How to cover speaker enclosures with felt?

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Hi,

currently I'm building a pair of subwoofers with JBL 2225H's. I've planned to cover them with synthetic felt mats, using wood glue to attach the felt to the wood. What a mess! I didn't manage at all to get exact joints. Despite using a fresh cutter blade and doing it the usual way, i.e. overlap and cut through both layers simultaneously, the edges didn't match at all, but were terribly torn instead. As I've seen lots of speakers with felt surfaces, there must be a way to do it. But how?

As I need the subs for my 60th birthday party at Saturday, I decided for some backup and ordered tolex that I know how to work with. I'm still interested on the working process with synthetic felt mats, though.

Best regards!
 
Kay, I'm not sure about felt. But, I used to cover a lot of enclosures with backless carpet that acted as you describe, tending to tear and leave ragged edges. I ended up using a fresh blade for nearly every cut.
Cut until I could begin to feel tension, turn the blade around and do the same. Toss the blade and do it again with a new one. I didn't bother with the utility knife handle, just used the bare blade, and typically went through 4-5 blades per enclosure.
 

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...I've seen lots of speakers with felt surfaces...

I don't know if this is a language difference or not...

Here we buy "speaker (box) carpet", a carpet-like material specially made for speakers (tough, short nap). I've never put it on myself. Looking at store speakers, they like to use metal/plastic corners which may be hiding ragged cuts. Looking at reviews, some folks are disappointed, say the old stuff was better.

OT: Amazon listings can be VERY messed-up:
 

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I regularly use "speaker carpet" to cover PA and Bass cabinets with success, almost invisible joints.


2 details:
1) I use a sharp knife.
Fresh blades every now and then are fine for a DIY setup :) ; commercially 5/6 blades per cabinet will bankrupt me :p so I keep a sharpening stone by my bench and swipe blade across a couple times every time I start getting any resistance.
Not saying you do same though.
2) ***use contact cement*** , solvent type please, no place for Ecology here.
You get poor results because water based glue has no tacking, so carpet slips all the time, edge gets ragged and cut in a zig zag shape and to boot edges slip away afterwards ... none of that happens with proper **tacky** contact cement.
 
Felt is fairly soft material.
Used for turntable mats, sound damping pads, anti-scuffing pads for chair legs on polished floors. Not for covering speaker cabinets.
Or we have a language difference.
Perhaps Kay could post a product link for the mats he is using?
 
Kay,
You may be your own enemy here. When doing a box, you don't use mats, you use a roll. If you know the speaker is going to sit on one side. you start on the center of that side, fasten, add glue and 'roll' the box over the felt. If not, you must start at a corner. Still not tough if you stand your speaker up after covering and cut downward to trim to size. There are no seams except when you get back around to where you started. Trimming is done along the front and rear edges on the box. You don't felt the back (paint) or front (grille). The felt can be carefully mitred at the front corners
The glue has to be such that it doesn't bleed through.
 
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