Alittle work to Monitor 10's

NJPOLKER

I decided to do a make-over to the Monitor 10's I bought around 1980/81. I decided to do this project for fun and experience. I intend on doing my SDA2a's in the future.
The cabinets were in great condition before starting this project. I didnt really need to do this, well maybe I did.
I have Peerless tweeters,MW6500s and passives which are all in great condition.

Pic1) A picture of the top after stripping the vinyl. It removes clean when using just a heat gun and your fingers to peel it. I bought a simple Wagner HT1000 heat gun generally used for paint removal. I found it best to use a putty knife to start the edge then use your fingers to peel the vinyl. If you use a putty knife to scrape the vinyl you will have adhesive residue left behind. You can see in PIC4 where I used a putty knife to remove the vinyl. I carefully used my belt sander to smooth the surface. My feeling is I was better off spending extra time peeling it by hand. By peeling by hand I had a nicer shoother surface than sanding off the adhesive residue.
PIC2) The Wagner HT1000 and common putty knife
PIC3) Peeled vinyl
PIC4) Burned finger tips!! I guess I had a few drinks and did'nt feel the pain until it was too late.

More pictures and experience on the way
Drew

Boywonder

Great work...Nothin' like naked monitor 10 cabinets! I like the particle board look better than the vinyl siding...what's next, rosewood veneer? Pau Ferro? Black crinkle trunk paint?

NJPOLKER

PIC6&7) Vinyl removed, alittle clean up needed and ready to apply new veneer.
I used Weldwood contact cement at about $7.00 for the can. Right or wrong thats the way I went and I must say other than the stink it worked out real well. I chose a simple Maple veneer with a 10 mil paper backing. The veneer started life 24"x96" at around $50.00 for the roll. I also got a roll of 3/4"x25' edging which had a hot melt adhesive which I was not charged. I bought a bunch of cheap brushes to apply the adhesive at $.70 each and a roller to rool out the veneer for a few bucks.
I started with the bottom working my way around the speaker doing a side then top then the other side being sure to keep the grain lined up. I split the roll of veneer in half using a utility knife with fresh blades. Then cut the bottom, side, top, side again being sure to keep the grain running together. I cut each piece to length about 1/2" over. I had about 1" over hang in the width. Applying the contact cement is simple just apply a liberal even coat. I did one area at a time since I was in no hurry to get it done. Once I got the front edge even with the front of the cabinet I worked the roller from the front edge back and forth in a arc working out any air. Apply alot of pressure and work it back and forth. As you can see in pictures 9,10 and 11 there is alittle overhang. When I applied the veneer I was careful to line up the original edge, not the one I cut, to the front edge of the cabinet, This way I had to do very little sanding to the front edge. When trimming the excess veneer I used a single edge razor blades. I had alot of control and they sure are sharp. I tried using a shearing action when cutting the veneer when I could. I must say it was alot easier than I thought it was going to be. Just trim close and sand down whats left, common sense. I kept a pretty square/sharp edge on the corners, just my preference. After all sides were completed I did the front/frame which is where I used the 3/4" edging. The edging has a hot melt adhesive so I ironed it out after cutting it to size. Make sure to make the corner cuts properly. I laid out the edging on the front frame and marked the Maple where I needed to cut and it worked great. After applying the edging I sanded down the outside edge when sanding down the sides and tops of cabinets. I used medium grit working down to fine git paper.

I have more pictures and thoughts to add
Drew

NJPOLKER

Picture 12) alittle hangover, I've had a few:cool::(
Picture 13) 12" split of the 24" roll.
Picture 0091) stained using Red Mahogany. Red Mahogany is not the easiest color to work with but I like the way it looks. I applied a couple coats and must say it looks pretty rich to me.

I have more pictures and thoughts and will post them tomorrow. They will be the finish coats and the crossover upgrades.
Drew

honda cber

wow.... in the pics, they look spectacular. of course, i have painted things like motorcycle tanks that looked **** from 10', but a little less than perfect at 1'. how did your finish come out? is it glossy, matte, or somewhere in between?
a

avguytx

They "seem" to look very nice but the pictures are rather blurry when expanded. I do like the mahogany look, too.

Face

You make it look almost easy.

Nice job.

honda cber

BTW, those are some pretty sweet blisters youve got there, lol. bet that hurt like a sonuva b.
a

Hi-Buy

Looks great !

I need to re-do my 10's, one these days.

ben62670

Very nice, and inspirational.

NJPOLKER

Probabley my favorite part of the renovation and easiest, the crossovers.

I decided to try the Eagle resistors. I used Mills in my 2a's and SRSII's so I thought I'd try something different. For some reason if I dont like them I can always change them.
When you upgrade your x-overs its critical to label/tag all wires in detail as well as the board so you know where they go when your finishing the x-over upgrade. Pictures could help too. I snip the two wires to each cap and resistor removing one at a time and drawing a circle around the area where the component was noting the value of the component. I hope that makes sense. Do one at a time and use the other x-over as a guide.
Picture 0080) When you have the caps and resistors removed use your soliders iron to remove the piece of wire from the back of the board still soldered to the board using needle nosed pliers.
Picture 0088) With alittle ingenuity you will have no problem with mounting the capacitors for the Monitor 10 x-over. Solder the resistors first then the 12uFs and then the 34uF. Its been suggested by a knowledgeable person to waiting about an hour between solders to allow the solder to set. I did not this time. Once everything was set I used a hot melt glue to bond the caps together hopefully you can see that in the picture. I had some 16 guage wire around so decided I may as well replace the internal wire.
I tried to explain this process the best I can. It really is not difficult as long as you make note as to where everything belongs. I have yet to fire them up but I am sure they will sound pretty darn good.
I also just bought a pair of mint condition Peerless tweeters. Now I have two pair just in case.
The value of the larger capacitor (34uf) I replaced with a 35uf. When I called the folks at madisound I ask a favor of the sales representative. I hope he did what I asked but it probabley really does not matter. I asked him to send me two caps with a value closer to the 34uF than the 35uF. Hey, they are cheese heads and honorable people so I bet he did it. I also lived in Wisconsin so I bet he went to pull my caps while eating a brat and drinking a beer just like I would have
Hope this info helps and if I could ever help anyone drop me a e-mail or PM
Drew

Madisound Inc. 1-866-883-1488 madisound.com
Madison, Wi.
for both x-overs
4) Solen 12uF caps @ $5.40 each part# cp12
2) Solen 35uF caps @$11.60 each part# cp35
2) Eagle 2.7 ohm resistors @$1.20 each part# 2e7
2) Eagle 2.5 ohm resistors @$1.20 each part#2e5
Total $49.60

NJPOLKER

honda cber wrote: »

wow.... in the pics, they look spectacular. of course, i have painted things like motorcycle tanks that looked **** from 10', but a little less than perfect at 1'. how did your finish come out? is it glossy, matte, or somewhere in between?
a

Sorry for the slow response. I have not finished finishing them yet. They will be a gloss lacquer finish.

NJPOLKER

Face wrote: »

You make it look almost easy.

Nice job.

Thanks
It was easy just time consuming.

ben62670

How many watts are the eagle resistors? Are they non inductive?

NJPOLKER

They are 10 watt non inductive resistors.

ben62670

NJPOLKER wrote: »

They are 10 watt non inductive resistors.

Thats cool. You had me worried for a moment.
Carry on, and enjoy:D

NJPOLKER

What the hell were you worried about?

You think I am a dumb **** like the candyman?
Drew

ben62670

NJPOLKER wrote: »

What the hell were you worried about?

You think I am a dumb **** like the candyman?
Drew

Thanks for the laugh.
He is a one of a kind:D
BTW love the new wood!

NJPOLKER

Oh My Did I Screw Up
I started spraying the finishing coats of lacquer this am not think about the humidity.
Thankfully I only sprayed one coat on one speaker cabinet. When I walked into my garage and saw the misty/grayish speaker I could have ****.
I used my heat gun carefully to dry up the finish with some level of success.
It goes to show you have to think of everything and use good common sense at all times.
We'll see what happens.
Drew

Boywonder

Yes, high humidity+lacquer=blushing. Did the heat gun trick work? You can hopefully sand out the blush and move forward with more coats. I try to spray near high noon on a nice sunny day.

NJPOLKER

The heat gun helped but I still have to sand out the blush as you call it, I should be blushing for I know better than to do what I did.
Oh well, I did this set of speakers for experience and fun and got both. They look good so far and will post more pictures soon.
Thanks Drew

ben62670

I would let them dry for a long time. I did heavy coats of lacquer on some customs 4.6's, and it takes a long time to dry enough to sand. Almost 2 weeks.

NJPOLKER

Thanks for the advice. I can't believe I did that. I thought I knew better.