EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Hi folks, thought I'd document my work here, and ask some questions and advice along the way. I've a pair of La Scala cabinets and squawker horns that I'm tearing down, and rebuilding. I have Crites woofs, tweets, A/4500 crossovers, and four of the solder tab K-55-V squawkers to chose from for the reload. I've pulled the corner protectors and edge aluminum, and it seems like the sheer number of dings and rough edges/corners dictates a repaint and maybe new aluminum. The corner protectors are beat enough I'm probably better off replacing them. Anyone have a currently available stock corner protector they've used and liked? The bottom panel is pretty much shot too. The veneer is eroded down pretty heavily from being dragged around to events, so I'll cut new bottoms. Is there a bottom seal that is officially preferred? One looks like thin window/door insulation, the other looks more like a caulk type sealant. I have sanded the back of one cabinet so far, and noticed at the back edge of the top panel a stamped four digit number. Is that a serial #, or some other internal Klipsch marking? 'USA' is also stamped or branded into the edge of one side panel. The LSI back cover panel is gone on these, so I have no serial number reference from the connector plate. The natural wood looks really great, but the dings are pretty bad. If I went natural I'd have to live with 'rustic' finish; dings and old paint pressed into the wood. Without edge protectors I'd probably have to sand rounded edges and corners, which sounds like real trouble. Probably best to avoid that route, unless strong evidence here suggests otherwise. Initial pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 closer on the tops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 black formica and metal trim the edges....you will save a lot of man hours and the end result will look fabulous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I see formica laminate in 30" x 8' sheets at Lowes and Home Depot for about $40. That stuff? Hadn't thought about that one. For my experience level with laminates (zero) it might be more work than sand and paint. I'll consider, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 Parts Express sells gasket door seal in a couple of sizes. I put their rubber footies on the speakers or you could build up a little base (remember on the home units the 3/4" thick woofer door is surface mounted, not cut into the bottom), so it sits 'up' on the carpet nicely. You can also get parts for replacing fuse holders, dual bananas etc from them. I think the aluminum edging also supports the side walls of the bass bin, which has a lot of flexation on a standard LS. LSI usually don't have the serial number stamped on the edge grain as you mention, plus with the rear panel 'gone', I wonder if it's truly an LSI? But you say they came with the aluminum edging and corners never seen a 'home' unit with that installed but never say never with Klipsch. Got K43 or K33 woofer in there? Check the woofer hatch, which type is it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 You bring up some good points. Here's the story. I got these cabinets from an audio dealer who, by mutual agreement, kept the original drivers. He valued the drivers, and not the cabinets due to condition. They had K43's and spring terminal K55V's in them, but they have the home style full surface base rather than the hatch. The base has a few remaining round metal feet, and has 45 degree cuts at the corners to clear the metal corner protector balls. The rears have screw holes where cover plates would have been installed. The aluminum is fairly thin and doesn't seem like it would increase structural rigidity at all. Each piece was glued down with a black caulk and three countersunk screws, and is fairly rough cut under the corner protectors. The corner protectors are metal ball end types like found on older road cases. So are they LSI line, or not? Does anyone know if the LSI version always existed, and with the bottom hatch always? When K43's were first used? Maybe these are ancient retrofits that already had the woofers replaced once with K43's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 Discovered today they've been repainted, I uncovered this logo while sanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 here's the bottom plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 here's the number '1654' stamped on the top panel edge at the back. I might just go 'rustic' with these and stain the imperfect natural wood. The wife seems to like that idea. maybe keep them black in the bass horn, where it's hard to sand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Hmm, well on every pair of LSI that I've owned ( and probablyt 8 pairs have gone through here), they have all had the countersunk woofer hatch (bottom panel). On my home models (Y) the bottom hatch is rectangular and measures just shy of the total base of the cabinet for a slightly elevated look when placed on hard floors. What do the backs look like, you say there were screw holes for a horn bay cover, but was there a cover, wires leading from the crossover, and a metal jack cup installed about 1/4 way across the back cover panel? The paint scheme up front is remniscent of LSI. So I'm still puzzled on this one. Is the K43 a stamped steel or cast frame unit? And was there any gasket material on the woofer hatch door? Any evidence that there was an earlier recessed door (there will be a ledger piece around the inner lip of hatchway to receive this panel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 There were all kinds of LS built by Klipsch for commercial and pseudo-commercial uses. I've seen photos and orders of one piece LSI without trim, or handles - where they knew there were going to fly them in a club. Split tops with the logo placards ordered to be upside down also for flown purposes. Home type units with handles installed, Klipsch did stain and lacquer some home units, I'm sure there were a few black painted units produced, incidentally is yours a black satin paint or pebble texture? Never say Never with Klipsch, especially when it comes to the Heritage line. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that these might have been a pair of one-offs (home units with some commercial characteristics). Even the crossover isn't indicative of which woofer was used as they were considered interchangeable. If there is a dog-house shaped jack cup, it might have power handling specs printed on it, that would be another clue as to original woofer type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Heck, I saw some LSI they made for Buck Owens that were red, white, and blue! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 ^ SEE, I told ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted September 10, 2012 Author Share Posted September 10, 2012 The rear covers were gone, so no clues there other than the screw holes in the cabinet. I didn't get to see the K43's, they were pulled already, but I was told that's what was there. There was gasket material around the entire outside of the base, and also around the woofer port. Both were reworked, one speaker gasket was a black gummy substance, the other was door/window stick-on gasket. No evidence of any recessed woofer hatch in a former life. They'd already been repainted once, as evidenced by the logo under a layer of paint, and I couldn't really tell what the original paint layer was like. In a few spots it looked like it may have been pebble, but that's a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 I had a few LSI one piece models with sunken bottom access plates. Had a few two pice and one piece with traditional style non sunken plates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 That is an LSI serial number for certain. From your description of the aluminum trim, that's a homeowner job. Klipsch never used the ball type corners, instead used a flat cast aluminum corner that necessitated that the flat portions were trimmed perfectly to fit. A forum member has developed a mold to recreate the corner bits from stock pieces and you can get good quality aluminum from Penn Elcom in 7' strips. Original was an anodized aluminum that was pretty stout stuff. That would be a pretty expensive route. I've recently made some road cases and used ABS plastic 1/16 from a local plastics dealer was about $36 for a 4x8 sheet. You glue it on with contact cement, press down with a J-roller and trim to fit with utility knife- easy stuff to work with. But paint works just fine too. Don't use truck bed paint though it's nasty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted November 1, 2012 Author Share Posted November 1, 2012 Finished them up, came out better than I expected. Went 'rustic' and kept the deep dings and character. They look more orange in the pics than in person. Crites A/4500's, Crites stamped woofs and CT-125 tweets, K-55-V's (later changed to A-55G's) on K-400's. I moved the horns to the front face for better off axis response. I have a little touch-up on the black in the bins, then I'm moving on to the new amp rack options. Click this link for a full size pic Click this link for a full size pic Click this link for a full size pic Click this link for a full size pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djk Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 If you ever expect to carry those then you might want to flip the handles right-side-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMRR Posted November 2, 2012 Author Share Posted November 2, 2012 They hit the crossover the other way, and carry just fine like this. I almost left them off altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noway1 Posted November 2, 2012 Share Posted November 2, 2012 Nice job. I bet they've seen some good times over the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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