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Maybe my wife is right


TFR1

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I've always had the best luck with the General Finish line of gel stains and clear coats.  We (well, my wife)  did all of the cabinets in the house with GF gel stain and 3 to 4 poly coats which turned out great.  On my Belles with the ribbon mahogany, I did test samples on various pieces of left over veneer including the Watco danish oil, which has worked well for many things, but ended up using General Finish stuff again.  I used Seal a Cell first, just one coat, to seal the grain for even stain (if I was staining) then went back over them with 4 coats of GF Arm-R-Seal oil & urethane as I wanted a tough finish on them.  I didn't add any extra stain as I didn't want them to be any darker but the Seal a Cell brought out all I needed in darkness and each layer of urethane, it added only a touch more.

 

Let me again say just how awesome that veneer job looks...

 

Before....

 

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And after...

 

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Aaannnnddd done...

 

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@avguytx

I have made a couple of test panels to try some different finishes.

Your finish is amazing. Almost luminescent! 

I am looking for a dark rich walnut that looks a century old when I'm done. I think an oil, in combination with a little darker stain is what I want.  

 

I would love to just pick out a couple of cans of General Finish material, and finish this project. Tomorrow I will stop by the Rockler store and see what they have.

 

How long did you wait before applying your finish?

Contact cement instructions say to wait 24 hours. Several people have suggested that they wait as long as a week.

 

Jerry

 

 

 

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@TFR1  It may have been a week before I applied any finish but it was mainly waiting on it to come in and having the time to jump into them as I knew it would be a task.  If you have a Rockler store close to you, I'm jealous!  ha.  But definitely ask them about what they'd recommend in the finish you're trying to achieve.  I think I waited 24 hours for the Seal a Cell coat to fully dry before going to the Arm-R-Seal and then it was maybe 12 hours between coats with a 0000 steel wool light sanding.  

 

You can use Arm-R-Seal over an oil finish after it's gotten to the darkness you want with good results.  Like any wood finish, there's always that chance of something going awry, but, if you do it on some test pieces first, you'll know for sure.  General Finish may have a gel stain that works well for you, too.  That Arm-R-Seal is awesome, though.  It gives it a tough final finish.  

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Made my trip to the Rockler Store Wednesday. After too much thought, I bought several gel stains and some oil finishes to experiment with. I wasn't thrilled with anything I purchased. All were nice, just not what I had imagined.

 

Went to HD this morning and bought 5 or 6 different Minwax stains and some light and dark Walnut Watco Danish oil.

Need to consider this carefully. I would prefer that my wife tastes and mine are not at odds.

 

Jerry

trying to pick a stain color.jpg

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The Dark Walnut Danish Oil finish was not my first choice, but it does look very nice. My first choice was a Dark Walnut stain with a light tung oil.

I am happy with the look of an oiled finish. Need to apply a couple of coats over the next few days.

 

Just couldn't wait till next week to get some finish applied.

 

 

Jerry

First coat1.jpg

First coat top.jpg

first coat .jpg

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A couple additional coats of oil have darkened the walnut a bit more.

The pics look nice, but the wood looks much  better up close. 

It will be a few days before I have time to install components. I am close to the end. 

My motorcycle frame is to be back from the plating shop next week. The lift will be available just in time.

Jerry

Cabinet.jpg

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Cornwall's, plus pair of Heresy I and Birch Super Heresy's in my office space. Also a pair of old 10" Magnavox from the 70's that are behind the Cornwalls.

 

This stack does not begin to compare to what I saw @jimjimbo 's house, but I am very happy with the sound I can now produce. ( I do need more and/or bigger amps )

 

My son said that it is beginning to remind him of Marty McFly.

 

Resized_20180302_095959.jpeg

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Hey Jerry, 

   I figure you might be looking for tubes but my nephew is selling a massive  Technics amp I think it’s rated at 160/ch. if your interested he just lives in Carrollton about an hour from you. Cornwalls look phenomenal by the way!

Mark

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@jimjimbo

 

I have been tempted. I know almost nothing about tubes.

Had a Dynaco 35 that was traded for a Marantz Quad in 76 or 77, it failed.

In the 80's, after children, I bought an inexpensive Kenwood. 

No time or energy for building an audio system until we met in December.

 

I wish to build a Bob Latino VTA Dynaco 120. I think it's a good amp and  would be fun.

A home theatre amp seems like an easy solution! just plug it in.

A vintage Marantz 2285 also would be cool.

 

Must get grills made for the Cornwall's before I worry about a new amp.

 

I picked up the Egli-Vincent frame from the nickel plater today. Much work to do.

20180302_165320 copy.jpg

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Well, I haven’t advertised my Bob Latino st-70 but, there is someone very interested in it so it might be time to switch things up. This technics is an impressive and quite gorgeous amp but, he needs to move it ASAP to replace his mower and trailer that was stolen last week.

Frame looks awesome too. You are the man of a thousand projects, 😁.

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Idk, I hadn’t really thought about selling mine but, a guy I know was gonna buy an old st-70 for 750 and I told him I’d sell my B.L. vta st-70 for 700. So he thinks he wants it but he had to put new tweets and xovers in his Lascala so he’s put me on hold till he gets more money together.

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On 3/2/2018 at 6:56 PM, TFR1 said:

@jimjimbo

 

I have been tempted. I know almost nothing about tubes.

Had a Dynaco 35 that was traded for a Marantz Quad in 76 or 77, it failed.

In the 80's, after children, I bought an inexpensive Kenwood. 

No time or energy for building an audio system until we met in December.

 

I wish to build a Bob Latino VTA Dynaco 120. I think it's a good amp and  would be fun.

A home theatre amp seems like an easy solution! just plug it in.

A vintage Marantz 2285 also would be cool.

 

Must get grills made for the Cornwall's before I worry about a new amp.

 

I picked up the Egli-Vincent frame from the nickel plater today. Much work to do.

20180302_165320 copy.jpg

SSSWEEEEET!   Let the games begin.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Motorcycles have occupied my time the past few weeks. This morning I finished installing recapped B crossovers into the Cornwall cabinets.

I had a desire to keep original caps in place. But too many people insisted 40 year old capacitors could not deliver the same sound as new caps.

@jimjimbo helped point me toward some good caps without spending a lot. Still not sure a capacitor that costs $100 can perform  better than an $8 cap.

I now know a new $8 cap sounds better than the 40 year old caps.

So about 2 hours ago I finally put music thru the refurbished Cornwall's.

Decided to start with a proper late 70's early 80's recording of Cavatina, played by John Williams.  Followed by a the 'Outlaws' Southern Rock classic, "Green Grass and High Tides". The new Cornwall's can handle the delicate as well as a bruising wall of guitar sounds.

"Hymn to the Fallen"

"Rapsody in Blue"

"Vincent"

"Wonderful Wonderful" (from the most bizarre X Files episode ever)

"Taki Rari" & "Gopher Mambo" (you must try some Yma Sumac)

"Funeral" Band of Horses

"You're Still a Young Man".......................

...................

I have a lot of music (albums) that hasn't been played in  many years. Going to be a lot of fun.

 

Thanks to all that have provided encouragement and advice. In the end, My wife was right, the effort required to save these Cornwall's exceeded the cost of replacement. But it has been fun, a great learning experience, and I saved 2 Cornwalls from the trash.

 

Life is very good.

 

Jerry

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm machining a few items that I should have worked on while the frame was being plated. Front and rear axles, engine mtg bolts, new swing arm pivot bolts various spacers for shocks and rear hub.

Made a new buck for another gas tank.

I have made a tank, but still not happy with the final form. Made some adjustments an trying again.

Waiting on bearings for steering head.

 

Work is slow. Trying not to make any mistakes.

 

IMG-20180315-WA0007.jpeg

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