Westinghouse WR-8 "Columnaire" scored - Page 3 - Videokarma.org TV - Video

bandersen · #1 12-15-2009, 12:53 AM

OK - I'm a little thick sometimes

I thought that nut was fused to the minute hand.

Here it is taken apart. There were four tiny screws holding the face on - no sneezing!

It's quite dirty under there. I'm thinking of using a solvent like odorless mineral spirits then some fine machine oil on the gears.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Reece · #2 12-15-2009, 07:05 PM

I would first squirt some CRC electronics cleaner downward through the clock mechanism to flush out the dirt: hold it over the garbage can. Let dry, then light oil as suggested, with a toothpick, on each bearing surface.

You could have that speaker reconed, but if you are going to try to fix it, I highly recommend using fabric glue (craft store, fabric store). It's a bit thicker than Elmer's and you might want to thin it a little with water for making the repairs. Once the repairs are made and dry, thin the glue some more with water and paint the whole face of the cone with it. It's white but dries clear and remains flexible. You don't want it too thick at this step. It will reinforce the old paper and give it some strength to survive another 80 (!) years. I had a cone with no parts missing but it was full of little hairline cracks around the outer compliance. The paper was just getting brittle. Coating it with thinned fabric glue really strengthened it and it sounds great, takes volume the way it should with no buzzes.

bandersen · #3 12-15-2009, 07:28 PM

I have some "Fray & Stay" fabic glue I picked up to stop speaker cloth from fraying.
I wonder if that would work on the speaker ?

Sam Cogley · #4 12-16-2009, 01:31 PM

Go buy some Ailene's Tacky Glue at a craft store or Wal-Mart. It's what most people use for speaker re-surround jobs, and I've very successfully used it with tissue paper to repair cone damage.

Reece · #5 12-16-2009, 07:18 PM

Another source of paper is coffee filters. After the patch edges are dry you can paint the whole cone with black acrylic artists paint, the kind in a jar used for poster paint. After that's dry you can coat the whole cone with the thinned fabric glue.

Those upward-facing speakers were not the best idea. They were subject to damage and to dust and debris falling into them. After it's all back together you might want to operate the speaker face down for a while to see if the vibration will work out any dirt stuck down in the voice coil gap.

bandersen · #6 12-16-2009, 11:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Cogley

Go buy some Ailene's Tacky Glue at a craft store or Wal-Mart. It's what most people use for speaker re-surround jobs, and I've very successfully used it with tissue paper to repair cone damage.

Thanks. I swung by Michael's craft store tonight and picked some up. They have loads of good stuff including some manly coffee mugs

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reece

Another source of paper is coffee filters. After the patch edges are dry you can paint the whole cone with black acrylic artists paint, the kind in a jar used for poster paint. After that's dry you can coat the whole cone with the thinned fabric glue.

Those upward-facing speakers were not the best idea. They were subject to damage and to dust and debris falling into them. After it's all back together you might want to operate the speaker face down for a while to see if the vibration will work out any dirt stuck down in the voice coil gap.

Good ideas. That leaves finding a suitable piece of cone paper about 3" x 3" to patch that big hole. I searched inside the radio put couldn't find that piece.

I don't have any speaks to scavenge any from right now. Should I pick up an old speaker just for it's cone paper, or could I substitute some sort of heavy paper stock ?

leadlike · #7 12-17-2009, 08:15 PM

When I bought my Radiobar, it looked like someone put their foot through the speaker. I patched it up using the methods described earlier in this thread, but I still had a big hole to patch. I wound up applying a coffee filter patch from the back of the speaker using some rubber cement to glue it to the cone. When it dried, I applied a layer of Aleen's tacky glue to to coffee filter patch visible from the front of the speaker. I then put another coffee filter piece over that, creating a "patch sandwich" from both sides of the cone. I used a little more rubber cement, and after it all dried, it sounded great. In fact, the Radiobar has some of the best bass response of my consoles...too bad the receiver itself is such garbage.

jeyurkon · #8 12-17-2009, 11:48 PM

Since it has the automatic control, if there was an acetate cover there must have been some way to easily remove it. There doesn't appear to have been any hinges.

John

bandersen · #9 12-18-2009, 12:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

Since it has the automatic control, if there was an acetate cover there must have been some way to easily remove it. There doesn't appear to have been any hinges.

John

If there really was a cover (still debatable

), it was held in place by friction. Since there isn't a single, scuff, scrape or mar on my wooden clock face frame, I'm voting for no cover at all.

bandersen · #10 12-21-2009, 02:39 PM

I picked up a few items for the clock. I'm not sure what the second hand is supposed to look like so I selected several.
I think they all look pretty good, but maybe I should clip off the sculpted end so it's more angular like the other hands

I just need to cut down the brass shaft that attaches it. I also picked up a needle oiler and some new #0 screws.

I never thought I'd be restoring a clock!

bandersen · #11 12-23-2009, 02:51 AM

Thanks to all your great tips, I've finished restoring the speaker

I used brown coffee filter paper and Aleene's Original Tacky glue.

Here's it is all torn up.

First patches applied.

I used some painters tape to hold it together while the patches set up.

Down to just that big hole to fill.

I decide to try making a preformed patch by using a plastic sheet over a good portion of speaker cone.
Then, I cut a suitable piece of coffee filter and soaked it in diluted glue.
It work out fairly well. I was definitely able to capture the curvature, but the ridges aren't very distinct.
Even so, I think it's a promising technique.

Here's the patch in place.

Next, some black acrylic paint. The patch wrinkled a little during the gluing and painting, but I happy with it.

Here's the backside.

Finally, I cleaned up that big wooden plug and screwed it back in.
Is this some type of vibration damper

Here's a YouTube video I made while restoring the speaker. If you make it to the end you can hear the radio playing

Sam Cogley · #12 12-23-2009, 09:19 AM

Excellent work!

Sam Cogley · #13 12-23-2009, 10:13 AM

Watching your videos on the WR-8, I think I've figured out what that wooden plug in the speaker is for - it might be a deflector to distribute sound around the room, compensating for the upward-firing speaker.

jeyurkon · #14 12-23-2009, 10:58 AM

That looks great! You have more patience than I. I would have taken one look at it and sent it in for reconing.

John

bandersen · #15 12-23-2009, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Cogley

Watching your videos on the WR-8, I think I've figured out what that wooden plug in the speaker is for - it might be a deflector to distribute sound around the room, compensating for the upward-firing speaker.

That's a very good idea.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeyurkon

That looks great! You have more patience than I. I would have taken one look at it and sent it in for reconing.

John

Thanks. I was going to until I got some words of encouragement

This one sure needs some reconing though!

I've seen similar vintage speakers going for around $20. I imagine reconing costs a lot more than that.