Jump to content

Klipschorn Road Trip 2010!


fini

Recommended Posts

Many a fine Klipsch trade has occurred in the parking lot of McDonalds, Cracker Barrel, other fine rest areas across this great land. (I'm responsible for more than a few odd looks at those places)

I laughed when I read that, remembering what happened with passing off your industrial LaScalas.

We we taking them out of the jeep and loading them in an unmarked van, in a Ryans parking lot, many people were giving us strange looks. After putting them in the van we were covering them with blankets so when your friend would stop some where else if someone looked in the couldn't tell what was in there.

The looks we got were from "what are they doing" to " should we call the police, this don't look right". I really thought the police were going to show up.

There we stood talking in a restaurant parking lot in Mississippi at 8 PM, with commercial looking speakers covered with blankets in a van from Louisiana whose driver was from Indiana. The speakers were from Louisiana and I had NO receipt for them and I didn't even remember the sellers name I picked them up from. The van was bought out of state by someone else and Michaels friend was just picking it up and bringing it to Indiana for someone else.

It would have been tough to sell that story to the police, even if was all true !

That's almost as good as some nut job from here hauling a couple of MWM bass bins on a makeshift scooter carrier on the back of a jeep!

I remember Neil Disney hooking up a set of stacked LS to his computer (how many milliwatts) in a McDonald's parking lot near Detroit and it just blasting the place! Bill Hendrix and I had 12 Klipsch pro models on the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel in Columbia Missouri, Roger and I drove through the ghost town of Green Bay WI during a Packers game to pick up some more pro stuff.... there have been others...

My best story was my first. I'd barely been on the Forum and this was well before working at Klipsch. Trey Cannon had a line on a set of CW's that slipped away from me. Some months later he contacted me about another pair. They were in Miami FL. Called the lady, she was very elderly and moving to South America. We talked for a bit over a couple weeks. I was new at this whole road trip thing and very unsure as to what I was getting into. Finally the day came that I knew she was moving and these 64 cane CW's would be going in a dumpster. At 5 am I called the airport for a flight to Miami. I would fly down, rent a van, drive them back (along with Doc's Chorii that were in Orlando). The real trick came at the airport. Here was some long-haired hippie type who had purchased a one-way ticket to Miami at the last minute, paid cash, and had NO luggage. There was a SSSSS printed on my ticket, which I was to find out indicated that I was to get the highest level of TSA screening....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great score, and I'm sorry you missed Beck:( :).

I thought you might! [;)]

Mike, I still haven't hooked them up. I want to transfer the V-tracs to the walnut horns, but first I want to put some new finish on 'em. It's been too bloody hot here for the last 2 or 3 days...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally am starting in on refinishing my 1977 KB-WO Khorns, which will be the recipients of the V-Tracs. I figured since I'd have to take them somewhat apart anyway, I might as well go all the way and give the surfaces new life. I decided to go a different route with the finish. Instead of the original boiled linseed oil I'm using products by the company General Finishes (available at Woodcraft stores). Last night I lightly sanded and cleaned the wood with naptha (a quick-drying solvent) and cotton rags. Today I'll start with GFs Seal-A-Cell. It applies with a foam brush, and after a few minutes a wipe-off with a clean cotton rag (similar to a tung oil application). When that's dry, I'll apply 3 coats of Arm-R-Seal (satin), which goes on like a typical urethane (it can be wiped-on, too). I've used these finishes on wood projects before with beautifull results. My goal was to produce a finish that was tougher, and required less frequent maintenance (beyond regular dusting). I'll take a few shots when the sun comes up (and the fog clears out)...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Final coat goes on in a few minutes. Here's a finishing tip I picked up a while back. In between coats, it's a good idea to use steel wool or sandpaper to knock down and buff out any imperfections in the previous finish, before the next one goes on. To clean the dust and debris off, use a clean rag with a very dilute dab of the finish you're using, thinned with naptha. The finish helps hold the dust to the rag, and the naptha allows it to dry within minutes. This, of course, only works with oil-bases finishes, primarily urethane. AND if using water-based finished, you don't want to use steel wool (any bits that happen to remain will rust in the water-borne finishes). I just love naptha!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...