How to repair a speaker tear

Brett Lanier · From: Hermitage, TN

I'm looking for suggestions and insight for repairing a tear in a JBL K130. A mic stand went through the speaker in transit. I patched it up with masking tape and have used it a few times for quiet stuff since it happened.
The speaker still sounds the way it should so I'm hoping to just patch it up and keep using it.

George Piburn · From: The Land of Enchantment New Mexico

Unfortunately your 130 is on it's way to the recone table.

Fortunately you can make a temporary repair.

Main thing is to use the LEAST amount of glue as possible.
Think of it like a auto wheel with the wrong balance weight on it.

A Bostic type glue - Rubber Gasket is what they use to glue it in the frame,

Weldwood contact cement is fairly close. Try to toothpick it in or very small brush.

At JBL Recone School I saw a box full of attempted repairs, all of course ended up in failure.

The worst one was Silicone - applyed so thick they filled the entire cone to flat even with the frame,
it added so much weight to the cone it drooped to the point of causing the coil to rub against the magnet-plate and grinding the coil to short.
_________________
GeorgeBoards S8 Non Pedal Steel Guitar Instruments
Maker of One of a Kind Works of Art that play music too.
Instructional DVDs
YouTube Channel

Brett Lanier · From: Hermitage, TN

Thanks George. I'll keep that all in mind.
I should really find someone who can do some reconing for me. I have a small mountain of jbl's in the corner of my music room that need it.

Should I use small strips of paper too or just the glue?

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Check out this old thread for some more ideas. clickhere

Dave Hopping · From: Aurora, Colorado

Once I dropped a screwdriver on an old Utah 12,and put a round hole in the cone.Bent the"hanging chad" back flush, used a toothpick to apply rubber(or silicone,can't remember now) cement around the hole,on the "chad" and a little ways out,then put a single thickness of Kleenex tissue paper cut in a small circle over the cement to join everything together.Cool cab(Thanks,Al Risbeck!) containing that speaker,although I haven't used it very much,but it sounded fine when I did.....The repair ended up looking sort of like an inner tube patch.

Stephen Cowell · From: Round Rock, Texas, USA

Use rubber cement for surround repairs only... I use elmers glue on cones. Support with yellow pages paper on both sides... after the glue dries you can gently tear off the excess paper. You want a stiff repair unless it's in the surround.
_________________
Too much junk to list... always getting more.

Steve Spitz · From: New Orleans, LA, USA

Brett,
YouTube had some very helpful videos, and I got a lot of great ideas here on the forum, if you do a search, you'll see. I think Stephen was a contributor then as well.

I used Elmers which I thinned a bit with water. I used strips from the yellow pages, and a small paint brush. My tear was massive, my amp fell backwards on an amp stand , and was totally jacked .

The repair worked great.

Gather some tips from those who have done it,take your time with the repair, and I think you will be pleased with the results.

Darvin Willhoite · From: Roxton, Tx. USA

I always used clear RTV (silicone), I would think it would need to be a little flexible. Just my opinion of course, I'm no expert.
_________________
Darvin Willhoite
MSA Millennium, Legend, and Studio Pro, Reese's restored Universal Direction guitar, a restored MSA Classic SS, several amps, new and old, and a Kemper Powerhead that I am really liking. Also a Zum D10, a Mullen RP, and a restored Rose S10, named the "Blue Bird". Also, I have acquired and restored the plexiglass D10 MSA Classic that was built as a demo in the early '70s. I also have a '74 lacquer P/P, with wood necks, and a showroom condition Sho-Bud Super Pro.

Brett Lanier · From: Hermitage, TN

Thanks, everyone for all the great ideas. Originally I was thinking more along the lines of Elmer's and some thin paper (like yellow pages). Shoo Goo sounds like it's proven to be a strong fix and I happen to have some so I think I'll go with that.

Was thinking this product might be good too. I've used it to fix neoprene kayak skirts. https://goo.gl/eHRZ63

James Holland · From: Alabama, USA

I repaired a torn EV 15" about 16 years ago. I have the pair, and there was no detectable difference after the repair. Here's what I did:

1)place the existing cone back together, and try to match the fiber edges so the surface inside and out are flush.

2) cut two round, boat, or elliptical patches from a thinner thickness or less-weight paper. I used craft paper which is really thin, so I doubled up two patches on each side.

3) using white glue, wet the patch area and apply to both sides.

4) squeeze out excess glue with a roller or other method. clean up with a damp cloth.

5) apply small refrigerator magnets (3/8" dia) to each side around the edges to prevent curl while curing. You can find these at craft stores like Hobby Lobby

Mine was small enough (less than 2" tears) that the spider kept the cone centered over the magnet, but if it were larger, you may need to do some shimming or other cone support to maintain the centering while the repair cures.

Jerry Overstreet · From: Louisville Ky

Here's a 15" Spider Web BW that had an accident when it rolled over on someone's hand as they picked it up by the frame's edge. It was repaired with automotive RTV silicone. Not real pretty, but still in use and it's been going strong for several dozen gigs over 6 or 7 yrs. now and sounds just fine.

I like silicone because it won't dry out and crack with time and cone vibration.

Bob Hoffnar · From: Austin, Tx

I would start researching recone guys. There should be somebody near you you could work with. I would ask Mark Spencer what he thinks. I know two great jbl recone guys in Austin but that would involve shipping.

I use Mustang Speakers and guys I know use Austin Speaker Works.
_________________
Bob

Dave Grafe · From: Hudson River Valley NY

Shoo Goo is the one to use. Road proven by touring sound companies for decades, that's the real fix until you can get it reconed.

William Rasch · From: Vermont, USA

Ezra Mulheron MSR sound local and good

Michael Butler · From: California, USA

a while back i was speaking to a speaker repair guy and he told me that the best thing to use was hobby glue. i don't remember the name but i think it was aleene. i have not tried this so i'm just passing on the info. you may want to check with your local store that would carry hobby glues.

play music!
_________________
please see my Snakeskin's Virtual Music Museum below.

http://muscmp.wordpress.com/

Micky Byrne · From: United Kingdom (deceased)

Brett....as a quick repair, there is a stuff from Amazon called Gorilla tape....it is far far far stronger than the ordinary duct tape. Even to get a piece off the roll takes a little muscle, then you could do the repair like you did in the picture, but maybe on the front side too. I have used this tape for part of my Garden shed on some wood work that loosened up. It's still there despite rain etc etc Very Happy

Micky "scars" Byrne U.K.

Dick Sexton · From: Greenville, Ohio

I've built models for years and have repaired speakers many times using the paper used to cover model wings and clear buterate dope(model paint). An alternate would be a thick tissue wrapping paper(several layers) and clear fingernail polish. Both worked extremely well and lasted for years. Large rips or torn surrounds usually required cone replacement. My preferred method.

Forum Index > Electronics		Next oldest topic :: Next newest topic

All times are GMT - 8 Hours	Jump to: