Altec 14 Grilles

[AS-21]

I recently acquired a pair of Altec Model Fourteens which unfortunately have their grilles missing.

Any suggestions for obtaining replacements would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[Horn Fanatic]

I recently acquired a pair of Altec Model Fourteens which unfortunately have their grilles missing.

Any suggestions for obtaining replacements would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Greetings -

Lucky for you the Model 14 had frame and fabric grilles, versus those silly acoustic foam grilles that were used on the Model 15. If I were you I would search out local sound companies that may have their own wood shop. Or perhaps they, or someone at local music stores could recommend folks locally who build speaker enclosures either by hobby or trade, that they may reproduce them for you at a reasonable cost.

Parts Express has acoustic grille fabric in black and brown for around $5 a running yard, that will stretch quite nicely around corners as long as they have at a minimum 1/8 inch radius bullnose so as not the rip the fabric as it's pulled tightly. You may even find the badges on Ebay. The grille fasteners are an issue, though. If you can have new grilles fabricated you may want to replace the grille fasteners on the cabinets with Velcro, or perhaps a Tree-Lok type fastener. Parts Express sells two different types. The receptacle would be mounted on the grille frame.

http://www.wclco.com/wp-content/uploads/Tree-Lok.jpg

Good luck,

H.F.

P.S. I have a method of applying that type of material in pro fashion I will share with you, if you're interested.

[Wagner]

I recently acquired a pair of Altec Model Fourteens which unfortunately have their grilles missing.

Any suggestions for obtaining replacements would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Contact Great Plains, you might get lucky:
http://www.greatplainsaudio.com/

[macaroonie]

If you look at the pics closely you will see that the grilles are the full size of the outer dimensions of the cabinet. Since the baffle faces are recessed and from looking at blow ups I conclude that the grille pins are ' extended' in order that they grab on the back face of the grille frame. It looks like those are the type that grabs purely into a hole of the right size and not into a plastic receptacle.
Quite easy for someone with joinery skills to fabricate replicas. I wonder though if it might be worth contacting ' Sonofagun ' , a member here ,. He does L100 grilles to order but I'm sure that he could do you something tasty in foam. Note that modern foams are much longer lasting than of old.
Altec 5 7 and 9 of that era had foam grills BTW

65903

[AS-21]

Thanks kindly for the suggestions fellas.

I had been in touch with Great Plains but to no avail. He said they'd not be easy to find.

Believe it or not, the young man from whom I bought the speakers had the grilles - but threw them ALL out because ONE of them was "bad". :rolleyes:

Nice enough guy but definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.

[Wagner]

Thanks kindly for the suggestions fellas.

I had been in touch with Great Plains but to no avail. He said they'd not be easy to find.

Believe it or not, the young man from whom I bought the speakers had the grilles - but threw them ALL out because ONE of them was "bad". :rolleyes:

Nice enough guy but definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed.
I'll try again today.............the damn site stopped "working" and ate my post..............

Thanks to the lovely photos provided above, I can say with certainty that you can fabricate those frames easily yourself using off the shelf materials

I have made similar myself with excellent, factory appearing results

Select some "off the shelf" wood stock, smallest size possible that will work (or have another owner provide you with the factory thickness if that matters to you and make your selection using that dimension) Take the time to select the straightest stock pieces from the bunch

Make accurate measurements, then cut and assemble your frames using simple butt joints, glued and screwed (make sure to drill pilot holes)

No special tools required, you can do this nicely by hand, but a power drill and any sort of power saw would be a plus obviously (make those cuts a squarely as you can)

Relieve or shape the face edges as needed or to suit your tastes (from the photos, it appears to be only a slightly softened "square" 90 degree edge) A nice sanding will take care of that

I painted mine black using ACE brand flat black lacquer

Cover the new frames with a cloth of your liking using the contact cement and a warm iron method; your results will look factory in every way If you decide to go with a very shear or light colored fabric, you might want to consider painting the frames another color than black (or to paint them at all)

As for attaching? More than a few vendors offer solutions for that one too (various peg and socket arrangements), but from the photos I've found I cannot see exactly what it is you will need. Suffice it to say, I feel quite certain that you can solve that issue with readily available "off the shelf" bits as well

Fortunately for you, these ALTECS require an easy one to replicate