Altec Valencia Help Needed

[DanTana]

Hi,

This is my first post here. I just acquired a set of Altec Valencia 846A's. They sound fantastic and the wood is in excellent shape, however, the grills are another story. One is nearly destroyed beyond repair, the other is intact, but the cloth behind it is faded and has finger holes pushed in them between the lattices. It is very doubtful I could repair the one, some of the pieces are missing and the grill cloth is also tore. I maybe able to mend them with some balsa wood possibly and new cloth, but the plastic looks as though it has hairline cracks. I would like to get these repaired or if possible replaced so at least they both look alike. I've read where some have used just grill cloth and foam backer rod or using metal lattice. Now my main problem is how can I get to the grills from behind to try a quick repair? I've taken off the back, removed the four large screws to the woofer, but it seems stuck? How do you remove the grill on these? I need to be explained like I was a four year old, because I'm afraid I'll end up with no grills. I read they are pressure fit and slide into the cabinets....ok, so I try to squeeze them together or is there a trick to it? I need to make these look nice for the very important WAF. These sit banished to the garage until I can fix the appearance, then they will take their rightful place in my living room. Pictures on how to remove the grills would be outstanding and a service to numerous people.

Thanks in advance,
Dan

[jackgiff]

Hi Dan,

When I restored some Altec 846A's a few years ago, I looked and looked for help finding new grilles, since the ones in the cabinets were shot. I couldn't find any, so had them made at a sign shop which has a CNC router. They are expensive (relatively), but quite nice if you care about having original cabinets. I PM'ed you with directions on how to remove the grilles on AK. If you have any problems getting them out, PM me either here or on the AK forum.

Jack Gifford

[sonofagun]

You can get foam grille replacements as used in later models for $160/pair from me.

[jackgiff]

I recently received a Pair of his grilles for my L200's, and they are really nice. The 846B used a different grille than the 846A, and to the best of my knowledge, they are flat rather than rounded. They may be a nice way to satisfy the WAF, but they won't look original. Look in the Altec library to see what the 846B looked like. And make sure that they will mount in your 846A's should you decide to try them.

[DanTana]

Thanks for your replies, and I was able to get the damaged grill off, unfortunately it cracked more under the stress of removing it. There was a nasty 8-10" long crack right where the woofer is, tearing the cloth as well. Pieces were already missing from it from sitting in a thrift store. I was lucky enough to get them before they were completely destroyed. I very much like the look of the original grills. I was thinking of some type of lattice replacement. I did find out some 1/8" x 24" model airplane balsa wood fit perfectly across it and was flexible to bend and had enough pressure to stay in place. Whether or not this would also hold up some grill cloth I either have to find out or try another idea.

Sonofagun, Can you make the foam grills on a rounded frame that pressure fits inside the 846A slots? I was also thinking of hand making some from wood, but that would quite time consuming, but sure would look nice

Also, another quick question. When I got the grill off, I noticed a black glue like substance on the front bottom of the woofer. It doesn't looked to of leaked from anywhere, is this how they mount the woofers to hold them in place? The woofer wouldn't come loose until I took a knife and carefully cut it from the cabinet.

The cabinet is in surprisingly good shape, but there are a couple dents and dings. What do you guys recommend to help restore the finish? I don't think it needs a complete sanding/refinishing, but maybe a nice coat of Miniwax clear varnish?

[Tom Loizeaux]

The "black glue" is really just the treatment used on the cloth surround. Don't worry about it. When you remount the woofer you might want to rotate it so the collection of glue is in the higher position so it eventually runs down to redistribute onto the rest of the surround. There were no wood grilles when I got my Valencias, so I bought heavy copper mesh and made screens out of it. I stapled some fine screen over the woofer cutouts to protect the cones from stray objects. Then I simply cut the copper mesh to size, soldered it in a few places to keep it square, and slid it into the cracks at the sides. They look great!
The walnut can be treated a number of ways, from simply polishing it with Pledge or rubbing some oil, like thinned tung oil, into the wood.

Tom