longdrive03 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 A friend commissioned me to build a replica cabinet of this vintage speaker (to slightly different dimensions). First pic shows the speaker as built. Second pics show my progress so far. Third pic shows rear of WE753 (using 15" woofer). Dimension on 753 were 30" tall, 20" wide and 14" deep. This build is 30" tall, 24" wide and 14" deep. He is going to place these in an opening in a wall cabinet. The grill (top, bottom and slats) are solid walnut. The sides will be 3/4" BB ply with a 1/2" ply panel veneer on top with curly walnut veneer. I used walnut edge banding to hide the ply edges on 1/2" ply panels. Top is figured walnut veneer matching up with the back of the front top piece which is solid walnut. My friend is using a 12" Altec 601C woofer (he had it reconed at Great Plains Audio) and GPA driver on a mid/tweeter horn (horn bends downward to allow shallow cabinet (14" deep).The grill was a chore to get right. The motorboard is installed through the removable back with brown cane type grill material. He will use an EV electronic crossover. Cabinet is vented.I'll post as I proceed. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Original WE753 speaker pic 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schu Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 looks awesome, are you using solid hardwoods... what else have you built? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 Schu, yes solid walnut on the front grill and on the edges of the top and bottom and curly walnut aircraft grade veneer on the top and sides. baltic birch ply everywhere else. I've posted on the forum the LaScala I built using 1" baltic birch ply with cherry veneer, Belle bass bins from scratch using 1.25" ply on the sides and cherry veneer and several Heresy redos. I've attached a three way non Klipsch build with curved sides and solid bubinga top and trip with 12" woofer, 8 x 12 inch mid with Selenium D250 mid and 1" titanium dome tweeter. I'll post some pics . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.4 Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Once again, beautiful work! Are you building one from start to finish this time? Or are you building them both at the same time? Keep up the good work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Hope you scared up the WE components because it is a sweet speaker. Only heard it for a few hours but it was cool. Classic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 No. 4, yes building one at a time. Second one should go faster since I know how it all fits together and what to avoid on the second build. Seti, my friend using a reconed Altec 601C duplex speaker without the tweeter for the woofer and a GPA driver. He has the bent horns to use as well. He is going to biamp it with a 25watt amp for the woofer and 2 watts for the tweeter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 3 hours ago, longdrive03 said: No. 4, yes building one at a time. Second one should go faster since I know how it all fits together and what to avoid on the second build. Seti, my friend using a reconed Altec 601C duplex speaker without the tweeter for the woofer and a GPA driver. He has the bent horns to use as well. He is going to biamp it with a 25watt amp for the woofer and 2 watts for the tweeter. The horns aren't an easy score. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Very nice work, what type of finish, poly, tung, shellac? t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Thanks for the compliment tk49. I use the lazy man's finish - Minwax wipe on poly - satin finish. Apply it with the famous Harbor Freight stain pads (no 48166). I've got 4 coats on now and probably do 2-3 more then will wet sand with 500 grit then apply Minwax finishing wax with 0000 grit steel wool then buff with clean cotton cloth. Turns out slicker than snot on a doorknob! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Doesn't sound too lazy man to me. Poly will give a reasonably hard finish and with a wet sand and finishing with the 0000 steel wool, it will be smooth to the touch. I like shellac, not near as hard as a poly, but will render a fine finish. The other thing about shellac is it plays well with other finishes. Poly is multiple individual layers, where shellac is multiple layers melding into one. I struggled with tung oil at first, but when done right it can give a hard smooth finish. One doesn't fit all, it all boils down to what you what/need from your finish. Once again nice work. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 I haven't used shellac that much but I might have to try it. Post some pics of your shellac projects! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 I'll give it a try this evening, when I figure out how to do it. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Finally figured out how to post pics. Curly walnut and curly maple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No.4 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 27 minutes ago, tk49 said: Finally figured out how to post pics. Curly walnut and curly maple. Very, very nice. I really like the contrast between the two woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Awesome skills....both of you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 Tk49, I love the project with my favorite combo of curly walnut and curly maple. Great contrast and excellent work!! Ceptorman, thanks for the compliment! Got the grill materials stretched over the motoroboard last night. Love the material and the contrast with walnut. Can't post more pics because of size limitations?? Don't know how to fix that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tk49 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 I couldn't post original pic so I had to change my pic size before attaching. Send me some via email, thanks. t Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted August 3, 2017 Author Share Posted August 3, 2017 I changed the photos sizes and I now have 276kb left. I'll try again to make it really small. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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.