Replacement Grill Mesh.

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TBP

Active member
Joined
Oct 26, 2020
Messages
28
Anyone know the best way to go about replacing / repairing grill mesh ?
Thanks
 
With something like a shure 58 I've often used an off cut of a drum stick , put the rounded back end inside the grill ,hold it at the top and strike it down on a hard surface , with a bit of luck you can tap out the dent and make it look a bit better . Condenser mics with much finer mesh require more carefull handling , you should be able to get some of the way with hand and finger presure , be more carefull if your trying to use blunt force though .
Without more details of which mic your tring to repair its hard to be precise about it.
 
With something like a shure 58 I've often used an off cut of a drum stick , put the rounded back end inside the grill ,hold it at the top and strike it down on a hard surface , with a bit of luck you can tap out the dent and make it look a bit better . Condenser mics with much finer mesh require more carefull handling , you should be able to get some of the way with hand and finger presure , be more carefull if your trying to use blunt force though .
Without more details of which mic your tring to repair its hard to be precise about i
Thanks for the reply, The first mics are just a pair or Studio projects B1s .. These have been dented with drum sticks. given the damage on these more interested in replacement "mesh" then pushing the dents out ( already did that with limited success ).
 
Hi Kieran,
Inteligent use of blunt force .....
Funny how a drumstick was the original cause of the damage too.
Some mics have the mesh moulded into the headshell ,in some the mesh is replacable/removable and retained by screws.

Congrats on the Sufjan Stevens record , its getting a lot of plays on night time national radio here in Ireland .
 
Hi Kieran,
Inteligent use of blunt force .....
Funny how a drumstick was the original cause of the damage too.
Some mics have the mesh moulded into the headshell ,in some the mesh is replacable/removable and retained by screws.

Congrats on the Sufjan Stevens record , its getting a lot of plays on night time national radio here in Ireland .
Thanks, Sufjan is a real treasure of an artist. Hoping to find a vender for screens. Also a little guidance of how to measure the "thickness" of them. Something Like this but not mic specific.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/121178760894?hash=item1c36d126be:g:9g0AAOxy9DRSA9jZ
 
Digital calipers might be a usefull way to measure wire diameter and mesh size , usually below 20 bucks/euros to buy , always a handy tool to have in any case .
 
Sometimes the fine grade stuff used inside for extra layers is literally the same stuff used for kitchen hand sifters/strainers, and you can just pop over to the nearest kitchen supply shop if you just need a little bit and can deal with working with the shape.
 
If anyone finds a supplier in the USA that can process mesh into shapes let me know please. We need to make replacement grilles for the front head basket on the RE20, it's a 312 stainless at 16mesh if i recall.

What works with the RE20 for "reshaping" often is technique similar to the drumstick (I use back end of a screw driver) but also another big help for really misshapen grilles is a set of crude tooling making use of a plug/slug of aluminum in the "inside" shape of the basket and a delrin form, place headbasket into form and plug into headbasket and smack with ball-peen. Surprisingly works well (so long as you don't punch the seated grille out of the frame which does happen)
 
Good tip. I've used brass mesh from McMaster for my janky brass pipe U47.

I wonder if I can try some wider mesh like #10 or #12 for a more open grille to emulate the Reference C mic in this body.


mangley02.jpg

Here's what #12 steel looks like from an Amazon seller. CORRECTION: That's #5 mesh. Lower # = bigger gap. Might be too heavy and hard to form, eh?

12.jpg

mesh.jpg
 
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I might just take my chances with mesh #8. Seems plenty transparent. Coupled with some dampening foam on the bottom of the basket should give me mostly pure capsule.

8.jpg
 
This was my cutout guide for a homemade U47 basket if anyone is interested. It was from years ago so the McMaster parts #'s might be different.
 

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If anyone finds a supplier in the USA that can process mesh into shapes let me know please. We need to make replacement grilles for the front head basket on the RE20, it's a 312 stainless at 16mesh if i recall.

I 3d printed a two part mould to repair this grill from a Beyer M260. It worked very well you can use clamps or a press if more pressure is needed. Completely diy possible.
 

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recently I fixed the lower part of the mesh of a Beyer M160, it is difficult to put anything from inside to push it because of the ribbon capsule. I had changed the strings of my guitar that day so I took some of the left over part of the strings and did a 2mm hook on 3 of them and insert them on the grill. the hooks were strong enough that pulling the strings I was able to fix the dent. It is a semi cosmetic fix because there are 3 layers of mesh and I was just able to fix the exterior one. For me was enough :)
 
I just replaced the grill on my janky brass tube mic body. Originally I used #12, but decided to go #20. Bought from a local metal supply store. 6” x 48” piece was $22 CAD. 48” was the minimum.

I was able to get the top looking decent this time around. Just happen to have the right kind of junk on hand. Top from Omega3 vitamin bottle, Gatorade cap and a tub drain remover.

The vitamin bottle top left just enough space for the mesh in the mic body, so I cut a rough circle, formed the mesh around the vitamin top, and shoved it in the bottom of the body. Put the Gatorade cap on the tub drain remover, put that down the top, and clamped it down to flatten and spread out the mesh. Put the mesh upside down in the top secured with some loose strands. Used my dremel to cut the bottom all nice et Voila! Best one I’ve done so far.

@kato what did you use for foam under your capsule?
 

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