carpenter, Marianne Berglund, Jeannie Longo, Marianne Martin (the first American winner of the Tour ;-)). Geez, I could go on for an hour. The highlight of the summer was always the Coors Classic, watching stages in Estes Park, Vail, Aspen, and the final in North Boulder Park. Riding around Boulder is always interesting. Never get too full of yourself, always give a friendly wave or nod when you blow by someone. That may be an Olympic medalist or former World Champion you've just insulted, and they can rip your legs off if they want. But they're usually all pretty good folks. Allez!

Marshall, In anticipation of some future project, I've decided to experiment with veneering on some boxes I built last year to raise some KG4s to ear level. In the middle of the veneering at the moment, but earlier this afternoon gave the trimming a go trimming using the router and a flush trim bit. Piece of cake. I'm using Ash veneer, and plan to finish them in black lacquer, similar to what you did for your son's Heresies. I don't have access to spraying, and don't want to invest in that gear, so I'll try the hand method. My question is this, do you know what formula to use to tint Watco's lacquer to the proper black? Thanks in advance, Randy

1974, attending the Navy's Nuclear Power School in Mare Island. I'd never so much as heard of Klipsch until then. My roommate mentioned Klipschorns, something about a folded horn. Shortly after, I bought some nameless speakers and a Pioneer receiver. Lived with those for many years. Dropped into a couple audio stores in San Diego from time-to-time, first heard some Cornwalls, but still didn't know much about the company. Moved back to Colorado in 1979. Early in the 90's, decided to upgrade. The salesman at Listen Up was kind enough to demo some LaScalas and Cornwalls for me knowing I couldn't afford them. Also heard Fortes and Chori, but the KG4s fit my budget. Gave the nameless speakers and the Pioneer to my kid sister. The KG4s have been relegated to basement duty, replaced by the recently-built Cornscalas. Now patiently waiting for the right pair of Cornwalls to appear, perhaps needing some restoration/refurbishing work.

How long do you wait to apply the second stain after wiping off the first? With the oil, Watco has three Walnut oils - which do you use? Randy

I did not experience it getting worse. For me the really annoying thing was the intermittent cutting in and then back out. Had it just stayed down the -6, I could have adjusted for that and perhaps lived with it. But when it suddenly cut back in, well then the right channel would overpower you, and that was not acceptable, so off to the shop it went. Good luck with it. You appear to be a Denon fan, as I am. If you haven't had a Denon receiver in the past, once you get this worked out I think you'll really enjoy it. Randy

I purchased a 2307 floor model nearly two years ago. Right away I had a problem with the right channel being down almost always by about -6 less than the left, occasionally cutting back in to full power. As it turned out, the main board had to be replaced, which was done under the factory warranty despite it being a floor model. Once the board was replaced it was a great machine. But last fall Listen Up was blowing out the 2808, so I grabbed one of those and sold the 2307. Now I wish I still had it for the wife to use in her sewing studio. Hope that helps. Randy

It depends.... On Heresy's I will use an handheld edgebanding trimmer as often as not because the amount that needs to be trimmed is not very long. On the Cornwalls.... I generally use a router with a "flush" cut bit that has a "downward" spiral. I currently use a Freud/Diablo 1/2" shanked bit with a DeWalt router. I always lay a piece of painters tape underneath the overhang for the bit bearing to ride on. Reason? It prevents any possible contact by the bit's cutting blades with the piece of veneer underneath the overhang, protects the veneer underneath from the bearing on the bit, and it also cuts it not quite flush. That allows me to carefully blend the edge into the other piece by hand. Hope that explains it. Perfect, thanks. Do you have any resources for researching the effect of different stains on different types of wood? Or is it trial and error/experimentation on samples, past experience, etc.?

Marshall, That is some gorgeous work. I have a question, which I'm sure you've covered in an earlier project documentary. What is your preferred method for trimming veneer? Randy

Looking very good! This is where it really gets to be fun. I'm very happy with the way mine turned out, but I have begun thinking about a second pair of cabinets (cleaning up the one or two minor flaws) with a veneer this time. I do like the black finish, so I may go with Ash with a black stain. But I've always had a thing for Walnut, so I may go with that. Plenty of time to think it over as that will be a project for next winter. In the meantime, sometime soon I'll pick up some samples, practice techniques, and try different stains.

Arky, Thanks for the compliment. Having been a first attempt at anything remotely close to this, I am very happy with the way they turned out. There are a couple things I learned that I would do differently. In fact, I may build a second pair of cabinets down the road and move the parts to that pair, then put these aside until I build a theater room in the basement, then resurrect them to use as rears. We'll see, I plan to enjoy them for a while. Spring is approaching and I like to be outside as much as possible, and I've got the Senior Games in August to get ready for. I did not make the connection that you bought a pair of Bob's CSIIs. It would make sense that they beat your Cornwalls, Bob thought the same thing when compared to his Cornwalls. You are correct about the Pyle Pro being no longer available. I searched far and wide with no luck, finally went with the PH-800, which I got from Bob. I agree with you about the concert DVDs. Among our circle of friends, we were the first to pick up a Bluray player. Most, even though they really enjoy music, don't have a quality audio system. We had a few people over sometime around Labor day. Later on I put on Gilmour's Remember That Night. Even with the KG4s, several were riveted. I want to invite a few over to audition the twins, I think they'll be blown away. Randy

and 002.

Grilles completed and attached. The project is officially complete. s/n 001

Well then, for the benefit of the curious among you, we shall have to make this happen. So let it be written, so let it be done. Stay tuned.... By the way, what's your impression of your CSIIs compared with your Cornwalls?

Sorry if this has been covered - what are you using for batting? Looks as though you figured out how to flush mount the tweeter - looks good. Randy

Cigarbum, I had the same fears, but put a lot of trust in Bob and the others who have gone before us. Still, the fear was there. Looking back, there were really only two unknowns - how the cabinets would come together and what the mid-range horn would sound like. If either didn't work out, I could use the rest for something else. The cabinets being MDF, the only real investment I had in them is time; the horns are inexpensive. I've said to the wife "can you believe I made these?" Now that they are done, I've got an inkling to build a pair of cabinets using some cabinet grade plywood or something. I won't scratch that itch for a while, I think I/we will enjoy these for a while. Part of me would also like to try building a mid-range horn, but that would really stretch my skills. Maybe someday. While I was in the market a month ago for mid-range drivers, I ran across a local Craigslist ad for some k-401s. I inquired whether they came with drivers and the response was they did not. Turns out, the guy had just made some horns for his Lascalas, that's why he was selling the k-401s. I've been following your progress, I think you'll be very pleased. I'm sure you'll let us all know how they stack up with the others. Randy

Still need to build the grilles. I don't have a lot of pictures documenting the building of the cabinets, but later on I'll try to back fill a bit on the process and lessons learned. Again, thanks to those who inspired me to undertake this project. Listening to them, well it's been well worth the time and effort! Randy

Button them up. Later I'll line them with some batting, but don't have it yet. Miscalculated the amount of weather stripping to seal the back covers, so will have to come back and do that at the same time the batting goes in. Ready to make some music!

Connect the binding posts to the input terminals on the crossover. Almost ready.

Tightening the nuts from the back side draws them in for a very tight fit.

Binding posts.