Threads on spikes

[stratocaster]

I have experienced this with the 2CEs, the subs and now the Quatros as I am trying to get the tilt and the positioning right. Some spikes go easily until a certain distance and then it's a pain (and a little stressful) to get the spikes to continue threading in. Has anyone experienced this? I have tried to get around this problem by adding a little bit of bicycle hub grease which is extremely light and that seems to alleviate the problem a little bit. However, it doesn't always work and a little bit of force is necessary. Am hoping that doesn't damage the threads.

[ctsooner]

Never had that, but I’ve only owned a Treo and now Quatro. Richard may have an answer. 

[Boom Boom]

On 8/15/2023 at 2:05 PM, stratocaster said:

I have experienced this with the 2CEs, the subs and now the Quatros as I am trying to get the tilt and the positioning right. Some spikes go easily until a certain distance and then it's a pain (and a little stressful) to get the spikes to continue threading in. Has anyone experienced this? I have tried to get around this problem by adding a little bit of bicycle hub grease which is extremely light and that seems to alleviate the problem a little bit. However, it doesn't always work and a little bit of force is necessary. Am hoping that doesn't damage the threads.

I experienced this with my 2CE Sig 3's. I used WD-40. I didn't push the threads to worrying about damaging them tho. I didn't want to risk it, especially since they were new.

[BKDad]

First, I am not Richard.  I don't even play him on TV.  So, take this information advisedly.

Think about this logically.  There's two possibilities why the spikes don't engage further, at least easily.  

One might be that the threads on the spikes down toward to pointy ends have something on them, like imperfect plating for example.  You should be able to see that through visual inspection.  If there's something there, perhaps it could be cleaned off.  Or, get replacements.

The second is that in the deeper recesses of the threaded insert on the speaker side, there's some glue or whatever.  Or, maybe you've reached the end of the threaded hole.  The first you might be able to clean out.  The second not so much.

Either way, there's a couple more possible solutions.

One would be to shorten the length of the spikes.  That one might be challenging to do well at home, unless you have suitable equipment to redo the threading on the spike if you cut the threaded end.  If you decided to cut the pointy end, you'd end up with a different challenge.  So, maybe that's not a great choice unless you know someone who could help with this.  

You also might be able to purchase shorter spikes, too.  In the manual for your speakers it's mentioned that carriage bolts are a good choice if you don't want to damage your floor.  You could always just use carriage bolts on the troublesome side.  They're usually available in lots of lengths at local hardware stores.  If not, McMaster-Carr has all sizes of carriage bolts in steel, stainless steel, and even bronze (!).  They also have threaded-on-one-end studs in stainless steel that might do what you want.  

The second relies on high school trigonometry, which a lot of people like even less than fixing threads on a spike.

If you don't insert the spikes as much on the opposite side of the one(s) that you can't engage as well you'd like, that should fix your problem.  Just thread the tough ones in as far as they'll easily go and adjust the opposites to get the tilt you want.  This might raise your speakers a few tenths of an inch in relative terms to your ears, but I don't think that you actually have your ears at the same height above the floor every time your sit down to listen.  At least not within a a couple tenths of an inch.  But, and here's where the high school stuff comes in, a few tenths of an inch difference between the front and rear spikes makes a very big difference in the tilt relative to the listening position.  The difference is what matters.  Of course, for mechanical reasons and what's associated with regard to vibrations, you want to keep the spikes as short as possible.  But, emphasis on possible.

Relatively speaking, spikes are easier to deal with than the threaded pieces on the loudspeaker itself.  You have loads of choices and they ship easily.  Damaged threads on the underside of your loudspeakers are a bigger problem, by a lot.  Personally, I'd rather play with the spikes.

Of course, you could also place a granite slab underneath the speakers and spikes.  That gives more options and often better sound, depending on your floor composition.

[Holmz]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:31 PM, BKDad said:

The second relies on high school trigonometry, which a lot of people like even less than fixing threads on a spike.

And we are off on a tangent 😎

[stratocaster]

@BKDad regardless of the speakers where the spikes have posed this issue for me the threads on the spikes have looked fine to my untrained eye. Before running off and cutting things up or making trips to HOme Depot, I have tried swapping the spikes between different holes and have gotten mixed results. In the end I have managed to get the spikes in but have had problems taking them out when I have had to move the speakers and redo the tilt. 
 

The question at hand is that would forcing the the threads cause the threads inside the speakers to get damaged and then that would be a nightmare to resolve for these heavy speakers…

[BKDad]

44 minutes ago, stratocaster said:

The question at hand is that would forcing the the threads cause the threads inside the speakers to get damaged and then that would be a nightmare to resolve for these heavy speakers…

My question then is, why would you ever want to find out?

[stratocaster]

3 hours ago, BKDad said:

My question then is, why would you ever want to find out?

For the same reason that you said ' you would rather play with the spikes'.. you can play with them only once.. once the threads in the speakers are messed up you can't.. Since these speakers are so placement sensitive, there's a high likelihood that for any person owning any model for a period of years, there's going to be a need to move them and play around with the tilt. Once the threads are damaged, you aren't going to be able to make the most out of these speakers.

[Richard Vandersteen]

Easy to restore the threads with a 1/4-20 tap available at any hardware store.  RV

[Oregon]

...and if chasing the threads with a 1/4-20 tap doesn't work, you can install oversize Helicoils with an appropriate Helicoil repair kit so as to restore the existing threads and thread location. Probably a last resort...

 

40 minutes ago, stratocaster said:

For the same reason that you said ' you would rather play with the spikes'.. you can play with them only once.. once the threads in the speakers are messed up you can't.. Since these speakers are so placement sensitive, there's a high likelihood that for any person owning any model for a period of years, there's going to be a need to move them and play around with the tilt. Once the threads are damaged, you aren't going to be able to make the most out of these speakers.

The existing threads can be restored with an oversize tap and Helicoil repair. It's easy to do

[Boom Boom]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:01 AM, BKDad said:

First, I am not Richard.  I don't even play him on TV.  So, take this information advisedly.

Think about this logically.  There's two possibilities why the spikes don't engage further, at least easily.  

One might be that the threads on the spikes down toward to pointy ends have something on them, like imperfect plating for example.  You should be able to see that through visual inspection.  If there's something there, perhaps it could be cleaned off.  Or, get replacements.

The second is that in the deeper recesses of the threaded insert on the speaker side, there's some glue or whatever.  Or, maybe you've reached the end of the threaded hole.  The first you might be able to clean out.  The second not so much.

Either way, there's a couple more possible solutions.

One would be to shorten the length of the spikes.  That one might be challenging to do well at home, unless you have suitable equipment to redo the threading on the spike if you cut the threaded end.  If you decided to cut the pointy end, you'd end up with a different challenge.  So, maybe that's not a great choice unless you know someone who could help with this.  

You also might be able to purchase shorter spikes, too.  In the manual for your speakers it's mentioned that carriage bolts are a good choice if you don't want to damage your floor.  You could always just use carriage bolts on the troublesome side.  They're usually available in lots of lengths at local hardware stores.  If not, McMaster-Carr has all sizes of carriage bolts in steel, stainless steel, and even bronze (!).  They also have threaded-on-one-end studs in stainless steel that might do what you want.  

The second relies on high school trigonometry, which a lot of people like even less than fixing threads on a spike.

If you don't insert the spikes as much on the opposite side of the one(s) that you can't engage as well you'd like, that should fix your problem.  Just thread the tough ones in as far as they'll easily go and adjust the opposites to get the tilt you want.  This might raise your speakers a few tenths of an inch in relative terms to your ears, but I don't think that you actually have your ears at the same height above the floor every time your sit down to listen.  At least not within a a couple tenths of an inch.  But, and here's where the high school stuff comes in, a few tenths of an inch difference between the front and rear spikes makes a very big difference in the tilt relative to the listening position.  The difference is what matters.  Of course, for mechanical reasons and what's associated with regard to vibrations, you want to keep the spikes as short as possible.  But, emphasis on possible.

Relatively speaking, spikes are easier to deal with than the threaded pieces on the loudspeaker itself.  You have loads of choices and they ship easily.  Damaged threads on the underside of your loudspeakers are a bigger problem, by a lot.  Personally, I'd rather play with the spikes.

Of course, you could also place a granite slab underneath the speakers and spikes.  That gives more options and often better sound, depending on your floor composition.

Actually, the holes had capacity, they were just tight. I compared the turns and the depth from the other 3 screws. So there was variance in the holes drilled in the bases. I discovered when I was trying to adjust tilt.

As it turned out, the spikes that came with the bases were not deep enough. RV responded to a thread where I complained to get those spikes screwed in, I had to remove the washer on 1 or 2 of them. RV responded that they contract out the spike screws and they have had some quality control issues. I took his advise and contacted Vandersteen customer service. I had a new set of screw spikes sent to me in the mail.

[stratocaster]

Thanks @Richard Vandersteen @Oregon.. that addresses my question/concern..

[DC-93]

On 8/20/2023 at 12:18 AM, Richard Vandersteen said:

Easy to restore the threads with a 1/4-20 tap available at any hardware store.  RV

Use a bottoming tap.  

[DC-93]

Used a 3/8-16 die for the spikes on my 2Ce Sig. II bases. 
Used the matching tap for the holes. 
Found sand in the bottoms of 2 holes!  
Anyways, a huge improvement in adjustability. 

[ctsooner]

Love seeing folks fix the broken and using the same gear longer. Thanks for sharing. 

[DC-93]

When the holes were originally drilled and tapped, it was drilled too far and there’s a hole that lets sand in!  First owner didn’t fill them with sand so he didn’t find the problem. 

In any event, they are better now. 
 

I’m lucky. I don’t have golden ears, so these Signature II speakers are all I require!!!

 

[Richard Vandersteen]

The threads in our Bases are actually Weld Nuts with a plastic cap over them inside the tubing to keep the sand from leaking out of the threaded holes.  If you taped them out, you probably pushed them off and sand will find its way out.  Besure to install the spikes and adjust them before filling them with sand because they will be very difficult to adjust with sand in their threads.  Be very careful with the End Caps (if you try to remove them to reinstall the plastic caps) as they are not available because our vender doesn't provide extras.  People have found End Caps on AMAZON (not like ours but workable) as that is your only recourse.  RV

[DC-93]

The sand was in the holes prior to me doing anything to the stands. All I did was fill them a few years back, prior to use. 

I have noticed that the spikes can look perfect, but a die is hard to get over it. 

 

All good now. I changed my chair (lower) and will now be able to easily adjust the speakers to 3/4" tilt back.  

Also important is the side to side!  The speaker sides should be 90 degrees to the floor in the location chosen.