Wooden Bluetooth Speaker With Living Hinge

This awesome wooden Bluetooth speaker is easy to laser cut and solder!

Supplies

Materials:

3.7 Volt Lipo Battery
Wire
Solder
Barrel Jack
Switch
Bluetooth Audio Amp
Charging Port
2 5 volt speakers
Heat Shrink
1/4 in Baltic birch

Tools:

Soldering Iron
Helping Hand
Laser Cutter
Wire Strippers

Step 1: Solder the Circuit

We start by soldering the majority of the circuit. Connect the battery to the charger then connect wires to the four corners of the charging component, but only connect the OUT- wire to the Bluetooth audio amplifier's GND port. Then wire your two 5 volt drivers to the audio amplifier's L&R ports respectively. Lastly, attach a red wire coming out of the 5V port on the Bluetooth component which you'll attach to the switch later

Step 2: Test the Components

With the components connected like this, the speakers should be fully functioning while the battery is connected. You should test it not by connecting a device and playing some tunes. We assembled a simple prototype boombox for the acoustic effect and some style points.

Step 3: Laser Cut the Wood Components

Design your own speaker or use our design here. The special part about this speaker is the living hinge design we have for the side walls. Remember to add holes for the speakers, charging port, and on/off switch. Be careful when bending your walls to that 180 degree circle as they can snap fairly easily. Ours broke a couple times during the process. Try using water to soften the wood allowing you to bend it to the desired angle.

Step 4: Stain the Wood

Stain the wood with a stain of your choice. Be sure to use a brush to make sure the inside of the hinge is also stained.

Step 5: Attach Electrical Components to Wood

Make sure that you put in the barrel jack and switch before soldering up the circuit completely. Then attach the battery with tape/ hot glue. We used rivets to attach the speakers to the wood but you can use hot glue if you don't want the rivets to be visible.