I think it is 18 mm Baltic Birch ply...
You might want to try these Folk's..
Europlywood | PLYWOOD, FILM FACED PLYWOOD, RUSSIAN BIRCH PLYWOOD, BALTIC BIRCH PLYWOOD, MDF, OSB, BOXES
Hi everyone,
A group of us here in Sweden are interested in creating some clones/replicas of the classic Altec A7 VOTT speakers.
These speakers apparently had cabinets that used plywood composed of the following layers: Birch, Obechi, Pine, Obechi, Birch. We would like to use plywood of identical composition for our speakers.
Some questions:
1) Can anyone direct me to a source for purchasing this wood in the US (we will have it shipped over to Sweden)?
2) Would there be customs issues with shipping such wood, since it will probably not be treated for infestations etc?
2) Can anyone provide measurements for the layers?
Thanks!
Spiros
I think it is 18 mm Baltic Birch ply...
You might want to try these Folk's..
Europlywood | PLYWOOD, FILM FACED PLYWOOD, RUSSIAN BIRCH PLYWOOD, BALTIC BIRCH PLYWOOD, MDF, OSB, BOXES
From my 46 years use of Altec gear, and involvement with Altec, I have no clue where you got the info. AFAIK it is 100% wrong.
Altec used different plywood at different times, but all I have ever seen is just plain old domestic fir plywood. Some cabs were 5/8", others 3/4".
Altec made factory cabs and used contractors at a couple points I know of. IMHO you are chasing a fantasy.
Thread on A7 restoration here:
http://www.hostboard.com/forums/f700...e/index14.html
Last edited by Old Guy; June 10th, 2014 at 07:38 AM.
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
Hi,
Thanks to both of you for your responses.
One of my friends in Stockholm has an old, smashed VOTT enclosure. He sent me a wood sample where you can actually see different types of wood in the layers (I can upload a pic later). This was from one big theater in Stockholm. I believe it is 19mm thick. But if there really was a lot of variation, then we won't worry so much about replicating it beyond the birch layer. We thought perhaps that Altec choose this wood for its acoustic characteristics... but if we are wrong, then it's easier for us
Thanks,
Spiros
Originally Posted by Old Guy
Hi,
Thanks to both of you for your responses.
One of my friends in Stockholm has an old, smashed VOTT enclosure. He sent me a wood sample where you can actually see different types of wood in the layers (I can upload a pic later). This was from one big theater in Stockholm. I believe it is 19mm thick. But if there really was a lot of variation, then we won't worry so much about replicating it beyond the birch layer. We thought perhaps that Altec choose this wood for its acoustic characteristics... but if we are wrong, then it's easier for us
Thanks,
Spiros
No guarantee that is a factory cabinet. In fact likely not. Many local contractors built their own. Can you imagine the cost of shipping a plywood box from California to Sweden? The factory would cheerfully sell you VOTT decals in the old days. We built dozens and badged them as VOTTs.
A plywood REAL Altec box would certainly be .75 or .625 inch, not 19mm. Almost certain that was locally built.
See added line to my first post.
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
thanks OG, I will study your post!
regards
Spiros
In the early 80's, JBL had a line of boxes called the Cabaret series .Hi,
Thanks to both of you for your responses.
One of my friends in Stockholm has an old, smashed VOTT enclosure. He sent me a wood sample where you can actually see different types of wood in the layers (I can upload a pic later). This was from one big theater in Stockholm. I believe it is 19mm thick. But if there really was a lot of variation, then we won't worry so much about replicating it beyond the birch layer. We thought perhaps that Altec choose this wood for its acoustic characteristics... but if we are wrong, then it's easier for us
Thanks,
Spiros
The series started out being made with Baltic Birch ply & then ( without fanfare ) JBL switched to a different ( cheaper ?? ) type of plywood that they claimed ( when queried ) had many superior qualities to BB ( & by coincidence wasn't readily available to the rest of us, via normal retail channels ) .
They sent out ( educational ) circulars to the distributors ( who then passed this info / propaganda onto the dealers for mass consumption ) .
These circulars included some test results with formulas , etc. / so it wasn't all just junk science .
The ( newly substituted ) plywood was a special 9 ply, Maple/Poplar mix ( with 5 Maple plies & 4 Yellow Poplar ) .
The alternation of a denser hardwood with a softer wood had some superior ( claimed ) properties ( ie; less shattering upon dropping from 12" , a slightly lighter weight, a bit better damping/sound transmission & a harder surface / though with slightly more over-all flex ) .
All in all, JBL was really proud of their innovation, though ( I believe ) the perception of industry standards had them switch back to baltic birch for their follow-up ARRAY series of boxes .
A google search for Maple/Poplar plywood, reveals that Ludwig has used this plywood mix, for decades .
Interesting. the Israelis were looking for a cheap way to armor vehicles. They did sheet metal/styrofoam ad infinitum layers...well really only a few layers. Anyway- metal spreads the force over a large area,foam absorbs energy, repeat as necessary. The result was made from two cheap available items and would stop sizable fragments or bullets.
Gotta wonder if the differing wood layers performs likewise.
I am not a techno geek, I just play one on TV.
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
Yes I agree, it's all pretty interesting ( the whole constrained layer damping thing ) / just not quite interesting enough to have me search it out & use it instead of Baltic Birch .
Yeah that sounds too much like work. I fish these days.Yes I agree, it's all pretty interesting ( the whole constrained layer damping thing ) / just not quite interesting enough to have me search it out & use it instead of Baltic Birch .
Your neighbors called. They like your music.
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