How do I build a speaker cabinet?

sweet_lou

New member
I have two nearly new 12" speakers 8 ohm. I was thinking of just building something to put them in.

Where do I start?
What wood?
Closed or open?

Thanks

Lou
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Unless you're looking for a woodworking/tolexing project, I'd suggest going to Avatar Speakers and buying an unloaded cab. Depending on how you value your time, it's cheaper than doing it yourself. The cabs are great and Dave's a nice guy to work with.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

aleclee said:
Unless you're looking for a woodworking/tolexing project, I'd suggest going to Avatar Speakers and buying an unloaded cab. Depending on how you value your time, it's cheaper than doing it yourself. The cabs are great and Dave's a nice guy to work with.

That's a good point.

By the time I worked out costs for materials and hardware (handles, corner caps, speakers, jackplate, ect), it was only going to be slightly cheaper than what I cost me to buy a Mesa 4x12 new......
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

OOOH OOOOh OOOOh!!! I'll help you Lou!!! If I didnt prove myself in your Mighty Mite neck thread, I really like wood. I've been in woodshop for 4 years, and my dad tought me alot. If you want, we could talk on the phone, IM, PM or whatever, I'll walk you through step by step.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Lou,

Some of the best cabinets I've ever heard were made from 1" x 12" butt jointed furniture grade pine (it's a bit harder than construction grade), the wood is cheap, easy to work with, it's the same wood and construction method used by marshall back in the 60's & who can knock the sound of those cabs! I made a 1X12 cabinet using the same materials, used dowels and glue to hold the pieced together and I'm amazed how strong and resonant this cabinet is, I used 1/2" hardwood (oak) ply for the front baffle board and left the back 3/4 open, sounds great and cost me about ten bucks to make.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Thanks guys

Sounds easy enough Rif thanks.

I will be contacting you Bean when I get started. I will check around for some wood. I live in appartment so it will have to be fairly simple I don't have access to a shop. I will work on it.

I am thinking of using it with my Peavey Classic 30
I saw somewhere that you can wire two 8 ohms speakers to run off a 16 ohm amp.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Yep wire the 8ohm speakers in Series and the resulting impedance will be 16 ohm

Or parrallel and resulting will be 4 ohm..

And riff thanks for that post thar', I shall be building a 2X12 shortly out of Pine and i think ill have to steal the materials that You used ( Not actually steal the material but his idea :laugh2: )
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Y2, steal away, not that I can take credit for anything! I picked up some strings at GC today and they had a Mesa Lonestar on display at the entrance to the store, the cabinet was butt jointed birdseye maple, finished beautifully, now I've got some new ideas!
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

RiffRaff said:
Y2, steal away, not that I can take credit for anything! I picked up some strings at GC today and they had a Mesa Lonestar on display at the entrance to the store, the cabinet was butt jointed birdseye maple, finished beautifully, now I've got some new ideas!

Why butt jointed?
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

sweet_lou said:
Why butt jointed?

When done right, this can transfer the vibrations of the cab as if it was one big peice of wood.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Lou,

I had the same question, all the mesa cabs I've seen in the past used finger joints (the old wood cab mark I's), to get a good finger joint you've got to have a router and a finger joint jig. The thing I don't like about some finger jointed cabs is when they're stained the fingers don't stain equally, usually the ends of the side pieces that finger up through the top piece are darker, kind of giving a little checker board patter on the sides.


I tungoiled the cabinet, I used about 4 coats of oil - it gave the cabinet a nice semi-gloss finish.
 
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Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Cabs are easy. Decide on the diminsions, cab type, pick your wood. 4-sides, a back, a front, and bracing to mount the baffle on. My dad and I built my 2x12 cab on a Saturday afternoon. Sunday, I stained with some cherry tung-oil, prayed with polyeurothane, and made a grill cloth out of burlap (from walmart for $2, looks and works just like grillcloth). Hardware and bolts only costs a few $ if you get it at the hardware store.
Mine is 3/4" "luan", which is 7-ply birch ply and is butt-jointed, glued, braced on the joints, and screwed. For wiring, I used some 16 guage car stereo wire I had and made a permanent jack using the 1/4" end off an old Fender guitar cable.
$10 for wood+$15 in misc parts/materials=$35 cab. Then I dropped in $100 worth of speakers and I had a $135 2x12 cab.
 
Re: How do I build a speaker cabinet?

Hi Guys, I'd use 3/4" void free plywood. Baltic Birch is the best. I'd copy the dimensions of an existing cabinet that you like the tone and looks of. If you wanted to do it as an open back cab, I'd copy an amp you like. Maybe a Fender Twin Reverb. Vox AC-30 or Marshall. In fact, that's exactly what I'd do. For a first project I'd buy the wood from a source that will also cut the wood for me on a panel cutting saw.

I'd butt join the whole thing and glue and screw it together. I'd use 1x1 cleats predrilled to allow me to glue and screw them the full length of every corner inside the cabinet. If you predrill the screw holes a little bigger than the screws so the screw will not thread into the cleats, when you screw into the cabinet the screw will pull the cleat tightly into every corner and pull the whole cabinet together tightly.

A cabinet roughly 26"w. x 18-21"h. x 101/2" d. would work well and those are roughly the dimensions of a Fender Twin Reverb amp. That'd be an open back cab...that is to small to seal the back.

Amps N More: BBS (Ted Weber's site) has an enclosure board you can ask questions at.

Lou: your Strat wiring kit is shipping this morning. You should have it by next wednesday. Lew
 
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