Cuting wood and building a speaker enclosure (1 Viewer)

[Jonathan T]

I'm going to be building the enclosure for an Adire kit81 within the next week but I have questions. First, I need to know how much i need to add to the required dimensions inorder to get the desired panel size. Adire says I need the following:
4 14" X 9" pieces
4 9" X 10.5" pieces
4 12.5" X 10.5" pieces
2 7.5" X 10.5" piecs

Am I correcting in adding half an inch to each dimension inorder to end up with the correctly sized panel? ex. Mark a 14.5 X 9.5 inch piece of wood and cut it, as about half an inch of wood is removed when using a circular saw. Is that correct?

Are speaker boxes just held together by glue? I have some gorilla glue here and eventhought it's suposted to be very strong, I don't really believe that it will hold. Should I use some nails or screws to secure the pieces?

Lastly, does anyone mitre their enclosure pieces? I don't think it's necessiary, I was just gonna "butt" the pieces together, fasten and clamp. Only advantage I can see ot mitreing is a better finish, if your using a hardwood for panels, and a larger surface to apply glue too.

THanks.

 

[Joey Skinner]

Cut the pieces exactly as the dimensions state. It doesn't matter how much is removed by the blade (its actually about 1/8 in.) as long as you are left with the correct dimension after the cut. Example: draw a line 10.5 in. from the edge of a 4 by 8 ft. sheet of MDF. The saw blade should run down the outside edge of that line leaving you a piece of MDF 10.5 in. wide by 8 ft. long. From this piece cut as many 7.5 , 9 and 12.5 in. pieces as you can.

Trust me, glue will be strong enough to hold the box together. You can use nails or screws to hold it together while the glue dries or just use clamps. If you use screws predrill the holes.

Use butt joints. Miters do look better on hardwood but hardwood is not the best choice for a speaker cabinet. MDF is better.

 

[Jonathan T]

Yeah, I'm using MDF. Thanks for the help!

 

[Ed Kerns]

While I agree that glue alone would hold your cabinet together, I'd recommend you use screws AND glue. The screws are necessary to hold the joints tight while the glue dries. Just clamping the pieces while the glue sets, also works, but it's more difficult and requires several clamps. Also I wouldn't use gorilla glue for this project. Gorilla glue expands when it dries and tends to be quite messy. It's biggest advantage is that it's weatherproof -probably not a major consideration for your cabinets. Titebond or Titebond 2 (moisture resistant) would be good choices. Good luck with your project.

 

[RobertFirment]

I used biscuits and Gorilla glue. The glue's expansive properties also ensure an air tight seal without caulking. Just make sure to wear gloves when using this glue or you will be wearing it for several days.