[Lemmy Caution]

Hi Y'All,
 
It's nearly Valentine's Day and I'm thinking about firm attachments....
 
So I bought some modded grado 325s with new wood inner inserts (honduran rosewood done by Martin Custom Audio), and new wiring... 
 
The seller left everything loose (for further mods) but I want to close things up. I'm dumb and am afraid to glue anything. But I worry a lot since the wires are basically hanging (firmly, for now) from the speaker solder points, through the wholes in metal rings. 
 
MY QUESTION: How should I put things back together (in non-temporary way)? And also what kind of rubber fittings (or other) should I use for the hole in the metal rings (to protect from abrasions that will eat into new wiring)? 
 
Thanks for any ideas. I will proceed carefully. Like the sounds, so far! Am upping the bass on macbook pro eq and using a calyx coffee dec usb amp but thinking of changing to another better portable (whatever that would be). 

 

[liamstrain]

Hmm - to put in any relief around the cable to protect from abrasion, you're probably going to have to desolder the cable....

 

[shadow419]

Use a grommet and just split it with a hobby knife or other thin sharp blade.  For actual strain relief, I'm not sure what can be done.

 

[devouringone3]

Super glue dissolved the Grado ABS plastic instead of gluing it to the metal. **** that ****. I hate super glue, it never works.
 
So I bought a 10$ tube of super strong epoxy and since then epoxy has been the solution to all of my problems... it does everything and it does it well, and I've become a master at using it.
 
You will absolutely need glue (to close your headphone permanently), so I suggest you buy the same thing as I did. Go to a Rona or a Canadian Tire (well if you live in Canada) or any place where they sell tools and that stuff, and tell them about your need, the materials you plan on gluing together, aluminum alloy and ABS plastic. The glue is for any material so you will be able to use it as you wish.
 
I have picked the strongest epoxy but you really don't need this strong at all. In fact a glue gun could also do the job, but it wouldn't be as permanent because this glue might unglue too... but for a first temporary solution you can always apply glue gun glue in the circle corner inside your metal shell, and then push the drivers + plastic inners + cable ensemble in.
 
But before doing that you need of course to take care of that cable
 
In order for your headphone cables to be held by themselves, and not by their solder joint, you will need something to block them from going down the cup. Here I would suggest you to use a tight-wrap, wrap it the tightest you can, cut the arm you just pulled, and then apply a big drop of glue. You could also use only epoxy or only tight-wrap, as you wish. Joseph Grado, ex-owner of Grado Labs, used tight-wraps, and John Grado, epoxy... you don't need that much force as you won't be pulling this hard, even accidentally.
 
Personally, right now I am also seeking for a way to strain relief my full-metal Grado. Those edges of the HP2 are cut through the cable's jacket at incredible pace and I need to find a solution for my cable to remain whole. We are in the same situation as we don't want to do soldering, and our cable is already attached to the drivers.
 
My plan is to return to Canadian and ask for a proper sized (small) cable strain relief and buy two of them. If it's flexible rubber I will slice an entry into it on the length and fit the cable inside, just under the tight-wrap, and then try to slide the cable in its place by pulling. If the strain relief is hard plastic, I will cut it in two halves, on the length, and sandwich the cable in it, then try to fit it in its spot.
 
If I can't find a strain relief, then I will simply take the length of the cable that is exposed to strain and metal cut outs and wrap it in 2 or 3 layers of Gorilla Tape : 
 

 
"The toughest tape on the planet" http://www.gorillatough.com/index.php?page=gorilla-tape
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/4306415
 
 "HEAVY-DUTY CLOTH BACKING - for added strength and heft "   Should do the job...

 

[chrislangley4253]

Uhmmm. Use a zip tie on the inside of the shell on the cable to keep that in place, use a couple layers of electrical tape on the outside of the driver so it fits snug in the wood shell, and how loose is the wood shell within the metal cup? I would suggest just a bit of wood glue or hot glue. Make sure you can get them apart later, is what I'm getting at.

 

[devouringone3]

Yeah essentially ChrisLangley just summed up what I said.