69 Twin Reverb - Needs some guidance on speaker fasteners

[Stevie B]

I am fixing a 1969 Twin Reverb for a friend.
I had a few issues - reverb out, two prong power cord complete with death cap, slight hum.
But the main problem is one of the JBLs - its dead.
This amp has JBLs so the dead one needs to be re-coned - but I can't get it off!!
When I go to unscrew the nuts, the screw stud just spins!

These JBLs seem to have been previously re-coned (masking tape with writing shows they were UPS shipped to a speaker repair place in New York).
Also, a few of the screws seen to be chopped off right at the surface of the nut.

The amp seems to have the original grill cloth nicely stretched and also has the aluminum drip edge.
I don't really want to try and remove the grill cloth.

So I want to know if anyone has come across this before and how it was solved.

[Justin Thomas]

That's not a "Like" because of the problem... I've run into this too with Ampegs and would love another technique than trying to jam a screwdriver through the front of the grillcloth to hold the screw from the opposite side. It may not years my s strands, but it does leave some stretching... any of the older guys got any wisdom?

Maybe try to grab the end of the screw the speaker nut is on with pliers and then turn the nut with a wrench instead of a socket?

Justin

[Stevie B]

Grabbing the end of the screw would be great, but half of them seem to be cut off right at the surface of the nut so there's nothing to grab.

I told my friend that I was gonna try finding a thin screwdriver and see if I can poke through the grill cloth without actually making a hole - not sure if I can.

But first I'm gonna put a drop of WD40 on each one and let is sit face down for a couple of days to see if they come loose.

[Justin Thomas]

I like P.B. Blaster for that kind of stuff...

Justin

[The Dude]

On a '69 the screws should be like this, if memory serves.



Sometimes, the wood screw part under the head gets out of the wood when tightening/loosening the nut on the rear. Can you feel it protruding if you feel the speaker grill area over that screw? If so, lightly tap it with a hammer to get the threads started in the wood and then screw it into the wood using the nut on the back. Often, once you get the wood screw part back into the wood, the rear nut will come off easier. I hope that all makes sense. It's kind of hard to describe on a keyboard.