Thank you for your appreciation Alastair, it makes me want to proceed and replace the gaskets myself!old country chemist wrote:Hello Paolo, you seem to have made a very good job of straightening the warped diaphragm. When it was out of shape, it did not seal well all the round the rubber gaskets. As you say, it is now much better. Once you start adjusting and re-building these soundboxes, you will see that it is quite an easy thing to do, and if you do have any problems, then the forum is the place to ask for more help. I still think it a good idea for you to place a little more sealant on the diaphragm screw, as a good seal there will help reproduction. You say your diaphragm is 50mm in diameter. That is quite a common size. When soundboxes are scrapped, I always keep the diaphragms if they look in good order, and any of the other parts of it that can be taken off the main body. Holding a diaphragm up to a strong light will tell you whether it has any problems with tiny holes in it which can be sealed with a very small amount of sealant, such as beeswax or PVA glue.
May I ask what you would recommend to look for as a replacement? The same natural rubber, or another kind of modern sinthetic rubber would be viable as well? I suppose also that you won't find a gasket with such diameter and thickness ready off the shelf of the nearest hardware store, so one should "build" it himself starting from a rubber cord of the right thickness and gluing its ends together once the correct lenght has been determined.