Bluetooth Speaker

This bluetooth speaker is made with solid wood, using maple for the case and white oak for the front and back. It features two rear mount full range speakers, a switch and a light.

To see the full build, and the final result, make sure to watch the video.

Step 1: Mitered Corners

To construct the case I'm using mitered corners because it's such a clean look. They can be a little tricky to get right, and in the past I've used the miter saw, however I found it a lot easier to get accurate cuts using a simple miter jig for the table saw.

Step 2: Front Face

For the front face I'm using 1/4 inch white oak. I marked out the area for the two speakers to go, and drilled the holes on the drill press using a forstner bit.

To round the edges a bit, I'm using a rounder bit and a router, and to make sure the bit had something to ride against, I placed a board with the same cut hole underneath, which worked out great.

Step 3: Finishing the Front

Once the holes were drilled, I marked out where I wanted the switch and the light, and drilled holes where they should go. I then cut the wood to size, sanded it down and stained the oak with a cherry gel stain. I decided to use a stain, because I wanted some nice contrast between the maple surround and the front piece, and the cherry provided a nice color pop.

Step 4: Routing

To create a groove where the front could slip in, I used the router and a 1/4 inch bit. It provided a pretty tight fit, and then I did a dry fit of the entire box to make sure it fit well.

Step 5: Back Blocks

Since the speakers are rear mounted, there's not way to access the electronics from the front. So instead, I needed a way to easily enter from the back. So I cut some wood blocks to size that fit in the back of the speaker, and then drilled holes for some nuts to be glued in. I also drilled holes in a back piece that will line up with the wooden blocks, once everything is glued together.

Step 6: Electronics

For the electronics, I'm using a bluetooth speaker board, a set of 2 inch full range, a female plug, a switch, a 20k ohm resistor, and a 3mm red LED light. I began with connecting the light to the switch, and I wanted the light to be pretty dim, and not light up the whole room once turned on, which is why I used a 20k ohm resistor.

Then I soldered the wires to the speaker, and the speaker wires to the speaker board, in line with the light and the switch.

Parts & Products Used (Affiliate)

Dayton Audio Speakers - https://amzn.to/2OKHxol

Bluetooth Amp - https://amzn.to/2OKHxol

Toggle Switch - https://amzn.to/2OKHxol

Power Supply - https://amzn.to/2OKHxol

Step 7: Adding Components

Next, I wanted to start assembly, but I figured I should finish the front panel first, so I don't accidentally get any shellac on the speakers once they're in.

I drilled a hole for the power plug in one of the sides pieces, then I attached the switch to the front and hot glued the light in from the back. At this point, I tested everything to make sure the light and the switch still worked right before screwing in the speakers.

Step 8: Glue-Up

I then screwed the speakers in from the back, and then I was ready to glue the front and the case together. I tried to minimize glue squeeze out, and only used a careful amount of glue. It's a little tricky to glue everything together just right, especially when placing the front in the groove and lining the miters up right. I also added the blocks in the back loosely to make sure the whole structure was correct, and then clamped it up as it was drying.

Step 9: Closing Up the Box

I hot glued the power plug into the side of the maple. Then I secured the speaker wires into the speaker board and hot glued the board to the interior of the box as well, to keep it in place. At this point, everything that needed to go in the box, was secured, so I could now glue in the back pieces.

Step 10: Feet & Finishing

To give the box a more finished touch, I made some simple feet out of maple, simply by cutting up blocks, and then using a mini plane to plane the sides of the blocks down. To secure to the bottom of the box, I just used some yellow glue and added some weights.

For a finish I first added shellac to the box, and then finished with some beeswax polish.

Step 11: Conclusion - Watch the Video

For a much better perspective of the build, and to see the final speaker in use, make sure to check out the video.