diy making help/woodworking

[larksp]

hey i was wondering weather any one knows some sites for maybe videos and or pictures for making speakers or what ever with wood/mdf

any tips/help for the building part
things like
ways of cutting.
tools that come in handy
router
tips
or anything really.

also i was thinking of getting a sable saw as i have a circular saw
or would be good to get a table you can attach the saw 2.

[larksp]

not in English but here is la tool could come in handy all in one
http://www.wolfcraft.de/wdaten/video...lwinkel_de.wmv

not found where to buy one yet but looks like it might be useful

do you know any handy/ tools you use to make it easier

[tt398]

I recommend both a high quality hand-held circular saw and a proper table saw. The minimum table saw would be 10" blade, contractor saw. For more difficult joinery you will need a 10" blade cabinet saw. There is a difference in price -- but it is well justified if you are doing mitre joints -- the cabinet saw is much more precise and repeatable on blade angle changes than the contractor saw.

My speakers are built with right angle "butt joints" so I don't need a cabinet saw. I use 3/4" baltic birch plywood for the outer box, and then I glue and screw 3/4" MDF to all the inner faces. All the joint areas are reinforced on the inside with 1" x 1" glue battens. Most of my enclosures are covered with hardwood veneers after the basic box is completed.

[larksp]

thanks i will look into the types of table saw you have said i was thinking of the 10inch table saw.

right now i am using a cheapish circular saw wired

i thinking maybe changing to a wireless as well, also maybe smaller cos the one i have is biggish and heavy. i do tend to only use it on mdf and now and then use it to cut junk wood to be binned

Dewalt ain't cheap in the uk. think i saw the DeWalt DC390 and e.g $69 amazon probable £300 in the uk

because i only work part time right now price is an issue but i understand some cheap things are more hassle than there worth rather than spending a big more and getting much better job.

[tt398]

I would use Bosch, Makita or Porter Cable hand held power tools.
You should plan on purchasing TWO routers -- the first being a one and one half horsepower plunge router with 1/2" shaft capacity. This will be used for all utility cuts -- circle cutting and edge facing. The other router which I recommend is the Bosch COLT -- 1/4" shaft capacity palm router. It is ideal for veneer trimming and fine detail work.

[larksp]

i will look them ones up tomoz as 3am here..... going bed

im using a cheap one again and has a table as well seems to do the job good enough it is the 1/2 one but i has a thing so i can then use 1/4
it does the job tho. better i get probably should have a better one at some point but good enough for now.....

looking into getting some router bits maybe bullnose and another gives the wood a bit like a 45angle cut if you know what i mean

to help cut circles i have these
i have got a trend jig min 8inch
so i also got the 2 jasper ones for circles had to get from the US and works out way cheaper even with the shipping

[Daveis]

I'd be interested in ways to use a plunge router to cut rectangular pieces of MDF accurately. I know that a circular saw or table saw is the norm for this. But I don't have the room for a table saw. I do have room for some straight edge jigs and my router.

I was hoping someone could clue me in on some information about howto make a router do everything you need with speaker building. I'm already using it for hole cutting with Jasper circle jigs. Now if I could only get it to cut straight lines as well...

[zigzagflux]

Originally posted by Daveis
I'd be interested in ways to use a plunge router to cut rectangular pieces of MDF accurately.

Totally with you on this. I use a very cheap $100 table saw, and just never got my angles at 90 degrees, and cuts perfectly straight. Always could end up seeing the circular cuts from the blade along the grain.

Ended up selecting and marking the factory cuts as being true, and clamping a straight edge to the piece to be cut. I then ran the router along this straight edge to get a straight cut. Worked well. Helps to precut maybe to a 1/4" with the table saw to remove material.

Downside is that the garage turns into a venerable sawdust haven 1/2" thick everywhere, and you chew through a lot of blades. But without proper tools, and only planning on building one or two speaker sets, it was the only option.

[ssmith]

larksp:
The power tools are a big investment and probably worth it if you intend to make more than one set of speakers.
When I made mine, I thought of splashing out on power tools, having tried but failed to do straight cuts with a circular, but in the end opted to get the pieces of plywood cut to size at a diy store -- the cuts were more perfect than I would ever have got them, and happily the cutting was included in the price of the wood. May be worth having a look around in your area to see what the prices are.

Since then I've seen some fairly small and cheaper table saws, and may opt for that if I build another pair.

On cordless power tools, they are always going to be far more expensive than wired, and may not be worth it in your case.

A router though is pretty essential, and you'll find that the most expensive thing turns out to be the bits. I also spent quite a bit on clamps, of which you can never have too many.

[Irakli]

I would strongly recommend to get a GOOD router. All precision trimming can be done with it, so you dont need high quality circular saw. I cut MDF panels for my speakers with cheap jig saw and than trimmed it with router, achieving very high tolerance.
Also, it would be useful to invest $15 or so in a good router handbook.
I used this one:
http://www.amazon.com/New-Router-Han...9206700&sr=8-1

Helped me a lot.