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Cabinet Design and Construction

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8/24/1999 5:19 PM
Bowler	Cabinet Design and Construction Are there any sites that publish details of cabinet design and construction? I'm thinking of 2x12 closed back with a port Thanks for any leads Bowler

8/25/1999 9:19 AM
Bruce	Well, this might not be the best place to start but it sure is a good one! http://www.webervst.com/spkrcalc/cabmenu.htm Bruce

8/25/1999 4:55 PM

I'm with Bowler...

I've been looking to replace my junky 412 cabinet with something made of real plywood (no more particle board for me).

Of course, given the prices of good 412s, I've got that crazy idea: why don't I build one!

My main question is: what thickness of ply is used for the sides of you average popular 412 speaker cabs (i.e. Marshall). I'm figuring it could be anywhere from 5/8" to 1 inch, but would like to know exactly. Other than that I think I could do it (3/4" box joint corners, ply frame, etc.)

Mike

8/25/1999 5:36 PM

OK.

Box joints in cheap plywood are dubious at best.

You'll need 13 ply Baltic birch for that and the fingers or tails and pins will have to be a little larger then you could cut if you were using solid wood.

So use 3/4" plywood for the sides and baffles becasue it ismuch easier to work with.

If you are not going into the cabinet business, then use yellowish carpenters glue and 1" to 1 1/4" drywall screws with 3/4"x 3/4" cleats on the inside to hold it together.

All the screws will be on the inside and not visible from the outside.

Just remember to countersink your holes for the screw heads first or the battens and cleats will crack along their grain.

You can use AC interior or exterior Fir plywood but I prefer painter's grade birch plywood when going cheap. Other wise use the expensive furniture grade 60" x 60" baltic birch plywood as it has many more veneers then the painter's grade or AC fir plywood.

If you have a table saw you can do a couple joinery tricks and eliminate the cleats and screws.

There are many "how to build a speaker cabinet" site on the net.

If you need some URLs, I'll repost.

Bruce

8/25/1999 7:21 PM
rm	Bruce and John: Thanks for the info. Bruce, what kind of trickery do you speak of for eliminating cleats/screws? thanks, Mike

8/26/1999 5:17 AM

Buy a cheap biscuit jointer and use #10 biscuits.

Those and a handfull of pipe clamps can make a very good and strong cabinet.

If you dado a 3/4" x 3/8" dado slot around the inside of the 4 cabinet sides about an inch back from the front, a baffle made exactly 3/4" bigger then the inside dimension of the cabinet, will fit in (let-in is the term used by carpenters) perfectly and if you cut it near perfectly square, it can be used when clamping to square up the cabinet too. Very cool and very fast.

Cut the speaker hole(s) first of course.

Bruce

Mission Amps

8/25/1999 5:29 PM
John	http://www.kbapps.com/ They have the enclosure calculator, building tips, and a lot of other useful information.

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