Indeed. I used t nuts on the baffle which do not mate with the supplied alpair screws.. So im on the prowell for some new ones
What thread size? In a socket head cap screw, #8 would be the biggest, otherwise the head won't fit into the bezel c-bore.
jeff
the screws supplied with Alpair drivers are not machine thread - they're none tapered wood screw, really more like a sheet metal screw
Nutty T's!
Since I dont have removable baffles and would playing with stuffing, I wanted to be sure I could remove the drivers several times without destroying the screw holes. Problem is, sharp looking machine screws are hard to come by! Looks like i'll be ordering them online.
Does anyone know when the Alpair 10.3 and 10p may be available?
Since I dont have removable baffles and would playing with stuffing, I wanted to be sure I could remove the drivers several times without destroying the screw holes. Problem is, sharp looking machine screws are hard to come by! Looks like i'll be ordering them online.
Does anyone know when the Alpair 10.3 and 10p may be available?
The problem with t-nuts is that the have a nasty habit of stripping out inside the cabinet. Since your cabinet is sealed, you have no way to remove the driver if a t-nut decides to strip out. Trust me, soon or later, a t-nut will fail and then you have a problem.
The screws that came with the drivers are perfectly adequate. It you drilled the correct size pilot hole, you should be able to remove the screws and re-set them many times. Of, course, you did use plywood or real lumber, didn't you? If you used MDF, oh, well!
If you absolutely have to use machine screws rather than wood screws, uses threaded inserts rather than t-nuts.
A whole bunch of MA drivers are on a boat somewhere on the ocean blue. Arrival: Sometime. I have a pre-order in for the A10P's.
Bob
The screws that came with the drivers are perfectly adequate. It you drilled the correct size pilot hole, you should be able to remove the screws and re-set them many times. Of, course, you did use plywood or real lumber, didn't you? If you used MDF, oh, well!
If you absolutely have to use machine screws rather than wood screws, uses threaded inserts rather than t-nuts.
A whole bunch of MA drivers are on a boat somewhere on the ocean blue. Arrival: Sometime. I have a pre-order in for the A10P's.
Bob
McMaster-Carr has a good supply of t-nuts and threaded embedded / capture nuts (I think that's what they're called). Variety of screws to match. Plenty if sizes. With the embedded nuts, just drill a hole, coat the nut with wood glue, screw in the nut with an allen wrench flush with the wood surface or slightly below.
Since speaker mounting screws should not be torqued down that hard anyway, especially Alpair drivers, the embedded nuts should work just fine.
The all-knowing genie in the bottle says that the latest shipment of Markaudio drivers is on a slow boat from China.
Since speaker mounting screws should not be torqued down that hard anyway, especially Alpair drivers, the embedded nuts should work just fine.
The all-knowing genie in the bottle says that the latest shipment of Markaudio drivers is on a slow boat from China.
Here is another great option for hardware, screws, etc...
McFeely's Square Drive Screws - Screws, Fasteners, Festool Power Tools and more
Plus only $1.00 shipping
McFeely's Square Drive Screws - Screws, Fasteners, Festool Power Tools and more
Plus only $1.00 shipping
actually squeak a butt joint maybe be somewhat sufficient if you use a composite sub strait such as mdf or baltic birch but joining long grain to end grain in real wood is weak and will fail
-nuts
I suppose if you buy the cheap t-nuts usually supplied at your regular big box hardware store you could have issues but if you purchase ones from a speciality fastener distributor they are much better quality and stronger then putting screws in plywoodT-nuts?
Bob
i just use this maze cabinet to carry my alpair 4 inch speaker. aha still run in. Hope you will like it.
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I submit
as a first time builder i thought the t nut would be superior and i still think a quality t nut would be better the problem i found is the holes are way to close to the edge of the cut out making it difficult or nearly impossible to drill a larger hole without blowing through the edge. Is this common with most drivers
Paul,
Presumably we are still talking about Alpair 7's:
Look at the drawing of an A7. Even using the supplied screws (M4 IIRC) the pilot holes are precious close to the cutout anyway. What size bolts are you going to use? #8's? You will need to drill 1/4" clearance holes for the t-nut. That will blow out all of the holes to start with. Then one of the prongs of the t-nut will be in the cutout, hanging in the free air, since the flange is 5/8".
Use the supplied screws. They work fine!
Bob
Presumably we are still talking about Alpair 7's:
Look at the drawing of an A7. Even using the supplied screws (M4 IIRC) the pilot holes are precious close to the cutout anyway. What size bolts are you going to use? #8's? You will need to drill 1/4" clearance holes for the t-nut. That will blow out all of the holes to start with. Then one of the prongs of the t-nut will be in the cutout, hanging in the free air, since the flange is 5/8".
Use the supplied screws. They work fine!
Bob
Like Bob Says.
The supplied screws are excellent. It's not a car wheel being secured, just a (relatively) small driver.
Good Luck with your project.
The supplied screws are excellent. It's not a car wheel being secured, just a (relatively) small driver.
Good Luck with your project.
Bob
I did use the t-nuts and #8-32 bolts I had a couple of holes that blew out a bit, i also had to grind off one tooth of the nut so it would not rub on the driver frame . Since i use hand cut veneer approx 3/32" thick I veneer both sides of the mdf so the pull will not warp the panel , but screws were out of the question with mdf, still i don,t like putting a screw that close to the edge either. I will use ply next time for sure
Paul Burchell Woodworking
I did use the t-nuts and #8-32 bolts I had a couple of holes that blew out a bit, i also had to grind off one tooth of the nut so it would not rub on the driver frame . Since i use hand cut veneer approx 3/32" thick I veneer both sides of the mdf so the pull will not warp the panel , but screws were out of the question with mdf, still i don,t like putting a screw that close to the edge either. I will use ply next time for sure
Paul Burchell Woodworking
Too late for this project, but I've said this before, and couldn't agree more with Bob & Don about the supplied screws (whether hex or Torx 🙂) - just be sure to carefully pilot the holes and pre-tap the holes before installing the drivers. With decent quality plywood, you'll get a nicely tapped hole in which the screws can be removed / reinstalled several times without damage.
Use a piece of cardboard to cover the driver cones while installing each screw one at a time, and don't over tighten them.
To each his own, but after well over a hundred speaker builds, about the only application I use threaded inserts for any longer are on the removable supra-baffles on FH3 kits.
Use a piece of cardboard to cover the driver cones while installing each screw one at a time, and don't over tighten them.
To each his own, but after well over a hundred speaker builds, about the only application I use threaded inserts for any longer are on the removable supra-baffles on FH3 kits.
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