DCFirebottle Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Just happened to walk into the right "out of the way" thrift shop and spotted a couple of buried cornwalls. I've owned and treasured a pair of forte's for several years now, but I'm new to the heritage series. Needless to say, the price was right and with a little help, and probably a double hernia, I drove off with them. Let me ad, the components are as perfect as the day they were made. The speakers must have been placed under a window or something. The tops are extremely faded. Also, one looks like candle wax got on the top of it, as well. My wife loves the sound of them, but thinks they are an eyesore. There is no way around it, they must be refinished if I'm ever to get them into the family room. What is the best way to refinish them? Not sure I can pay to have it done. I've fine sanded good pieces of furniture before with excellent results. Is this possible with these cornwall's? How does this affect their value? Is it best to keep them their original stain color? (They're an ugly dark faded brown that doesn't go with the other furniture in the room.) There are a few nicks that may not fine sand out. Is it alright to use a wood filler?... Also, I'm a little confused whether they are one's or two's. The sticker on the back says cornwalls, but someone wrote a "2" next to it with, (it looks like) the same pen as they wrote other things on the sticker, when they were made. It says they were made in 1980. I'm assuming that means they are one's? Also these have trim pieces on them. Two of my friends have cornwall's and neither have them. Is this unusal? The work is excellent, so I'm pretty sure it's factory? I've heard that the outside cover material is still available for heritage, is this true? Do you get it from Klipsch directly? Sorry about all the questions, but I want to do it right. All comments are welcome and appreciated. Would anyone out there who really knows their heritage, maybe take a look at some pictures I could send you and give me any advice and possible plan of attack? Thanks. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Button Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Welcome. A picture would be very helpful. 1980 would be 1's. Are they oiled or lacquered? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 hmmm, trim pieces. They might be Decorator models that had the grill trim added later. Congrats on a great find. Post some photos when you can and the guys will get you fixed up with all the info you need for a nice weekend project. In the meantime, if the problem is mainly the top, perhaps some 1/4" glass cut to size for the tops might improve the looks and could be used later to protect your handiwork. If the backs are removeable, they are I's. If the speakers mount from the front, II's. And yes, Klipsch used the old labels with red felt pen II's added for the first round of II's way back when. Many times the red ink faded, adding to the CW mystique. Welcome to the Madness. Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 Of course I defer to Michael C regarding the structure of the box being a good indicator of the "I" versus "II". Of course there was no use of "I" at any time; similarly there is a Forte and a Forte II but no "Forte I". But I will point out that in 1969, what we call a Cornwall was called a Cornwall II. Sometime later, the "II" was dropped, and then was used to indicate the plastic horn, "can't open the back" design. You can find a review of the 1969 Cornwall II by searching the www.klipsch.com webpage. At one time, the Cornwall used a vertically oriented midrange which was off to one side of the face of the box. Then there was a change to the horizontal orientation which put the woofer, mid, and tweeter all centered. This change may have been the occasion for the first use of the "II". But I don't know that for sure. Maybe Michael can verify. There were some very early Cornwalls which used a slot at the back and this was changed to a port at the front. I think that alteration was not the time of the first use of II but again I don't know. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itlldue Posted April 24, 2007 Share Posted April 24, 2007 My 1976 Cornwalls (8P434,5) Also have a "II" written in the upper right hand corner of the label, one in red ink, the other in black. They are decorator models, and have "trim" on them. I have heard people mention the "cane" material used on Cornwall grills. My supposedly "homemade" grills are a "cane" type material. The other thing I have noticed that is quite a coincidence - the screws that hold the rear cover on the cabinets are not conventional tapered wood screws, but rather straight shanked like, sheet metal screws. The screws that hold the trim on are also not conventional wood screws. I don't suppose Klipsch ever offered a trim "kit" for the decorators, did they? Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCFirebottle Posted April 24, 2007 Author Share Posted April 24, 2007 The thing is, I'm not talking about trim on the grill's. It's on the speaker itself. Along all the edges, up, down, side to side. It must be factory. The work is flawless and matches perfect. This is original stain on them. I would be able to tell if it was an add on or been stainded to match.. I've tried to post some pictures but this site must not like my browser or something, it keeps freezing. Damn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted April 25, 2007 Share Posted April 25, 2007 Easy way to post pictures is to open up a free www.photobucket.com account and then link to the pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted April 26, 2007 Share Posted April 26, 2007 DC, Welcome. Great find! What are the serial #s on the rear of both? There will also be a designation like "CBR, CWO," etc. That should help answering some trim questions. HarryO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCFirebottle Posted April 27, 2007 Author Share Posted April 27, 2007 The serial #'s are 35Y589 & 35Y590. On the tag it say's C-BR whatever that means. I assumed it meant Cornwall brown. Shows how much I know about Klipsch. I eventually will get some pic's posted. D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coytee Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Could that BR mean Raw Birch? The owner could have then added some fancy trim and stained it all to look original? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 That is correct Richard. Decorators would be CD-BR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Travis In Austin Posted April 28, 2007 Moderators Share Posted April 28, 2007 The serial #'s are 35Y589 & 35Y590. On the tag it say's C-BR whatever that means. I assumed it meant Cornwall brown. Shows how much I know about Klipsch. I eventually will get some pic's posted. D. DC, What the Zen Master, Michael Colter, has told you is of course correct, BR means raw birch. The Herritage line was marketed with a raw birch option so that buyers could stain them themselves as either an economic benefit or to get an exact match. So unless you know a lot about furniture finishes, it will be impossible to tell what was originally put on them. The good news is that you will get a lot of great help on here as to how to prep and refinish them to look perfect for you. Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 The reason someone put trim on the edges is to cover up the raw birch end-grain to pretty them up. Did you pop the grills off? Is it black underneath? IMO, Birch ply is hard to stain to get a nice result. The Birch (maple also) absorbs/holds stain differently than other woods like Walnut & Oak. Not stained/treated properly, this Birch can end up looking extremely blotchy. Once they are stripped/prepped, you have to 'prime' the raw wood with basically a sealer in an attempt to create a situation where stain will absorb more evenly. This could be a shellac type treatment or a 'wood conditioner' sold for this purpose. Then if you're lucky, you can better create an even looking stain-job. In my personal opinion, Klipsch didn't use a super-nice grade of birch ply with most of these birch speakers so in the end, even with proper treatment, you're at the mercy of the wood. If it were me, I wouldn't stain them dark. IMO people that use walnut or dark colored stains on birch attempting to get them to look like Walnut or something they aren't, are going in the wrong direction as the darker stains on Birch seem to end up looking more blotchy or just plain 'wrong'. If they were mine, I would would shoot for a golden or lighter, more natural type color because I feel this gives a better end result with birch. What color are they stained now? Got pictures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 Minwax 'Special Walnut' worked very well on the LS-BR's that I purchased from their single owner. Meagain is correct, refinishing the birch veneer is tricky. Getting any original stain out of the wood grain without sanding through the thin veneer is next to impossible. Botchiness is also a factor. Many get painted black or reveneered if the first finish is unacceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 When I purchased my Cornwall in 1965 it was cheaper if shipped unfinished, and they referred to it as the "decorator model". JJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 There is a difference in cabinet construction between standard unfinished CW-BR's and the decorator models. Normally the BR versions are butt-jointed boxes with the motor board inset. In the Decorator models, the top and bottom panel are cut shy, so the front panel extends past and covers the edges of these. The only edge ply that would show would be on the two sides. There were other differences, and the Decorator models changed through the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCFirebottle Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 I really appreciate everyone's input. If you guys say raw birch, I believe you. Went ahead with sanding this past weekend with excellent results so far. The grain is nice even in an unfinished state. I will use the wood conditioner and probably a lighter stain as advised. I will be taking pictures the whole way and will post all of them when I'm done. I will use a friends computer to do it if I need to. Also, I spoke with Ralph over at Duracrest. Wouldn't even let me order the new grill material till I took the old off. Very cool, know's his sh#t on klipsch that's for sure. Will end up spending almost as much for the new material as I did for the speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricktate Posted April 30, 2007 Share Posted April 30, 2007 Alot of staining problems come from not sealing the wood before you stain it....sanding sealer will help wood stain look better.Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Registrar Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hello. While I am new to Klipsch, I am not to furniture. Do not use sandpaper-period. Use fine steel wool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Button Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Hello. While I am new to Klipsch, I am not to furniture. Do not use sandpaper-period. Use fine steel wool. Careful with that steel wool. Plug up all areas that could lead to the magnets. 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.