How to: New Grills, grill cloth, etc...

[Groomlakearea51]

100 Now to install the grills. Make sure you clean off any dust, etc. from the motor board. I use a good quality paint brush for this task.

[Groomlakearea51]

102 Carefully install the grills by removing the backing on the pile stickers, and simply placing the grill against the motor board. The pile pieces will adhere, and you then remove the grill and press the velcro pieces now stuck to the motor board to ensure the adhesive is firmly secured.

[Groomlakearea51]

Thar' yah' go.... Nice new grills for the HT system in the living room.

Only thing left is to refinish the spray painted Cornwalls on the bottom.... But, hey! my wife is happy and she understands that the next thing on the "home improvement list" is my daughter's desk, replace the HT stand in the picture (very ugly as you can see.... but has lasted us for 10 years), and then do those Cornwalls.

For those who asked me for risers.... Yes.... They will be made in the next few weeks from the excess birch from the desks and HT stand...

[colterphoto1]

Marshall, I like what you've done with the place! Your LR theater makes much more sense set up like this.

Thanks for the lessons, I think I could do this. Your grille stretcher is just the right ticket. I see you went into 'production' mode and whittled a six-pack of H and CW grilles. Smart.

Now to finish off my workshop and tool up! Got numbers on your jig saw, sander, and router?

Michael

[Groomlakearea51]

Yup... made alot more sense after I convinced Katrina that it was the way to go. The Cornwalls work perfectly, even at low volumes since I listen to everything in 2 channel... Never liked "surround" sound. Actually, the Heresy's will leave and go elsewhere as "test" speakers. They will likely be replaced with another pair of CW's that Fender found for $200....

I was getting really far behind on all my stuff and my wife said to straighten up my stuff before anymore projects for everyone else... thus the grill extravaganza......

Numbers on tools...

Saw's the one you are looking at from maxtools; Jigsaw is a 317k with Bosch blades; Orb sander is a 26451, 5" hook/pile with vent holes; router is the 618K with three bases, and I use Freud carbide bits; planer is a 680.

[JerolW]

Thanks Marshall. Very informative.

Do you think I could use your process on Khorn grills?

jerol

[Groomlakearea51]

Yes.

For the motor board.... Construct the clamps, but space 4 "bolts" about 2" apart and you will apply the front first. At that point you would stand the motor board on end, clamp the cloth and bring it around the ends. Rolling the cloth over the edges? You don't necessarily have to use staples, but I would probably use them, although not quite as many. You do need to use a staple gun that you can adjust to make sure the staples are flush to the surface after stapling. A hand held stapler will work most of the time, but as your hand gets tired, there will be some "sticking up". The sides are just really long.... You would use 1/2 template blanks (same thickness as the grill frame). The sides are the most difficult to remove the old staples and you have to be very careful around the corners at the bottom. I don't have any photos of that process, but I intend to make some new side frames for a pair of K-horns in the spring and will take pictures at that time. Hope that helps.

[fenderbender]

Marshall is da Man!!!

What an awesome post!!!! Even I can follow it [] .....Thank you for your dedication to the craft and education of us mere mortals....I know it takes a lot of time to document a project like this.....We appreciate it !!!!!

[Daddy Dee]

Marshall,

Do you have the Heresy HII grill dimensions? are they the same size just with different cutouts?

Thanks in advance.

[Groomlakearea51]

Dee; yes they are the same size but with different cutouts.

I sent you a PM.

[Pete H]

Stumbled across this thread and thought it was worth bringing it back up on the list. GREAT BUILD!

[pfindly]

It's been a long time since you posted this information, but I wanted to say thank you. This is good stuff.

Paul Findly

[jldeni]

I came to this site just looking for tips on a good glue to use to put the logo badges back on a pair of '88 Cornwalls I purchased, but I learned so much more from this thread. Thanks for posting and sharing your process - it looks great!

Don't know if this is the correct place to post, but while I'm here, I also just wanted to ask any experts about refinishing the W-O cabs. There are some light scratches in places, nothing too deep. So, would light scratches be sufficiently hidden/covered if I used a good tung oil, or do you think light sanding is necessary? Additionally, the bottom edge of one of the pedestals is quite gouged along the edge - like its been dragged across a carpet and some of the wood splintered off. I'm wondering if I should try and sculpt wood filler and then seal over it, or if its worth an attempt at recreating that side of the pedestal? Opinions anyone?

I really like these speakers and want to preserve them as best I can without doing anything to destroy the value. I'm basically an electronics guy, not great at cabinetry.

[Groomlakearea51]

Refinishing, etc. It's not hard at all.

If you oil scratches.... they will show up with a vengeance. Reason? When the wood (veneer) is scratched, the edges of the scratch are compressed, and the center, however small/ narrow, now has exposed grain. What happens is that the oil will be absorbed into the scratch itself at a faster rate than the surrounding undamaged veneer. This results in slightly darker scratch lines..... unless the overall surface is lightly sanded to the depth of the scratches.

Best thing is to clean them off with: first, laquer thinner to remove old oil, and then mineral spirits to lift the lacquer thinner and prep the surface for sanding. Then.... lightly sand with a random orbital sander using a grit of #400 or #600. I'd suggest 600. Be very careful to go back and forth, evenly and with little pressure, over the entire surface, not just the areas where the scratches are located.

Change pads often, as in alot.... Be careful not to "eat" into the veneer. It's thin....

After sanding and the scratches are gone, you need to remove any residual sanding dust. Wipe the surface down with mineral spirits and clean cotton rags until the cloth is "clean". Let dry for at least 24 hours.

Then go for the stain/oil that you have selected. I would suggest Watco Danish, or a nice boiled linseed oil. Tung's nice but can be messy to work with.

For repairs (and the other stuff.....) Take a look at: http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/117315.aspx

Good luck and have fun!!

[jldeni]

Thanks so much for the advice and for the link on refinishing. Very nice work on the rescued CW's. You are truly a master craftsman.

Jim

[colterphoto1]

I visited Marshall's along with several others on a Saturday in April for a day of woodworking and Heritage a-fixin'. For me this was the first stop on a whirlwind tour that would encompass driving from Okeechobee to Key West for a long weekend of running sound stages for the Key West Song Writer's Festival. I have vivid memories of Marshall helping me during my trip in 2005 of snagging KP600 and MCM systems from a band in Bradenton or Sarasota and was looking forward to the visit. Plus this week would be my official 'warm-up' of the season from the frigid Indiana winter.

As part of our 'anti-brevity' campaign, I present many of the photos that were taken of Marshall actually rebuilding a Heritage grille board. There will be other posts from this visit under the Updates and Modifications section, namely a thread on how to modify a Heresy cabinet with H II motor board. This in preparation for H III parts update. Many of these techniques might have already been illustrated earlier in this thread, but this is from the viewpoint of a newbie, attempting to capture every nuance of the process. One step at a time though, it ain't difficult.

O yeah, plus you get to see the Master's hands at work doing what he does best, whittling on all things Heritage.

Pages 8-10 show my photos of Marshall actually doing this work. We thought it would be another way to present it so you can see exactly how these techniques are used in practice. Believe me, if you know Marshall, it's a well thought out procedure that really works.

M

[colterphoto1]

The assembly part of this tutorial matches up with Marshall's beginning on page 5 of this thread. Until then he's described in detail what tools are used in cutting and painting the grille boards. We arrived and he already had these steps performed so this demonstration showed the completion of a few Cornwall boards he needed to complete.

Here we see two Heresy grille boards, for the I and the II. Note how the position of the drivers has changed. The K79 tweeter is taller than the K77, which uses more real estate. Also the newer K701 horn was formed to wrap around the top of the K24 woofer and all drivers would now be mounted to the front of the cabinet. This will pose some challenges for those wanting to do the H/HII/HIII cabinet modification, but that's another thread. What's important to note there, is that they are different. Make sure you're making the type you really want.

[colterphoto1]

A view of Marshall's Cornwall grille board template.

[colterphoto1]

K701 (H II horns) shown on HII (rear) and H (front) grille boards, demonstrating that you just can't start swapping parts between I and II. Things change.

[colterphoto1]

General shop photo of some of the measuring tools needed in a complete Klipsch shop. Framer's square for truing saw blades and fences. Exact 12" ruler for checking saw blade to fence distance, other squares and straightedges for measuring and cutting as needed.