November 20

This is the day that i started the manufacture of my speaker. I started off with Two pieces of MDF cut to the same size. I stuck these two pieces of MDF together with Double sided tape as this would allow me to cut out the shape accuratly in two pieces. Using a ruler i measured out the distance of the first side and marked it out, i then drew the shape i wanted free hand very lightly utll it was how i wanted it. 

I then made sure that length and width of the markings were correct to what i wanted and had stated in my design.

Using a band saw i cut out the shape leaving a little bit of room for error but luckily there was none.

 

November 21- 22

With the two pieces of MDF cut out to the rough shape i was now able to shape the wood perfectly to get a nice smooth curve to it. I used sand paper to shape the curves with a piece of wooded block to keep the edges flat. This sanding process took me 2 days to complete. When i had finished sanding i split the two pieces from each other and then sanded off the tape.  

 

November 25

​With the front and back cut out and sanded i was now able to start on the sides of the speaker. again using MDF I marked out the correct measurements and shape onto the MDF. Using a Hegnar saw i cut out the shapes then sanded them down. I had to cut out the inside of the side now so i had to drill a hole in side the area that was being cut out using a hand drill. I then detached the blade from the hegnar saw and passed it through the drilled hole i then reattached the saw blade to the saw and followed the markings to cut out the inside of the side. I repeated this process twice for both sides. i then used sand paper to sand the inside edges to make them level and smooth.

 

November 27

I drilled out the 4 holes for the speaker drivers to go in by using a pillar drill and a hole saw. To locate where i wanted the speakers to go i placed the drivers in a position that i liked then traced round them with pencil. I was then able to place the front onto the pillar drill bed and secured it with G-Clamps, i then drilled the holes out. I done the same thing for the two other smaller holes. Once they were drilled out isnaded the inside of the holes using sand paper as they were very rough from the hole saw. to make sure they were the correct size i place the drivers in them and they fitted perfectly.

 

November 28

Today i joined the front of the speaker to the sides. I used a dowel joint to do this so firstly i placed the front and sides together and drew a line across the two to where i wanted the dowels to go. I then used a tri square to follow that line across the side that the holes would be drilled. I used 3mm wooden dowel for this so i drilled a 3mm hole to a certain depth. I then checked to see if the holes where in the correct place and they all where excdept one and it was off by a tiny bit so i used a round file to make the hole a little bigger untill the dowel was lined up. Once they were right i placed PVA along the edges and then added the dowells using a hammer to get a clean fit. I then sanded the rest of the dowel that was poking out to make a nice smooth joint.

 

November 30

Today I fitted the speaker drivers. This was fairly easy and quick. I started out by cutting out 4 small blocks for each speaker i then placed these blocks into the appropriate position relating top the speaker drivers brackets. When i had these in the right place i marked around them so i knew where to place them when i glued them. Using PVA i glued these blocks into place. I then repeated this process for the other driver. For the two little drivers this was harder to do as there was no brackets to fix them in place. So after some thought i decided that using hot glue would be the best. I started by placing glue around the face of the driver then putting it in the correct position. Once this had dried i placed some more glue over the edge of the speaker. This ment that the driver would be firm and not move.

Later on today i fixed the drivers in place once the blocks had dried. I firstly started out by checking that they blocks wher in the correct position by placing the speaker in them. I then cut out some black fabric and placed that around the speaker driver and glued it to the outer rim of the driver making sure it was nice and tight. I then placed the driver over the blocks and using a small drill bit drilled 4 pilot hjoles for the screws. Using 3mm screws i then screwed the driver in place tightly with a screwdriver,

 

December 2

I decided to add the mesh to the sides of the speaker today. this was fairly easy as all i had to do was pull the mesh tight over the hole then add glue around the edge and hold it in place untill it dried. I then cut off the excess fabric that was not needed. For onr of the sides there was nothing for the mesh to be glued to so i had to cut out a thin piec of wood strip that was the same height as the side. I then wrapped the mesh around it and glued it in place. I had a problem with this as the strip i cut out was in the wat of the driver so i decided to cut out a arc shape in the strip using a hegnar saw and this the sat firmly around the driver.

 

December 11-13

I was now ready to add the back to the frame. Using the shape thast i originally cut out but there was a problem where the back panel was  at a angle the shape i had originally cut out was to small. This little mistake turned into a long process. I started out by getting a new sheet of MDF and placed on the back of the speaker using masking tape to hold it in place. I the used a pencil and followed the edge of the front and traced it out onto the back. This took a long time to do as i kept messing it up so would have to start again. when i was finally happy that it was right and level with the front i used a band saw to cut it out. I then had to do a  lot of sanding to get the shape level witht he front panel. The hardest part was getting the underside of ther arch level with the front so i spent lots of time sanding it down.

 

December 16

i still was sanding down the back panel today and mangaed to finish it. I Then temporarily placed this on the back of the speaker by using tacs. once it was on i notied that it was to long at one end so i marked out where it had to be cut then cut it on the band saw. This Then ment that the back panel was the right length.

 

December 18

After the back was level and. Sanded down I was ready to make the top side. Using flexi ply I cut out a strip to the right width and length leaving enough room for mistakes. With the flexi ply I fixed it to one end level then wrapped it around I then marked out around the speaker on to the flexi ply. With this marked out I cut it out on the band saw and sanded it down. With this cut out I used tacs to attach it to the top I then used sand paper to sand it down so the edges were level. When this was finally sanded down I added PVA as well as tacs to secure it in place.

 

December 20

I was now able to attach the underside of the speaker. This was much harder than the topside and took longer due to the tightness of the curve. I used the same process in marking and cutting out the correct length as before. But this time where the curve was so tight the flexi ply would bend that tight so I had to steam it. I used a kettle to do this and held the flexi ply over the steam where it would bend. once this was bent I out it into place this was difficult as it was really tight and was no room to move to much. I fixed the bottom side to the base using tacs and PVA while I could not use tacs on the curve as I couldn't get the hammer in the tight space, so I decided to just use PVA. Once this had dried I sanded it down so it was level.

 

January 7

Today I didn't do to much apart from some tidying up. I sanded down all the edges so the joints where smooth and level and sorted out the inside components by gluing all the wires in place and gluing the main circuit board in place using hot glue. I also sanded down the hole speaker body again so it was smooth and level

 

January 8

The buttons broke so I couldn't turn the speaker on or change the volume. Didn't know why they broke so I couldn't fix it. My dad is an electrician so I took the speaker home to him and he told be what was wrong with it. After looking at it he told me that the contacts on the buttons had over heated and were broken. To fix this I had to but new buttons from Maplin for £1.50.

 

January 10

I finally was able to get the buttons today so I could rewrite the speaker. I started by removing he old buttons from the boards using a soldering iron. I. Then soldered wire on to the correct contact point for each button then soldered the buttons on to the wire. Once it had cooled down I plugged the speaker in and tested the buttons, thankfully it all worked and I was able to carry on making.

 

January 13

I now had to make new caps for the buttons so I used 8mm aluminium rod to do this. I cut a correct length of rod. Enough to go into the lathe and began making the caps. I started by using a centre drill bit and drilled in to the rod a small mount I then changed drill bits and used a drill bit that was a tiny bit bigger than the buttons head being 6mm. I then slowly drilled in to the rod to a depth that I had already measured so I would fit onto the button and work. Once I was in the correct depth I removed it and started to use the cutting bit of the lathe. I then moved the cutting head to a right angle and moved it to a position to cut the rod at the correct length. I then slowly moved the blade across the rod where it finally cut off. With the cap cut off I then filed the top of it to get the top smooth followed by wet and dry process. this took me 3 days to complete as it was lengthy and I made several mistakes to finish it.

 

January 15

Today I fitted the buttons to the speaker. I started out by drilling 3 holes in a straight line and equal distance apart on the top of the flexi ply I then used a hand drill to drill these holes. This worked fine but for one of the holes the flexi ply split a little ruining a clean cut. I then cut out a rectangle of acrylic and drilled 3 holes in it the same measurements as I done on the flexi ply. I then placed each button into the holes in the acrylic and glued them using Araldite. Once they had dried I tested them to see if they still worked and they did. I then placed the buttons thought the holes in the flexi ply and glued the acrylic base to the underside of the flexi ply. I now left this to dry. When I cam back it had dried and was very firm and worked fine. The only problem I found was that a little bit of glue had got into the button shaft so was preventing the button from working. To fix this I used tweezers and managed to pull the glue off the shaft and it then worked.

 

January 18

Today i experienced a problem withthe bluetooth. I had brought a blutooth connector that fits ono a dock to use and that would be hidden inside the speaker. When i went to see if the bluetooth worked it didnt=. After some research i found out that tall the components that i had used from a previouse speaker dock were to old so were not able to connect via bluetooth.  This then resulted in me making my speaker having to be connected by AUX cable. This annoyed me as i planned in having a bluetooth speaker. You can make the speaker bluetooth by connecting a AUX bluetooth reciever. 

 

January 20

With Everything working i was now able to dril a hole in the back for the power and AUX ports. I drilled the correct sized holes in the right position and went to secure them in place. However i couldnt do this due to the shape of the circuit board that the ports where on it ment i couldnt get them close enough to the back panel. This ment that i had to rethink how i would do it. It ended up that i would cut a small hole in the back of the speaker and pass gthrough the circuit board that the ports where on and at a later date i would secure them on the outside.

 

January 23

I could now attach the back of the speaker on permenently. I started my applying the PVA to the edge of the speaker Then also using tacs to secure the back in place. Where i couldnt get the shape right at the back there were gaps between the back panel and the flexi ply. To solve this is used wood filler. I started by packing the gaps with very thin bits of flexi ply. I then pressed wood filler into the gaps and left it to dry. After it had dried i sanded it down level to the speaker base providing a smooth finish and no gaps were visible. I Also Sanded down the rest of the flexi ply level to the back using sand paper. This was quick as there wasnt much overhang.

 

Febuary 4

I was now ready to veneer the speaker but before i did i wanted to check it all worked. When i went to play music nothing happened. After proving it wasnt the port,cable or phone i had decided it was the main circuit board. This was inside the speaker and i couldnt access it as the back was glued on. So my only choice was to cut a hole in the back of the speaker using a jig saw to access the mother board. After cutting the hole out i was able to bring the circuit board back through. I checked all the connections and they were fine so i decided to wiggle all the parts on the motherboard. when i did this somethig happened and the speaker was working again. I had worked out that one of the resistors had been knocked and was touching another resistor so was shorting out the board. After i fixed it i carefully placed the board back inthe speaker and glued it in place. 

 

Febuary 7

With a big hole in the back from the problem the other day i had to decide what i would do to fix this. I decided to retain the aesthetics of the speaker i would just cover it up with the veneer. I was now ready to start veneering. I had to decide what colour veneer to use. I originally planed to use Oak but the Oak veneer wasnt very aesthetically apealing to me so i choose the darker Veneer being Walnut. I stated the veneer process by laying the front of the speaker down on the roll and cut out a pice of veneer. I then used an iron to glue this in place carefully not to burn the venee. Once it was glued on and cooled down i used a scalpel to cut all the access off buut left a very small overhang to improve the joint at the end. I then used the scalpel to cut out the holes i done this by piercing in the centre of the hole and very carefullt trimmed away to the edge of the hole i then used scissors to cut off scrap. I then used the scalpel to make the veneer flush to the edge. 

 

Febuary 8 -11

I carried on the veneering process untill the hole speaker was covered. Around the buttons i couldnt cut a neat circle so i used tech soft 

to mark out the 3 circles on a small rectangle shape veneer. When this got cut out i set it over the buttons and it fitted perfectly so i ironed it on. 

 

Febuary 19

All the speaker was veneered now so i varnished it using clear varnish. I applyed this with a paint brush and left it to dry. Once it had dried i used wet and dry paper to rub down the Varnish. this made the varnish smooth and i then gave it another coat after 3 coats i repeated this process and then i was satisfied with the finall finish.

 

Febuary 20

The last part of the manufacture stage was to add the symbols for the on/off and power buttons. For this i used techsoft to mark out all the symbols and then got it laser cut onto black vinyl. I then placed this vinyl onto the speaker above the buttons in a straight line. These symbols were very small so i had to use tweezers to apply them, When they were in position i pressed them hard so they were secure.