Gluing speaker fabric to fibre board advice needed

[pentoad]

What would be the best glue to glue speaker fabric to soft fibre board?
I tried double sided tape but that just peels off.
I was thinking of using latex glue or copydex which I use for tolex on guitar speaker cabinets, but I read somewhere that it degrades or perishes fairly quickly.

[Beardyman]

I usually use a spray carpet/tile adhesive, its a bit like thinned down Evo-Stik Impact adhesive. Of course make sure your surfaces are free from dirt, dust & any loose bits. It may be worth spraying a coat on the board & letting it dry off to help seal the surface a bit as that board does look a bit flaky. Apply the spray just to the board of course. Hope that helps.

[pentoad]

It occurred me that maybe originally the fabric might have been glued to the inside of the veneered plywood cabinet and that fibre board panel was screwed down afterwoods.
Maybe somebody with a wooden Ultra set would know how they did this.

[stevehertz]

I use a fabric glue called Copydex. It has been used for donkey's years to glue up hems and all manner of jobs where fabric is one or both of the items to be glued together. You can 'pull' it while it's drying to get it nice and taught.

[vinrads]

Ah! that looks like it came from an Ultra 22 or 25 am I correct ? Mick.

[agardiner]

Having tried various methods and glues, my preferred one now is Modpodge. Available from craft stores including the range. Found it much easier to use overall.

[Silicon]

I would first try to stabilise the surface of the fibre board.
The grey coating that was originally applied may have been used 80 years ago for that purpose.

Try diluted Water based adhesives first, but be prepared for it to not soak in.

Wood hardener or diluted polyurethane varnish may work.

[vinrads]

Originally Posted by pentoad

It occurred me that maybe originally the fabric might have been glued to the inside of the veneered plywood cabinet and that fibre board panel was screwed down afterwoods.
Maybe somebody with a wooden Ultra set would know how they did this.

I have restored a few of these ,the cloth was glued to the cabinet in all cases . Mick.

[pentoad]

Originally Posted by vinrads

I have restored a few of these ,the cloth was glued to the cabinet in all cases . Mick.

Ah - I thought so.
I wonder what they used back in the day for gluing the fabric
Maybe animal glue?
I might use latex glue

[vinrads]

Yes it would have been animal glue . Mick.

[PsychMan]

I've used Bostik "leather repair" glue for jobs like this, which is essentially a polyurethane rubber cement. You apply it to both items, wait a short time, then press them together. It makes a strong bond very quickly.

I was able to use this recently to re attach speaker cloth to a bakelite cabinet, where it was originally glued directly (little unusual!). The cloth needed to be stretched a bit in the process, and the job was no problem with this glue, and the results were good.

[Iangebbie]

I used Bostik and a small roller, the cloth was spayed with a shirt iron spray, then ironed (this produced a flat cloth) ready to apply to the front assembly.