longdrive03 Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Buddy of mine has all the Klipsch parts for a second set of Conwalls (he has one set in his kitchen but his wife wants a set to match the kitchen floor color. Now that is one smart woman!! Using 3/4" 17 ply BB ply and will veneer tops and sides with cherry aircraft grade veneer. I've installed some side to side and front to back bracing. Glued, clamped and screwed the sides, tops and bottoms into the motorboard for a good solid connection. My friend has some new original brown cane grill frames still wrapped in plastic. These will be a good match to the Lascala cabinets I built for him using 1"BB ply and cherry veneer. I realize these won't be Klipsch Cornwalls. Fun build though. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Damn man, that's nice, we all need friends like you! They look sweet already can't wait to see them with veneer on them. Would you mind taking pictures of the veneering process as you go through it if not too late? It would be cool to see it all come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincymat Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 Very nice, you do some darn fine work. How deep is the interior of the enclosure, front to back? Wondering if a pair of Fastrac La Scala horns with K55 drivers might fit. Thanks, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Thanks guys. By my ciphering (at work can't measure) the interior depth from back of motorboard to inside of back is about 13 3/8" (15.5"overall depth minus 5/8" setback on front minus 3/4" thick motorboard minus 3/4" thick back equals 13 3/8" . I'll try to remember to take pics of veneer process. I use Heatlock veneer glue/iron on method. Need to finish painting fronts black and installing bracing in second speaker and installing vent top and side supports inside, cutting terminal hole on back and then its time to final sand and start veneering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincymat Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 4 minutes ago, longdrive03 said: Thanks guys. By my ciphering (at work can't measure) the interior depth from back of motorboard to inside of back is about 13 3/8" (15.5"overall depth minus 5/8" setback on front minus 3/4" thick motorboard minus 3/4" thick back equals 13 3/8" . Thanks for the prompt reply. Just measured my Fastrac horns with K55v installed. Looks like 16" from the inside of the front baffle. Not totally out of the question should i decide to build some FrankenWalls.. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Good idea Cincy. I redid a pair of C's for another friend with an 8 x 12" horn and it really opened up the sound. I'm sure the Fastracs would sound great. All you gotta do is cut the parts for additional depth of 2.5" or more. No big deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richieb Posted January 19, 2018 Share Posted January 19, 2018 All the work you have shown here, past and present, is superb. Way, wy over my pay grade. But I do have a question ? - I have heard of aircraft grade aluminum but what the heck is aircraft grade cherry veneer? And how does it differ? A quality rating ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted January 19, 2018 Author Share Posted January 19, 2018 Thanks Rich. I was lucky to purchase a large volume/selection of different veneers from an employee of a company that furbishes/refurbishes private aircraft. The veneer has to be flame retardant. The stuff doesn't burn. It is a thicker wood backed veneer that is made by Booth veneer and I am told it is very select veneer and very expensive. Works great and the wood backing helps keep the veneer flat. I was told that the company that does the refurbishing has extremely high standards and is willing to pay extremely high prices for the veneer. I understand the cost of veneer for a standard private jet ranges from $30K to $75K just for the veneer not installation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted January 22, 2018 Author Share Posted January 22, 2018 JJPTKD here are a few pics of the veneer process (I'm not very good at documenting). I used the Heatlock glued and a 4" glue roller and applied the glue to the veneer then the substrate (speaker). You want to make sure you cover the entire are especially the outer edges to keep them from pulling apart. Takes about an 60 - 90 minutes for glue to dry depending on humidity/temp to point that it isn't sticky. You only have about 6 hours max to iron the veneer on after applying glue. I suggest you read the tutorial at Joe Woodworkers who sells the glue. If you buy it when it's cold be sure to pay the extra cold protection to keep it from freezing. Obviously you have to cut the veneer and layout the sequence before applying glue. I use blue tape to sequentially number the pieces that will meet. Make sure you cut a little larger size on the veneer to allow you to flush trim. I would use some dowels under the veneer as you veneer and take them out as you proceed. Sometimes if the glue isn't dry enough it can stick and it is hard to position without pulling some glue off veneer. Use a standard clothes iron and an old tee shirt and after positioning the veneer place the iron on the tee shirt which covers the veneer to keep from burning. I bought some tee shirt material by the yard from Wal-Mart for bigger projects. Don't have to worry about irregular shape of cut up tee shirt. Be sure to keep moving the iron to avoid burns. You may hear crackling as you iron and when the crackling stops you should be in good shape. As you're veneering tap all around the piece and if you hear a "not solid" sound reheat that area. I generally start in the center and move outward. If your veneer isn't flat you may need some veneer softener (JW has it) to spray on the veneer to flatten it. I always have some boards that I can put on the veneer immediately after I finish with the heat and then I clamp the edges and put weight on the center for a couple of hours. . If you're doing a wrap around veneer or partial wrap around I start on one side and make sure the grain on the top is aligned. I will apply both sides first then flush trim then do the top which overlaps the sides. Make sure the joints that overlap the sides have plenty of glue at the edge. After you're satisfied that the joints are good then use a flush trim bit on the top piece which overlaps the sides. If you have any small gaps between the veneer/substrate you can use a razor knife ($1 for 3 from Dollar Tree - my favorite store which tells you how cheap I am) to push glue in the gap and reclamp or you can use filler to match the veneer. This certainly isn't a recognized treatise on how to do this - others my do it differently. I probably left something out but there are some video on line that cover this as well Here are some pics showing the wet glue on a side piece and the glue bottle and 4" roller and small (Dollar Tree ) black tray that I use. BTW, I always ask the DT employees how much items and they look at me funny. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted January 22, 2018 Share Posted January 22, 2018 Wow, that looks nice! Thanks for walking through the process step by step I may end up doing this in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang_flht Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Bravo, j'adore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khornukopia Posted February 2, 2018 Share Posted February 2, 2018 Hope to see more pictures of your fine work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted February 5, 2018 Author Share Posted February 5, 2018 Update. All the wood parts are attached except solid cherry trim on front. About ready to sand and finish. These things will be heavier than the real Cornwalls which are 98 lbs each since the 3/4" baltic birch ply is heavier. Still have to install the factory brown cane grills which still have the velcro patches attached to the grill. Can't post any more pics because of 2MB max size Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longdrive03 Posted February 8, 2018 Author Share Posted February 8, 2018 Update. 4 coats of wipe on poly in bad light. Starting to look like a speaker. Thanks for the compliments. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 The veneer looks great. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjptkd Posted February 8, 2018 Share Posted February 8, 2018 They turned out very nice! not sure anyone would ever know they weren't original Klipsches.. not that it really makes a difference I guess. I bet your buddy will be thrilled, I know I would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Very nice. I hope you braced the backs also. Big ole panels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avguytx Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Looking great, Ken! I think once we get moved and settled into our new house later this year (hopefully), I'm going to build a pair of Cornwall clones/Cornscala. I'll probably go with the same drivers I used with the Belle's; K-33, A-55g, CT120) or find the same mid/hi drivers as the Cornwall II uses and go titanium diaphragms. I can buy new Klipsch Cornwall III's for employee purchase from various deals but I don't really want them with that tiny H3 mid horn. So, may just build. Who knows. Hoping to get Belle grills done this weekend! This new land buying thing has kept us hectic on the weekend. Well, mainly my wife wanting to hang out there for whatever reason. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Top notch! I sure could use a single LS cab up here in Conway hint, hint....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Very nice. You can redo my LaScalas when you're done. :-) 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.