I made $200 on Monday!
By The Horse
@TheHorse (220042)
Walnut Creek, California
November 11, 2015 6:07pm CST
People who know me from "that other site" know that I like to restore vintage loudspeakers. Usually, I restore only the walnut wood veneer that was prevalent on loudspeakers of the 1960s and 1970s, but occasionally I'll work on the insides as well. The wood on those speakers was absolutely gorgeous, but became too expensive to use on speakers by the 1980s.
Recently, a music friend dumped a pair of 1972 Acoustic Research AR-2ax speakers on my doorstep. I think he's moving to a smaller space, and was basically going to toss them. They hadn't been in use for years, and had rotted woofer surrounds and corroded midrange and treble controls.
I decided to take the plunge, and restored them inside and out. A friend and I refoamed the woofer surrounds, I did my best to fix the corroded midrange and treble controls, and I made the wood beautiful. Finally, I made some new screens for the speakers using some off-white fabric salvaged from a friend's fabric shop.
The whole process took a couple of weeks of "on and off" work.
I listed them at $275 on Craigslist over the weekend, got a call on Monday, and accepted $200 on Monday without bothering to haggle. I generally charge about $100 for wood restoration and $50 for new screens, so he basically got the speakers themselves for $50, but I don't mind, as I enjoy doing the work.
I'll attach a picture of one of the speakers as it looked right before I bid it adieu. I like having hobbies that pay!
32 people like this
32 responses
@JudyEv (341690)
• Rockingham, Australia
12 Nov 15
The speaker looks beautiful. I used to do a lot of crochet once and sold it through craft shops. You didn't make much per hour - in fact you made very little per hour - but I enjoyed crocheting and it didn't cut into any other pursuits. Vince always loved photography and eventually had a sideline taking baby photos, balls and weddings. That brought in pocket money too and enabled him to buy better camera gear.
4 people like this
@GardenGerty (160879)
• United States
12 Nov 15
Old wood cleans up beautifully. Nice job, good sale.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (168112)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Nov 15
Yes, indeed. A hobby that pays is great. Extra money and enjoyment. Nice.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (168112)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Nov 15
@TheHorse ...Oh, I understand. Just trying to help you out there.
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Nov 15
@celticeagle Folks in the Bay Area know that Craigslist works for vintage loudspeakers. I'm not willing to ship stuff any more (too much work), so I just stick with Craigslist now.
2 people like this
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
12 Nov 15
Wow, that is cute. It is not easy to earn such a mount of money nowadays. 
1 person likes this
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
13 Nov 15
@TheHorse The problem with crafts is that they take time to create, fix or whatever and we live in an age of more or instant creation. The Industrial Revolution is still with us - crafters are up against machines that turn out things faster and cheaper.
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
18 Nov 15
@41CombedaleRoad But do they have more soul? I love my 1914 handmade Gibson A-4 mandolin because I can feel the spirits of everyone who played it over the years. I hope owners of the speakers I refinish can feel the effort of the original designers, and the hours that went into their restoration. No factory can produce that feeling.
@RonElFran (1214)
• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
12 Nov 15
Your picture looks just like the AR speakers I used to have. In fact, I think they may still be down in the basement somewhere. Now I'll have to try to track them down to see if they might be worth something today.
2 people like this
@srisahara (4508)
• Indonesia
12 Nov 15
I think it is amazing sale. In my country, I think it just $ 10- $50, depends on the type of speakers machine and the wood for its box. You are very lucky...
1 person likes this
@srisahara (4508)
• Indonesia
12 Nov 15
@TheHorse Never mind, I just tell you that in my country it is relative cheaper than in your country. Take it easy...Thank you...
2 people like this
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Nov 15
@srisahara I'm not sure what 1972 AR-2axs would sell for in Indonesia.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
12 Nov 15
I don't know Indonesia, but there is a burgeoning market for these vintage American speakers in Vietnam and other Asian countries. Repairing them there is less expensive than here, so some people buy old American receivers and speakers in need of repair and send them to Asia, where the restoration process is completed. I'm not sure how much they ultimately sell them for.
4 people like this
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Nov 15
I my experience, folks who really appreciate music also appreciate how good these older speakers sound. I've read that some of the best movie theater sound existed before I was born, back in the 1940s or 1950s when tube amplifiers and big horn speakers ruled.
@poehere (15123)
• French Polynesia
12 Nov 15
How excellent and they look great.You do an excellent job and this is a great hobby to have. I guess mine is similar to yours when I do this with computers.
@sivakishore86 (210)
• Visakhapatnam, India
12 Nov 15
Oh, good big sound speakers, I really like it, you made it and earn some extra money, I feel very happy about this, your hobby is very worthable, the design of your sound speakers are awesome.
Nice work my friend.
The hard work which gives us money is having more value rather than we earn from nothing like simple thing.
1 person likes this
@birjudanak (14320)
• India
12 Nov 15
Wow its nice and you proved thst you can work like this very smartly and this is one kind of your ability to do such a thing because you put trust on yourself and prove it correctly. Now what you doing next is it bumper
@TheHorse (220042)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Nov 15
@birjudanak I'm lost. To me, "bumper" is something on a car, designed to protect it from minor collisions. My next project is a small pair of Scott speakers I'm working on right now. They're from the 1960s, I believe. After that...I'm not sure!
1 person likes this
@birjudanak (14320)
• India
13 Nov 15
@TheHorse I ask you that what your next project which may be bumper
@41CombedaleRoad (5952)
• Greece
12 Nov 15
If you enjoy what you are doing and get paid quite well for the job then you are definitely on to something pretty good. I'm glad you photographed the finished speaker, it looks magnificent.
@NeldaHoxie (1381)
• United States
12 Nov 15
It's wonderful that you could make money doing something that you enjoy.
@tuttiharris (1338)
• Chattanooga, Tennessee
12 Nov 15
@TheHorse (3911), Hey that is great. Sounds like a great hobby you have there, and I know you can use that extra money, here at Christmas... and Thanksgiving. Blessings my smart friend.
@Auntylou (4264)
• Oxford, England
13 Nov 15
Well at least the speakers didn't cost you anything more than time! Good job
