Wurlitzer 2300S Refurb

I've managed to strip most everything out of the cabinet as well as remove all of the various pieces of cabinet trim. The disassembly was pretty easy and fortunately no stuck or stripped screws and it's going to be quite a luxury to have the parts machine next to it for reference when it comes time for reassembly. Next step is to take the cabinet apart and re-veneer the sides. A couple of questions:
The speakers look to be in good shape with no tears in the cones or anything obvious that I can see. However, it looks like the only way they can be removed is with most everything removed so should I have these speakers checked out while the cab is empty? Do speakers wear out?
Last question is unrelated but I placed an order for a book from alwaysjukin. The amount was debited from my account 11 days ago and I received an invoice but no tracking number. I emailed and never heard back as well as called but the answering service said the box was full. Is this typically how it goes. I know it's a part time gig for the owner.
Thanks,

J-C, your speakers are probably fine. I have eight old Seeburgs (V-Vl_K-201) out with original speakers you want to test them just connect them to a typical amp and listen. Use moderate volume as these do not have high power capability.

A slightly more revealing test is to connect a 3-5 volt AC supply from a 60hz line. This will show any rattles.

The best test uses an amp and signal generator to sweep from bass approx 50hz (don't go lower on those speakers) up to about 600Hz. This will easily reveal any rattles or rubbing voice coil noise.

I find it best to check the speakers when bolted into the cabinet. The reason is that slight warpage of the baffle board might in-turn shift the speaker frame and cause a rubbing voice coil. One of the speakers Wurlitzer is particularly susceptible to warp damage. That one has a particularly small voice coil with tight clearance. IIRC that one is on the left as viewed from rear.

As for removing the speakers, if you remove the title board and rear doors and contort yourself a bit, they can be removed w/out taking the mech out.

Seeing the stripped cabinet reminds me of how flimsy that model was. An old op used to say that "they do a little dance when moved". Still, that series and the 1800 were my favorites of the Wurlitzers.

Rob

Hi JC,
As Rob said--your speakers are most likely just fine--If properly constructed, and properly matched to the amplifier, speakers should last "forever" ! Most jukebox makers ( the "big 4", at least) took great pains to do the above AND match their speakers to the cabinets. As for "contorting" oneself, to remove those speakers--I don't think there ever was a time in my life that I could do that !!
Re: Alwaysjukin--I don't know what's going on there--I too have emailed him, to no avail ?? Perhaps there is some type of a medical issue--don't know--I would probably cancel the order, request a refund from whomever provided the service, and re-order from elsewhere, if I did not hear anything soon---Please let us know, if you resolve this. Ron Rich

Good info fellas. Now that the cab is apart I got a god look at the speakers and they seem fine. No tears or any damage to the cones.
The cab came apart fairly easy. The sides were screwed in place but the front of the sides is screwed and glued to the corner pieces and tongue and grooved. I separated that with some careful tapping with a hammer and chisel.
Now the not so fun task of removing the veneer. Fortunately living in the NW means plenty of woodworking shops and a great selection of veneers.
I'm gonna give always jukin another couple of days. Unfortunately the couple of other places I've tried are waiting on that book too so maybe
another batch is being printed.

It took about an hour per side to remove the old veneer and then sand off the last remnants to get a smooth surface. Despite the original veneer glue being almost 60 yrs old, it was still very strong. I then applied the 3mm baltic birch veneer, let that glue cure for a day, and then routed the excess off. Of course after I had put away all my tools I realized that I forgot to rout the coin return and coin box openings.
The pic shows the sides with the veneer removed and with epoxy filler in the divots and the other pic shows the new birch but it's not been sanded or finished yet. Not sure what type of finish I'll be doing.
Heard from the amp guy and he's got some NOS RCA 6973 tubes that are matched which I'm going to have installed. I initially declined due to the price but the new and commonly available Russian "equivalent" seem pretty bad. I read a dozen or so reviews from various suppliers and none of the customers had anything good to say about them. Essentially they are 6973's in name only and function fine electrically but with severely diminished sound quality.

pics didn't show in previous post.

Pix don't show here either--see above "how to post --"
I have had no problems with the EH 6973 for a couple of years--They did have a bad run of them about 3-4 years ago ( which they made good !). I can't recall what they would/would not do in an amp, but do recall they tested "bad" on my tube tester. Ron Rich

let's see if this works

Yep--now see photo's--but since I don't "do cosmetics"--I ainna gotz no ideaz as to what I see, with my black and blue eyes !

Yeah those pics aren't great. Once I get all the holes routed and the finish applied I'll post some better pics of the finished sides.

Photos are probably OK--it's my lack of knowledge, and the fact that I had an operation on my eyelids the other day, and still have "blurry" vision--maybe one-two more days to go--I hope ! Gotta go lie down on my back to relieve pressure in my eyes now--Ron Rich

pic of the sides with front corner pieces attached and are now pretty much done. in about a week the finish will be fully cured and they'll get a coat of paste wax to bring out a very slight sheen. the inside of the walls as well as the base and front/rear of front wall have all been painted. next step is to reassemble the cab and attach all the metal trim pieces. once that's done i can start replacing all the interior components as I go through each sub-assembly.
also, i finally receive my copy of the Wurlitzer guide from Always Jukin a couple of days ago.

Pic:

Pic??? No-see it !
"Paste wax"--Oh, NO ! Not onna "jukebox" !! Ron Rich

i don't know what the deal is with posting pics. i'm not doing anything different from the times that posting pics worked.
paste wax sounds crazy i know and that's what i used to think. when done right, it doesn't look like wax at all and i've got a few pieces of mid-century furniture i've built using the same wood finish process that ends with paste wax.