Desktop Speaker Project

Ever woke up one morning and said, "Hey. I'm gonna build something today." And then set about crafting up this glorious idea, with no real starting point, or clue on how it's going to end up?

Tada! It happened to me today. Decided to take some Fountek FE83 drivers and an old amp I salvaged from a mini set of Logitech speakers, and build some desktops. The idea was for them to be a Christmas gift for a friend of mine, and she likes purple. This will become more relevant later.

So here we return back from Lowe's with the mini pieces of lumber, and the pieces that inspired all of this:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psbe7ca02b.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps33261b6c.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps28fd4718.jpg

I REALLY love this saw. Like really. Like if anyone ever said you can only have one saw, forever and ever, well yeah. This would be at the top of my list. Anywho, made short work of cutting everything to length, including narrowing the boards from 6" to 4.5" for the front and back pieces:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps4fea9edf.jpg

Got to break out the router and actually use it for something constructive, instead of destructive. Works pretty good at beveling those edges:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps35671ff5.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps6179b8aa.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps0fa62346.jpg

Corner clamps, gotta love them. Wish I had ten more:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psa7224fe8.jpg

Since I don't have a circle jig yet, decided to use the largest hole saw bit I had in the drill, then use a flush trim bit with a smaller bearing to nibble away at the opening until it was just perfect:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...pse7c79c8b.jpg

Why stop there? Might as well nibble away for the mounting flange too while I'm at it:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psc561fd0d.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps3c025497.jpg

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps7d0d3755.jpg

Pretty nice that the little amp has a little grommet to keep everything nice and sealed:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps3680538c.jpg

So why not break out the flush bit with smaller bearing again and make a nice little spot for it too:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psca1e67cd.jpg

With my brother being a heating and air installer guy, he often tosses things my way they don't use. Here are some little pieces of damping and foam that they didn't need:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps2e5ebfc8.jpg

So I put it to good use:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...pse807a180.jpg

And the reason behind mentioning the color purple:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps70b5bac7.jpg

Since I need to learn proper finishing techniques anyways, that is the basis for this entire project. Staining has never been my friend, so this is the best place to start.

This is where I had to stop for the night. Was getting really cold out in the garage.

Oh and good news, hooked everything up to test things out, and found out why they tossed the Logitech speakers. One channel intermittently cuts out, so time to hunt down a replacement amp. Looking at the Dayton DTA-1. It's just a simple little desktop project for a friend at work, so doesn't need to be anything fancy.

Nice, I got a pair of these also. I don't have the routing skills as you. I have to figured out how i'll build a router table for my B&D router.

After looking at this build log I found this http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Gramophone/ posted today.

I might give this a shot, it looks like fun.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Notloudenuf

After looking at this build log I found this http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Gramophone/ posted today.

I might give this a shot, it looks like fun.

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Do it! I always wanted to build a horn speaker. Would be an awesome project for sure.

Some progress today, first speaker is assembled. Needs some sanding before color:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...psd3ee0933.jpg

One coat of stain dried last night. Not too bad. I'm liking how easy it is to apply, and with proper preparation, it's definitely a nice finish:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...ps84cc7321.jpg

With the camera flash:

http://i276.photobucket.com/albums/k...pscb497a09.jpg

Looks good buddy. You didn't mention that you started this project.