Restoration Tips 4: Speaker Repair

Here are some tips for repairing damaged paper speaker cones.

[@kadenperritt2327]

This video just saved a 1952 Mitchel Tone-Alarm Radio! Thank you! I am using rubber cement for its flexibility

[@SeekingTheLoveThatGodMeans7648]

Over a decade before even Mr. BA did this, I used silicone RTV and toilet tissue which was also imbued with the silicone to patch an edge. Whatever its sonic vices or virtues, at least it doesn't crackle or rustle or distort the intended frequency response too much at an edge. The exact optimal consistency of the patch would depend on where it is. A stiffer cone (as with PVA glue and writing paper) and a more flexible edge (as with RTV and tissue) may be a virtue, to retain as much of the original characteristics as practical.

[@gavincurtis]

That speaker looked hopeless at first. Nice restoration on a near impossible to find field coil speaker.

[@vjdav6872]

Oh about 50 years ago I used to repair/restore speakers including re-doing the winding! Your work brings back good memories - thanks!

[@BillAE91]

Very helpful! Thank you very much!!! Thanks to you I fixed my old TV's speaker, whose buzzing has been irritating me for a long time, with just glue and a coffee filter!

[@4evaclapham]

I admire your ingenuity and perseverance, most modern day people would simply give up and dump the speaker. well done !!

[@ThatElectronicsFool]

Awesome tips! I'm gonna try my first 15" speaker repair here in the next few days. It has a few tears on the cone, but nothing as bad as that one in the video. Luckily the foam is still completely intact. Glad I found your video!

[@austinackermann3731]

Thanks for the tips! Just fixed my 10" Techniques bass speakers using glue, money notes (paper, not cloth) & a touch of newspaper. Works perfectly at low to medium volume, with some slight distortion at high. It had a hole in it from when my brother tried to vaccum the speaker, which eventually ripped around a third of the speaker.

[@hyund9i]

I would like to thank you for your speaker repair tips. I successfully repaired a pair of fisher audio three way speakers using your techniques, they sound great now.

[@TheRudydog1]

Excellent video Bob. I've been collecting and restoring vintage radios for over 45 years but I've never attempted speaker repairs other than minor ones. Now I can hardly wait to tackle my first speaker restoration as I have many in need of just that. Thank you.

[@scottfraser7474]

Sweet! I just finished restoring a 1951 Philco SB/FM/Phono and dropped a screwdriver end though the paper cone. All the pieces remained, was just torn. Glad I found this video. Couldn't have imagined the repair could be this easy.

[@bandersentv]

Cool, glad I could help.

[@kodyjbosch1]

Genius! I'm restoring an old Philco Transitone and I've been stalled for awhile looking for a new old stock speaker, but I'm definitely going to try your coffee filter method! Super stoked. Thank you so much ! :D

[@MrVictor010581]

man!!!!,this is the kind of videos I love to see,very well explained, and very helpful you just made me save big bucks,thanks alot!!!AMIGO!!

[@saturn5tony]

Coffee filters and plastic patching....never thought of that!! Thanks so much for all 4 of these great Restoration Tips Bob.... it is and was so cool.

[@videolabguy]

I recently re-coned a pair of 1970s Sansui speakers with a rebuild kit. I know those are from the future compared to the one you did. That was impressive. Can't say I would have tackled one that far gone. Fine job!

[@zorka4098]

Haven't read all the comments, but using old drier fabric softener sheets also work very well. Just be sure they are used enough that the fabric softener is pretty much exhausted. They have the toughness of fibers and work well with diluted glue.

[@bandersentv]

+zorka4098 Thanks for the tip!

[@jamiewallace2564]

Nicely done with the coffee filters! Great tip for my old crap!!

[@BBRandom]

Comment for visibility. Best how to I've found. Had a pair of old JVC SK-303 and one of the woofers was lightly damaged. Getting a replacement (1 woofer) cost about the same amount as selling/buying a working pair of the same speakers. Did this and it works fine now which is win win since it ended up costing me < $5 to repair.

[@PrinceWesterburg]

I'm just repairing a speaker and I've found a stencil brush (made for tapping, a 1" paint brush would suffice) is great for getting the coffee filter in the features of the surface. A screwdriver is good too, an old one with rounded edges on the blade. Great video!

[@mastervule1844]

Thanks a lot dude. I got super cheap subwoofer at flea market that had punctured speaker and this is exactly the video I needed to get info for repair :D

[@67gt500snakebite]

Thanks for the great video on vintage speaker repair. I will try on my 1937 Fairbanks Morse floor radio 📻

[@rusholmemike]

nice vid I have used the same basic technique of PVA type white glue and patches - I've never needed a real big section and thought your method of creating a new one from the existing come was just great. I also found on some old speakers with rubberised surrounds liquid latex glue "Copydex" brand in the UK is also useful thanks for the upload - really enjoyed it

[@eschelar]

That is really cool! Very nicely thought out. I'll be using some coffee filter on some nice large cabinet speakers I got recently as a gift. 2x15 plus a mid and a tweeter in a 4 foot high box. Yum.

[@michaelboland7987]

Fantastic tips! Thank you.

[@MrMunk3]

dude that was coast to coast AM on the radio I used to listen to that all the time now I catch it on you tube I love all that conspiracy theory stuff. thanks for the speaker fixing tips the finished product looked great.

[@bandersentv]

Keep in mind I'm referring to antique speakers like the one at the end of this video. It's from 1929. They didn't use crossover networks, or permanent magnets or tuned enclosures. You'll greatly diminish the value to collectors if you put a modern cone in there with a synthetic surround. Some reconers go so far so to create new paper cones from scratch and use chamois leather for the surround.

[@Yickityoptorus]

Thanks for this vid. Watered down Tacky Glue works great. I've revived many old speakers now, thanks to you!

[@corinwoods7502]

I used your tip for an old 1946 speaker, works Great! THANK FOR POSTING

[@hydrolisk1792]

Wow, that is freaking amazing jwhat you did with that speaker. I love seeing you restore things insted of throwing them away :) I used some Duco cement on the westinghouse speaker insted oif replacing it. It turned out really nice too :)

[@GrandCaravanSE]

Wow, you just gave me a reason to not throw away speakers with holes. I am going to try this next time. where did you get that glue?

[@dstonz]

Big help on this. Poked a hole in my Jackson TV speaker, found your post on VideoKarma and followed the link. Thanks!!!

[@mikelamereaux2149]

Nice work Clothes drier sheets work nice also

[@iRepairElectronics]

Love the ideas here. i will try it out on my emerson speaker. its an old DY-349 from 1941. old stuff and paper real brittle. i think will make a video of the process when i do t in a few weeks or so.

[@bandersentv]

Good luck!

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

Wow I would have thought the speaker with the giant hole in it was not salvageable, and would have to be reconed. Cool trick to know.

[@pepsodentpasta]

Wow, very neat. Thanks for sharing to us.

[@TerryMcKean]

I found your videos about the Westinghouse radio this speaker goes to...it's cool....also, Saran-wrap type plastic film would do nicely for the protection while transferring the cone ridges onto the coffee filter paper

[@redwagon1967]

Thanks for the help! I pasted some coffee filters on my speaker and it's repaired and looks good. I am awaiting parts for it...

[@theanimated1]

I found some speakers on the side of the road The woofers looked like they were stabed with a knife many times so I used tissue to patch them but the patch you made was huge

[@JackOfAllTrades2022]

Great. video, I'm getting ready to fix a 12 inch 1937 field coil speaker. This helps a lot. Thanks

[@Ronbob59]

GREAT! Just what I needed this morning. Repairing a speaker in a Grunow 1291 Teledial. Thanks much...

[@TerryMcKean]

Have you ever seen a radio, etc, that had a speaker with that metal bell in the middle in a cabinet that had it front-firing instead of top-firing?... I was just thinking that maybe that bell is used in that configuration there in order to help disburse the sound more omni-directionally, since it is being projected upwards from the top of that tall cabinet... just a thought :-)

[@bandersentv]

No I haven't, and I think you're right.

[@swiz22]

First off, AMAZING JOB AND VIDEO! What type and form of acrylic paint did you use? Spray? Brushable? And if brushed, what consistency? Thick, medium or thin? Maybe just let me know the name, lol. Thanks.

[@bandersentv]

Thanks. Thinned water based acrylic art/craft paint brushed on. The stuff they sell in little bottles at Michaels and Hobby Lobby

[@MrMrshl]

Hi, Thanks for this video, just tore a vintage celestion g12 taking it out of its cab. Much appreciated !

[@MrUbiquitousTech]

Nicely done! & thanks for sharing the tips!

[@ZmajSnoshaj]

Masterpiece... I'll use this method to fix the cone on mine.. Thankfully there's no gaping holes like on the one you demented on... I'll get around to that one of these days....

[@bandersentv]

Modern cones often don't fit vintage speakers. Plus there's a chance of damaging the voice coil.

[@slappyx64]

My 1949 Philco thanks you.

[@tnast]

Thanks so much dude. I've got an 18" Yamaha speaker, and long story short, the cone got decimated by a water balloon. I think I still have most of the torn parts. Hopefully I can save $140 with this.

[@polkiju7]

Have you tried a speaker like that RCA with a modern source? I’m just curious how they compare sonically. I’ve heard some that have a startlingly realistic presence in the range of the human voice.

[@bandersentv]

No, but I can tell you the old speaker form the 1920s has terrible frequency response. Something like 200-4,000 Hz. As you said, good for the human voice range and OK for AM radio with it's limited bandwidth. Another issue with this particular radio is they the speaker is about 5 feet off the floor and pointing straight up. That makes for an odd listen experience :)

[@polkiju7]

Thanks for your thoughts, impressions.

[@bandersentv]

It's called Aleene's Original Tacky Glue and its available at many stores. JoAnn Fabrics and Michael's Arts & Crafts carry it in my area.

[@buffycleaveland8116]

Walmart has it too!!

[@bandersentv]

You're welcome. I'm glad you got it working.

[@fabinhoosmar]

Reparação perfeita. Bom trabalho....!!!

[@barryg41]

I have a RCA 17K with a speaker that has some damage but fixable by your methods, I think. The problem might it is sagging to one side from sitting there doing nothing for a long time. Will this be a problem or just fix the cracks and let it go as is? I haven't even tried to power it up, it's in really bad shape. Did you try the kies air with your new wireless system?

[@nor4277]

You do very nice work ,does it matter on what paint you use,if so please tell me more about the pain you used,anyone

[@bandersentv]

Paint will add weight to the paper cone and may flake off. So I'd go with something thin and water based like hobby acrylic. Or maybe india ink. No latex , enamel, lacquer or epoxy based paint.

[@ashebiara10]

@bandersentv then i guess it should be ok .. i just saw a bottle of clear tacky glue in my mom's sewing desk and i don't see much diference so i will give it a try and see how it turns out .. the only thing that worries me is that the material of the cone seems to be much harder that the one on the speaker in your video because it's from a bass guitar cab.. i don't know if the coffee filters that you are using on this video will work in my situation...

[@uptownphotography]

Interesting idea with the coffee filter. I am currently doing a repair on an old Apex 8" speaker with a huge magnet from the 1960s. I have been using Permatex Black Silicone Adhesive Sealant because the surround where the cone meets the frame needs to be flexible from researching I've done on here and a few of the holes are right up to the frame. How is that coffee filter holding up as I have still a big hole to patch and I may give that a try. Thanks. Phil NYC Area

[@bandersentv]

Yes, but I haven't run it very much. I have patched many smaller speakers with this technique with no problems

[@nor4277]

Where do you find the felt cover for the voice coils,I bought the blue you use also black and clear nail polish,and white glue all the different videos I have seen including clear and black silicone so I can have a lot of things to draw from ,I have a small hole to fix ,raising out a chaos I put a hole in the speaker,I wish someone would make a recording videos for recording it seems pretty involved .thanks.for your video,useful.

[@Thermionman]

Hello! I have a 15 watt alnico speaker that I got off ebay with the same kind of huge hole .I will eventually have it reconed but I want to try this method and see if it will work okay first.Cool!

[@ashebiara10]

is there a diference in using the clear tacky glue instead of the one that you are using in your video ?? is the clear one suitable for this kind of application ??

[@SDsailor7]

Thank you Bob for the info.. We have those merchants here also.. Best wishes

[@TerryMcKean]

Beautiful work, Bob

[@SDsailor7]

Where can you buy the glue? thank you for the upload it was very informative

[@Middlestepofficial]

Very nice and more simple than I expected.

[@suikoden1995]

Yes that´s rigth but this is cool too. J collect very old radios that´s the reason why I ask. Do you know in which this "device" was????

[@Lesstroublesleeping]

Great tips! Thanks!

[@bandersentv]

A torn cone would cause the radio to sound terrible, but it would still work. There are plenty of other of other items you need to check if you haven;t already. Power transformer, electrolytic filter capacitors, paper capacitors, field coil or choke, etc.

[@rosennjaybaylon6221]

bandersentv

[@WillAdamsmusic]

Hi, what kind of Transformer is that? did you say Iso Tech? Where can I get one? Can it be used all the time with an old radio? I have a restored RCA 29K, Could I plug the radio into that sort of transformer so I can run the radio at 110 volts? all the time? Thanks

[@kwacz]

When you do this, how do you prevent the voice coil from rubbing. Sometimes the voicecoil rubs after repair i assume because one side is more flexable than the other.

[@bandersentv]

Put think plastic shims in the voice coil slot before making repairs. That should help keep it centered while the glue dries.

[@HDXFH]

Is that wood glue, i know if you mix that with water, you can do a similar thing, thanks for the vid, i have a set of old speakers, i would like to restore

[@acidfriend47]

okay I'm guessing they rip because they are old and because the music is loud. but once its ripped how do you know if its best to repair the speaker than to buy a new one?

[@mspysu79]

Great tips, should have watched this before working on that RCA 100A I have, would have saved trial and error.

[@acidfriend47]

hey by the way Is it possible to Connect to different speakers together? I mean I have the Right and left Speakers, but I dont have a subwoffer with the same brand of speakers. But i do have this other brand of subwoffer, but is it possible to connect it to the two speakers and still work properly?

[@johnpeet1913]

Appreciate this info very much!,

[@suikoden1995]

Do you know how old this very old speaker is (that´s the first generation of speakers)

[@jks2]

you can laquer the conus as well to make it stronger

[@altops4490]

so its either an exact matched replacement cone or the nasty looking patch job? Why not just use a new that is close enough to work?

[@Restomanas]

Thanks you really help me. i have really old speaker and i trying to fix him

[@FANTonsil]

@bandersentv I will bet my head it will. It always does. unoticable to the ear but definitely shortening the lifespan of the speaker. IT must be a high quality driver if its kept that long

[@lukefenderrhodes]

you should think about doing old school body work i bet u could work miracles with metal tape screen and bondo from walmart

[@BOBBY-w8c]

Great job.

[@bandersentv]

It appears to only be available in the UK ?

[@redwagon1967]

Can a cone be the problem of a radio/phonograph not play??? The cone on my speaker looks even worse than yours. I am restoring an old Philco radio model 46-1201 code 125.

[@nor4277]

I have just watched a pro replace all paper part of the speaker ,and a new cone cover ,they show you how to do it ,or they said you could send it to them for refurbishing,just a thought

[@craigconway4093]

Thanks for this :)

[@bandersentv]

When it comes to antique, very hard to replace speakers, yes, I'd rather patch it than risk damaging the voice coil or ruin the "sound" of the speaker.

[@paulc4932]

interesting, you say the original had cotton fibers "like dollar bills" and you didn't have anything like that hanging around... did it occur to you to try using dollar bills? has anyone tried this?

[@o0DeathStrike0o]

@bandersentv could they burn out?cuz i like to listen to the music wery loud :)

[@ClactonRadio]

Good video but think it would just be way easer buying a new one.

[@bandersentv]

That's awesome! Glad I could help.

[@o0DeathStrike0o]

My plug(speakers jack) fails,i have two subwoofers,one failed on left side and one failed on the right side,how do i fix it?now my two woofers have only 1 speakerjack left of each :( HELP!

[@stackinchedda8538]

Can u use silicone around a woofer? That has some smaller holes? And around the end of speakers

[@bandersentv]

You can, but it can get messy. Use as little as possible

[@stackinchedda8538]

@@bandersentv yes, ur right bro. Id did work. But now im trying to figure out if my amp is blown. I plugged up my speakers, there not blown. They work, and the blue light is on the amp, but no sound, checked the ground real well, and the power real well,& remote wire real well& no sound ,& its literally driving me Nuts, do u think my amp? Is blown?

[@bandersentv]

Could be. Maybe it has a fuse in it somewhere you can replace ?

[@stackinchedda8538]

@@bandersentv the remote wire, or speaker wire burnt out, from this dummy ass dude, that hooked em up wrong, when spicing them together,

[@nor4277]

Have you ever tried tea bag paper a idea I got from another you tube seems to work.

[@bandersentv]

I think so. It's very similar to coffee filter paper.

[@MrMesospheric]

Tissue or toilet paper works very well for small tears/holes, as it absorbs the diluted PVA eagerly. Beware hydrophobic-coated papers, as they don't absorb the glue at all.

[@jerrycarriera8648]

I use construction paper; it's easier to work with than coffee filter and it has the same consistency.

[@reginald56000]

i did the same....Its good in a low volume but if i max the volume..you can hear a broken sound...specially if your playing bass Music...

[@Ghstwn]

Nice work and helpful tips buddy. Thanks ;)

[@FANTonsil]

Person or whoever you want to be called. Listen if you paint the membrane wih this kind of paint it will definitely increase the xmax lowering the power of the cone. Anything to say to that?

[@v2012394]

Amazing .. so informative!

[@mostwantd1]

Nice job. Are you the janitor from scrubs? You sound like him. :P

[@DiGiTaLdAzEDM]

What if the rubbery ring around the perimeter that sticks out a bit is shredded? Any way to fix that?

[@bandersentv]

+DiGiTaLdAzEDM Yes, it's a common problem with modern speakers. Do a web search for speaker surround kit

[@DiGiTaLdAzEDM]

+bandersentv Thanks--Okay, I did find what is described as 'speaker foam surround' on Ebay for the model of speaker I am dealing with (Cerwin Vega AT-12). I also found entire speaker cones that are likely compatible--all pretty affordable. A neighbor threw them out--they look to be in good condition except for the woofer issue(s). On closer inspection I found that the cone on one springs back out when pushed in, but the other cone does not move back out. What would cause this? I will be doing some research when I have time--I guess my questions here is actually a part of that process. Any further help appreciated.

[@GrandCaravanSE]

@bandersentv Thanks, i can't wait to get a damages cone to try and Fix it.