I had a large speaker that was a victim of archery practice. I got some black construction paper, wetted it with some flowable silicone, applied some around the hole and patched it, taking away the excess. It made a nice repair.

I remember now. Years ago I repaired a speaker whereas it was the "surround" that I fixed and I used a flexible, never drying-out silicon sealer. That seemed logical to me at the time.
I just found lots of info with a Google search on "Speaker Cone Repair" and "Speaker Parts".

cook#yum

Contact cement works very well. It drys quickly and is very flexible. For tears, I spread a thin layer along the tear. for holes, I use one ply of paper towel and the contact cement. Use the minimum necessary to cover the hole and make sure the paper is saturated in the glue. feather the glue out from the hole with a small brush. I've had excellent results using this method.

I recall in college, where rolling papers seemed to abound (ya know Zig-Zag and the like—ah, those were the days), repairing the tweeter from a beloved set of Harmon Kardon HK40's with several layers of "papers" and rubber cement. I kinda had to use what I had on hand. Worked great. I wish I still had those old HK's...

How does that fix a hole in the paper speaker cone?

Guess it does good if you have solder in it.

Three of his four posts are either misplaced or confused.

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Paper Solder would be an interesting trade name for some kind of super paper glue product ........

Or who knows. Maybe someone soldered the paper.

I use manilla business envelope paper. You can paint it flat black or some such if you want first. Its the right stiffness and is cheap and easy to get. I have made whole cones out of it. Do a search here on the ARF for "Mark Pictures" and you will see one I did a few years ago.
Mark Oppat

https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewto ... epair+mark

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Back in the 60's in the radio class in high school, we used model glue and toilet paper for most tears.

One ply or two ply? lol

cookie#yum

Here’s another thread on speaker repair....
https://antiqueradios.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=350672

I recently repaired a 5" speaker with 5 tears in the paper, one tear was from cone to edge. I use teabags, as they are impossible to tear, are porus, which allows the adhesive to completely saturate the patch. I also make a very thin milk paste from latex caulk ( a bit of water and a brush to mix to a milk consistency). I cut patches from the teabags to overlap the tear then soak the patches in the milk, meanwhile, I use a small flat art brush and apply a coat of milk to the speaker paper along the tear, shake of the excess from the patch and carefully place it on the speaker, then starting from the center of the patch outward toward the edges using the brush to smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles. I also applied patches on the underside of the speaker over the tears also. Let dry overnight and then apply a second coat of the latex milk over all patches and again let dry. The latex milk paste remains flexible when dry and allows the speaker to flex more than super glue or Elmers glue which both dry very hard and rigid. The flexibilty is important when the volume is turned up! Anyway, this has worked well for me on a couple of speaker repairs I've done.

Best to add as little mass as possible.

As previously mentioned, if there is no loss of cone material try to get the ripped edges back together. Then use single ply toilet paper and Elmers glue diluted with RO or distilled water, using only a big enough piece of toilet paper to cover the rip.

The RO or distilled water means nothing is left behind after evaporation. Diluting the glue reduces the amount of glue required and helps it get deep into the tiny fibers of the cone.

I used this technique on Altec Lansing LF VOTT speakers whose cone material is regarded among the best ever made.

Jeff

Landscape fabric and liquid tape.

LOL!!!

Spfenn wrote:
"The latex milk paste remains flexible when dry and allows the speaker to flex more than super glue or Elmers glue which both dry very hard and rigid. The flexibilty is important when the volume is turned up! "

Flex is only required at the outer edges of the cone, known as the "surround". In fact, the cone itself is intended to be perfectly stiff ideally. Its a piston, and no flex is desired within the cone. The cone material is selected for its rigidity and lightness. Note that many high power speakers use plastic for cones.

So, you can use Spfenn's formula very well for the surround. I would not recommend it for the cone area, use a stiffer glue such as GC's "Service Cement" (a long time cone fixer's favorite) or any other strong adhesive that works well with paper. Elmer's glue has been used by many here and seems to be ok. The GC product is a honey colored thicker runny liquid. Comes with brush in the cap. I dont stock it but will try to get it added to my site as I get many requests for it.
You can also use many "Duco" type glues that come in tubes.
Work from the center outwards is usually the best way. I use business envelope paper for patching, and even make whole cones from it. Here is an old posting showing one of my jobs....
https://www.antiqueradios.com/forums/vi ... rk&start=0

too stiff of a cone can cause resonance issues at higher frequencies. there's a reason paper is still preferred by many, besides being inexpensive.

All of the modern speakers that I've repaired, they send you some white PVA glue that isn't much different from "tacky glue" and some other brands available at craft stores. as others have mentioned, if you want to keep the sound as close to original as possible, add as little weight as you can, and don't make the repair stiffer than the surrounding material. worst is having to repair the surround just in one spot, but better to repair than not have a speaker. as a younger person, I used rubber cement and gauze to repair the surrounds on a few speakers. rubber cement is not really a permanent fix, though, as it probably is not going to stay consistent over time.

A thin film of silicone glue (caulk) over the surround area will work well for repairs, as does the rubber cement. Even the GC Service Cement is ok for one coat, it soaks into the paper and strengthens it . If you have no surround left, used dryer sheets work well for a structure, then coat with silicone or rubber cement.