C-31 enclosure

[DoctorD]

I was wondering if anyone can share their experience with the C-31 enclosure with me?

Can anyone tell me about the wood used? Is the outside of the cabinet just a laminate. I am considering trying to match two different colors.

One is in primevera blond and the other is a dark brown. Is it possible or feasible to refinish the dark cabinet to the primevera blond color?

I would love to hear if any of you have or have listened to these enclosures and what you think of them.

Thanks

[glen]

Can anyone tell me about the wood used? Is the outside of the cabinet just a laminate. I am considering trying to match two different colors.

One is in primevera blond and the other is a dark brown. Is it possible or feasible to refinish the dark cabinet to the primevera blond color?

When they were building these the wood was probably plywood with a veneer of better wood on the outer layer that receives the finish.

I have stained and varnished a couple of pieces of furniture, but I've never tried refinishing. I think it may be very hard to lighten a dark stained finish. Take a close look at the wood, they may be different types. Some woods are not considered appropriate for a particular finish, so the wood itself may be different.

As an alternative you might just have a new cabinet built and finished to match. JBL published blueprints of their cabinet designs which I'm sure are somewhere on this site or in some member's collection.

I have to say that my vote would be to keep them in the original finish even though they are mis-matched. These are survivors of the monophonic era. For years they were the best speaker that JBL made. Each single speaker was intended to make not only beautiful music, but a bold statement about it's owner's passion for that music. It's very cool that you have two of them.

Your cabinets look like factory originals in very good shape and the idea of refinishing one of them brings to mind a saying I've heard about vintage cars: It can only be original once.

Of course on this forum you'll find some members who consider these museum pieces to be cherished and others that consider them white elephants that aren't worth the space they occupy.

Good luck with whatever course you choose!