shepjk01 Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Well I finally found a single black ash rf7 for center channel duties and it was delivered by fedex yesterday and they did a number on it. I purchased it from vanns as an open box. I called vanns and they refunded my purchase and said fedex would come pick the speaker up on Monday. They then called backed later and said that since it was delivered 3 day that fedex would not pick it up so I could just keep it and do whatever with it. The drivers are in perfect shape and the speaker works and sounds fine. It is just that the cabinet itself got pretty beat up. I have included pics of the worst damage and my main question is the cabinet fixable as all the damage is cosmetic. Could the veneer be removed then reveenered or covered over with new veneer? Any help on fixing the cabinet or another suggestion would be very appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 another pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dale A B Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 What did Fed Ex do to it? Was the carton damaged at all? Since that was an open box item, maybe it was used, and that is how they sent it. That looks like minor cosmetic damage to me, and I'd probably just leave it if the grille covers the front and the speaker sits on the bottom. I think you were lucky to get it in the condition you did and at the ending sale price, I'd probably send Vann's a thank you note! As to the damage, I'd try to do it myself first. NP - Govt Mule - High & Mighty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted April 28, 2007 Author Share Posted April 28, 2007 The box was damaged and the fedex delivery driver would not stay long enough for me to inspect the contents. Their is also cosmetic damage on the top and on both sides. I just didn't post pictures of the other numerous areas. The people at vanns said the speaker only had a slight scratch on the front of the unit when it was shipped and that the box was in perfect shape. Needless to say vanns was excellent to deal with and stated they would deal with fedex. I have purchased from them on numerous occasions, but this was the first speaker. They did not even want pictures of the damage. They even offered to pay someone to dispose of the speaker. I was more than willing to send the speaker back, but I can't complain as the drivers are in mint shape. I'm just interested in the best way to go about refinishing the cabinet itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BS Button Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 It's been a long time since I've seen a pair of RF-7's up close. Is that some sort of plastic or (other) material on the motorboard? Don't they have some sort of feet attached? BS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted April 29, 2007 Share Posted April 29, 2007 It's been a long time since I've seen a pair of RF-7's up close. Is that some sort of plastic or (other) material on the motorboard? Don't they have some sort of feet attached? BS The feet are removeable. The speakers don't fit in the factory packing foam with the feet on so they were probably in a bag in the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted April 30, 2007 Author Share Posted April 30, 2007 The motorboard itself is mdf. I removed the motor board and decided to fabricate a custom rf7 horizontal center channel with repositioned drivers and put new veneer. A couple of questions for the those that have converted a speaker to a center. First do the ports have to be repositioned as the woofers will be relocated and second how do you disconnect the tweeter horn as it does not connect with the same slide on terminals as the woofers. Also are there any recomendations on fabricating the motor board itself or any other helpful tips. I have all the tools at my disposal to do the of the repair and conversion of the rf7 into a center channel. Any help would be very appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted May 19, 2007 Author Share Posted May 19, 2007 Well after alot of research,learning, and experimenting my custom rf7 center channel is almost complete. The first step was to remove the old motor board and fabricate a new one from 3/4 inch mdf. The routing was a chore since I had I to do it all freehand. After the motor board was finished I revenered the cabinet in 20mil ash that I got from oak wood veneer company in Michigan. I then used an alcohol based wood dye to go over the veneer to get it black. After that was finished I used deft brush on lacquer semi gloss as a clear coat. It was my first and last time using lacquer. It was to time intensive to get an even finish with the proper gloss sheen. Polyurethane wood have been alot easier. I still have to give it the final buffing out, but I will let the lacquer cure for a few more weeks. I'm waiting on the grill cloth and magnets that go into the motor board to hold the grill in place(empty holes in motor board in the picture). I used two halves of a couple extra rf7 grills to fabricate the new grill. All in all I'm happy with the results and learned some new wood working techniques in the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted May 19, 2007 Author Share Posted May 19, 2007 another pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted May 19, 2007 Author Share Posted May 19, 2007 rc7 and new center size comparison pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryO Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Nice custom project. It sounds like you came out with a nice center out of the deal. Everything has a way of working out. Nice fit also! Lacquers can be a pain in the wazoo to work with. It's a soft finish also but has it's own look. After drying and soaking time I'd bet it buffs out nice. 3M has a good finish polish/glaze called Finnessit that finishes off lacquer beautiful. It can be applied by hand or machine. I use a sponge pad for machine application. For hand finish I like the Maguires no.7 glaze. I've been using these products for over a decade with super results. HarryO I was sitting here thinking: My local Ovation has quite a few "scratch and dents" new Klipsch speakers. Is there a factory packaging problem? Maybe someone from Klipsch could chime in on this aspect. I know package handlers can be very rough on stuff but.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelA Posted May 19, 2007 Share Posted May 19, 2007 Looks very nice, and HUGE. I'm sure it is just the pic and the shear size of the custom center, but the horn looks a lot smaller than the RC7 horn. How does it sound? Is it ported or sealed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted May 19, 2007 Author Share Posted May 19, 2007 Thanks for the advice on the how to finish up the lacquer. As far as the sound I watched the nin nails concert hd dvd last night and the sound is definetly an improvement over the rc7. A seamless match to the rf7s, imagine using an rf7 as a center and that is exactly what it sounds like as was my beginning goal. The off axis response is just as good or better than the rc7 and the sound is match fuller. As far as the cabinet it is the same one in the first picture at the beginning of the post. Except with a new motorboard and new veneer. The rest of the cabinet as in port location and internal bracing and dampening are exactly the same as it was in the orginal rf7 form. The horns in the two center are the same it is just the picture and the horn in my rf7 center is recessed a little more than the rc7's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynchman66 Posted May 20, 2007 Share Posted May 20, 2007 That looks great Justin, Killer system! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachuckster Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 WOW! That is really neat. You sure got a sweet deal. Looks like a Sony KDS-RXBR LCoS TV. Have you been bitten by the green blob yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 Thanks for the compliments. I can't complain about the deal all in all I have around $230 in it with the new veneer, paint, miscellaneous, and around 20 hours or more of time. I also gained some knowledge on veneering and finishing with lacquer in the process and have to give thanks to my dad as he is an excellent woodworker and guided me along in the fabricating of the motherboard and put up with me using his shop. As far as the tv it is the sony kdsr 60xbr2. I also have a sony 60a2000 in the bedroom and neither of the two have any sort of green blob or haze at startup or otherwise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMays Posted June 4, 2007 Share Posted June 4, 2007 I just saw this. Very nice center! I'm jealous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepjk01 Posted June 4, 2007 Author Share Posted June 4, 2007 Thanks for the compliment. I buffed the lacquer out this weekend and all in all I'm happy with the outcome. It is definetly a step up from the rc7. I'm still waiting on the grill cloth to totally finish off the center channel. I also have to pull the left woofer back out because I forget to clean the polish out of the crack. I also finished building a stand for it to sit on that I have to paint this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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