Upcycled Wooden Mini Speakers - LEKULE

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26 May 2017

Upcycled Wooden Mini Speakers

Upcycled Wooden Mini Speakers
I had an old headphone of which some parts were breaking and coming loose laying around, but I really liked it's sound, so I did not want to throw it away.
I took it apart and decided to make something of it. They are not really loud, since headphones a normally used close against your ears, but it's loud enough for some ambient-ish background music. Maybe the speakers can be boosted somehow by someone more speaker-knowledgeable.
Tools used:

  • drill
  • drill press
  • hole saws
  • stanley knife (what's the official name for this?)
  • sanding paper
  • band aids

Materials needed:

  • some multiplex wood scraps
  • veneer wood
  • linseed oil
  • wood glue

Step 1: Taking Things Apart

Taking Things Apart
I don't actually have pictures of the taking apart process, since it was laying disassembled there for a while. But it's easy, just unscrew any screws and cut away things you no longer need.

Step 2: Drilling Out the Support

Drilling Out the Support
Drill out some circles and rings using the drill press and the hole saws.
The full circles are used for the bottom, the rings are used for the top.

Later on I decided to add some extra rings in the middle for extra support, but that is totally optional.
Make sure to put a scrap piece of wood underneath your working piece. This will:

  1. prevent damaging the drill press and hole saws
  2. make the edges a little nicer

Step 3: Shaping Veneer Wood

Shaping Veneer Wood
With a stanley knife I cut some pieces of veneer wood. Soaking the wood in water makes it more bendable, you don't really need hot water if you want to bend it in the way I did. If you really want to bend the fibers themselves you better use steam or hot water. (I heard some people use amonia, but I don't have any experience with it and don't recommend using strong chemical substances when you don't know anything about them.)

I bent the wood a little tighter than needed and put some rubber bands around to keep everything in place. Make sure to let it dry out completely before removing them: the wood will automatically return a little to it's original shape.

Step 4: Mounting the Speakers

Mounting the Speakers
For the bottom I stacked two pieces of wood and I made a small indent for the cable. This way I can make the cable come out of the speaker all the way at the bottom.
I glued the cable in place and squished some saw dust in the gap. When that glue had set it was time to glue the speaker itself to the base.

Step 5: Glue Stuff

Glue Stuff
Since I needed both hands to keep everything tightly in the right place there are no really interesting pictures here.

Just put some glue on it and stick it in, not that hard... :)
I made sure the veneer wood overlapped about 5mm to prevent a gap when wrapping it around.

Step 6: Finish

Finish
Sand the wood down. Use any grit you think is sufficient. I like to make things quite smooth, but the wood I used was a little to soft (or porous or something) to make it really smooth, but I was contented with the result anyway.

When sufficient sanding levels are reached and your experience has maxed out, start the oiling process. Take a small piece of cloth or paper towel and wipe some oil on the wood. Let it dry and your done.

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