# Recones?



## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Speaker Exchange | DIY Parts


Anybody used these guys for parts? Looking at a recone kit for some older JL drivers, and they seem to have a kit. Thoughts?


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

I just ordered a bunch of recone kits from them for my Strokers, but it'll probably be a couple weeks until I receive them. I emailed them and they were very helpful and even sell you individual parts if you don't need the entire recone kit; they work with us small-timers, lol. I am confident that they have quality stuff, based on what I see on their website. Cathy answers the phones and processes the orders, but Gene's the guy to talk to about most all the technical stuff. I can keep you updated when my order comes in.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Well, turns out they said the cones are NLA, and can ONLY provide a voice coil and a spider.....:sigh. Can ANYBODY recone these drivers? I'd really hate to throw them away


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

NLA? I would have thought they could source a suitable replacement cone without any issues.


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## bigdexxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Try PSI or fixmyspeaker.com, they should be able to sell you whatever you need. Both are the same company


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## bigdexxx (Oct 27, 2011)

Fix My Speaker - Custom Subwoofer Rebuilds, Repairs, and Supplies!

PSI Car Audio | Subwoofers in all colors and flavors!


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Already been told no from them as well. Thanks anyways guys!


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

so what is it about this cone that no one can replicate?? I'm very curious.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

Well, I decided to dive in anyways. Speaker Exchange can get me new coils, spiders, and foam surrounds. I have to be able to re-use everything else. Any suggestions for breaking down the glue without damaging anything???

Pics:
JL Speaker Repair


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

Order a nice stiff cone that will accept that vc, or one that can be cut to accept that vc size. If you can't find a cone with enough depth, you can use a shallower cone and extend the former length with a thin sheet of aluminum wrapped around the former and glued with CA glue.

This is what I did to recone a Cerwin-Vega Vega15 subwoofer.


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## 94VG30DE (Nov 28, 2007)

For removing the glue/foam on the cone, denatured alcohol works well. On the basket you can be a little bit more aggressive, which means MEK. As per Chad on MSS


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Was the original issue a rotted surround or was the coil shot too?


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

chad said:


> Was the original issue a rotted surround or was the coil shot too?



Rotted surrounds, sagging spiders, and 2 open coils. They were dead. I've had one sitting in mineral spirits for about a day now, not much change. I need something stronger to break this glue, they use some damn good ****.


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

on the baskets?


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

I've tried debonder that is supposed to break down the CA glue used in speakers. No luck. That is why I resorted to grinding off everything off the former.

IMHO, if you really really tried, you can find/modify a cone to avoid the extra work of removing the old one. Can you measure how deep the cone is? (aka: cone height)

Edit: I take some of my advice back. Since that pole piece is not vented, the VRC or something similar must be used to vent out the heat.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

chad said:


> on the baskets?


I'm trying to break free the rock solid glue at the triple joint right now. I HAVE to get that apart, because I have to re-use both the VRC, as well as the cone/dustcap. Dustcaps are finally removed. But the spider is sandwiched between the VRC collar and the cone itself, so that needs to come apart, or the whole operation is bust.



Oscar said:


> I've tried debonder that is supposed to break down the CA glue used in speakers. No luck. That is why I resorted to grinding off everything off the former.
> 
> IMHO, if you really really tried, you can find/modify a cone to avoid the extra work of removing the old one. Can you measure how deep the cone is? (aka: cone height)
> 
> Edit: I take some of my advice back. Since that pole piece is not vented, the VRC or something similar must be used to vent out the heat.



I have no interest in rebuilding these into 'frankensubs'. The entire reason for wanting to recone them so bad is because I loved the sound that these old subs made. Something thats nearly impossible to find in todays subs. If it's not possible, then it's not possible. Can't fault me for trying though.


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

then i wish you luck


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## chad (Jun 30, 2005)

Oscar said:


> then i wish you luck


no doubt.


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

If I DID want to try a different cone - where would I even find just a cone? I'm not familiar with the parts houses. I can measure this one, and try to find one as close tot he same dimensions and as close to the same mass as these? These are poly, so they're super light. I'd need a digi scale to weigh them.


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

Speaker Exchange sells cones, as does PSI. Even Ebay. CACrg has a forum devoted just for speaker parts. I kinda ran into the same problem ordering recones for my Stroker 12s. I too had to have these sounding good because I love the sound of them. The only place that had nice stiff cones that matched closed down, and Speaker Exchange only offered similar sized cones but much lighter/softer. I decided to "double up" with two cones sandwiched with fiberglass resin between them to make them act as one, lol. So yea, it can be a pain, but if you realy want them to work, you'll do almost anything, lol.

What does worry me about your JL subs is that VRC. Without that venting, you probably will get extraneous noises from the air trapped under the spider not being able to escape. I hadn't put much thought into it, but now that I did, it seems like that piece is essential for that speaker, since the pole is not vented.


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## LuckyDerDer (Feb 21, 2012)

i always used teamPSI and was never disappointed


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## kennyg (Jun 23, 2007)

LuckyDerDer said:


> i always used teamPSI and was never disappointed


They can't rebuild these.


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

Update? Curious to see the progress if any.


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

I'm also curious. Are these the old original w3's? A friend gave me an old blown 12" w3 that I looked into reconing but got the same thing - no new cone available, so I just tore it all apart and put the parts in the boneyard. Right now I have three of my old original 10w0's that I am going to try and recone, so I am interested in how you will manage getting the VRC collar off.


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

Just thought of something. The main purpose, if I'm not mistaken, of the VRC is to vent under the spider to not get any weird noises from the air trapped under the spider. You could perhaps vent the basket like so:











this way you don't have to mess with the VRC; just drill, recone, and go! lol


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

Interesting... although I just took a 13w3v3 apart and it has gaps between the basket and top plate for venting yet still retains the VRC setup. My gut is telling me that the VRC is mainly for venting pressure under the dust cap and that those basket holes won't be enough, especially with what looks like a real tight gap there. I have thought about just chucking the pole piece up in my lathe and drilling a vent hole through it, but then it would change the BL and I'm not sure how that would affect the performance. 
Another thing to consider with eliminating VRC is you would now need a custom re-cone kit since the JL parts are all sized to fit with the VRC collar.


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

You're aboslutely right. Now that I got a good look at it, the "holes" on the VRC are not visible from the "topside" of the spider, therefore they must lead into the cavity below the dustcap and above the pole piece. Good thing no one has followed my advice yet, LOL.

The problem I have is I'd really like to see one of these in person to really get a good long look at the joint where the vrc is; I bet I could figure it out once I have it in my hands. With a spider, coil, and surround, all that would really be needed would be to get the old spider/glue off of the cone.


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## hurrication (Dec 19, 2011)

Yeah, unfortunately I read on another forum (either fixmyspeaker or pierceaudioproducts, can't remember) that kennyg could not successfully separate the cone from the VRC collar due to some badass glue that JL must have used so he gave up. I can confirm that JL must use some of the baddest glue in existence after tearing down this 13w3v3 I recently got!


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## Oscar (Jun 20, 2010)

Trust me, its nothing a die grinder with a stone or wire wheel cant get rid of.


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