some pix of walnut topped SDA-2B

leftwinger57

I hope you can tell the difference between the stained White Oak and now the much darker Walnut. Stains were deep and I had to get aggressive w/ the whole system of stripping, bleaching, sanding, and staining.Also ther are just some other views of the Time Frame 350s and the ADC303ax.Infinitys SM 112s and the Bose 601s are long gone.Still after a few weeks I am extremely impressed w/ these speakers.Take a song like the acoustic live version of Hotel California the bass drum slam on this version is overpowering. Yes Iam looking into cables, baby steps here.

leftwinger57

sorry ,more views and better views.

F1nut

They came out nice.

some pix of walnut topped SDA-2B
I hope you can tell the difference between the stained White Oak and now the much darker Walnut.

Just want to point out to the folks that the end caps are still oak, just colored a darker brown.

Polkie2009

They look beautiful LW, nice job! Haven't seen that JCY album in decades!

vmaxer

Looks great!! Good job.

hochpt21

Nice work. Your time and effort looks like it paid off.

And it always feels good when you did it yourself.

pglbook

Nice job, leftwinger. They look great.

boston1450

Very nicely done. I think i like the darker better now get the cable and enjoy them

leftwinger57

Hey guys, thanks alot.Yes Jesse of course they are still oak w/ stain.These speakers are so worth it that slowly I might proceed w/ other mods which I kidded about the other day.I think after hearing from other forums and audio places that better cables indeed make a difference that is noticeable. On Audioagon there's a 10' pair of MIT Terminators for $175w/ screw on connctors of your choice. Thanks again, trying to master the pix thing.

Oldfatdogs

Well done,the turned out nice.
Dan

oldmodman

Quite an improvement. Love the new color.

Don't you always wonder about the previous owner that thought it was OK to put a leaking flowerpot on such nice speakers?

leftwinger57

Thereare a few rules of thought going on here.1. wife likes plants ,wife needs plants to brighten her day.2.Husband shrugs ok hon just don't over do it w/ the water.3.The children start to grow their own green thumbs and it's all over but that nasty deep dark stain that used to a have sheen on it that one could only remember.General rule #1 According to ME,no cats,candles,kids,live water plants not even a cactus on speaker tops w/o at the very least smoked glass tops.....LEW

OLDMODMAN...Wife says to husband your spending $1200 on speakers plus all the other stuff well I have a design in mind for that room..

leftwinger57

Would these be a good starter set for me? At $80 +change + free shipping it looks like a good deal. OFC 12' lenghts w/ bananas at both termintions and w/ shrink.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130938508195&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en#ht_749wt_1170

drumminman

Effective cable designs depend on quality of materials used, geometry and construction quality. The Legends look like nothing special to me.

Why not try the MIT's you referenced above as they're only a little more and a known quantity as far as sound quality.

BTW, nice job on the end caps. I like the dark stain better.

DaveHo

SDA's are lookin' good. I have a pair of those ADC's too. Mine are pulling garage duty. I almost feel guilty relegating them to that, as they are nice sounding vintage speakers.

GospelTruth

Nice work! Someday, I'll be wanting to do the same thing to my 2Bs - just got a whole lot of "honey do" things that are ahead of that right now.

GFOviedo

They look nice! May be you should write the steps so people, like myself, who doesn't know how to do it can learn how!

Dawgfish

They really came out great! Nice job!

PolkieMan

Look great I also like mine darker than they were when new

leftwinger57

Steps you want ,well this was my way and,more than likely Jesse is shaking his head. 1.You should remove tops and bottoms so not to damage any of the good stuff(I did not,I took off the front grills and then wrapped the speeks w/ commercial grade roll of syran wrap tight w/ tape.
2.Applied gooy chemical stripper (follow directions) wipe or scrape off.
3.Take some 0000gu stell wool and rough up surface
4.Apply Oaxalic Acid very carefully to the affected area.This mixture should be very ,very crystal heavy more like tooth paste than drippy wet which will warp the wood
5.After acid dried remove w/ extreme caution use mask and rubber gloves and vaccum off and then tack rag clean.
6. If stain is really deep like mine was you might have to do this twice which is a real PITA.
7.LET DRY COMPLETELY
8.After fully dried,start sanding away Always w/ the grain using 150 grit or rougher if needed.Tack cloth off Sand away using a finer grit till you get that baby butt feel.
9. Choose a stain that you like and again work it in w/ the grain.Let dry
10. If so desired you use either a satin poly or gloss poly depending on taste or wax and or just leave it alone as I did for now.
Good luck .be very careful not over due both the acid mix and the sanding once too much you've ruined them.Be patient and ventalate then they could be any thing you want them to be. Who knew so far I rehabed Bose 601s both the cabinets and refoaming all 4 woofers and now taking on this .When it comes out like it did it's VERY rewarding .Again guys thanks for the props and Jesse for your guidence....Lew

muncybob

Looks good and appeciate your write up as this is something I'll be doing soon. I thought about leaving them on but I know I'll screw somthing up so they will come off. I must admit I'm a bit nervous about removing the original ends. May even try my hand at making new ends rather than refinishing the old ones. This should be the final mod these speakes will get and they'll look almost as good as they sound...I hope!

leftwinger57

I thought of this after seeing Laserath's exotic wood he used for his monsters. I was so paranoid I would split and destroy them that I decided to leave them alone.According to F-1 they are attachted w/ adhesive and staples from underneath. For removal you would need a fairly large flat slim cat's paw type of tool and a hammer ,I just couldn't do it.They do have exact measurements so if you did remove them intact and found some exotic wood you could use them as a good template.Good luck it was rewarding and laborious at the same time.Novice at work here.

PolkieMan

Sda 1c fabric sides are just glued on there is a gap at the top and bottom so that you can fit plastic to protect them with out removing them. I used Johnson (old school) Paste wax after the staining them.

leftwinger57 wrote: »

I thought of this after seeing Laserath's exotic wood he used for his monsters. I was so paranoid I would split and destroy them that I decided to leave them alone.According to F-1 they are attachted w/ adhesive and staples from underneath. For removal you would need a fairly large flat slim cat's paw type of tool and a hammer ,I just couldn't do it.They do have exact measurements so if you did remove them intact and found some exotic wood you could use them as a good template.Good luck it was rewarding and laborious at the same time.Novice at work here.

F1nut

Lew, my man, you have to put some kind of finish of them for a number of reasons. One being that a finish helps keep moisture out of the wood, which helps to prevent cracking and warping. The fact that the undersides of your caps are finished and the tops aren't will lead to the two issues I just mentioned. Two being that a finish helps prevent oxidation. Three being that it makes the color pop.

You're right, I am shaking my head.

I took off the front grills and then wrapped the speeks w/ commercial grade roll of syran wrap tight w/ tape.

Extremely risky, I cannot advise that.

This mixture should be very ,very crystal heavy more like tooth paste than drippy wet which will warp the wood

The heavy mix is good, but not for the reason you state.

Sand away using a finer grit till you get that baby butt feel.

That's a complete waste of time and money. 150 grit serrated is as far as one needs to sand grit wise. Actually, sanding to a finer grit prevents the stain from soaking deeper into the wood resulting in a lighter color than if one stopped at 150 grit. Sanding is highly overrated and misunderstood. Do as little as possible is the golden rule.

leftwinger57

I will finish them off once the new month turns.More than likely either tung oil or a wax paste not to keen on shiney poly finish .Don't fear I really wrapped them tight and didn't spill anything on the motor boards or backs.I again wiped them down and gave them a healthy wipe of Pledge and left the tops alone to dry.Don't take woodworking advice from me, ask that guy!!! Thanks Jesse.

F1nut

I again wiped them down and gave them a healthy wipe of Pledge and left the tops alone to dry.

Pledge? You're joking, right?

D_M

F1nut wrote: »

Pledge? You're joking, right?

Come on F1nut. Don't take away the Man's SDA card!!!!

leftwinger57

Not on the tops, after a complete wipe down of both the front and back w/ an extremely wrung sponge yea I Pledged the fronts.I clearly didn't spray on directly I used a nice clean rag and applied what I thought would give a little sheen to the fronts which on occassion I do take off the grills just to oogle at them. Can you please lighten up a little bit.Please

F1nut

Pledge contains silicone, which migrates and will contaminate every part of your speakers. Not good.

vmaxer

Good info here. I will be doing this to a couple pairs in the future. I will seek advise from F1 when the time comes.

PolkieMan

So you used Pledge on the front baffle and rear face.

leftwinger57 wrote: »

Not on the tops, after a complete wipe down of both the front and back w/ an extremely wrung sponge yea I Pledged the fronts.I clearly didn't spray on directly I used a nice clean rag and applied what I thought would give a little sheen to the fronts which on occassion I do take off the grills just to oogle at them. Can you please lighten up a little bit.Please