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SA Wharfedale W45

Apolek

Apolek

Well-Known Member
I promised myself no more speaker projects for a while, but I couldn't resist. Dip sh@# here couldn't figure out how to remove the grills in the store, so I rolled the dice. Figured for $15, why not. Cabinets are in good shape with minimal veneer damage to the back corners. Got them home, figured out how to get the grills off and found a replaced woofer, and a torn surround on the other. Good news is the opening in the replaced woofer cabinet hasn't been opened up, so it's possible to put a proper replacement back in. Wondering if it's possible to replace or repair the rubber surrounds, or am I looking at new woofers?
 

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Finally got to plug them in and they don't sound too shabby, even with the Radio Shack replacement woofer. Pots are scratchy and need cleaning, but at least all the drivers are working. Still, replacement Wharfedale woofer is in the mail.
 
Hey man,

Yeah, I know how it is. Your mantra is going one direction, and the devil on your shoulder causes a knee-jerk reaction and you go home with yet another pair of speakers. That Wharfedale driver should have a treated cloth surround, may be repairable. Can you get a close-up image?

Biggles
 
drbiggles said:
Hey man,

Yeah, I know how it is. Your mantra is going one direction, and the devil on your shoulder causes a knee-jerk reaction and you go home with yet another pair of speakers. That Wharfedale driver should have a treated cloth surround, may be repairable. Can you get a close-up image?

Biggles
Click to expand...
They appear to be of the butyl rubber variety. Rubber has gotten brittle over the decades and is ready to be replaced. I assume the procedure is pretty much the same as re-foaming except that these attach to the rear side of the cone. I just need to take measurements to make sure I get the right ones.

20161220_120630[1].jpeg
 
I have to admit, I'm not familiar with the later models of Wharfedales. The replacements will end up with a different sound versus the factory surrounds. But who cares, it's either replace them with modern surrounds or toss 'em. I replaced the original foam surrounds on my 1959 Wharfedale Super 12's, sound absolutely wonderful.

Super12041.jpg


Super12064.jpg


Biggles
 
As far as I can tell, the butyl rubber surrounds are normal for 8" drivers from this era. Saw a few for sale on eBay and they all had the rubber surrounds and this one doesn't look like it's ever been changed.
 
Looks like I may be SOL on replacement surrounds. Seems that these are made of pure unobtanium and folks on the internet have resorted to using old inner tubes and blue jeans to try to fix them. Think I'll try patching this one up as best I can, but the petrified rubber probably will make this temporary at best. Replacement woofer I ordered looks intact (no cracks or tears), but I don't know what condition the rubber is in, either. Looking into rubber treatments to try to reconstitute the rubber and restore it to something resembling the correct durometer and suppleness.
 
Reach out to Rick Cobb and see if he can sell you one by dimensions or if he has any other ideas for you.
 
Interesting. Replacement woofer has arrived and it's a cloth surround, not rubber like the other.

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Yay! Back to OEM. Just need to patch up the mangled baffel and paint to match. Thankfully they didn't cut out the opening.

2016-12-24 12.07.16.jpg
 
Yeah, that's the surround I'm more familiar with. That and the felt versions. Congratulations, you deserve a pat on the back!

Biggles
 
drbiggles said:
Yeah, that's the surround I'm more familiar with. That and the felt versions. Congratulations, you deserve a pat on the back!

Biggles
Click to expand...

Thanks! Still need to figure out what to do with the cracked rubber surround. Probably going to soften it up with a silicone bath and patch it as a temporary fix until I can hunt down another cloth surround woofer. Plugged them in just for a function test and even unsealed with a leaky surround, they sound surprisingly good. Imaging is very impressive. Should get even better with a recap.
 
Holy crap, it worked. Just kept applying silicone lube until it stopped absorbing (about 4 times). Surrounds were scary brittle and rubber again.

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Congratulations! Now time to lightly pound on them and see how they perform? Sounds like a fun test to me. Nice!

Biggles
 
Ghonk said:
Great news,i'm surprised it worked.:thumbsup:
Click to expand...


Me too. Most of the techniques I saw involved boiling the rubber in all sorts of interesting concoctions, and that wasn't going to happen since I wasn't going to try removing the surround, and boiling the whole speaker sounds like a really bad idea :crazy:. This worked surprisingly well. The rubber sucked in the first two applications like a sponge, but by the forth, it seemed to be done.
 
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