The Krylon Baby Blue spray paint I had ordered from Amazon arrived today. I pulled the pop meter hood off the New G mech which someone had painted a horrid red color. Years ago when I did the Old G I painted all the mech covers with Krylon Baby Blue which was a dead ringer for the stock Seeburg color. That was the go-to color for G’s then. Can’t get it anymore. I tried asking Krylon how closely the new Baby Blue would match the old Baby Blue and got a run around answer-different batches, temperature when sprayed, etc. etc. Only one way to find out so I had ordered the can. I sandblasted the hood and painted it. I like to give painted pieces an overnight “rest” before handling.

I have a 1958 Bell mono amplifier a fellow gave me rather than pay return postage. It sat for weeks until curiosity got the better of me. I pulled it out and looked it over and decided to recap it. Several tubes tested weak and were replaced. It took a couple hours to do. I tested it on the bench with the tear drop speaker for the heck of it. It’s a good powerful little amp with a lot of volume and tone. I’ll offer it to the guy who originally sent it before anything.

I pulled the mechanism out of the SMC2, tore it down and washed it. These mechansims have the least amount of parts on them and are a lot quicker to go through than any of the others. Motor out, trip coil out. Rack off, clutch out. Then using a toothbrush ( for real ) and a great cleaner called Oil Off mixed 50/50 with water I started spraying down the mechanism and parts and scrubbed with my little brush. Then a thorough rinse with the garden hose. I hang the mech upside down on two milk crates and lay everything out in the sun. This damned old August sun, as hot as it has been this summer, will have these parts dried in two days. In the winter I’ll give the mech five days to dry out.

I took time today to get back on a project I had started some time ago and laid aside for whatever reason. It is a RS1-8 tear drop speaker made from 1946 to 1948. I had painted this one a beautiful green blue high gloss called St. Tropez by Rustoleum. This is the best paint job I’ve ever done from a rattlecan. The finish is flawless and I love the color. It took me a long time to pick out a speaker cloth. I finally opted to use white. I went to Joanne’s Fabric Shop here in Mesquite and looked at every white cloth they had finally picking a yard of one. It turned out to be a good choice. It meshes well with the speaker color and allows the chrome to stand out. Speaking of which, the Seeburg logo was ordered from a chap in England. I was a bit hesitant but when I got better pictures of it I took a chance. And dang glad I did! This logo is so good it could actually pass for NOS. It might be NOS come to think of it. He apparently only had a few. The guy did me right as well. I ordered two and he sent three.

I installed a new 8 inch 8 ohm speaker. The speaker did not have a mounting tab for a transformer so I drilled out the spot welds on the old speakers’ tab and screwed it to the new one and mounted the transformer. I offer these as they are supposed to be. Two connections, one pair straight to the speaker and another connection for 70v line use. Working for an operator way back I have hung my share of ceiling speakers setting them all in parallel using the 70v line out. This is done to stop line loss from being an issue.

Lastly I attached the back to the speaker. Or tried to. It mostly fit. I did a foolish thing and tried to force it on and got a hairline crack on the nose for my trouble. After I finished calling myself bad names I did what I should have done to begin with. I laid the back on gently and using a silver Sharpie marked the areas that did not fit. Using a dual action sander with 100 grit I slowly worked the back until it fit.Took about an hour. I removed the hanger tab, straightened it out, re-attached, added four new bumpers that keep the speaker off the wall and buttoned it up. It is now on top of the Console Unit so I can admire it whenever I pass by.

I do good work and everything ends up so shiny and nice I fall in love with it and do not want to let them go. Ask my buddy Juan about the 201.