SBLs

[say it as it is]

powder coating is great but unless you think the metal work is going to be in harsh conditions then a simple spray can should be enough pound shop does basic primer and satin black does the job but cans feel half empty to buy double you normally would.

love to know how you get on with the veneering, mine are black but i kind of like the retro black finish seems ok if not great

 

[fraser.]

Spraying would probably be a better option in terms of finish but I can't be doing with the mess and smell! Will see how these turn out and if it's too much of a compromise then I could sort out some spraying materials. I sprayed the last couple of guitars I made and I was never really happy with the finish to be honest - I think it's more of an art than veneering!

I'm no further forward on deciding what order to do things. I've tried painting a surface adjacent to the veneered side and it's not exactly perfect...

However I'm struggling to see how I can veneer after without sanding the paint to the point where I need to re-paint it. In which case there's no benefit to painting first!

 

[fraser.]

I've made some decent progress with the metal work, however. Slapped on one coat this lunch time which went on pretty flat:

 

[Bob McC]

I wouldn’t use a brush to paint the metalwork.

 

[tiggers]

I wouldn’t use a brush to paint the metalwork.

Depends what paint you use... some metal paints self smooth.

 

[IceG]

Rustins does go on ok but it needs thinning (I think I used about 10% white spirits when refinishing an exhaust silencer part) and a good brush, then allow to cure and harden before the next coats to avoid brush strokes. Probably easier than spraying at this time of year - that is best done outside on still warm days.

 

[fraser.]

I used a splash of thinners as well (not sure if it was quite 10%..) and it seems to be working out pretty well. Coat number 1 on one of the HF units:

 

[say it as it is]

its great to SBLs getting brought back to life really is hat off to you sir

 

[fraser.]

Enjoyable so far. It dawned on me earlier just how much work was obviously expended in creating these speakers, and how eye-wateringly expensive it would be to manufacture an equivalent design today. Regardless of one's opinion on how they sound, the fact they bothered to get this to market is very impressive!

 

[say it as it is]

yes the detail in some parts is extraordinary shame they cut corners in other to follow the upgrade path

 

[fraser.]

A little advice please...

I've been fortunate enough to score an empty power amp case to house the re-vamped crossovers. What are the general principles to follow with wiring this up neatly - should the pairs be twisted or just routed neatly?

Or does it not really matter?

 

[say it as it is]

well not wanting to suggest plagiarism but Avondale crossovers are regarded as one of the best plenty of pictures of them if you want to follow that convention ?

 

[fraser.]

I did have a look but there's not really any 'wiring' as such in those that I can find. Was just curious about the general principle behind speaker level signal routing. Presumably no harm in a shotgun arrangement for each pair for internal wiring?

 

[DoctorRad]

Powder-coating would be great…

Have you considered spray-on plastic paints such as PlastiKote?

 

[fraser.]

Interesting you should say that - I'm going to try finishing the speakers with plastikote lacquer rather than oiling or varnishing. The main reasons being

a) my woodwork finishing skills don't lend themselves to a nice oiled finish
b) varnishing seems like a painful exercise when there's this many surfaces to do.

This way I can hopefully just give everything a final rub down once veneered and painted, then just spray it all.

 

[fraser.]

Here's a minor progress update with the painting anyway.. second coat on the unseen surfaces of the HF units and some metalwork:

 

[fraser.]

The main activity this evening was some crossover fiddling. These are the originals:

Some new toys:

It was around about this point that I realised it would have made a lot more sense to chuck all the resistors on the rear of the board and put the caps on the other...

I wasn't convinced I could sort that without ruining the board, so just left that one with a mix of caps and resistors on the other side, and did it on the second one.. can't find my multimeter to check anything but all the joints look solid enough... the other side of the board isn't quite as neat but never mind!

 

[MJS]

Be aware that with low ESR film caps instead of the original bipolar electrolytics you may need to increase the 1R resistor on the HF side. They may be a little bright if you don't compensate for that.

 

[gustav_errata]

Here's a minor progress update with the painting anyway.. second coat on the unseen surfaces of the HF units and some metalwork:

That looks good, but it would be even better if the black surfaces were a gaping maw of infinite darkness that consumes souls and exhumes beautiful music:
https://culturehustle.com/products/black-3-0-the-worlds-blackest-black-acrylic-paint-150ml
"....none more black"

I'm enjoying the thread, thanks.

 

[fraser.]

Be aware that with low ESR film caps instead of the original bipolar electrolytics you may need to increase the 1R resistor on the HF side. They may be a little bright if you don't compensate for that.

Thank you for that - when i (eventually) give them a listen I'll bear this in mind...