Just Joined / First Post - La Scala Plans Page?

[Purdue]

Long time user of the internet but I've never joined a group before…a first for me so empathy if I'm posting in the wrong place please. 

 

Mesmerized by the La Scala units as an early teen but life was a little rough back then and the price put this want in the "when I get rich" category. I turn 50 this year and while I will always be poor in my mind, I can afford to buy a set. Before I start looking for new or used, I wanted to explore building a pair as I have a lot of woodworking equipment and am blessed with skills to go with it. I see posts on plans / components / general advice but it looks to be from 2007. Can someone point me in the right direction for the latest or all-inclusive section on building LaScala's?

 

Looking forward to learning and hopefully contributing.

[avguytx]

Welcome to the forum! There is a wealth of knowledge here in regards to Klipsch and building them DIY as well. I'm in the same boat as I'm building a pair of Belles because I can't seem to find any reasonable enough locally. So, I amassed all of the parts, new K-33 woofers, K-55-v mids & K500 horns, Crites CT-120 tweeters, Type AA crossovers (new caps too), and the Belle top grill assembly. Just got to get the Baltic birch and get rolling now. 

 

The plans from 2007 are probably correct as they haven't changed much since their inception so you should be good to go. 

[Ceptorman]

Welcome....nice name....Boilermaker? Are you from Indiana?

Lots of very knowledgable and friendly folks on here. This place is easy to navigate. Good luck if you decide to build....we love progress pics.

[Purdue]

Thanks avguytx and Ceptorman. I'm the child that enjoyed constructing the Hot Wheel dirt complex more than playing with the cars.  I plan to document the project in detail and think the enjoyment of building the set will equal the listening experience. 

 

Purdue Alum Ceptorman and grew up in a small town near Muncie. Moved to Ohio in 1991 and I can't believe your no beer on Sunday law still remains.

 

The catalyst to join the group was buying a Marantz SR7005 receiver for $110. Not a typo…$110 for an amp that first retailed at $1,699. 

 

Something to share with the entire forum is a site that sells store returns. Items range from clearly broken (usually two or three pics) to NIB. The selection is wide but a focus on electronic items from BestBuy, Target, Radio Shack, Home Depot, etc. The Marantz amp was dropped (my guess) and the PCB for the selector and power controls snapped in two. I painstakingly soldered small wires on each PCB track and was lucky it worked. A fun fix and a new amp to enjoy.

 

www.theselectsource.com is the site and the company started on eBay and then branched out on their own a few years ago. Payments via PayPal and I've never had a problem. For those of you who enjoy vintage items, the site will have the most odd listings sometimes. It's like a guy dusted of his Nakamichi Dragon cassette deck, for example, to use BestBuy's trade-in program for cash. I have a few units (TEAC duel cassette deck for example) that I may never use but in perfect condition for $7 plus shipping.

[longdrive03]

Purdue welcome to the forum.  You'll find lots of info on building LS here.  I recently built a set from scratch using 1" baltic birch 17 ply plywood and it was a journey!  I'm about to build a set using 3/4" BB for another friend.  The hardest part is cutting and aligning the "top/point" of the doghouse.  Gotta cut it at correct angle and square.  I suggest building/buying a good 90 degree vertical jig that you can clamp top pieces to  so you can cut the 29-30 degree point angles.  Then you have to clamp/glue the point together.  

 

HDBRbuilder was a great help to me.  He is ex Klipsch employee who build a lot of LS's in his day.  Knows all the details and shortcuts.  Ar you going to veneer these?  I used lots of screw, glue and clamps to built mine then veneered over the plywood.  Took longer.  This next set I might use finish nails since they will be in my friend's 70 x 140' metal building.  Good luck on your build.

 

Make sure that if you use Bob Crites 15" cast frame woofer that you widen the 15.25" distance between the two sides of the doghouse to 15.5" unless you want to grind the aluminum frame to allow it to fit.

[wvu80]

@PurdueI just came across these threads which might interest you.

 

http://hornloudspeakermagazine.blogspot.com/2008/11/comprehensive-list-of-klipsch-plans.html

 

https://community.klipsch.com/index.php?/topic/156919-la-scala-build/&

 

 

[djk]

Notes refer to building the bass section of a split LaScala, I built 24 in the late '70s.

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Cut all 22-1/4" items without moving the fence, box will be square that way(rip oversize and re-saw if need be).

Set the blade to 30*, take your time and get it right. If your blade heels (most do), set the fence to be parallel with the blade. The set on the teeth should just shave the aux fence.

An auxillary fence is used to cut the 60* angle, the board will be fed vertically into the blade. Use the next chamber angle board as a push board, then the ramps, then an absolutely square push board will be needed for the last item.

Cut all ramps in one piece at 60* and 30*, then re-saw to 3" (add for your saw kerf).

A brad nailer is used on the 60* boards to attach to the chamber sides and (later) make the front angle.

I use 8d galvanized casement nails for about everthing else. With skill they can be driven flush without a nailset and leave no mark on the wood.

Lay the chamber sides into a groove on the saw top. Lay the chamber angle sides on top and square up with the table edge. Tack in with two wire brads, then carefully pull appart. Apply glue to the joint, re-assemble, tap the two brads in all the way, and check to see if it is still square. Nail the rest of the joint with brads. Check for square (easier to fix now than later). This is all much easier than it sounds.

Set the T-nuts (I use a c-clamp), make sure they have threads!. Glue and nail the ramps onto the motorboard. Draw lines on the motorboard so your nails will actually hit the ramps. Blunt the point of the nails to avoid splitting. Dry fit. Drive two nails for each ramp, but only a fraction of an inch into the ramp. Mark the order of the ramps on the motor board. Knock apart. Glue. Drive the nails home, add a third nail to each ramp if you like. Use a Surform body file if you need to lose any wood that hangs out past 22-1/4", the points should hang over the 15-1/4" width.

Line up the motorboard assembly with the back and draw nail lines for the ramps. Cut the deflector shorter than 13", it will save a lot of grief. Attach to the back. Are your nail lines going to be visable?

Dry fit the side/angle assembly to the motorboard with a couple of blunted nails. Start all the nails you will use. Glue. Make sure its square. Drive home the nails. Repeat for the other side/angle assembley. Use a small spacer to keep the front angle open while you work. When the whole mess is square, remove spacer and use the brad nailer on the front angle.

If the doghouse is not square at this point, stop and fix it.

Dry fit the chamber bottom to the back with two or three nails, then dry fit the doghouse to the bottom with a couple of nails. Glue on the bottom. Glue on the back. Dry fit the chamber top. Glue on the top.

I use a two-flute panel cutter with a guide bearing to cut the woofer mounting hole in the bottom, use the brad nailer to tack on a guide for the router to follow the front edge of the cut.

[Purdue]

Appreciate all the advice everyone. Customer travel lately and not much time to devote to the project…figure the last quarter of 2017 will be kinder for fun projects.

 

Served as a Technical Lab Manager and Sales Manager for the company that makes Titebond wood glues so all that experience pays off when it comes time to assemble the panels. If anyone has questions regarding adhesives, I might have some real-world advice to pass along. Titebond II is a trusted formulation. Hide glues offer acoustic advantages and guitar bridges being an example. Read the ingredients…modern-day "Hide" glues are synthetic and not made from animal tissue. One-part polyurethane adhesives are great for gap-filling but if you look at the bonded joint under a microscope, it has open areas like a sponge. Works well…but may not be as strong as a properly made aliphatic resin (typical wood glue).

 

Is there a way for members to tag nomenclature or areas of specialties? Example: I have experience with adhesives, someone else has a deep understanding of laminating veneers…a member is the expert at calculating speaker volume…etc. Would like to contribute or add value to the forum in areas I know well because I know I'll be asking a lot of questions

 

Lastly. Advice on using Walnut for the LS build? I have lumber from the property I grew up on and a fair amount of it. Most of it will be made into a grandfather clock (my plan later in life) but more than enough remains for something else. This LS build would be a perfect sentimental match…the front yard tree from the time period when I first saw / heard the LS speaker. More importantly, I have a planer so the rough-cut boards can be any thickness I need.

 

I remember someone playing the JUST RELEASED Rolling Stones Album Some Girls and Shattered was was coming out of these huge boxes with no speakers. How could this be? What is that V shaped piece of wood…someone turn OFF the black-light and turn ON the room light so I can see how these things work. Cheers!