Refoam
- Thread starter Ryanj52
- Start date
Not all are the same.
I was going to recommend a favorite supplier but just found out they are closed. (Orange County Speaker) in Socal.
If you haven't reformed before the large speakers might present a challenge. There are techniques that can help. Bone up on the forums for more info.
I've done several pairs of fifteen inch woofers and one always ends up rubbing. I'll order a couple of kits in case.
Not the best one for advice.
I was going to recommend a favorite supplier but just found out they are closed. (Orange County Speaker) in Socal.
If you haven't reformed before the large speakers might present a challenge. There are techniques that can help. Bone up on the forums for more info.
I've done several pairs of fifteen inch woofers and one always ends up rubbing. I'll order a couple of kits in case.
Not the best one for advice.
grillebilly
Empty Head
Some people like to save a few bucks and get generic surrounds. That's fine with speakers that have not much value after completion. If you are fixing something that does have value, spend the extra few dollars and get the right parts. Also, use some method (shim, battery or test tone) to center the VC when gluing. I'm old school and shim, every job comes out as perfect as humanly possible.
Binkman
Lunatic Member
I've got a speaker guy in town who has a home made ancient test station that does just that. He uses glue that is not fast drying so you do have a little time to assemble.
---- you shim the core. what material do you do that with? I've also heard of shimming the foam surrounds?
bink
grillebilly
Empty Head
I use plastic strips most of the time. You can use paper, the paper folders are made of is usually the right thickness. I'm guessing about .010" thick works most of the time. People have different reasons for doing it the way they do and they are all valid. I shim because it centers the VC perfectly, and it's easy for me to apply the glue. With the VC shimmed it allows you to keep the cone in any position that makes gluing easy. And then when setting up it allows the spyder to be in the flat position, in case there is some "sagging". You can also spin the speaker to apply the glue instead of working your way around by hand. The link below is pretty much the way I do it most of the time sans the "dressing" step. I think it just creates more mess. Q-Tips are handy for applying glue but you go through a lot of them. They also help touching up places you may have put a little too much glue on. I also use them to gently press down on the surround in circular motions while it's drying. Clips also come in handy to secure the surround to the basket.
Like I said the only bad way is to cheat and do nothing to center the VC.
http://www.decware.com/newsite/refoam.htm
Like I said the only bad way is to cheat and do nothing to center the VC.
http://www.decware.com/newsite/refoam.htm
MannyE
Exterminate!
This is true. When I re-did a pair of Theil 04a I called up the factory and got the correct surrounds. Sometimes even if the speaker isn't valuable you may come across a proprietary size and have no other recourse but to call the manufacturer for the foams. Then you hope they still have them.
Or you can get the next size up and cut / splice the foam. It doesn't look as pretty as proper foam, but works fine.
MannyE
Exterminate!
When you are doing the glue-up, don't freak out when it looks like the glue is melting the foam. The foam gets "wrinkly" when you initially place it on the bead of glue. Just stay calm and keep lightly tapping the perimeter and it eventually lays flat
Sorry to jump onto this thread but it seems like an appropriate place for my question!
I'm planning to refoam a pair of Ohm C2s which ARE worth "doing right". But the original surrounds curve inwards which is unusual and no kits exist exactly like the originals. Are the kits from simplyspeakers more suitable than something generic even though they aren't exactly like original?
I'm willing to get those kits-- they aren't too expensive-- if there's any clear benefit to them. But I'd be making an order with other stuff from Partsexpress anyways which would save shipping $ if I could get surrounds from there as well, and the best they'd have are generic 10" kits.
I'm planning to refoam a pair of Ohm C2s which ARE worth "doing right". But the original surrounds curve inwards which is unusual and no kits exist exactly like the originals. Are the kits from simplyspeakers more suitable than something generic even though they aren't exactly like original?
I'm willing to get those kits-- they aren't too expensive-- if there's any clear benefit to them. But I'd be making an order with other stuff from Partsexpress anyways which would save shipping $ if I could get surrounds from there as well, and the best they'd have are generic 10" kits.
MannyE
Exterminate!
If you're dealing with a proprietary surround, like I had to with the Thiel speakers, it's good to give the manufacturer a call and ask if they will sell you the correct surrounds. Thiel sent them to me for a little more than the generic ones, but without those correctly sized surrounds, it wouldn't have been an easy fix.
While you have them on the phone make sure to ask what glue they recommend.
I think the foam is just inverted. I would call Simply Speakers and talk to them. They are super people and last time I talked to them, they genuinely wanted to help me out.
Ryanj52
Active Member
How does the battery option work to center the VC? I ordered a kit from Simply Speakers to use for this project. Thanks for the help!
grillebilly
Empty Head
I have never used a battery, I shim. The way I understand it is you take a 9 volt battery, two pieces of wire, strip the ends, attach the ends to the battery and and the speaker terminals. You will effectively be "running" the speaker while gluing.
