Mountains DIY Bluetooth Speaker x 2

[mountain]

Taking a break from the jukebox kits to make my kids a Christmas gift. Not really arcade related, but then again, jukeboxes aren't either. 


As my kids get older, they are very difficult to buy for. Gone are the days of easy to decide on plastic toys. My kids are 19 and 16 and other than clothes and gift cards, we were at a loss. I stumbled upon a cool little DIY project over on the Techtalk Forums for a Bluetooth speaker, called the Sprite. My kids love their music, and their iPhones, so here we go.


A square box just wasn't going to cut it. I wanted something different. I only have 12 days (when I started) so I have to work fast. My idea is to make it look a bit retro, and a bit modern. After coming up with the basic profile and required depth, I made the mold for bending the plywood.








Bondo applied to level off the screw holes and the rough grain of the bendable plywood.





I added a stop plate to help keep the 3 sheets of plywood square with the mold. The three sheets of ply wood is a 3/8" piece sandwiched between two sheets of 1/8".





A layer of packing tape is added to keep any excess glue from sticking to it.





In the bag.

[mountain]

Out of the bag.








On to figuring out how to trim the sides to the right dimension.


I made a jig for the front and back to guide in lining the sides up to the bottom at the right spot.








Once positioned, I clamped it all down.





Trimmed








Here are the front panel braces clamped.





This is where I am at currently.








I have a Digikey order showing up today with parts to make a circuit to turn the Bluetooth module on and off when the power to the amp is turned on and off. The BT module has a status LED that I want to incorporate into the front speaker grill. It needs to be off when not in use. All of the electronics will be installed on a removable module that slides into the back for easy customization/maintenance. More pics tomorrow.

[kahlid74]

Beautiful dude, can't wait to see what it looks like finished!

[Generic Eric]

Livin the dream!  I have this fantasy that'll I'll do my own interpretations of old-timey philco radios.  I look forward to seeing how this turns out.

[Yvan256]

I hate when people have so many tools to help them with their "hand-made" projects. I mean, some people even have access to CNC machines and... oh wait. 

Looking good so far, I'm curious about what they will look like once completed.

[Santoro]

Oh man.  SUBSCRIBE!

[mountain]

More progress. I got the inner panels glued and clamped.
















I am going with a rounded over edge on both sides of the face. I had a little tear out in a few spots. No biggie, the next step was to apply Timbermate wood filler to the entire body to fill any voids. this stuff is amazing. It dries rock hard, doesn't shrink, and sands really easy. I like to mix it thin and use a cheap paint brush to apply.

[wp34]

That is absolutely beautiful.  Great work as usual.

[Generic Eric]

I followed your link for the sprite, but I don't see a mention about it being bluetooth.  Is that part separate?

[mountain]

I followed your link for the sprite, but I don't see a mention about it being bluetooth.  Is that part separate?

Seperate from what? The Sprite is more of an enclosure/crossover design for that particular speaker, the Dayton ND-90-8. DIY Bluetooth "boomboxes" are pretty popular projects over at Techtalk forums, most are utilizing the Bluetooth adapter linked below.


http://www.parts-express.com/bt-1a-bluetooth-receiver-module-for-wireless-reception-of-bluetooth-audio-signals--320-353

[Generic Eric]

I followed your link for the sprite, but I don't see a mention about it being bluetooth.  Is that part separate?

Seperate from what? The Sprite is more of an enclosure/crossover design for that particular speaker, the Dayton ND-90-8. DIY Bluetooth "boomboxes" are pretty popular projects over at Techtalk forums, most are utilizing the Bluetooth adapter linked below.


http://www.parts-express.com/bt-1a-bluetooth-receiver-module-for-wireless-reception-of-bluetooth-audio-signals--320-353

Thanks for the link to the bluetooth module!

[matt4949]

flippin awsome

[mountain]

I've spent the last two days sanding and smoothing the case. I really want to get the paint on it tomorrow evening and let it cure for 3-4 days. I'm going out of town Saturday and Sunday so they will need to cure while I'm gone. That gives me Monday and Tuesday to assemble the front grill areas (which aren't made yet!)

Fixed several of these, this being the worst one.







All sanded ready to be sealed.





Two coats of shellac





Primed ready for wet sanding. I have them sanded and ready to head out to the shop to spray the. Supposed to get 2 1/2 inches of rain tonight. Should be fun.

[Generic Eric]

Are you modeling this after a particular radio?  Do you have a sketch up or render of what you what the finished product to look like?

[mountain]

Yes, I have always wanted this radio from Philco, called the flying wedge. I mimicked the top curve and angles. Everything else is way different. I can post a line drawing of the basic lay out when I get back on the garage PC later tonight.

[Generic Eric]

That is cool!  Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

[mountain]

Very long night last night, but I got them done. The blue case is a hammered blue paint finish I like. It reminds me of the finish on certain antique tool I have seen. The problem with the hammered paint, in my experience, is that it's hard to get a good consistent hammer effect. What looks like fish eyes is actually the way I wanted the entire case to look. Oh well. The silver metallic is killer though. Really happy with it.
 

[Le Chuck]

Gorgeous as always man

[DeathDealer]

How did the finished product look like ?? please!!

[mountain]

What a crazy few days. I was able to get these done just in time for Christmas, literally. I had to pull an all nighter Christmas Eve in order to get these done. I wrapped them up at 9:30 in the morning and the kids woke up at 10 It was worth it, they loved them. I was running on empty and didn't take too many pictures down the stretch. Plus, one of the bluetooth modules died on me and one of the amps died too. So I gave them as gifts but each had their own issues. I have since fixed the one with a spare amp I had for a different project, so I just need to get a new BT module.


Grill frame cut. This one is finished with black acrylic. Lightly beveled edges were polished for effect.





The one with blue tape is finished with .063 aluminum.








Grill insert test fitting





Grill insert wrapped

[mountain]

Here is the back





One done





These are the speaker plates after they were cut. I left the center section in place in order to match drill and pattern cut the grill frames. This way I only had to fit around the inside perimeter once, then use it for the remaining pieces. If you're wondering why I had to do this since I have a CNC, it's because the mold was built fast and I didn't have enough 1/8" plywood laying around. The 3/8" ply I used didn't fit perfectly around the shape so it threw everything off.





painted





Seal gasket installed around the grill snaps

[mountain]

Here are the front panels mounted prior to the grills being installed.





Everything in the front ready to be closed up.





Here is the back. The rectangular slot in the middle is back mounted grill mesh for venting. Probably not necessary, but having openings towards the top in the front and rear can't hurt and it opens the possibility to upgrade to a bigger amp down the road if needed.





I used a diamond drag bit to engrave them so they remember what year they were given.

[mountain]

oops, double post

[mountain]

I am waiting to get some better quality shots as soon as both are 100% functionable. But these will do for now. Only the silver one though.


The back





Reference shot








The bottom





Christmas morning.





I'll post better pictures of the final product soon. Thanks for looking, this was a fun project.

[Generic Eric]

Nice! Have you considered hosting plans and a part list for your projects? 

[emphatic]

Those came out great!

[DaOld Man]

They did turn out great!
I know your kids are happy to have something that their daddy made just for them, and something that is functional.
Good job!
 

[mountain]

Nice! Have you considered hosting plans and a part list for your projects?

Plans would be tough since these are custom molded. Enclosure kits would be a possibility if there was enough interest. As far as the electronics are concerned, I can post the parts used as soon as I settle on an amp. I haven't had any luck with the amp I am using now. I'm expecting a Sure TPA3110 amp any day now to replace the Dayton Audio amp. I can post my progress after some testing.

They did turn out great!
I know your kids are happy to have something that their daddy made just for them, and something that is functional.
Good job!
 

Thanks! I avoided using MDF on these and stuck with cabinet grade plywood for longevity. They should last a long time. The kids love them and can't wait to use them.

[Generic Eric]

Nice! Have you considered hosting plans and a part list for your projects?

Plans would be tough since these are custom molded. Enclosure kits would be a possibility if there was enough interest. As far as the electronics are concerned, I can post the parts used as soon as I settle on an amp. I haven't had any luck with the amp I am using now. I'm expecting a Sure TPA3110 amp any day now to replace the Dayton Audio amp. I can post my progress after some testing.

Looks good though.  I would be curious about a parts list. 

[jongunz]

Those are cool.  Job well done.

[Santoro]

Hey Mountain, how do they pair with the BT modules, is there a pinhole somewhere?

[Generic Eric]

Hey Mountain, how do they pair with the BT modules, is there a pinhole somewhere?

I don't know if this is it or not, but its a hole

[mountain]

Hey Mountain, how do they pair with the BT modules, is there a pinhole somewhere?

The little hole in that picture Eric posted is the BT status LED hole. It's all done through the wireless device. This is the first BT device I have ever paired with my phone, I was surprised by how easy it was. You turn on the speaker (the volume knob has a built in switch) and then open the BT settings on the phone and select it. The BT module even has built in voice prompts telling you it is ready to pair.

[mountain]

Here is a parts list of the components I used.

Speakers
Bluetooth module
Amp
Feet
I had a spare relay similar to this one
Volume knob with switch

[kahlid74]

Love the finished product man, great job.