a few days ago i was funning up a "speaker cab" using a giant cardboard box with a hole cut into it, just to hear how it would sound. to mount the 12" speaker(1950s alnico jensen 12", one of the low power models that everyone scorns) i used some bathtub caulking, as screws wouldn't work on thin cardboard. anyway, as i finished, i dropped the tube of caulk, and the tip of course fell into the speaker, poking a hole into it about an inch from the dustcap- real freaking nice!
after walking away from it for a few minutes and cooling off, i decided to try and repair it.
first i used various flat objects(popsicle stick worked best) to coax the jagged paper tears back to their original plane, from behind. the ancient cone paper is quite thin and very delicate, so i figured i would use a little graft of tissue paper(or whatever you call it- the uber lightweight stuff that gifts are sometimes wrapped in...craft paper?). i cut out a little oval, big enough to cover the hole and tears. for glue, i made a solution of white flour and water, about the consistency of elmers glue( i have used flour and water in the past to bond this same type of paper to make hot air balloons, with good results). then for good measure i added some actual elmers glue. using tweezers, i dipped my little patch into the glue solution, placed it over the hole, and carefully smoothed it out.
when it dried, i was amazed at how smooth the repair is....i can barely detect the seams with my fingertips. aside from now sporting a whitish oval, i suppose the speaker is probably very close to being sonically and structurally what it was before the incident; most importantly i suppose i have prevented the tears from spreading.
if i had to do it again, the only thing i would have done is maybe dab some glue around the "hole zone" with a Q-tip before i added the patch, just to make sure the cone paper was good and saturated.
this glue job might not hold up under high power woofer/guitar applications, but i would certainly give it a shot. i am pleased with my results. oh, and the giant cardboard speaker cab sounds...a bit flabby Yellow_Light_Colorz_PDT_16