Hell hath no fury like a La Scala scorned...

[Boomzilla]

Well, here are some factoids for anyone ever contemplating using peel-and-stick flooring planks to recover their Klipsch cabinets:

• The adhesive on the flooring planks is not robust enough to hold the planks to vertical surfaces. Overnight, the planks will sag from the position that they were installed, and then fall off. To keep the planks from doing this, small brads are needed to tack them in place.
• The glue on the peel-and-stick planks is the nastiest stuff known to man. It will get on your hands, your tools, and every possible adjacent surface. Once there, the glue is impossible to remove. I've tried soap and water, orange degreaser, denatured alcohol, and lighter fluid. These all make the glue more viscous, but don't remove it. The only way I've found to remove the glue is by physical scrubbing with a clean terrycloth rag.
• Since the plank edges can't be mitered, there will always be an ugly black seam where one or the other of the planks exposes its side seam.
• The planks do damp the vibration of the La Scalas' bass bin and remove some audible coloration.
• Addition of the planks to the top, sides, and back of the speakers adds about 30 pounds to each speaker. If you expect to move your speakers, take this extra weight into account.
• Lining up 4" planks across uneven surfaces is tedious. If I had this to do again, I'd use the widest planks I could find (6" were the widest stocked at my local Lowes store).
• The local stores do NOT stock any significant variety of peel-and-stick wood patterns. Because the delivery time on special orders was indefinite, I chose to use an available pattern (light ash) rather than to order what I really wanted (cherry). Selection may be better in your neck of the woods.

I've got grills and cloth on order that should arrive Wednesday. Barring any further unexpected difficulties, I'll post some photos of the finished products.

I got the first box from parts-express.com today. The grill cloth that they sent me is semi-transparent and very stiff. Since I'm using the grill frame kit (also from Parts Express), the cloth will need to bend easily to wrap around the frame. Therefore, the original grill cloth will have to be returned. I visit the local sewing stores tomorrow with my better half to look for plain polyester double-knit fabric that will be both opaque and flexible enough to stretch around the grill frame. Nothing is easy...Sigh.

Additionally, the grill-frame kit requires the drilling of 5/8 inch holes in the cabinet to mount the frame to the box. For the upper holes, no problem because the upper box of the La Scala is unsealed. For the bottom corners, though, the 3/4 inch plywood won't be thick enough to allow for 5/8" holes, so I may have to glue & screw a small wedge of 3/4 inch plywood in the inside corners of the bass horn. That will allow the holes for the grill to be drilled with firm backing and without breaching the 3/4 inch cabinet walls. It may also require offsetting the bottom of the grill by about 1/2 inch or so upward from the bottom of the cabinets. I'm suspecting that this won't be visible from a listening or standing position, but I'll have to try it & see.

[Boomzilla]

OK - If you're an aficionado of fine woodwork, just move on - Nothing here to see - just move along...

Uncle Paul is probably spinning in his grave over this; the La Scalas deserve much better. Nevertheless, within the parameters of the budget and time restraints that I'd set on this project, I'll have to call it a success. Your opinions may differ...

Cheers - Boomzilla

[RT FAN]

Who said you couldn't make a silk purse out of a Sow's ear?? Considering the rough condition they were in those speakers are more than presentable.

[Boomzilla]

Who said you couldn't make a silk purse out of a Sow's ear?? Considering the rough condition they were in those speakers are more than presentable.

Thank you kindly! I'm pleased (as is my better half). I may still eventually make a "La Scala II" style cabinet, but it won't be any time soon.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

You did do a good job. The grill was a good solution to a very difficult problem.

FYI, if you decide to junk the flooring planks, you can get 4' x 8' sheets of 1/4" Mahogany ply (probably cherry too) for about $35 to $40. You can miter the corners and "glue sand" them to be seemless. Then just slap on a coat of Deft and you are done.

Glue sanding is where you overmiter the corner (say to 47 degrees) and put glue on so that it seepes out just a little, then while the glue is wet, sand the fact of the seam (just a little, new veneers are 1/32") and the sanding dust will mix with the glue and fill in any gap and make it look perfect.

[Boomzilla]

Thank you VERY much for the 1/4" veneered ply idea. That would work perfectly for what I have in mind. I planned to just make a new doghouse, but the veneer would work without my having to recreate the bass horn.

If I do go to a La Scala II style cabinet, I'll probably install individual grills on both the bass horn and the top hat so that I don't have to veneer the inside of the bass horn. It'll look somewhat like an old Altec model 19:

[Islander]

Your La Scalas look pretty good now, plus they're not obviously La Scalas due to the full front grille. Now they're good-sounding (I assume) "mystery model" Klipsch speakers.

[Boomzilla]

You're correct. That's the cost of this solution to the roughed-up interior of the bass horn.

[djk]

The Pioneer CS-R700 loudspeaker with it's big old midrange horn.

I did some grills along this line on a Cornwall that looked a little too much like a deep-freeze sitting in the living room of a customer. It ended up looking a bit like a Model 19 / Belle / EV Sentry 3 but with the shorter top grill in a lighter shade (the reverse of the Pioneer color scheme). I also put a wooden accent strip between the top and bottom grille.

EV Sentry 3

[Boomzilla]

I've always liked the Altec A-19 look. I'll probably go that route with matching grill cloths.

[BMWM5]

Dear Boomzilla,

Like anything else in life you get out what you put in. Minimum effort with minimum $$$$ will always yield poor results. If it were me I would do the following.

1. Strip out all the electronics: Tweeter, Mid Range Horn, Woofer, and the crossovers. I would also start removing every screw to access every piece of wood. Take detailed pictures as you go along since you'll need them to re-assemble the pieces.

2. Go on the internet and look for wood veneers by the roll. Select the type of wood finish you would like in a price range you can afford. Get a rough idea as to how many square feet or inches will be required.

3. Go to Depot and purchase a gallon of high quality contact cement and not that latex base crap they sell. Spend the money and get the stuff that will put you in la la land if you don't work in a well ventilated area. Also purchase a roller and tray.

4. Apply contact cement to both the surface of the cabinet and veneer. Make sure you get a piece of heavy metal pipe to roll out the bubbles.

5. Once the veneer has dried to the cabinet pieces, re-assemble, stain and finish the wood.

6. If the grills are shot, Crites has replacement cloth. If they can be saved a can of flat black paint will work wonders.

Last year I purchased a set of K-Horns in distress. The owners wife decided to paint them primer white. Her brush strokes ended up on the grill cloths. The cabinets I purchased were originally oiled walnut so I had no choice but to locate a furniture refinisher. $450.00 later I have a beautiful pair of K-Horns in better than show room condition. I would also suggest contacting a furniture refinisher in your area. It's well worth the money. Good luck. I'd love to show you my before and after pictures, but I have no clue as to how to post pictures on this site. I also own a MAC so that makes it more difficult.

[Boomzilla]

Thank you, BMWM5 -

I understand the equation effort in = results out.

I do, however, have questions since I've never applied a veneer before other than iron-on edgings. I've also done some internet research about veneering, but it seems to gloss over the question most important to me, specifically "surface preparation."

Because my speakers are so badly beaten up, I can state with authority that every exterior panel is in very poor condition. Every corner on these speakers is badly rounded off. All bottom edges are chipped, gouged, and flaked, and all sides/fronts/backs are similarly broken. The front seam of the bass horn nose is uneven and even the tops are cracked ( ! ). See the photos at the beginning of the thread for examples. That being the case, it would take a week or more of nothing but sanding, filling, and corner / edge reconstruction before I would have surfaces smooth enough to veneer.

Since I already have two 4x8 sheets of birch veneer plywood in my garage, I think that reconstructing the outsides of the speaker boxes is a better solution than veneering. By replacing only six pieces (four sides & two tops), the original exterior would be restored to "factory finish."

Should I choose not to replace, I've been advised by another poster in this thread to instead cover the existing boxes with 1/4" veneered plywood. This would would accomplish several goals:

• The internal bass horn would not have to be disturbed
• The external surfaces of the existing boxes would not need to be disturbed
• The extra thickness would damp vibrations

Of course, should I pursue the "cover with veneered plywood" option, I'd be obliged to cut the top horns off of the bass horn and overturn the bass horn so that the woofer access would be from the bottom rather than from the top (as currently configured). Otherwise, I'd need to tear the plywood and top off of the speakers should I ever need to access the woofers.

In conclusion, my best options, as I see them now are to:
#1 - Cover the bass horn with 1/4" veneered plywood while creating a new top-hat box with 3/4" veneered ply
#2 - Reconstruct the entire exterior of the speakers in 3/4" veneered ply
#3 - Have a refinishing shop smooth and veneer the cabinets, or
#4 - Live with what I've got.

Cordially - Boomzilla

[Marvel]

I'd love to show you my before and after pictures, but I have no clue as to how to post pictures on this site. I also own a MAC so that makes it more difficult.

Not really...

There are directions on the site on how to do it, but it's the same for a Mac as it is for Windows, Linux or other OS.

When you post, you go to the options tab, click on add/update and browse to one of your pics. Then scroll to the right and click on the save button. With any browser, you can only upload one pic per post.

Bruce

[Boomzilla]

Using the Klipsch site uploader, the "one pic per post" limit is correct. I prefer, however, to post my pics to photobucket.com (free), and link to them there. That way, an infinite # of pictures may be added for any post. I also run a Mac.