How to Make Paper Speakers From Scratch

How to Make paper Speakers From Scratch

This is a speaker i made from scratch useing scraps i found around my home. The goal of this project was to make a speaker for free out of scrap. The other thing was that i did not use a pre made speaker to make this.

I will show how to make it, so you can build your own :)

Heres a video of the sound of my speaker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAmdezxojSg

Step 1: Parts and Tools

Tools

soldering iron
solder
scissors

Parts

construction paper
card board
card board tube
audio jack
wire
coated copper magnet wire (This must be atleast 8 ohms to protect your devices)
tape
magnet
PAPER cup
paperclip

Step 2: Make the Speaker

Make a copper wire coil a little bit bigger than the diameter of your magnet.
Place the wire in the center of the bottom of the cup.

Step 3: Make the Speaker 2

Now build a bracket to hold the magnet. The magnet must be placed in the center of the wire coil.

To make the bracket make the paper clip straight. Then tale it io a peice of card board. Then flip it over and tape the magnet on the back side of the bracket.

Make shure you tape secureley because this part must resist the vibrations from the magnetisim when the speaker is on.

Step 4: Make the Speaker 3

Now tape the bracket to the bottom of the cup. Make shure the magnet is placed in the center of the coil.
Also make shure to secureley tape this on.

You now have a bare speaker with no way to connect to the music player.

Step 5: Make a Case

Now you have a ugly cup with card board on it. Now make it look a little better by adding a case! Because this is supposed to be a paper speaker i made the case out of cardboard and paper.

First make a front plate out of card board.
Trace the diameter of the top of the cup on to a peice of cardboard and then cut it out.

Step 6: Make a Case 2

Now make a support to make the cup level.
Made out of a card board tube and taped to the cup.

Step 7: Make a Case 3

Make a bottom panel.
Make shure you leave some room in the back for the wires.

Step 8: Make a Case 4

Now make a back pannel. Tape it so it will open like a door. Also cut a hole so the audio jack wires can come out.

Step 9: Solder Time

Solder the 2 coil wires to the audio jack wires. It does not matter which way they are connected.

Step 10: Make a Cover

Now cover the card board with paper so it would look nice.

Step 11: Enjoy Your Speaker

The speaker may require some fine tuneing of the coil to get some sound out of it. The volume of it will come from the streingth of the magnet and the coil.

The speaker quality is pretty good considering that its made of paper and hand made.

If all works well, Enjoy your speakers!!!

Comments

[MattShizzle.]

I worked in a community corrections center 3rd shift. They weren't allowed to have speakers for radios and had to use headphones. One night the supervisor showed me something that was confiscated - a speaker made from mostly an empty coffee can. Obviously they didn't have access to a soldering iron or really any tools. I don't remember how or what else was used. This was the sort of thing they'd learn in prison.

[AbhinavParkhi]

How to check if the wire is of 8 ohms? Plz help....

[bhamid]

multimeter

[brizbhushany]

good question

[mridularora101]

how to buy magnets

[mridularora101]

how to buy magnets

[ysoni]

how is it working without battery

[BossA1]

It worked for me, and working for all because the Jack or the input cable is powered by the device the speaker is plugged in.

[expertman]

Hey i tried making this but it didnt work maybe because my magnet it not conductive as a speaker works by creating electromagnetic field so it needs conductive core
has anyone have idea about it

[AH Electronics]

great instructable.i made one too but the sound is not very loud.but enough for a hand made one

[Guchiwoochi]

Thanks :) btw mine wasnt all that loud either. But it was just an expiriment.

[AH Electronics]

you are welcome

[batman96]

That coil looks less than 8 ohms, less than that can tear up your music playing device.

[Guchiwoochi]

Oh thanks for the warning. I will post that the coil must be atleast 8 ohms.
I checked and my coil was just bareley 8 ohms I guess it still worked fine.

[batman96]

Yea 8 ohms is usually the lowest resistance of a speaker, although some VERY loud speakers go lower, they have special amps that can take it.
Just wanted to make sure nobody blamed you for tearing their stuff up.
By the way great instructable, the finished product looks Cool.
How loud is it?

[Guchiwoochi]

Its fairly quiet. around the sound of loud cheap earbuds. But, I might add a small amplifier for it. This speaker itself was mostly just "proof of concept " speaker that I got the idea from looking at an old stereo I had. And Thanks for telling me the speaker had to be 8 ohms. It would have been bad it this really messed up someones equipment. I dont know all to much about speakers coil.

[andrea biffi]

Really interesting, they should add this in junior high school coursework

[shastri]

Awesome, will try with my daughter soon

[artcfartc]

That's pretty awesome! When my neighbor told me he couldn't have hardcover books in prison because people would make speakers out of them, I thought he was pulling my leg. After seeing this, I guess it is possible.

[Guchiwoochi]

Lol i guess the prison guards dont want to listen to their music :/