Jump to content

Cedar veneered Heresys done!


ttaylor

Recommended Posts

Well I must say that although not the normal finish you see, after sanding and a coat of Danish Oil, Id be hard pressed to have bought something much nicer. I used the "glue and iron" method for the first time and although slow, it produces an awesome edge. I was able to use a mini-Stanly plane and get the edges razor sharp. And they are hard as a rock since I could brush the glue up into the previous edge, filling all the voids. Ive gotten such nice edges with contact cement nor been able to do the veneering in the house.

I used compressed rubber flooring underlayment and Henrys waterbased flooring adhesive to bond the stuff to the ply. When it dries, it shrinks, grabbing the rubber and sucking it to the wood. Between that and a horizontal brace, the cabs are no longer "live". I also mounted the drivers on the front of the baffle , put in new inductors and caps, and am making sand filled stands. All in all Im really pleased with the results and truely think that a used pair of Heresys are one of the true bargains in audio.

I will add the interior pic next.

taylor

post-12544-13819261985612_thumb.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

WOW, lots to love here. First, having seen cedar wood in humidors, etc, it was always raw, so I doubted the 'beauty' of this wood for veneer purposes. Your are unique and awesome. I especially like the 'decorator' look you gave them by eliminating the grills and having the guts to make it all edges. Great job. Having the drivers exposed gives a very powerful look to these mighty mights.

I also like the interior treatment. ALthough the side panels are so short that at first I questioned the use of internal brace, you did a great job here also. I'd guess that you were really bothered by cabinet vibrations as you dense carpet pad (is that the chunky foam or the rubber like gym floors?) looks tight and secure. Bet these sound awesome.

It's amazing how many people put in the time, energy, dollars and love to make their Klipsch Heritage the best they can be. I've never heard of anyone treating a JBL or Altec speaker from the 70's this way. Just says a lot about the Klispch name and the type of people who own them.

A++ all the way!

Michael

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the nice comments. Yes Heritage owners are fanatics (or maybe freaks!) I think that the straight forward construction and the longevity and repairable nature of the drivers makes them easy to modify and restore.

Gil, Yes you use Titebond 2 (this is the standard) and apply a thin coat on the veneer and the speaker. Allow to dry, place the veneer and then iron. There are several websites that outline it, unfortunately, I cant find the links.

Michael, The braces and damping make a huge difference. I used to tap the sides and the enclosures sounded like a drum. Now they just have that dull "thud" like MDF. The other speakers are Magnepan MG2Bs, modded of course, and one of two dipole subs. Ive got a pair of "Autotuba" horn subs in the works and they will flank the Heresys soon. They too are about 95db.

taylor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks and luckily, it wasnt too difficult to do. I cut the piece out that separates the mid and tweet. Now you have two rectangular holes, the form a single hole. The CDs can now fit through the baffle. I then routed out a slot, half the thickness of the baffle the same width as the piece of wood I removed. I fit a strip of plate aluminum into place, thus replacing the original wood that spanned between the two horns with a removal piece of aluminum, that sits in slots on either side. I veneered it and once the two CDs are inserted through the holes, you slip in the removable piece and thats it. I did have to grind the K700 down on the back of the sides so they would seat flatly onto the baffle.

taylor

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice looking. Nice job!

You are absolutely right about the unbacked veneer and the sharp edges. I dab a little glue on the raw edge of the pieces of veneer after I apply them so the next piece will really bond on the edge.

Here's a link to a webpage for those who are interested in the method. This is the page for Gary's zebrawood Heresy's, it has the article from Fine Woodworking magazine that first got me going on this method.

Zebrawood Heresy page.

Greg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...