Loose screw hole help

[vstarkwell]

I was screwing in one of the tweeters on my Monitor 7C's and it seems one of the screw holes in the wood/particle board? is not as secure as it should be in essence I can't get it tight.

What should I do? will this affect the sound? is wood putty an option?

[rpf65]

I usually use a soft wood that can fit very tightly into a stripped screw hole. Coat it with wood glue, and tap it into place. Let dry, and cut even it with the wood/particle board. I've repaired screw holes in cabinet doors, as well as entry doors this way for years. Never had a problem.

[vstarkwell]

I usually use a soft wood that can fit very tightly into a stripped screw hole. Coat it with wood glue, and tap it into place. Let dry, and cut even it with the wood/particle board. I've repaired screw holes in cabinet doors, as well as entry doors this way for years. Never had a problem.

Thanks for reply, when you say "I usually use a soft wood" what kind are we talking about? and is this something I can find at my local Home Depot?

[pitdogg2]

toothpicks and glue works like a champ. 2-3 toothpicks coated with glue on the end jamb in the hole let dry clip off excess flush with baffle.
I have also taped the hole on the inside and filled hole with liquid epoxy and let dry.

[westmassguy]

I was screwing in one of the tweeters on my Monitor 7C's and it seems one of the screw holes in the wood/particle board? is not as secure as it should be in essence I can't get it tight.

What should I do? will this affect the sound? is wood putty an option?

You could rework all of the mounting holes with Hurricane nuts and Machine screws, which will prevent this from happening ever again, and will provide a reduction in driver resonances and better performance.
If you just want to repair the one hole, old school wood match sticks usually work fine. Just coat the match stick with some wood glue, insert it all the way in, let it dry, then cut off the excess. Your screw will now be threading into "virgin" wood.

[rpf65]

Easiest soft wood to find is pine. I almost always have a scrap piece of 2x4 laying around, and a sharp knife will cut that easily enough.

[westmassguy]

Easiest soft wood to find is pine. I almost always have a scrap piece of 2x4 laying around, and a sharp knife will cut that easily enough.

Pine is good, the matches I suggested are usually made from Bass wood which is soft. The toothopicks might be a little too hard for your purpose, they're usually Birch.

[F1nut]

You could rework all of the mounting holes with Hurricane nuts and Machine screws, which will prevent this from happening ever again, and will provide a reduction in driver resonances and better performance.

A much better solution.

[zingo]

I agree on some sort of steel threads for you to mount the hardware into. They are more secure and do not strip out overtime like wood.

[vstarkwell]

You could rework all of the mounting holes with Hurricane nuts and Machine screws, which will prevent this from happening ever again, and will provide a reduction in driver resonances and better performance.
If you just want to repair the one hole, old school wood match sticks usually work fine. Just coat the match stick with some wood glue, insert it all the way in, let it dry, then cut off the excess. Your screw will now be threading into "virgin" wood.

Is this easy to do? what size nuts & screws should I be looking for? FWIW I spent my high school years is Western MA, I miss playing in the Berkshires.

[F1nut]

Very easy. You want 8-32 Hurrincane nuts. For the tweeters you'll need 8-32 black oxide button head machine screws. For everything else, 8-32 black oxide cap head machine screws.

[westmassguy]

Is this easy to do? what size nuts & screws should I be looking for? FWIW I spent my high school years is Western MA, I miss playing in the Berkshires.

Very easy to do, you need patience, a decent variable speed drill, a couple of drill bits, a bag of #8-32 Hurricane nuts, some #8-32machine screws or cap screws, whichever you prefer, and a few hours time.
I can give you links to what I use.

[vstarkwell]

Awesome!!!, thanks Jesse, Westmassguy and everyone else who replied I'm off to Home Depot later.

[westmassguy]

Awesome!!!, thanks Jesse, Westmassguy and everyone else who replied I'm off to Home Depot later.

I doubt you'll find the Hurricane nuts at Home Depot, and the machine screws I use are black oxide coated, stainless steel. I prefer a stock look, and they're dead ringers for the original black sheetmetal screws Polk used. If you prefer cap screws, a GOOD hardware store might have a better selection.

[F1nut]

Yeah, you won't find any of this at Home Depot. Parts Express has all of it.

[vstarkwell]

Thanks for the heads up re; home depot I'll check out PE. While I have your attention the same thing happened on one of my drivers and the sound is a noticeable difference from the other. 2 things, could this be because it's not totally sealed/tight? and if not I was wondering if the issue is that the driver (MW6502) came out of an old Monitor 4? and is not matching the other original one?

How does one test the driver to make sure it's working correctly?

[westmassguy]

Thanks for the heads up re; home depot I'll check out PE. While I have your attention the same thing happened on one of my drivers and the sound is a noticeable difference from the other. 2 things, could this be because it's not totally sealed/tight? and if not I was wondering if the issue is that the driver (MW6502) came out of an old Monitor 4? and is not matching the other original one?

How does one test the driver to make sure it's working correctly?

A poor seal is a bad thing. The original gaskets are very thing, so loose screws will not seat the drivers properly
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...umber=081-1080
http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-ea-8-32-x...item35b4cb605f

[Moofy]

The Hurricane nuts work great, and don't require any special skill (obviously, since I got them installed!). Check out my thread at http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/show...n-Seattle-area for details including photos of how I installed the Hurricane nuts. Good luck.

Seth