HELP! Can't remove woofers Cerwin Vega 217R

[Ibemiked]

So im trying to remove the 15" woofers from the 217r cabinets to have them refoamed, there are 4 bolts, I was able to get the left bolts off but the 2 on the right won't
Come off! The entire screw is spinning! There isn't enough exposed on the end to grab with something either. Anyone out there have experience with this problem and maybe could provide me with a solution! it's a screw with a nail head! The nail head is on the outside of the front of the speaker. Should I try to hammer it through so I can "grab" it with something? Hopefully someone out there knows what I'm talking about and can help!

 

[RxDx]

You could probably Dremel the screw heads off with minor damage. Tape
everything up.

 

[Ibemiked]

You could probably Dremel the screw heads off with minor damage. Tape
everything up.

I was thinking dremel too.. I don't have one though.. I was also thinking maybe I could cut the screw with a sawzaw blade by hand maybe? Not a lot of room to work inside the cabinet. Would have to probably cut it off from the outside.. need to get the screw head to come out more somehow..

 

[teal'c]

Rivets? That's messed up.
Maybe use a hammer and chisel? Or drill from the front while someone holds the backside with vise grips?
Going to need to be careful though, metal fragments around speakers can cause problems.

 

[70's Rockfan]

I was thinking dremel too.. I don't have one though.. I was also thinking maybe I could cut the screw with a sawzaw blade by hand maybe? Not a lot of room to work inside the cabinet. Would have to probably cut it off from the outside.. need to get the screw head to come out more somehow..

are there nuts on the screws inside the cabinet ?

 

[Ibemiked]

are there nuts on the screws inside the cabinet ?

Yes and when you try to loosen
Them the screw spins too.. it's driving me nuts!

 

[70's Rockfan]

my 2 thoughts for you without a dremel.
try to drive a couple flat blade screwdrivers under the edge
of the speaker on each side of one bolt and see if that will
put enough tension on the bolt to keep it from spinning.

or pour some epoxy over the heads and let it cure.
that should hold them from spinning.
you can chip off the epoxy after you get the speaker out.

 

[Ibemiked]

my 2 thoughts for you without a dremel.
try to drive a couple flat blade screwdrivers under the edge
of the speaker on each side of one bolt and see if that will
put enough tension on the bolt to keep it from spinning.

or pour some epoxy over the heads and let it cure.
that should hold them from spinning.
you can chip off the epoxy after you get the speaker out.

Would super glue work in place of epoxy?

 

[teal'c]

Looking at them again, it appears you have nails driven through drilled out bolts. Have you tried a pry bar/claw hammer?

 

[jcamero]

I had that problem. Ended up getting the tip of a flat screwdriver under the head of the screw, prying up, (it keeps it from spinning), then removing the nut. Yes it will booger up the cabinet, but it was the only way for me. You could cut the nut off, then find a replacement for the whole fastener.

 

[70's Rockfan]

Would super glue work in place of epoxy?

super glue has no strength that way.

 

[Ibemiked]

I had that problem. Ended up getting the tip of a flat screwdriver under the head of the screw, prying up, (it keeps it from spinning), then removing the nut. Yes it will booger up the cabinet, but it was the only way for me. You could cut the nut off, then find a replacement for the whole fastener.

I was able to get 1 of the 2 off
By gripping the head with pliars but the head of the other one isn't exposed
Enough to grip. Im gonna try to pry it out. I didn't want to do damage to the cabinet but it's inevitable. I can live with some scratches. The grilles will hide them..

 

[darkblue94]

This represents a perfectly good opportunity to get yourself a Dremel tool, they are very handy and have many uses. If you had one you wouldn't have wasted any of your time racking your brains for another solution.

 

[fishondwan]

Cut em off and start over

 

[ra.ra]

I really dislike those little fasteners - - it's basically a threaded nail with small fins intended to prevent the spinning when torqued. I found these on the woofers in a pair of Rectilinear XI speakers - - - but in my case, the woofers were installed from front of baffle board so the nut was accessible. Still, it was no picnic getting these out - - - once I was able to remove the nuts and woofers, I gave them several light taps with a small hammer to disengage them from cabinet wood. Then I re-drilled holes and replaced them with T-nuts and machine screws.

 

[PROJECT 2501]

I was just going to comment this..

Do what jcamero suggested

I had that problem. Ended up getting the tip of a flat screwdriver under the head of the screw, prying up, (it keeps it from spinning), then removing the nut. Yes it will booger up the cabinet, but it was the only way for me. You could cut the nut off, then find a replacement for the whole fastener.

 

[Joe6805]

Boy, everybody says Radio Shack stuff is junk, but my Optimus 1000s have embedded steel inserts and machine screws. Glad I don’t have to deal with this!

Know you said you tried to grab the stud, but did you try with something sharp and pointed like wire cutters? May harm the stud, but should grab hard enough to get the nut loosened up.

Joe

 

[avguytx]

Drill the head off if at all possible. Then you could always use T-nuts or threaded nuts to remount woofers. Or, fill the holes and drill new holes and use regular pan head screws with a good bite.