long haired wool

[vitalstates]

Can you chaps in the states still get hold of long haired wool?? It seems to have gone on the extinct list here in the uk and I'm not sure what the alternative is going to be for stuffing.

Regards

Ed

 

[Scottmoose]

Hi Ed -how's all with you?

I generally use the hollow-fibre stuffing from cheap pillows from Tony's Textiles. Alternatively, lining the cabinet is pretty effective for QWRs, although obviously you can't use that trick with non-resonant TLs.

 

[tomtt]

Can you chaps in the states still get hold of long haired wool?? It seems to have gone on the extinct list here in the uk and I'm not sure what the alternative is going to be for stuffing.

Regards

Ed

i haven't tried

and yet-



http://www.yarnmarket.com/generate/...t_6=&fiber_id=7&CFID=2113329&CFTOKEN=93462443




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_UK_foot_and_mouth_crisis

 

[serenechaos]

Yeah, the sheep still grow it here! 😀

I got some last year, I think it was from one of the pueblos, in the mountians in northern New Mexico.
I'll have to check.
How much you need?

 

[RAndyB]

Ed,

paradoxically, I think you cannot get hold of it here in the UK because the price of wool is so low!

Most of the manufacturing (carpets and textiles for suiting) has gone abroad, the companies who used to clean the wool have gone out of business, so the fleeces are destroyed.

I buy dressmaker's wadding from a haberdashery stall on the market.

I suppose you could go out for a walk in the winter sunshine and gather it dew fresh from the barbed wire.

Regards,
Andy

 

[Geoff H]

Hi Ed,

Have you tried the craft shops? The spinners like the double fleece, I think from the Suffolk breed, the ones with the black face.

HTH,
Geoff.

 

[Dave Cigna]

I don't know about the rest of the US, but in my area there are at least a half dozen small 'fiber farms' within an hour's drive, one within walking distance. They specialize in exotic fibers from things like alpaca , llama, angora goat, etc but many of them have an ordinary sheep or two. 🙂 Most of them will sell loose fiber directly (i.e. walk-in.) All of them sell by mail/phone/internet.

Maybe you're just looking in the wrong places?

While we're on the subject, sheep's wool is traditional but has anyone tried any other natural fibers? Most of them are much softer (that's where the market is for spinning and felting) but they might work well. Some are even affordable. 🙂

-- Dave

 

[vitalstates]

Hi all

I was told(by a reputable source) that it has vanished in the uk as a result of some EU legislation. The stuff I am referring to was known as Dr Bailey's and was absolutely peerless for stuffing TLs. I know from experience that the hollow fibre stuff is not a patch on Dr Bailey's so I'm beginning to grieve as I am in the middle of experimenting with Vofo mk2.

As far as I'm aware the Dr Bailey's wool was not from sheep but I can't be sure on this one as there is scant info available on the net.

If anybody finds any Dr Bailey's then please let me know. I'm looking for about 1-2 kg.

Regards

Ed

 

[Scottmoose]

Interesting. I've never heard any real difference between materials myself, but I rarely use more than about 0.2lbs ft^3 as most of the QWRs I design are mass-loaded. Perhaps differences become greater with increased densities.

 

[tvi]

You might find these of interest:

Bradbury, "The Use of Fibrous Materials in Loudspeaker Enclosures", Audio Engineering Society, Apr. 1976, pp. 404-412. . can't find it on the web🙁

US Patent 4837837

The efficiency of a loudspeaker housing is substantially increased by incorporating in the housing, in the form of a lining or stuffing, a quantity of goat's hair, preferably mohair.

US Patent 6338395

A damping material for use in a loudspeaker enclosure to enhance sonic properties of the enclosure. The material for use in the enclosure is kapok, a fibrous material with a relatively low density. By incorporating the kapok within the enclosure, either standing alone or in combination with other materials known to function as acoustic dampers, the overall result is that the sonic quality of the speaker system is increased and may also be reduced in size without sonic compromise.

KIMBERLEY-JANE-SPINNING-FIBRES

Hope this helps

Regards
James

 

[vitalstates]

Interesting. I've never heard any real difference between materials myself, but I rarely use more than about 0.2lbs ft^3 as most of the QWRs I design are mass-loaded. Perhaps differences become greater with increased densities.

Hi Scott

not sure how that compares with my stuffing plans but I've always laid Dr Baileys lengthwise in the pipe...deffo not to be forced(I can't remember where I first read this advice)...so in the case of the vofo which you are familiar with, there were 250 grms in each speaker which was put in the apex of the pipe, a volume about 1/2 cube foot(about 14 ltrs).

I make that about 1.0lbs ft^3. As its just laid in loosely I would guess that Dr Bailey's is a good bit more dense than the stuff you are referring to. Perhaps that may account for its wave arresting properties.

Regards

Ed

 

[Scottmoose]

Could be, especially with increases in density.

James -re Bradbury et al, beware. Bailey & Bradbury have much to answer for IMO (unfair of me: they were limited by the resources, but it doesn't change the fact that they sent TL / QWR design down the wrong path for about 30 years). That moving fibre nonsense for example.

 

[calvert73]

Long hair Sheeps Wool as specified by Dr Bailey

It was long hair Sheeps Wool that Dr Bailey specified, now outlawed by the Ab Fab EU possibly due to fire risk but there again with the EU could have been anything, its prob not a product in France would be my guess (yes I AM bitter and twisted!). I wish I had more LHW, I bought some 12mm thick real Wool Felt as well just in case!

RC

 

[zBuff]

hmm I wonder how one would go about conducting tests to determine what sort of fibres are best for audio application, aside from actually just using it. Living in New Zealand I have access to quite a few breeds of sheep and other natural fibres. Maybe I could find an audio grade sheep variety out there 😀

 

[v-bro]

http://www.bmm-electronics.nl/Product.asp?Product_ID=1934

 

[Colin]

According to George Augusperger's AES article on TL design, comparing three types of stuffing material - acoustastuff, microfibre and fibre glass - there was no real difference once took into account the different densities. His article gives alignment tables and recommended densities/weight of material.

He expanded on this in a follow up article for Speaker Builder. Anyone got a copy?

 

[Lsharptec1]

Acousta-Stuf is still available from Parts Express.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-330&raid=44&rak=260-330

Larry

 

[Pit Hinder]

Ed,


you got a dealer stocking Visaton? They shtill haff zze shtuff on shtokk.

Pit

 

[vitalstates]

Hi Pit

I don't think its a problem getting hold of visaton its just that it doesn't do it for me.

LHW is the stuff for me....so I'm pursuing the wool suppliers in Scotland at the moment to see if I can track down the original source of the stuff.

Regards

Ed

 

[AuroraB]

Make sure it's properly cleaned, - unless you want a certain "air" to the music!

As for EU regulations- i'll never undererstand what they think they understand - and neither does the rest of the Norgie majority!