GWO Speakers? I've Never Seen Such A Thing As This!

MyOhMy

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Jul 26, 2015
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Dear-oh-dear-oh-dear! When I bought a pair of Wharfdale Laser 90B speakers with a description telling me "All in Good Condition and Working order.” I did not expect to see the cone unattached to the rubber surround, there's not the slightest indication or evidence of the cone ever having been attached to the rubber surround whatsoever by any stretch of the imagination - all parts look as new! :w00t: :blink: I mean, how is it even possible for a speaker in this condition to work at all never mind be "All in Good Condition and Working order.”? One thing's for sure, I feel these should be going straight back untested by myself. :annoyed:

On the other hand, the price I paid was £20.00 + £20.00 P&P for the pair, I've only opened one of the two boxes the speakers arrived in so I feel the second speaker will/may/could be in a similar condition.


Question for the forum members:
Apart from the cone issue the speaker is in a seriously good/almost as new condition (externally) so.............do I send them both back or repair the cones myself as the price was good (subject to the 2nd speaker being in a similar/no worse condition)?


I don't mind fixing the speaker(s) if that's all that's needed and I've made no contact with the seller as yet.

DSCF4211sm_sfw.jpg
 

JVC Floyd

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It looks like you can simply glue The Edge back on just get a small brush and apply glue to both sides Elmer's glue-all or any hobby glue should do it.

You have to babysit and push down on the edges every now and again until the glue sets.
 

MyOhMy

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JVC Floyd said:
It looks like you can simply glue The Edge back on just get a small brush and apply glue to both sides Elmer's glue-all or any hobby glue should do it.
Many thanks for the advice, it's what I was rather hoping to hear.

To address any fears, I have seen online help and videos - including on this forum - regarding this type of repair so I would be well prepared prior to beginning such a task.
 

JVC Floyd

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All you really need is ,
a small brush
crafts glue all
damp cloth to dab up any messes
.
you only need enough glue to make contact on the mating surfaces. Go all the way around with the glue then press down as needed.
 

MyOhMy

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^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Thank you once more, I appreciate this so I'll go a-hunting for a UK version of Glue-All or similar. By perchance, has any UK member had any experience of this issue and which glue did you use for a rubber surround with paper cone?
 

MyOhMy

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JVC Floyd said:
If it's a rubber surround with a paper cone then you need contact cement
It is indeed a rubber surround with a paper cone and I have several cement type adhesives for different applications so I'll check them out to find the most suitable or acquire another. I don't envisage any issues with this simple repair and it will make a world of difference to the sound reproduction. I'm not sure these speakers have ever been used as there's no even the slightest bit of dust or sign of use even in the speaker terminals and I'm still scratching my head at how this was missed by original quality control when made and feel the grill have never been removed otherwise this would have been seen. Fark knows how no-one noticed before now! :blink:
 

MyOhMy

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^ ^ ^ ^ ^

Will do.

Sure? (gulp)

Okey-dokey.


I bought another two types of cement adhesive while I was in town today, I probably have 7-8 by now so at least one ought to do the job (in a few days-ish). :yes:
 

MyOhMy

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JVC Floyd said:
You really need a rubber based glue only because the normal crafts glue doesn't bond to the rubber surround.
Okay although I wasn't aware of this but I read all the labels on every tube of glue and, if it didn't specifically mention rubber, then it was disregarded as I don't want to cause any damage or rubber deterioration by using the wrong glue.

Thanks again for all the tips and advice on this. :yes:
 

JVC Floyd

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You can buy the right glue on eBay it's about 10 or $15 for a bottle but a bottle is more than enough to do both speakers it's specifically made rubber surrounds.
 

Hajidub

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BTW MyohMy, it would be best practice to center that voice coil prior to gluing. Instead of shimming I prefer to connect (with duck tape) some speaker wire to a triple A battery and connect to the driver in question (it'll center itself via the low voltage). Voltage don't lie and you'll get a perfect center every time.
 

MyOhMy

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Hajidub said:
BTW MyohMy, it would be best practice to center that voice coil prior to gluing. Instead of shimming I prefer to connect (with duck tape) some speaker wire to a triple A battery and connect to the driver in question (it'll center itself via the low voltage). Voltage don't lie and you'll get a perfect center every time.
Just :bang: ...............when :bang: ................I thought :bang: .................I had the job :bang:.................totally sussed! :bang:

Thanks for the tip, this very helpful. I was aware of the centering issue and I'd only seen this in the context of replacing a foam or rubber surround to the cone when not fitted to the basket, the rubber surround being already fitted to this basket makes reattaching the cone somewhat awkward so I've been 'dry practicing' with the speaker assembly either way up to determine the best way forward.
 

JVC Floyd

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If you align the surround with the original line on the cone you should be OK.
No need to complicate this **** its dirt simple.

WHen you're working you want to make sure that you press down on the cone to be sure that there's no rubbing aside from that it's not that complicated.
 

MyOhMy

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JVC Floyd said:
If you align the surround with the original line on the cone you should be OK.
No need to complicate this shite its dirt simple.

WHen you're working you want to make sure that you press down on the cone to be sure that there's no rubbing aside from that it's not that complicated.
:thumbsup: Gotcha with maintaining the static position of the paper cone to prevent rubbing as I've seen this featured in videos, my 'dry runs' have confirmed your sound advice on this. When the speaker is on it's back, supporting the paper cone (on opposite sides at the same time) with my fingertips and keeping it still whilst pressing down the rubber surround onto the cone with my thumbs should work nicely.
 

JVC Floyd

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Normally you would shim the coil but you have to remove the dust cap to do so.
Also be carful not to stretch the surround as you go .
it might be easier if you removed the speaker all together so you can work at different angles and if you stuff paper towels into the basket to hold the cone still while you work.
 

MyOhMy

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I lifted the speaker free prior to posting the op so I could get the full picture. The +&- wires are solidly crimped onto the terminals so these may have to come off although I can sit the whole speaker cabinet on a turntable and rotate it while I work. Good thinking with the equal padding in the basket, this could be very helpful indeed so I'll look into this a little more. I'm still having a little practice each time I pass the speaker, always being careful not to stretch the rubber surround or place any element or component under any form of stress, this is a one-go-at-it-or-you're-farked kinda situation. :-D
 

MyOhMy

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And.....................................the results are in:

I lifted the speaker from the box with the crimped wires still attached, laid a layer of protective bubble wrap on the speaker box and placed two small boards across the speaker opening on which to seat the speaker. Before attempting to re-glue the cone to the surround I practised the techniques of applying the glue and finger-pinching the two surfaces together, the rubber streched a little but soon settled back down again:
DSCF4227sfw.jpg

DSCF4229sfw.jpg


Next, acquire the correct glue/adhesive and squeeze a little onto a paper palette. The 'stringy' nature of the glue meant it couldn't be applied to the surface direct from the tube and using brushes makes the application & spreading of the glue easier:
DSCF4234sfw.jpg


The other benefit of using a paper palette is to monitor how quickly the glue is drying, once touch-dry on the palette it's time to join the two surfaces on the speaker together:
DSCF4232sfw.jpg
One thing I noticed was the glue was drying far quicker than I anticipated and I think this was due to the glue being placed on the paper palette prior to application resulting in the drying process beginning before the glue was applied to the two surfaces. I didn't help being right next to a radiator either. ;-)


Here is the end result:
DSCF4233sfw.jpg

I continued to finger-crimp the two surfaces together after this photograph was taken to leave as smooth a joint as possible so the final result was a little better than pictured.

Once the glue was dry I carried out an obligatory function test: I did my duty as an age-defying ol' fogey by playing music with Loudness activated on the Amp, reduced the Treble to zero, turned the Bass to maximum while slowly increasing the volume and watching the speaker thump away in a dancing reverb:
Thump, Thump, THUMP-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP...........................! :dj-party:


To finish, thanks to all the good folk for the ideas and encouragement that allowed me to fix a speaker for the first time with such success.