Had an interesting pair of ex-studio Tannoys (LSU/HF/3LZG/8's) which had the main panels doubled in thickness internally with the front panel doubled externally (a bit of a mess with roughly screwed in ply front baffles!). I've had these completely stripped, then removed the front baffles, routed the inside face to rebate them so that they sit flush with the inside edge of the edge panel bevels, and screwed/glued them back into place.
The owner wanted a painted front finish in an off-white, to mimic, yet contrast with the main drivers....a little like some JBL's I guess. Well, even with filling screw holes etc, it would have been seen through paint layers so I had the opportunity of trying out a new laminate finish which is a sort of high quality Formica. Very stiff, and very scratch resistant, available in a wide range of colours. I selected one that I thought would tick the boxes. It has a slight textured finish which isn't readily apparent from the photos. This was cut to size, and routed to take the driver opening into account before bonding in place.
The cabinets were tidied up and re-waxed using a high quality Carnauba and Beeswax finish.
The crossovers and switches were removed, rivets removed from crossover casings and crossovers completely overhauled and some very choice components selected to upgrade them before re-assembly. Switches were taken apart and properly cleaned and lubed with electrical lube before reassembly.
Finally, the cable connections were attended to. From the studio, this pair has simply had a captive cable pulled through a hole drilled in the back of the rear panel and terminated in a block connector. I cut the rear panel for some nice sunken gold plated binding posts, re-soldered connections internally and tried to leave the rear as original as possible besides this, partly as the labels and serial numbers were all on the rear.
These shots are of the finished result. See what you think. Any colour for this Formica can be provided and even whole speakers done in it!
The owner wanted a painted front finish in an off-white, to mimic, yet contrast with the main drivers....a little like some JBL's I guess. Well, even with filling screw holes etc, it would have been seen through paint layers so I had the opportunity of trying out a new laminate finish which is a sort of high quality Formica. Very stiff, and very scratch resistant, available in a wide range of colours. I selected one that I thought would tick the boxes. It has a slight textured finish which isn't readily apparent from the photos. This was cut to size, and routed to take the driver opening into account before bonding in place.
The cabinets were tidied up and re-waxed using a high quality Carnauba and Beeswax finish.
The crossovers and switches were removed, rivets removed from crossover casings and crossovers completely overhauled and some very choice components selected to upgrade them before re-assembly. Switches were taken apart and properly cleaned and lubed with electrical lube before reassembly.
Finally, the cable connections were attended to. From the studio, this pair has simply had a captive cable pulled through a hole drilled in the back of the rear panel and terminated in a block connector. I cut the rear panel for some nice sunken gold plated binding posts, re-soldered connections internally and tried to leave the rear as original as possible besides this, partly as the labels and serial numbers were all on the rear.
These shots are of the finished result. See what you think. Any colour for this Formica can be provided and even whole speakers done in it!