mdaudioguy

Yep, these were definitely not MDF - must be the "lumbercore" boards you referred to. It seems that both sides were laminated. Well, the new cabinets will be MDF... [:$]

Thanks for the link - much appreciated! My saw isn't the greatest, but I think I can set it properly. We'll see. 99% sure that original panels are not MDF. Will post some pics later to show you what I've got.

Sounds great - I'd be keen to know what that process is. I mean, it seems simple enough, but I wouldn't mind a useful tip or two... Is there a link?

First and foremost, thanks to for replying - your knowledge and experience is valued! So, I was initially leaning toward rebuilding, so I tried clamping earlier tonight, without much success. It took considerable force to pull the corners closer, and in the end, I couldn't quite get them to where I wanted. Then, since I'm somewhat impulsive, I scrapped Plan A and decided to separate the cabinets using a small hydraulic jack. Plan B is on! What I learned was that there was not a single piece that was fabricated from MDF! The back panel and motor board are both plywood, while the top, bottom, and sides were all solid wood (edge-glued panels) with a veneer. Since the front and back appear easily reusable (and slightly more difficult to replicate), I've decided to begin fabricating the other panels tomorrow. Haven't decided yet if I'll use some cabinet-grade plywood or MDF, but unfortunately, my choice will be driven by cost. If I go MDF, I already have some interesting veneer to cover them. [] NOTE: My apologies for the MS Word garbage - first time for this type of forum. Will use the Paste from Word button from now on. [:$]

Thanks W. C.! That helped a lot, in that it tells me that what I have is probably salvageable. Not entirely sure yet, but I don't think enough moisture was absorbed to significanlty increase the thickness of any of the panels. Well, the front and back pieces don't appear to be damaged in any way - it just seems that that's where the expansion occurred. I've removed all of the components from the cabinets, and it appears that the inside corners are glued and nailed/stapled. Any suggestions as to how to go about separating the cabinet pieces? Aside from "very carefully", that is... Another option - The cabinets themselves seem to be pretty sound, and they still essentially remain sealed. I could fill the gaps at each corner and square the outside corners and apply another veneer to the outside. Anything sound wrong about that approach?

Good afternoon Klipsch Folks! Thought I'd drop by here to get some advice on a couple of pairs of Klipsch heritage speakers I recently acquired - Heresy II's and Forte II's. I'm figuring to start with the Heresys, since they're probably going to require the most work. Evidently, they were kept in a dank environment, and the front baffles and rear panels seem to have expanded and caused the cabinet corners to separate. Any suggestions to repair these? As far as I can tell, it's simply cosmetic damage, since the gaps don't seem to extend to the inside. I was initially thinking that clamping would work, but I'm unsure if it would be possible to re-compress the front and rear parts. Alternate idea would be to take them apart and build some custom, identically-sized cabinets (top, bottom, and sides only) and re-use the baffles and rear panels. Any strong feelings or suggestions regarding either approach? Thanks!