Rough design of possible first DIY speaker...

NickSo · 05-13-2004, 04:34 PM

Hey, so i've been wanting to get a pair of small bookshelvesspeakers for my bedroom, and just today started toying with the idea of building my own small enclosure for the Tangband 871's. I know they won't have much bass without a sub, but it should be fairly cheap to build.

Check out my design:

The two endcaps will be wood, the tube will be a sonotube (i THINK i saw them that small at Home Depot. Their largest is 12", and i know they have smaller sizes than that. If a 6" sonotube isnt available locally, i might consider PVC pipe.

The hole on the front is where the speaker will go. Since im not very experienced with woodworking, the endcaps might just be rectangle rather than rounded at the top.

I got the length of the tube doing some simple calculations finding out the volume inside the box of the Elf1.0 speakers from creativesound.ca.

One worry i have though, is cutting the peice of wood for the plug for the endcaps that goes inside the tube. I dont have a router, what other methods could i use to cut an approx 6" circle in a peice of MDF?

Anyhow, how does my design look? Feasible?

GrahamT · 05-13-2004, 04:44 PM

Looks original, but hard to make. You can cut circles with a jigsaw but it will be hard to fit the driver in without routering the inside edge.

minhG · 05-13-2004, 05:12 PM

you can also cut a rough circle with a rotary saw (like a zipsaw or high speed dremel) but a router would make your life much, much easier.

maybe graham is really good with a jigsaw, but i couldn't do it!

an alternative would be to find a woodworker in your area, he'd be willing to do the cuts for you. i can't imagine it costing very much either. a good alternative if you have no tools to work with.

NickSo · 05-13-2004, 05:21 PM

Hmm... i suppose for the 6" plug peice i could cut roughly with a jigsaw and sand it down...

as for the hole for the driver... i have a rotary tool, i guess if i took it slow i could do a decent cut, and maybe do more sanding. But then i'd have to be sawing through 2 layers of 3/4" MDF (the end cap + the plug) if i wanted an accurate cut (compared to the other alternative, cuttig both seperately then gluing together).

Are there hole saws as big as 3"?

I just realized Home Depot rents tools, maybe they have routers for rent?

Thanks for the feedback, keep 'em coming

Wayne Ernst · 05-13-2004, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Are there hole saws as big as 3"?

Yes, they sell hole saws 3" and even larger.

**HTF Ads**

ThomasW · 05-13-2004, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Are there hole saws as big as 3"?

You can get them as large as 6" diameter. Note that if one that size binds in the hole, the spinning drill handle will break your wrist or arm.........

minhG · 05-13-2004, 08:15 PM

on cutting with a rotary saw, you need to do it really slowly, i usually do 1/4 or 1/3 an inch at a time and make multiple passes. this can be painfully slow if you have to cut a lot of circles. but if you're only doing 4, then it won't be too bad.

even with a router, you'll still need to do a little sanding and swearing because the sonotube will not be completely round.

i'm pretty sure you can get the 3inch hole saws at Home Depot, but i don't know how powerful a drill you need for those hole saws.

minimum size for me has always been bigger then 4"\

RobLJ · 05-13-2004, 11:09 PM

Not to point out the obvious, but maybe it's time to buy a router. I'm at that same point too. I want to build a sub, but cutting out a 12" hole that looks decent and recessed is all but impossible w/o a router.

minhG · 05-13-2004, 11:31 PM

i dunno, i've made two sub woofer boxes (an 8" and now a 12") and used a rotary saw to do the cut outs for the driver. and they did a pretty decent job.

for the 8, i even doubled up the baffle so i could recess the driver.

if you already have the rotary saw and you don't plan on building too many more enclosures, then i say use what you got. if you have other uses for the router, by all means try to pick up a decent one. use a mediocre router is very frustrating...

NickSo · 05-13-2004, 11:55 PM

Yeah, im just your average university student, dont got much cash to splurge on power tools, though i do want, in the future, to build a sub, and that would be greatwith a router. But alas, a router isnt high on my 'to buy' list.

minh: what attatchment bit for the rotary tool did you use to cut with?

Dave Poehlman · 05-14-2004, 10:10 AM

Quote:

One worry i have though, is cutting the peice of wood for the plug for the endcaps that goes inside the tube. I dont have a router, what other methods could i use to cut an approx 6" circle in a peice of MDF?

Have you checked at Home Depot? They sometimes sell pre-cut circles. I don't know if they sell as small as 6" though... and you may have to settle for plywood.

I like your idea though, Nick. And you could build a sub to match.