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grill cloth


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  • 2 months later...
Hello...has anyone ever found a source of grill cloth that looks pretty good on the large (older) advent....the grey or the tan? Thanks.

Jo-Ann Fabrics has a fabric they call "Burlap" in various colors. The thread count and texture is very close to original. I used a blue color but it is available in colors very close to original.

Their stock # for the blue is: 5977558. It's $3.00 a yard.

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  • 1 year later...

I found a material that is as close to the original grill cloth as you will find. It is used by the rug hooking hobbyists and it is called "primitive linen". If you have a rug hooking supplier in your area they will probably have some. It's not cheap.............abt. $26-$30/yd. I found this store on the WWW in located New Hampshire and had them send me some samples. The "primitive linen unbleached" is the closest to the originals in color. The primitive linen Bleached single-ply is a little more transparent but a little lighter in color. In the hooking hobby they call the cloth "Foundation Cloth".

Here is the website page;

https://commerce44.pair.com/dorrmill/catalo...04b8818b006fcfb

Hope this helps you out. I found a local hooker about 20 minutes from my home and she had some of the same material. Guess I'm lucky. I just got the cloth from her...nothing else!!!!!##@@@

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Same advice as I gave over at AK regarding advantagious' post:

12x12 is an extremely coarse weave for grille cloth. However, with the black backing cloth also, I guess it will be okay.

For single cloth grilles on classic speakers, I recommend linen in the 20-30 TPI range and 4-7 osy.

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Some thoughts on grille cloth:

  • Years ago I replaced the cloth on my AR 4x’s with brown burlap. Looked fine but it is not acoustically transparent. When I removed the grilles it sounded much better.
  • Irish Linen looks authentic on vintage speakers and it has good acoustic transparency.
  • Michael’s craft stores sell a couple of suitable fabrics. If you go to their website and sign up, they will send you a 40% off coupon almost every week.
  • The Charles Craft Irish Linen sold at Michael’s in “Tea” color used to be just about perfect for AR speakers but it has changed—both the color and weave—so you have to look at it and see if it is right for you. I think it is 28 count. With 40% off, it is cheap.
  • Michael’s also has Zweigart “Cashel” Raw linen, 28 count, 18” x 28”. It is not exactly the right color but it is quite attractive and again, use the coupon.
  • Also at Michael’s: MCG Textiles Belgium Linen, 32 count. Color is similar to the Zweigart but 32 count is a bit too fine. OTOH you may like it (and use the coupon) :lol:
  • I bought some rug hooking cloth online: MCG Textiles “Linen Burlap”. It looks nice but I think that, like the regular burlap, it may be too heavy.
  • The 1-2-3 Stitch linen referenced in the AR 3a restoration guide ( http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library...ring_the_ar-3a/ page 17) is very nice but a little expensive. The “lambswool” color is a bit light for the OLAs but it is a good quality fabric with an open weave (18 count) and a nice heft. It is made by Wichelt and I see that it comes in other colors, so you may find one that is closer to the original (or how about Wild Raspberry?) ;)http://www.123stitch.com/cgi-perl/abcSearch/search.cgi
  • Looking at the fabric I have on hand, and my OLAs, I’m guessing the OLA cloth is coarser than 18 count. Maybe 14 or 16.
  • Carl is right of course—the OLA had a sheer black backing layer, like some KLHs, Rectilinears, etc. BUT I would hesitate to put another layer of fabric on the grille. IMHO they will look fine and sound less muffled with a single layer of lightweight fabric.

So get the fabric of your choice. You can attach it with Allene’s Tacky glue, then spritz it with water and dry with a hairdryer (see p. 5 of my KLH Eight manual: http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library...lh_model_eight/

Good luck!

Kent

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My resident fabric expert tells me that the grills on my Original Advents are made of Rayon and are definitely not linen.

Take a short piece of thread and burn it , then smell the smoke and it is obvious. This is why it frays so readily and the weave distorts so easily.

This is a standard test for linen, silk, wool, cotton vs synthetics.

I am looking for a source as well. Lets try looking for Rayon.

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My resident fabric expert tells me that the grills on my Original Advents are made of Rayon and are definitely not linen.

Take a short piece of thread and burn it , then smell the smoke and it is obvious. This is why it frays so readily and the weave distorts so easily.

This is a standard test for linen, silk, wool, cotton vs synthetics.

I am looking for a source as well. Lets try looking for Rayon.

Maybe, but I'll stick with natural fiber because it shrinks. Apply it to the frame as best you can, spritz, dry. Voila! Nice n taut.

Kent

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Check out this site.

The color of pattern FR250 is pretty close, but it is a 2 over 2 weave, as opposed to the even weave (1 over 1) of the original. I have not seen actual swatches.

Acoustone grill cloth

The reason I have not ordered from these people is that they have a 5 yard minimum, 36" wide at about $25 per yard. That is enough for 12 Larger Advents. (16 x 26)

It is not rayon but vinyl coated fiberglass. Should last for ever.

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  • 9 months later...
I have a NLA and its original tan grille cloth TPI is 16X16. It also has a very open, fine mesh black backing fabric.

I have some Original Large Advents I am putting together. Does anyone know what the spec would be on that cloth? Did it change any when the NLAs came out?

There would seem to be 3 challenges to replacing the grill cloth:

1) finding something that has no acoustical impact

2) getting the right density of cloth (tpi) and material

3) having backing material

I would guess correctly taking care of 2) would then result in 1) being satisfactory.

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I have some Original Large Advents I am putting together. Does anyone know what the spec would be on that cloth? Did it change any when the NLAs came out?

There would seem to be 3 challenges to replacing the grill cloth:

1) finding something that has no acoustical impact

2) getting the right density of cloth (tpi) and material

3) having backing material

I would guess correctly taking care of 2) would then result in 1) being satisfactory.

I don't have the exact specs for the OLA clothing, but I do know they used a very open outer linen cloth which necessitated the black backing cloth which, IMO, served to hide the drivers mounted behind it. In my previous post, the aluded to the NLA cloth, which I believe was very similar to the OLA in function.

The density of the cloth is a function of it's TPI and open area dictated by the thread size of the warps and weft threads. I have found >40% open area is quite good and thread counts in the 18 to 35 range are also good with fabric weights in the 4 to 6 OSY range.

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  • 9 years later...
On 5/30/2009 at 2:57 PM, ADVENTAGIOUS said:

I found a material that is as close to the original grill cloth as you will find. It is used by the rug hooking hobbyists and it is called "primitive linen". If you have a rug hooking supplier in your area they will probably have some. It's not cheap.............abt. $26-$30/yd. I found this store on the WWW in located New Hampshire and had them send me some samples. The "primitive linen unbleached" is the closest to the originals in color. The primitive linen Bleached single-ply is a little more transparent but a little lighter in color. In the hooking hobby they call the cloth "Foundation Cloth".

Here is the website page;

https://commerce44.pair.com/dorrmill/catalo...04b8818b006fcfb

Hope this helps you out. I found a local hooker about 20 minutes from my home and she had some of the same material. Guess I'm lucky. I just got the cloth from her...nothing else!!!!!##@@@

Old Post but still funny!!!

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  • 1 year later...

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