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How to fix a broken Bose headset?

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etterre

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
313
Location
St. Louis, MO, USA
It's probably not exactly the right forum, but since I'm considering a fix with composites and a fix with metal...

Sigh. I've got a Bose X that I bought used and it's now been broken (I blame my kid :) ) The u-shaped stirrup that holds the left earcup has snapped near one of the attachment points. I called Bose and was told that they don't sell replacement parts... but I could send it to them and they would fix "anything" for $175. Not a bad deal if the ANR was getting futzy, but I only need a $5-10 plastic part. Since the stirrup is made of plastic, my first try was to clean it, glue it back together with 5-minute epoxy, and add some fiberglass for extra support. Maybe it's because I used the cheap stuff (Devcon from a hobby store), but the epoxy didn't stick. I think my problem is that the plastic is of a type that just doesn't chemically bond to epoxy, so I actually need to do rough it up with sandpaper so that I get more of a mechanical bond.

But now I'm wondering if that is actually the best way to fix it - so I'm fishing for other ideas. Here's a few that I've considered:

1. Create a new stirrup out of fiberglass and epoxy. The only way I can think of doing this entails making a female mold from the broken part and then essentially filling the mold with flox. The I'd have to finish it off with sanding and some machining so that the attach points line up. While I'd be more likely to get a reasonably light part that looks like the original Bose piece this is probably a fair amount of work. I'd learn a lot, but...

2. Make some measurements, do some drawings, and have a machine shop make a "more rectangular" version out of aluminum or steel. Easier for me to do... but I'm a little afraid of the $$$ I'd spend at the machine shop and if it might make the $175 charge from Bose look cheap.

3. A slight spin on #2 where I do my own machining work. I don't have a milling machine (or access to one), but the part all in one plane so a rough copy could be made from a piece of flat plate. I do remember reading about one guy's technique that involved using a normal wood router and templates to create the part out of aluminum stock.

4. Modify a steel stirrup from a different headset. I did a could of rough measurements and I can get a replacement steel stirrup from David Clark for $10. It doesn't have the same connection between the stirrup and the headband, but it would be fairly easy to make an "adapter" by boring a couple of holes in a cube of aluminum and screwing the adapter onto the steel stirrup at the appropriate point.

Anybody got a better idea or a reason to pick one method over another? I'm currently leaning towards #4 since it should provide a fairly durable fix without a "lot" of work. It won't be "pretty," but I could still buy "pretty" at a later date for $175 if it really bugs me. Since there's a nick at the same point on the right stirrup, I'm also figuring that I might as well fix both sides.

The big picture shows the left stirrup in it's current condition. Note that there isn't much material missing at the break - I've just moved the pieces apart to show the break better. They fit back together pretty cleanly, but I can't instantly align the pieces together due to the curvature of the pieces and the break itself - so using an instant bond cyanocrylate (Superglue) wouldn't work. The smaller picture is an "end-on" view showing the relative "smoothness" of the break.
 

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