Fisher C-800 Contemporary Rehab

Well, I finally got around to replacing the grill cloth on my '58 Contemporary that I picked up back in May. Here's what it looked like before:



I think Avery must have owned a staple factory, 'cause there were about a bajillion of these used to attach the original cloth to the front baffle:



And here's the finished product:









Although certainly not perfect, I'm very please with the end result. And I have enough fabric left to do another should the need ever arise. I bought the end of the roll from the manufacturer as they have discontinued producing it. I searched a long time to find this color and weave with the gold strands in it.

I also went ahead and ordered replacement caps for the x-over while I had the baffle out.

Dave

Very nice!

Gorgeous! And a great match on the cloth!

Nice job, Dave. Fisher certainly used some interesting grill cloth. I couldn't find anything even close to the original on my Contemporary so I did my best to clean it up and reused it. The cloth you found is a better approximation than anything I saw in any of the local fabric stores - especially since it has the metallic thread. Did the original '58 grill cloth have gold thread? The '59/60 grill cloth had silver.

I'm still in a quandary over what to use to replace the original grill cloth on my Philharmonic. It was a rich, honey-gold fabric with a bit of a sheen and an irregular weave. All the women at the fabric stores (who were generally amused at the story behind my quest) told me that it must have been a custom-woven fabric. I've found some with the right color, some with the right weave and some with the right sheen - but never together.

Funny about the staples. My Contemporary, as I recall, was securely fastened but nothing like the Philharmonic. I even commented about the excessive number of staples in one of my posts about it over at the Antique Radio Forums. I guess the staple-happy worker had a long career working for Avery Fisher and made the transition from Philharmonic to Fisher - but was out sick when my Contemporary came down the line.

TheRed1 said:

Nice job, Dave. Fisher certainly used some interesting grill cloth. I couldn't find anything even close to the original on my Contemporary so I did my best to clean it up and reused it. The cloth you found is a better approximation than anything I saw in any of the local fabric stores - especially since it has the metallic thread. Did the original '58 grill cloth have gold thread? The '59/60 grill cloth had silver.

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Thanks Carter, I'm really quite happy with the way it looks. Here's a pretty good close-up of the original. You can see the metallic-gold threads woven in. The new cloth is slightly lighter and the metallic-gold threads aren't quite as thick. But it's really quite close and certainly matches well with the rest of the unit.

BTW: The speaker cut-outs aren't nearly as apparent under natural lighting with the new cloth. The flash seemed to really show them (cloudy day here).



Dave

Looks great! I couldn't find anything even remotely like the original grille cloth, so I ended up using Bozak-style cane weave.

One interesting tidbit - My C800 had the logo attached on a bit of a slant. I wonder if it was a design change or if they were just rather sloppy about putting them on?

Also, I was surprised to find (although I suppose I shouldn't have been having owned several other Fisher consoles) that the speaker baffle was veneered hardwood. Although unfinished (blackened on its interior side), it is the same thickness and material as the exposed cabinet pieces.

I'd also guess by the stamps on the woofer frame, that this unit was produced in '57 as a '58 unit.



Dave

Sam Cogley said:

Looks great! I couldn't find anything even remotely like the original grille cloth, so I ended up using Bozak-style cane weave.

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I'd love to see a pic of it Sam! :thmbsp:

It only took me 6 months of searching to find this fabric and sadly, the manufacturer has discontinued it. :sigh:

Dave

I might have a picture of it up here already. If not, I'll try to get one soon. My R-20 is shot, but I have a donor chassis coming in that only needs a few parts substitutions from my unit.

I noticed the same thing about my baffle board. I'm pretty sure my cabinet is '58 production, as it says "stereo" instead of "TV" on the left-most selection. Fisher was angling to sell C800 owners a new stereo C810 to make a pair for stereo records and simulcast broadcasts.

And I think that mine's a '58 as well. Perhaps even late '58 as my R20 has plastic rather than wooden control knobs.



The date code on the woofer indicates the 47th week of 1947 (220747).



Dave

Of truly greater importance than anything else, Opie approves. :thmbsp:



Dave

Looks nice. The cloth looks right at home there.

Maybe we can induce the manufacturer to fabricate a roll for us. (Wishful Thinking).

The cat has good taste or knows how to find a warm place. I've used the top of my RCA 6HF1 to raise dough. May as well put all that heat to use!

Nice job on the cloth and a great looking piece!

larryderouin said:

Maybe we can induce the manufacturer to fabricate a roll for us. (Wishful Thinking).

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Larry:

I ordered it from grillcloth.com. I ordered their part number SP-6005 which when I spoke with them, their manufacturer had discontinued and they only had a couple yards left which I bought. Their new part number DF-6222 looks like it would be pretty close.

Dave

Very Nice !!

Jensen drivers to boot....:thmbsp:

Stephen J said:

Jensen drivers to boot....:thmbsp:

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Indeed! That sealed-back mid is especially sweet.

Dave

Thanks Dave. It's close. Probably as close as we're gonna get now.

Larry

Jealous of the Contemporary...so jealous. Although my Provincial is in as good shape, it just doesn't look quite as good to my eye...

-D

Yours has the C810 knobs...must have been late production.

They were all plastic, not wood - just a different design.