making AR Driver foam trim rings (AR9, 10, 11, 58S, etc)

[michiganpat]

Well, the last piece in my AR 58S restoration was to remake the decorative foam gaskets for the 11" AR drivers. starting with the ADD series (10,11,12,14,17,18), the woofers had a foam trim ring/gasket....the foam gaskets on mine were falling apart, so I decided to come up with a relatively easy way to make some new ones....so here's what I came up with...

 

[michiganpat]

so I took my wife's fabric cutting wheel and disassembled it....you can buy a 4 pack of replacement blades from Joann's for about $5. then I took a scrap of plywood, and made a 3/4" x 1 1/4" bar about 7" long. the measurements of my woofers was 11 7/8" OD, and 10 3/8" ID for the gaskets. so on the drill press, I drilled 2 1/4" holes, 1 being 5 3/16" from one end, and the other 5 15/16" from the same end (or 3/4" apart). then on the vertical face, I drilled a 1/4" hole, and counterbored it with a 5/16" hole. I found a 5/16" shoulder screw which fit the wheel's ID perfectly....screw it in so the wheel doesn't have any slop, but still rotates freely, and now we're cooking with gas...

 

[michiganpat]

for the base, I took a piece of scrap plywood, and cut it to approx 13" x 11.25". the 11.25" is the width of the gasket on the flats....at the center, I bored a 1/4" hole, and pressed in some 1/2" dowel sticking out about 1". then I took my 11x17 foam I picked up at joann's and punched a 1/4" hole in the center, and slipped it over the post. first I cut the OD, untill tthe cutter rolls of the side on the 11.25" width. after the OD is mostly cut, I flipped the fixture over onto 2 pieces of scrap 2x4, and used the width of the plywood as my cutting guide for the straight portion. then I flipped it back over, moved the cutter to the ID hole, and cut it around, and viola, all done.....it's just sitting in there pressed in, I need to get some double sided tape to mount them permanently....by the way, the band aid? those cutting wheels are really, really sharp

 

[tromba]

That's cool!! I need one for one of my AR9s

 

[michiganpat]

best part, is I can make a pair for some AR10" or 8" drivers by drilling more holes and using the leftover inner part.....

 

[GD70]

Awesome MP! I need to make some for my 12's. I made the mid and tweeter cosmetic foam's, but this is a great solution for the woofers.

Glenn

 

[StimpyWan]

Awesome job! They turned out really nice. I'm glad you made replacement foam gaskets too. The raw frame looks ugly, when left as-is, after refoaming the woofers.

Me, when I refoamed my AR90s, I took the easy way out. I just used cardboard speaker gaskets, from Simply Speakers. I could use something premade, since my woofers don't have the truncated frames, like your 58s.

Also, I wish I could find a local pair of 58s, or 91s, or 92s, or 915s, or 925's...or...? I just want to try my 90s in an A/V setting. One of the other Verticals would be a nice match as a center, or surrounds.

 

[ADKBob]

Yankee ingenuity at it's best. If I stuck my fingers into my wife's sewing stuff I wouldn't be typing here for a while as the fingers healed from the drawer slamming.I need to go to the store and buy some of those and build me a gasket cutter. Cool post - thank you for sharing.

 

[michiganpat]

no problem...I end up using the sewing stuff more than she does.....if I were to do it over again, I think I'd make the base 13x13, and trim the flats after the fact.....my 58S's original foam went over the screw heads. if you wanted through holes like the 10pi and 11 have (I might end up doing that), just find some thinwall tube in the 1/4" to 5/16" OD range, and use a bench grinder or file to sharpen one side, and now you have a hole punch....

 

[RS Steve]

Nice job there michiganmaniac, between those and the smaller rings that Glenn has mastered we can restore these AR's like they should be.

 

[GoRNR]

michiganpat- about the Band-Aid...yep can confirm those cutting wheels are sharp. We have a rule around our home that the better half is not allowed to use those cutting wheels after 8:30 PM. The accidental finger cut rate seems to increase proportionally with time beyond 8 PM. She has the scars to prove it! Razor sharp they are! That said-- I need to perform similar fabrication for my AR-9's flat-sided woofers. They would look far nicer with the foam trim. Excellent execution and well done sir!

 

[michiganpat]

I'll have to look, last time I went to our local joann's they didn't have the large sheets of foam in black, only like red and blue (I bought mine about 9 months ago)....they were $1.99 ea....

Mcmaster has some that is adhesive backed, like the originals, but it's $10 per 12x12 sheet.... another option might be this:

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-foam-sheets/=11lfcrx

2' (so about $15), you should be able to get 6 12" woofers, plus a bunch of 10" and 8" and tweeter pads out of it....

 

[GD70]

When I went to Joanne's for the foams for my 12's, each sheet was 79 cents, prices must have gone down.

 

[harry398]

Hi michiganpat

I am curious how you like the sound of the ar58s.

Its funny, I just picked up a set of ar-58bxi last week.....and im going to refoam them. Yes, they arent as high quality as the older stuff....already apparent to me.

 

[janikphoto]

That's a great technique! I had some AR93's that were missing the thick foam around the tweeters, and it would've been nice to make new ones.

 

[michiganpat]

Hi michiganpat

I am curious how you like the sound of the ar58s.

Its funny, I just picked up a set of ar-58bxi last week.....and im going to refoam them. Yes, they arent as high quality as the older stuff....already apparent to me.

I like them so far...haven't used them too much, as we need to rearrange the living room to move the sectional away from where the speakers want to go....