Rubber surround detached from Signet SL260, best way to repair?

[Skrinkus]

Hello all!

I just thrifted these beautiful Signet SL260 B/U for $50. I took the risk without auditioning them on a gut feeling.

I am completely new to this hobby, and so I didn't notice the surrounds had separated from the cone when I bought them. I hear that these are fairly difficult to find speakers, and so I want to do the repair right and not screw them up.

The surrounds have separated about 2/3 around the cone. When pushing gently on the cone, I hear some coil rub, especially where the surround has separated. Would anyone be able to provide some good resources on how to reattach these cones?

I have some initial questions:
1. Do I need to buy an entirely new refoam kit even though the rubber surrounds look to be in great condition? Others have said to just reglue using Aileens, but I fear they are too separated already.
2. Would it be best/possible to remove the dustcap and shim it? The spider feels pretty sturdy, so not sure if it's necessary.
3. I don't have any way to hook these up yet, as I still need to get an AVR, so I can't do the 30hz tone strategy. I was hoping to reglue it first so I don't damage them. Should I just wait until I have a way to hook these up and go that route?

Here is my thought process so far after having read some other posts here. Please feel free to correct or add some steps/advice:
1. Remove the drivers from the speaker
2. Gently remove the surround from the cone and the frame
3. Use Aileens to glue the surround on to the speaker
4. After drying, glue the surround back on to the frame, using some pressure to assure it's not rubbing on the coils
5. Reassemble

Thanks for helping out a neurotic and new hobbyist!

 

[GordonW]

That sounds like a quite reasonable procedure. Except that I have access to a more speaker-specific glue (Aileen's should work fine, though), that's what I would do.

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[Skrinkus]

That sounds like a quite reasonable procedure. Except that I have access to a more speaker-specific glue (Aileen's should work fine, though), that's what I would do.

Regards,
Gordon.

Thanks!

I hear that Aleene's is water soluble. Does that mean if I misalign the cone, would I be able to separate it and try again with water on a qtip? I'm also realizing I should probably get an AVR before this repair any way to test the speaker before putting it back in the housing.

 

[Pete B]

I would leave the part that is still stuck in place and sort of use it as a guide to get the rest glued correctly.
I've never done rubber to poly glue joints but @GordonW what do you think of E6000 glue for this?
E6000 is not fast drying and you might have to stay with it until it sets up. Use a tooth pick to get new
glue right up to the old section.
If you do go with Aleene's and you need to break the bond, put the driver face down in a pan with say
.5", enough water to soak the surround. Might take overnight to free it up, not sure. Obviously, don't
get the spider/motor wet. Only do this if the cone is poly and not paper.

 

[Pete B]

Signet SL260 detached woofer surround; disintegrated felt

Bought these for $30 yesterday at the Goodwill store. So far everything looks to be in fine shape with two glaring exceptions: - the rubber surround on one of the woofers is completely detached — I’m assuming that with the correct adhesive, this could easily be corrected; and - the “felt”...

www.audiokarma.org

 

[GordonW]

I would leave the part that is still stuck in place and sort of use it as a guide to get the rest glued correctly.
I've never done rubber to poly glue joints but @GordonW what do you think of E6000 glue for this?
E6000 is not fast drying and you might have to stay with it until it sets up. Use a tooth pick to get new
glue right up to the old section.
If you do go with Aleene's and you need to break the bond, put the driver face down in a pan with say
.5", enough water to soak the surround. Might take overnight to free it up, not sure. Obviously, don't
get the spider/motor wet. Only do this if the cone is poly and not paper.

I can't give a good report for using E6000, as I think the last tube of it I got, had possibly gone bad. It was very gloppy- almost paste like. Didn't want to flow at all. Hard to get it to go where I wanted it.

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[absolve2525]

I would leave the part that is still stuck in place and sort of use it as a guide to get the rest glued correctly.
I've never done rubber to poly glue joints but @GordonW what do you think of E6000 glue for this?
E6000 is not fast drying and you might have to stay with it until it sets up. Use a tooth pick to get new
glue right up to the old section.
If you do go with Aleene's and you need to break the bond, put the driver face down in a pan with say
.5", enough water to soak the surround. Might take overnight to free it up, not sure. Obviously, don't
get the spider/motor wet. Only do this if the cone is poly and not paper.

Good tip! Aleenes glue should be fine. I've used it on poly cones before and no issues after it cures.

 

[Skrinkus]

Signet SL260 detached woofer surround; disintegrated felt

Bought these for $30 yesterday at the Goodwill store. So far everything looks to be in fine shape with two glaring exceptions: - the rubber surround on one of the woofers is completely detached — I’m assuming that with the correct adhesive, this could easily be corrected; and - the “felt”...

www.audiokarma.org

Thank you, I did see this thread during my research!

What wasn't clear to me though was whether OP took out the driver to glue it and clamp it, or had simply used a toothpick to glue the cone back to the surround with it still in the housing. I can see that working if the surround is only minimally detached, but like I stated earlier, almost all of the cone is detached, at least a good 2/3.

 

[Skrinkus]

Just want to follow up for anyone who stumbled on this!

The repair turned out great. I did end up finding a cheap AVR and used a 50hz tone to help me center everything. I think I would have totally messed up the process if I skipped that.

I also removed the foam/felt that was attached around the tweeters as it was disintegrated. I didn't get a chance to test it before and after the removal, but to my ears it sounds great.

The actual driver removal involved getting under the plate attaching the driver to the body of the speaker and separating some old glue.

Because the surrounds were so detached, I ended up removing the surrounds entirely. I think this will benefit in the long run because now they have new glue all the way around on both the cones and the frame.

Likewise, I removed the old glue from the rubber surrounds that I was reusing. I ran a small bead around and smoothed it with a brush, attaching it to the cone. I then let it dry and ran a small bead around the frame and pressed the rubber to it and then pulled it back up. I was using Aleene's so I let it tack up for about five mins and then ran the 50hz tone. I attached it by dropping it straight on and adjusting as needed.

The only complications were the wires connecting the drivers. They were on tighter than I expected so I used a needle nose plyer to loosen them a bit.

Anyways, I'm excited to next tackle the B&O Redline 60.2's I got handed down to me from my parents. I think they sound great but maybe need a recap so they will be my guinea pigs for that process!