1st time mounting speakers...

[GibsonGM]

...and I'm scared! lol

Just got my WGS speakers in, I was wondering 2 things.

1) my 'mounting holes' need to be 11.7" in diameter. I am figuring the ".7" to be about 11/16 (.6875"), should be close enough, eh? 2/100ths can't be a big deal.

2) What hardware methods are you dudes using to attach your speakers? Thru-bolts vs. T-nuts, etc. ? I've paged thru the forum, but the search function isn't very discriminating...

I am planning this 2x12 cab to have a tilted baffle (10 degrees), and it seems to still fit pretty close to the "Golden Ratio" figures. Decided I don't want to play with floating baffles, just a well-screwed-on piece of 1/2" quality birch ply (best I could get up here in Maine, no 3/8"...).

Thanks,
Mike

[WaZaK]

I have always used fat coarse threaded hex head wood screws - and never lost a speaker, had a buzz, or had a nut come loose!
I use hex drive because I do not like to put screwdrivers near cones: they have a habit of slipping!
I pilot drill right through the baffle - about one third the diameter of the screw. That gives lots of bite and an easy start. I always slightly countersink the hole first, or the screw swells the wood slightly round the hole when you screw in.
Screw length needs to be the same as the baffle (which is always 3/4" for me). The thickness of the speaker chassis rim makes sure the screw won't protrude through the front of the baffle. Screw size : as big as will go through the hole, leaving plenty of head to squeeze on the rim.
OK, so it's a naff method - but it works for me.

[CurtissRobin]

With one exception I've always been a through-the-baffle guy. Two approaches work for me with the first being a 10-32 machine screw inserted from the grille cloth side of the baffle and protruding about 1" behind the baffle. I use a washer under the head of the screw for plenty of bearing surface and drill the hole a mite undersize so I have to drive the screw in (can't inadvertently push it out). This is the approach that gets careless people in trouble when they stab the cone or the surround with those screws while mounting the speaker.

The second approach uses blind nuts (A.K.A. T-nuts) installed on the baffle and screws inserted from the backside through the speaker basket. I learned long ago to epoxy blind nuts in place if you happen to drill the holes oversize. Also worthwhile is a quick squirt of flat black paint once they're installed.

My exception is front-mounted speakers, which was the ONLY way I built bass cabs back in the day. There were no removeable backs in my bass cabs. You dropped the speaker in from the front and a few companies made clamps that held the speaker in place. You'd put a bolt through a hole in each of four to eight clamps and screw it into a blind nut in the baffle.

KennyO

[katopan]

T-nuts have been good for me.

[olddawg]

T-nuts have been good for me.

+1 on T-nuts, and a spot of Locktite/superglue/nail polish.