First Signs of Approaching Spring

It hasn't been a very good winter here in Oregon's Willamette Valley, unless you're one of the newly arrived from warmer and sunnier climates. There was a snowy couple of days in early January, and that was great, but overall there's been only a fraction of the usual amount of rain. The long multi decade drought cycle in the western United States continues, possibly to historic low levels of precipitation.

No matter what form our winters take, it's still always a welcome event when we see the first indications that spring is on its way. Over the last week and a half the temperatures dropped into the teens overnight, with highs not much above freezing, but the previous two days saw some warming, and today, although overcast, it got up to 60 degrees. Coincident with that, the first flowers in our yard popped up and opened out: spring crocuses, yellow and violet and white.

It won't be long now until tulips, daffodils, and grape hyacinths also show up to welcome the arrival of longer and warmer days. In the meantime, it's a cheery scene, to look out and see crocuses here and there, the first signs of spring.

Seen through open door -
First sign of approaching spring
One yellow crocus

Thrift Store Fun: Vintage 1960 Norelco AD-4877M "Labor of Love"

Wednesday was a dental appointment day in neighboring Springfield, and afterwards we stopped by the St Vincent's thrift store on Q St. There were some interesting Asian ceramic pieces in stock that day, and my eye was caught by a pair of brightly painted home made speaker cabinets.

According to the staff, some idiot removed all the screws holding the back panels on, yet still couldn’t get them off, and then grabbed the burlap grill cloth of one cab and ripped it, just to see what the speaker looked like. Seeing a dual “whizzer” cone, he left in a huff, leaving a bunch of screws laying around.

No doubt due to their appearance, these cabs were priced low, so I took a gamble since I’ve had good luck in the past with brightly painted home brewed cabs built in a certain era. It was obvious to me what they were: a labor of love by a 1950s or ‘60s do-it-yourselfer home handyman with a limited tool selection: an electric jig saw, drill, screwdriver, caulking gun, pencil and probably a long ruler, were all that was needed to build up these cute yellow cabinets.

Mr Handyman also had a novel solution for framing the grill material; in spite of having few tools to work with, he was an intelligent and most likely a creative sort of person.

One indication that these speaker cabs were valued by the builder was a blue Allied Van Lines sticker on one, showing he thought enough of them to pay to transport them as part of a whole house move, most likely to another region of the country.

Nice heavyweight terminals:

They metered out as okay:

The jerko Vinnie’s customer couldn’t get the backs off because the entire cabinet was caulk sealed. Using a very small pry bar, it came apart easily, with a sharp snap and pop noise as the 60 year old caulking separated.

The cleats were screwed in place:

The builder had totally stuffed every cubic inch of the sealed non- ported cabinet with fibreglass batting. Although not done very often anymore, at the time it was sort of a popular concept in the DIY projects as seen in magazines like Popular Mechanics.

Down at the bottom of all that carcinogenic stew was this:

Cool. The magnet cans look amazing, and the 8" (nominal size) speaker drivers themselves are really heavy.

The cones are in overall excellent shape, except for a small bit of damage to one surround, caused by the Gorilla of St Vincent's. Which sounds like the title of some story by Edgar Allen Poe.

"What a maroon!”, as Bugs Bunny would say. (hint for those not familiar with classic Warner Bros cartoons: Bugs meant to say "moron")

Here’s the label:

An online pdf of a vintage Norelco hi-fi ad shows these AD 4877M drivers as costing $26 apiece back in the day, which is the equivalent of over $600 for the pair in today’s money - no wonder the builder / owner kept them through a long distance move.

In the pre-internet days I'd seen a magazine article mentioning Norelco and Philips Alnico magnet drivers as being well suited for use with flat panel "open baffle" speaker design. Checking online today, it’s hard to say if that was so - one of many things gone down the internet memory hole.

Well, let's see what these Norelco speakers sound like. I hooked up the cabs, one as-is sealed and chock full o’ fibreglass, and the other with no batting and the back removed to approximate an open baffle audio experience, and had a listen to some pieces on the local classical station, KWAX, and selected tracks from a few of my favorite test CDs:

Sarah Vaughan, "Sarah Vaughan" (1954);  Bill Evans Trio, "Sunday at the Village Vanguard" (1961); Bill Morrisey, "Songs of Mississippi John Hurt" (1999); Modern Jazz Quartet, "Django" (1953-1955); Beach Boys, "Pet Sounds" (1966); Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd, "Jazz Samba" (1962); Dread Zeppelin, "Un-Led-Ed" (1990) - If you haven't yet heard Dread Zeppelin, you're in for a unique listening experience: Led Zeppelin tunes done by an ultra tight rock group in a Reggae style, with vocals by an Elvis impersonator.

Also auditioned were a rare String Quartet in E minor by Giuseppe Verdi (Joe Green!), JS Bach's French Suites played by Andras Schiff, Samuel Barber's Symphony No 1, and one of my all time faves, "Graceful Ghost Rag" by William Bolcom.

Never mind the slightly comical looking cabinets - these are nothing less than the greatest sounding single driver speakers I’ve ever heard, and very efficient - at a guess I’d say at least 25% higher efficiency than the Wolverine 8” loaded (plus 12” woofer) Electro-Voice Leyton speakers I have in the living room. Truly astounding detail - I could hear every nuance of brushes caressing the snare skins on vintage jazz recordings, Sarah Vaughan at conversational volume level sounded like she was right there in the room, the separation of moving harmony lines in the Verdi string quartet was incredibly lifelike, and Carl Wilson's vocal on the Beach Boys Pet Sounds album cut “God Only Knows” was sweeter and more angelic than I’ve ever heard it.

Since Pet Sounds is a mono mix I panned between the two cabs to hear differences in the cabinet configuration, and found the open back cab to be a bit more efficient (louder), and the closed one to have a slightly better low end, but not by very much.

Uh oh, I feel another project coming on. Maybe build a pair of solid pine open back cabinets the same size as these yellow things (external dimensions 13.5" x 19" x 12", 1/2" plywood baffle). Or maybe just keep those funky 1950s labor-of-love cabs just the way they are, enjoy the wonderful sound, and who cares what they look like?

 

 

Fourteen Random Photos

Pixie Houses

Here are fourteen randomly selected photos. Taken with a variety of cameras and phones, some are recent, some not so new, and one is quite antique.

In the picture above, we were hoping that some small creatures, whether mythical or actual, would take up residence. Possibly they did, but if so they were invisible except to the mind's eye.

My Two Yams

 Two Yamaha acoustic guitars (CSF-60, FS800T), plus other stuff.

In Studio

At Kyle's studio, featuring his wall sized homage to Elliot Smith's "Figure 8" album cover. Also semi- hidden but in plain sight is my old Danelectro / Silvertone bass.

Impressionistic Jimmy

A crop of an image posted on this site earlier, "Un Jour à La Pointe de Fermin, 1973". My humble attempt at emulating a painterly impressionist style.

Christmas Deer

Christmas is a fun time around here. Besides a fully decked out tree, door wreath, and holly draped piano, there are also various decorations throughout the house, including this bookshelf display of tiny deer and bottle brush trees.

Isuzu at the Canoe Launch

It was a perfect day to go canoeing: warm, light breeze, and mostly overcast, so there was little danger of sunburn. Actually, cloudy is a way of life here in western Oregon.

Almost Perfect Pie

Sometimes a home made pumpkin pie will turn out perfectly, and this is one of those rare and wonderful events. Absolutely a slice of heaven served with freshly whipped cream, subtly flavored with sugar and vanilla.

Aerial Dragonfly

Came out of the neighborhood medium sized supermarket, and found this amazingly calm dragonfly perched atop the radio antenna. It stayed on the aerial for about two blocks of slow driving, before it flew off to fulfill its destiny.

Eugene Toy & Guitar

With no logo decal, the headstock on the long-term project Strat Parts-O-Caster has been looking sort of barren since the new one-piece FujiGen maple neck was installed. A sticker from the Eugene Toy & Hobby store might just be the answer.

Chops in the Wild

Taking a portable charcoal grill along when car- camping at campgrounds in National Forests and Parks can be a delicious thing. Thick burger-sized chops perfectly done, served on buns with barbecue sauce, Joe's dipper corn chips and guacamole, a fruit bowl at hand, and beer or lemonade. Life is good.

And please don't come at me about the state of the grill. Exactly what part of "Camping Barbecue Grill" don't you understand?

Matryoshka Amplifier

These nesting Matryoshka dolls were a gift, and a great place to display them is on top of the amplifier that drives a pair of 1970s JBL audio monitors. Every time I sit down to do some editing, they make me smile.

Beat Up Altec

You might ask- how on earth does a speaker get so beat up? This Altec 417-8C was a brand shiny new gift when I first got it, but that didn't last long. Always installed in various Fender tube combo amplifiers, usually one of my mid-60s Deluxe Reverbs, it saw constant gigging duty.

After a show, often a one-nighter many miles of bad roads from home, we would toss equally beat up effects pedals, cables, and a Shure 545 mic into the back of an amp, and then chuck the whole thing into a car trunk or pickup bed. The bottom line was: whatever didn't survive that experience wasn't worth keeping.

Spirit Lanterns

We like to have fun on the holidays. Okay, Halloween isn't really an official holiday, and in recent years the Lizard People have tried hard to kill it, but this Pagan rite still survives. Great family fun is having everyone create their own pumpkin jack-o-lanterns.

Good Night

The last thing I see before switching off the wood and paper night lamp. Good night!

Jonsan's Bridgestone XO-1 Build

Here's a special treat, another beautiful bike build from my younger, smarter brother, Jonsan. In an earlier guest blogpost from him, about his then- latest project, a Gazelle "Crossframe" cyclocross bicycle, I wrote this:

"My brother Jonsan has always had some cool and interesting bicycles, including the very first fixed gear bike I'd ever seen, a mid-80s Schwinn Madison (which now lives in my garage, and sometimes roams the streets of Eugene). He'll find a rare and/or beautiful frame and then build it up with top quality components, and every once in a while he sends me photos of his incredible creations." And now, without further ado, here, in his own words, is Jonsan:

For approximately a decade I have been wanting to find a 1993 Bridgestone XO-1. Among its unique features was a frame built with standard road tubing but sized for 26” wheels and the very unique moustache handlebar. While it originally came with 1.25” (32mm) tires which were considered wide-ish for the day it had clearance for much wider tires, a precursor to how the now popular “gravel” bikes are equipped. According the the 1993 Bridgestone catalog, only 1000 were made and my understanding is that they weren’t too popular and lots were leftover when they were discontinued the following year. I had a 1992 model which had similar specs but different colors for the frame and sidepull brakes but the 1993 which had an orange ("Construction Pumpkin” in the catalog) frame and cantilever brakes is the most desirable one to own.

I found this in the local craigslist as a frameset only. It was in very nice shape for a frame that is close to 30 years old, so it appears to have not been ridden much. The gentleman who sold it is a big Bridgestone XO and Rivendell fan. He bought it knowing he was too tall for it hoping to trade it for a larger frame which didn’t materialize so he decided to sell. It wasn’t cheap (don’t ask) but it was priced several hundred dollars less than complete bikes go for, which is $$ saved for me as I had a specific build I wanted to do that didn’t include any of the original parts anyway.

All of the parts were already on hand to assemble the bike so no trips to the local bike shop or online purchases were necessary. The bottom bracket wasn’t the right length for the crankset I used and when I removed it the whole works were covered in metal shavings. I could still see paint on the outside edges of the bottom bracket shell so presumably the frame was prepped at the factory and then painted without cleaning up the mess beforehand! The headset felt a bit gritty to me so I disassembled it to regrease and adjust, and it was similarly full of shavings. Except for the headset cups (I did replace the bearings and their captive holders as I was too lazy to soak and clean the shaving encrusted moving bits) no other component is original to the bike.

The bars and stem are set up for an in-between riding position, not leaning too forward or too upright, which I think suits the bike well. It climbs and accelerates good but not great, partly due to how my body is positioned and the rather pedestrian tires it is currently shod with. It does have a great ride quality and I love the way it looks, so I'm sure it'll be one of the last bikes I would ever part with.

Here's a build component list for those interested. I may make some changes along the way but I am in no rush to do so. Ignore the long-ish cable ends hanging out - I usually go for several rides to make sure everything is adjusted properly before I trim and attach the end cap thingies:

• Panaracer Pasela 26x1.75 (42mm) tires

• NOS Suntour XC Pro hubs laced with Sapim butted spokes to Mavic 317 rims by Ryan Mason of Mason Cyclewerks who sadly (for me) moved from Long Beach to northern Cal so I gotta find another wheel builder.

• Nitto "Young" (I think) stem

• Ahearne/MAP handlebars, made and sold by Joseph Ahearne and Mitch Pryor, a couple of custom frame builders. Pretty much a copy of the Cinelli "Priest" bars but with a 25.4 clamp diameter and a 22.2mm grip diameter and quite a bit heavier too. Also similar to the Nitto 2522 “Jitensha” handlebar except for a 1” rise instead of being flat.

• Velo Orange cork/rubber grips

• Real Design brake levers

• Suntour LD-2800 thumb shifters

• American Classic 27.0mm seatpost

• Brooks B17 saddle

• Campagnolo cantilever brakes - OK, these are actually made by Tektro presumably in Taiwan but I like ‘em and they are way easier to adjust than the older post style cantis 

• TA Cyclotouriste crankset, 42/32 chainrings

• MKS touring lite pedals with MKS alloy toe clips

• Sachs 13-26 7 speed freewheel

• Suntour ARX front derailleur

• Suntour Sprint 9000 rear derailleur with Bullseye pulleys

• Nitto touring bottle cage

• Silca framefit pump

• Acorn M/L saddlebag - Acorn bags are made here locally in Gardena by a husband and wife team who makes a batch of bags each month and posts them for sale on their website and sell out in a few minutes. My saddlebag fetish is due to influence from my older brother; all of my bikes have a bag, each with a Tarik Saleh Bike Club button attached. There are 2 club rules: "Ride bikes" and "Try not to be an ass":

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Editor's note: Another classic bicycle from the 1990s that had a similar design ethic and geometry as the Bridgestone X0-1 was the economy level B-Stone CB-0.

 

The first and last photos above of Jonsan's XO-1 show it parked at the edge of the known world - at the sudden, cut-off southern end of Pacific Ave in San Pedro, where the rest of the street had fallen down the cliff towards the Pacific Ocean in the semi-major earthquake of 1933.

 

Beyond the fence is an area that's always been known since the quake by San Pedrans, unofficially, as the "Sunken City". As late as the 1970s there were still recognizable remnants of the houses and shops that once lined that scenic seaside drive, but those ruins, now almost a century old, have become less visible as the years pass by and the soft sandstone cliff continues to crumble slowly into the sea.