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$200 CORNWALL SAGA - RESCUING ORPHANS


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That's perfect, thanks. Let me ask you this, with walnut, a conditioner is not necessary before staining with an oil-based stain. Would you use a contioner anyway, any real benefit, or just a waste of time? I did it both ways on a couple samples, one with conditioner, one without, and can't say I see much of a difference. I guess that's my answer. What's your opinion?

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Walnut generally does not benefit from a conditioner. That being said however, depends upon the stain effect you are looking for. Use of a conditioner will make the stain much more even, but that's to the detriment of showing off spectacular grain patterns. Conditioners are recommended for closed grain pattern wood, such as birch, to prevent extremely uneven stain absorption. Walnut will absorb in different ways within the grain patterns, but not in a "bad way".

The best way to determine if a conditioner should be used, or is desirable is, of course to fool around with some scraps of the veneer you intend to use. Same applies to stains and dyes.

Below is an example of deliberately NOT conditioning a piece of birch. the results are spectacular. Not what I would want on a speaker, per. se., but for a desk, it's beautiful.

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Thanks once again. I asked the spousal unit what she thought of each (without telling her anything whatsoever, such as different stain, conditioner - no information), she "preferred" the one without. So I've begun, am in the middle before going back with the gunstock/special walnut blend, and without using conditioner. So far, very good.

Randy

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And be sure to post the results!!!! Where they will really "shine", so to speak, is when they are oiled at the end of the process. Just remember to handle them with gloves for at least a month or two until the oil has soaked in and is "dry" to the ouch. Otherwise you can leave fingerprints... I use the Walmart yellow "burglar gloves" with the little neoprene knobby things all over the palms and fingers.

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I have to thank you for all the help you've provided with your pictorials/tutorials, they have been invaluable. The one that caused me the most apprehension was the grill tutorial, but I have to say I studied it thouroughly and once I thought I understood it, took a stab at it and it worked perfctly. About a year ago I built a pair of Cornscalas around a Cornwall cabinet. That pair was nothing special cosmetically, a simple black painted finish. As they were my first attempt at anything like that, they naturally had some construction flaws. The woofer was higher, like in the III, which precluded replacing the ph800 with something like Gothover's Fastrac. I began to think about upgrading that horn, which meant building new cabinets. That coupled with wanting to build something a bit more appealing, got me going on this pair. Used the Cornwall II plans, with the woofer lower, and raised the tweeter just a hair to give me room to replace the squawker horn in the future. Cleaned up my construction techniques along the way. My neighbor assisted along the way and said any cabinet maker would be satisfied with these. They are in the basement resting from staining this morning. I'll get them oiled tomorrow afternoon and let them rest. Once I get them upstairs and assembled, I'll post some pictures.

Check your email, I have a private question for you.

Randy

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  • 11 months later...

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Second stain wipe is a 70/30 mix of Minwax "Gunstock" and Minwax "Special Walnut". This combination, when oiled, gives that reddish hue that the older Heritage walnut veneer looks like after 30 years.

I'm at this step in the process of my $200 Cornwall's that were painted black. Quick question, does the 70/30 mix above contain 70% "Gunstock" and 30% "Special Walnut"? I just want to make sure I mix properly. Also, how long between the initial stain and the mix stain? Thanks for any help!

BTW, your Cornwall's look great! Awesome step-by-step photofacts as well.

Cory

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Cory,

I assume your question is directed to Marshall, but it appears he has gone (hopefully that's temporary as he's a very valuable resource), so I'll try to answer your question. Yes, the mixed stain is 70% Gunstock and 30% Special Walnut. Following Marshall's advice, I applied the second stain (the mix) right away. If you let it dry, the pores will close up, making it futile to continue. So make sure you've set aside plenty of time to complete the process in one sitting. I let it sit only as long as it took to wipe on the second cabinet, then returned to the first and wiped off, etc. Short and quick allows you to gradually build the depth of color to suit your taste. In the end, I probably applied 4 "coats" (I'd have to check my notes) of the second stain to get what I was looking for. After letting them rest, I then applied the Watco, which really made them pop. I'd encourage you to get your hands on some walnut veneer pieces and practice your technique first.

Good luck! Let us see the results.

Randy

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Cory,

I assume your question is directed to Marshall, but it appears he has gone (hopefully that's temporary as he's a very valuable resource), so I'll try to answer your question. Yes, the mixed stain is 70% Gunstock and 30% Special Walnut. Following Marshall's advice, I applied the second stain (the mix) right away. If you let it dry, the pores will close up, making it futile to continue. So make sure you've set aside plenty of time to complete the process in one sitting. I let it sit only as long as it took to wipe on the second cabinet, then returned to the first and wiped off, etc. Short and quick allows you to gradually build the depth of color to suit your taste. In the end, I probably applied 4 "coats" (I'd have to check my notes) of the second stain to get what I was looking for. After letting them rest, I then applied the Watco, which really made them pop. I'd encourage you to get your hands on some walnut veneer pieces and practice your technique first.

Good luck! Let us see the results.

Randy

Thanks Randy!

I ended up doing a 50/50 mix of the Gunstock and Special Walnut because I didn't want them quite so red in hue. They still have red in them, just not as much as the Cornwall's in this thread. I definitely like the results. I applied 3 coats using the same approach you did. They seem mostly dry now, but I'll give them the another 12 hours as suggested.

As for the oil...I already have some Tung-Oil that I used to shine up my Forte's a while back. I'm just going to use that. It doesn't have any color, it just puts a really nice shine on them that you can make as heavy or as light as you want. I think this will yield good results. I'll post pictures soon.

Cory

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  • 6 months later...
  • 7 months later...

I just realized that I forgot to show photos of my Cornwall's after I refinished them. Probably mentioned earlier, but these were painted black and really beat up by the previous owner. [+o(] They came out nice though...I ended up selling them to a local Klipsch collector. I have some detailed photos below, showing the process, which this thread helped me out a lot. Also, I finished them with hand rubbed tung oil. I thank you guys for the tips that helped take the guesswork out of the equation.

Here's the links to the find / refinish album: http://imageshack.us/g/339/dsc044660.jpg/

And here's the final product, just before I sold them: http://imageshack.us/g/251/dsc04600gz.jpg/

I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed the project![:D]

Cory

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  • 4 years later...
27 minutes ago, Miami305NATIVE said:

Does anybody know how to view the images on this thread? 

 

Im looking to rehab and remove  Formica from Cornwalls. This thread is very informativebut I would love to see the images. 

since the new forum change over most everyone had to remove their old pictures ( at least i did ) to be able to post new pictures to comply with the change over

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On 2/3/2017 at 4:53 PM, Miami305NATIVE said:

Does anybody know how to view the images on this thread? 

 

Im looking to rehab and remove  Formica from Cornwalls. This thread is very informative, but I would love to see the images. 

 

I'm working on a couple of projects and would like to see these as well. I did do a rebuild on some Heresies not long ago. Maybe these photos will assist you in some way...

 

http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/MCoffel/library/Klipsch%20Heresy%20Restoration

 

 

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On 2/8/2017 at 8:15 AM, BamaMike said:

 

I'm working on a couple of projects and would like to see these as well. I did do a rebuild on some Heresies not long ago. Maybe these photos will assist you in some way...

 

http://s1368.photobucket.com/user/MCoffel/library/Klipsch%20Heresy%20Restoration

 

 

Thanks, and nice job.

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