Was it worth the effort ? Advice needed...........

Zenieth,

I'm glad you were able to get a solution and good support from Magnepan. The combination of 42 inches of snow and an audio misadventure is certainly and aggravating situation, and hopefully, both of these annoyances will soon be resolved. We had about 20 inches of snow here in NJ over the weekend, and that was more than enough for me. Take care. :)

The service tech Steve at Magnepan is a super individual. He devised a solution to remove the old "T nut" and replace it with a new one that they are sending me. This will require the removal of a few staples so that the sock can be slid up a couple of inches. Then I will have to drill the MDF panel hole to 3/4" from it's existing 3/8". Put the new nut in and remount the leg. However they did offer to do the work for me. They even offered support during the repair if needed. Even if it's after hours!! Dam I wish all companies were like Magnepan. Thanks again for everyone's input and guidance............

The tread insert is recessed and you can't hold on to it. Maybe a pointed object pushed into the panel beside the insert will help. I have a call into Wendall at Magnepan. I will not attempt anything until I get his thoughts. What a pain in the ***. Something simple turns ugly. I can't win for losing. The forty two inches of snow was bad enough. I was just trying to stay occupied. I should have listened to the rig and not tried to improve it's already awesome sound. Go figure.................I'll keep you posted! Thanks to all of you for your help too!!!!

Zenieth,

It sounds as though you have worked yourself into a tough corner. Before you go further, I think I would consult Magnepan, since they know exactly how the speaker is put together and they should have the most insight into this particular problem. I'm sure they've seen this happen more than once...

Sounds like a threaded insert is used and has broken free. Best thing to do is somehow pinch the thread insert in place (so it doesn't rotate) then remove the screw. If you have cross threaded the screw and cannot pinch the thread insert firmly enough you will probably have to perform major surgery by removing the whole insert (could get ugly!). Either way you will have to somehow refasten the threaded insert, perhaps using epoxy. Without pictures it's very difficult to assess, but it sounds like proffesional help could be required to avoid mangling your speaker.

It is frozen in position. The screw turns but will not back out of the speaker. Strange like it pulled the treads going into the speaker. I have put vice grips on it and applied pulling pressure at the same time that i'm turning counter clock wise. But it just turns and will not back out. It's like a 3/16" screw in diameter. I have about 3/4" sticking out. What do I try now??????????

If you need to drill and retap the threads, the rule of thumb is to use a drill two sizes smaller. Good luck.

Plato has a good idea. If that doesn't work, Sears sells a couple of bits that are supposedly quite useful at removing stripped screws and have Bob Villa's approval!!

Perhaps if you treated this like a stripped screw and used the Sears bits?

-IMO

If the stud is sticking out, you may be able to put some penetrating lube at the base and then grab the stud with vice-grip pliers and slowly turn it out. Depending on the diameter of the stud, you might also be able to carefully cut a slot into it with a hacksaw blade and then remove it with a screwdriver.

If you remove the whole leg by taking out the remaining good screw, will that expose the broken screw so you can use pliers or vice-grips on it?

If the stud is not sticking out enough to grab or slot, you could drill into it with a small-size bit and use an easy-out (available at hardware stores) to remove it. In the worst case, you can just drill it out (I'd try to use a drill bit just slightly smaller than the stud). If you mutilate the existing threads you may have to rethread the hole, or chase the threads with the correct thread tap. There is also a chance you will need to tap it to a slightly larger diameter in which case, you should first check to see in which thread size and diameter the cones are available...

Since I can't exactly see what you are talking about, (and don't know the size of the screw, bracket, or anything else) the above advice is just my best guess at how to approach this problem. I hope it gives you some good ideas.

Good Luck!

Always try the easiest fix first, which would be use a pair of vise grips to remove the broken off stud. If the piece that the points thread into is removable, you might be able to get to the stud from the other side but I'm not familiar with this set-up. You can also try using a punch or small chisel & using a hammer, work the broken stud out. Depending on the hardness of the metal, you can try hammering a sharp phillips screwdriver into the end. If there's not enough metal to grip, try an easy out. Use the biggest one that will fit.

If an easy fix won't work, you'll have to drill out the stud & either rethread or heli coil the buggered up threads.

Zenith, visit a good hardware store and they will sell you a tool to do this.