TFR1 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Last week I made a trip to pick up a Raw Birch LaScala that needed a new home. My plan was to use the LaScala as a center channel for my office system. Spent Thursday, Friday and Saturday stripping and sanding old stain and paint. Sunday applied an oil finish and this morning I reassembled the Parts into the cabinet. LaScala sounds very nice, but I do not have the room to move the Cornwall's or the LaScala to attempt to balance the sound. The LaScala overwhelms the Cornwall's. Is there an easy way to control volume for my center channel? Jerry 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Budman Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 jerry, that turned out really nice 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 Thanks. Never thought I would like birch cabinets until I saw Larry's. @scallywagger77 I really like the warm amber glow that his have acquired over the last 40 years. I tried to replicate his cabinet color. Not near as nice as Larry's but I am pretty happy with the result. Jerry 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MEH Synergy Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 6 minutes ago, TFR1 said: Not near as nice as Larry's but I am pretty happy with the result. Larry, Jerry, either which way, great job on the LA scala man. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 22 minutes ago, TFR1 said: LaScala sounds very nice, but I do not have the room to move the Cornwall's or the LaScala to attempt to balance the sound. The LaScala overwhelms the Cornwall's. Is there an easy way to control volume for my center channel? What are you doing now to power the L/C/R? If you had an AVR then balancing the center channel would be a simple adjustment via the menu. I'm curious, what crossover do you have? I assume Type AA? Has the XO been updated? +++ Nice job on the refurb. That's a lot of work and it came out nicely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimjimbo Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Great job Jerry. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 @wvu80 An AVR is a solution, but I really enjoy my Fisher tube amp. The Fisher 500C has L-Ctr-R connections, but volume controls all three. Crossover is AA that has been recapped. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalifornian Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 What exactly was your process for stripping, sanding, and cleaning. I need to achieve that finish on my LaScalas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDJohnson Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emile Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Great looking! If you cannot adjust the volume via AVR/other, I assume you can just use an potentiometer to control it ... someone with more tech savvy has to tell you the ohms value Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scallywagger77 Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 Beautiful job Jerry! What a transformation. Makes me want to start sanding on that birch raw split that somebody covered up with stain. The Cornwalls might help the bass that LaScalas lack, you just have to tame the midrange from your LS somehow. You’ll get there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
windashine Posted February 4, 2019 Share Posted February 4, 2019 1 hour ago, TFR1 said: An AVR is a solution, but I really enjoy my Fisher tube amp. The Fisher 500C has L-Ctr-R connections, but volume controls all three. Crossover is AA that has been recapped. Could you take a picture of how you have the LaScala wired out of your Fisher 500C for the center ? Reason for asking is that I saw your other post from this morning, and just wondered if you followed any of PWK's Dope from Hope article for the July '74 print-out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 4, 2019 Author Share Posted February 4, 2019 @Kalifornian 1) Sand all surfaces with 80 grit on a DA sander. (Mine is air driven, but electric works fine) You must be careful not to sand too much. The original baltic birch panels are pretty thick(with the exception of the forward facing 'V' shaped panels on the bass bin) but you don't need to sand all of the paint, stain or lacquer finish off. You just need to get as much of the finish off as possible without over sanding. 2) Get a can of Aircraft Paint stripper. It is nasty stuff. Follow directions. let work 15-30 minutes depending on temp and stripper effectiveness. 3) Using a grey scotchbrite pad (and heavy rubber gloves) scrub the stripper coated surface. 4) Use a plastic scraper and a rag to remove the gooey mess. Try to go with the grain of the wood. Remove all traces of stripper. 5) Wipe all stripped surfaces with a lacquer thinner soaked rag. 6) Sand with 80 grit on top and sides again. Work your way thru 120, 150, 180, and 220 grit as you smooth and clean the exterior panels. 7) You must use this same process as you strip the inside of the bass bin, but due to space limitations, you will need to do most of it by hand due to the space limitations of the LaScala construction. 😎 Clean all dust from the panels using a tack rag. 9) Apply a wood conditioner, or sealer. 10) Apply Watco wood oil or a Tung oil per instructions. This is not an easy project. There are also a lot of details that I can not predict that you will encounter. You must be careful not to sand thru the veneer or round over edges. I have a lot of finishing experience and I have to remind myself to take my time and go slow. Good Luck. jerry 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirrunna Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 1 hour ago, windashine said: Could you take a picture of how you have the LaScala wired out of your Fisher 500C for the center ? Here is a link to the Fisher manual http://www.fisherconsoles.com/non console manuals/fisher 500c 30001 49999 sm.pdf that shows how the center speaker is wired. I would suggest a simple attenuator like https://www.parts-express.com/speaker-l-pad-attenuator-50w-stereo-1-shaft-8-ohm--260-260 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 @windashine Pic of 500C connections attached. Center channel wires are the two left most wires. I looked at the wiring diagram and read the article. I don't have the skill set to construct the control device. Easier to by an AVR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glens Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 As per the owners manual I linked to in the other thread, this is more along the lines of what you'd want. https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Speaker-L-Pad-Attenuator/dp/B0002KR1K0 or for a couple bucks less (but less margin) https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Speaker-L-Pad-Attenuator/dp/B0002KR1FA Hook one each of the two outer control terminals to one each of the center channel output screws on the amp. Hook one speaker lead to one of the control outer terminals along with that wire going to the amplifier. Hook the other speaker lead to the center control terminal and adjust the control to taste. It really doesn't matter which outer terminal you use with the speaker unless you use the faceplate on the control and want it to be accurate in terms of direction to turn the knob. Do be sure to mind the polarities of the speaker leads; you want the speaker to be "in phase" with the stereo pair. It's a rather ingenious method they used. The schematic shows the center speaker terminals hooked to the positive end of one output transformer secondary and to the negative end of the other transformer secondary. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jvitti1970 Posted February 5, 2019 Share Posted February 5, 2019 @TFR1 would the refinishing process you mentioned work if my original Lascalas are black and I wanted a natural wood color as my end result? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 10 hours ago, glens said: As per the owners manual I linked to in the other thread, this is more along the lines of what you'd want. https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Speaker-L-Pad-Attenuator/dp/B0002KR1K0 or for a couple bucks less (but less margin) https://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Speaker-L-Pad-Attenuator/dp/B0002KR1FA Hook one each of the two outer control terminals to one each of the center channel output screws on the amp. Hook one speaker lead to one of the control outer terminals along with that wire going to the amplifier. Hook the other speaker lead to the center control terminal and adjust the control to taste. It really doesn't matter which outer terminal you use with the speaker unless you use the faceplate on the control and want it to be accurate in terms of direction to turn the knob. Do be sure to mind the polarities of the speaker leads; you want the speaker to be "in phase" with the stereo pair. It's a rather ingenious method they used. The schematic shows the center speaker terminals hooked to the positive end of one output transformer secondary and to the negative end of the other transformer secondary. This is helpful. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TFR1 Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 16 hours ago, Jvitti1970 said: @TFR1 would the refinishing process you mentioned work if my original Lascalas are black and I wanted a natural wood color as my end result? @Jvitti1970 It would depend on what wood is under the black paint. If the paint was applied over a plywood surface, you may be successful. If it is applied over an MDF surface, you may not achieve the surface finish you desire. I seems that Klipsch used a pretty high quality birch plywood. The outer surface of Raw Birch cabinets I have worked on are free of defects. I have been able to do much sanding without finding flaws. The LaScala cabinet pictured in this thread required the removal of 6-8 thousandths of material. Even at that, some black paint remained in the deepest grain. I chose to leave some of the paint in the grain rather than risk damage by sanding thru the veneer. The result was just a little "patina" to the finish that I find very acceptable. You might experiment on the bottom of the cabinet and see what you find. Jerry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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