Santana II Resurround Project

[KJ Hall]

Howdy All,

I am installing new surrounds on the 12" LF drivers on a pair of Altec Santana II's (got a very nice kit from Rick Cobb as found on these boards, excellent service, BTW!). I think I can handle the process but when I tried to remove the speakers from the cabinet, I found they are on there with a vengeance.

These speakers have machine screws, lightly secured as I read in the literature, so there must be a threaded fastener in the cabinet. It appears there are no additional clamps, however, I would rather not ruin the original gaskets (gray, medium softness, about 1/16" thick) between the frame and the cabinet if that is what is left holding them in place. Any suggestions/tips/tricks from the wizards on these boards?

KJH

[Earl K]

- Hair Dryers or Heat Guns / used sparingly on the metal rim of the woofer / are great for releasing old glues or seized seals . Assuming the woofers surround is shot / I wouldn't worry about transfering heat to the cone ( assuming the foam surround is completely missing ).

- Would like to see pictures eventually.
- Would also like to see closeups of that woofer ( front & back ).

[Zilch]

Bare utility knife blade tapped in as a wedge....

[KJ Hall]

Thanks guys. I think I will try the heat gun idea first (very carefully) and if that doesn't work, the blade.

KJH

[KJ Hall]

Well, it's been awhile since I started this thread but I finally had a chance to complete the resurround and cabinet work (unfortunately, the homeless location isn't too far from the truth). Here are some comments about my specific efforts, the general procedure went pretty much as per Bo's resurround thread and Rick Cobb's instructions.

RESURROUND

1. I tried the hair dryer and knife-under-the-edge tricks proposed previously with no luck. Finally called Bill H. at Great Plains Audio and he knew exactly what was happening. There is NO glue on the gasket on the baffle side. After 30 years, the gasket literally appears to form a vacuum seal that has to be broken. I used a small putty knife under the gasket in combination with a prying screwdriver inserted into the gap in the gasket where the screws go through the frame. The gasket popped right off with minimal damage (glued back together with surround glue) all the way around and with minimal dings in the veneered baffle. After I got the driver out, the process went pretty smoothly. THANKS TO BILL H. AT GREAT PLAINS AUDIO!!!

2. The instructions talk about repositioning the still-wet glued surround if any scraping is heard. I had this on both drivers, one worse than the other. With the 30 Hz tone running, I was able to push against the underside of the cone to get the proper alignment. perhaps this is another reason to remove the driver from the cabinet. These cones had the surround mounted on the outside which made things easy, as well.

3. When I removed the old surround from the cone, I did not understand the instructions about scraping the foam and leaving the glue. I pulled the foam off in strips leaving a furry edge around the cone but with no serious damage to the cone that I could see. To be safe, I applied a thin layer of glue to the edge of the cones and let it dry. That seemed to work out very well as the new surround is holding nicely. Still, I would try to follow the instructions more closely next time and hopefully I did not diminish the integrity of the cone.

CABINETS

1. I had some fairly serious, at least I thought so, scratches in the walnut veneer of the cabinets. I agonized about what to try out on these and after researching this board and other woodworking sources, decided on trying Watco Rejuvinating Oil. I was worried that the scratches would turn out lighter with just plain oil and I would need a stain in those areas.

It turns out that the scratches actually fill in slightly darker perhaps because the scratch concentrates the grain in that area. I used a very fine sanding pad on the sides of the cabinets that were scratched and a cloth on the baffle and back. The results were excellent in my opinion, I couldn't have expected more. I would suggest that everyone try this Watco product first before trying any wax products as I am told the oil finish should not be waxed. Also learned that most finishes are linseed based. An interesting answer from a wood expert:

A: Linseed oil is a drying oil and as such you can build up as many coats as you like and make a rather thick finish with it. However, no manufacturer in his or her right mind would do that as it takes way too long and results in a rather soft finish. Bear in mind that most all oil based alkyd finishes from Danish oil to standard varnishes and polyurethanes are also made from linseed oil, so it is entirely possible that the finish is some sort of oil varnish, and technically, that would not make them liars.

CONLUSION

I'm extremely pleased with the results of the refurnish of these speakers and wish to thank all the people on this board who have added to my knowledge about maintaining these legacy masterpieces. I will try to add some pictures in the next day or two but I didn't have my digital camera with me as I was writing this post. Again, special thanks to Bo, Rick and Bill for the support.

[boputnam]

I'm extremely pleased with the results of the refurnish of these speakers and wish to thank all the people on this board who have added to my knowledge about maintaining these legacy masterpieces. I will try to add some pictures in the next day or two but I didn't have my digital camera with me as I was writing this post.

KJH...

Many thanks for reporting back in! It is great when an old thread gets rounded-out with the project completed, and with good results!

Looking forward to the pics, and to your enjoying the fruits of the effort...

[KJ Hall]

Thanks also to Earl and Zilch, here are some pictures of the front and back of the driver, the speakers themselves and the oiled veneer. Sorry for the blurry photo, it's an older digital camera without the anti-blur feature and I keep forgetting to hold it steady.

KJH