TIPS & TRICKS
Helpful information to make your first enclosure a success.
Circular Saw:
- While a table saw makes it easier to get precision straight cuts, most DIYers do not have access to one. Perfect straight cuts with a circular saw can be achieved by clamping or screwing a straight edge to your workpiece using it as a fence to run your saw against.
- Set the blade depth a little over the thickness of your material and use plywood as a cutting board to prevent splintering while making it easy to manage your workpiece.
- When using birch plywood, you will want to use painter's tape on your cut line to prevent splintering.
- 9-ply Birch from big box stores are not ideal for subwoofer enclosures. The core is not strong enough to hold a decent amount of torque with screws and the veneer is very thin making it easy to burn through when sanding. If using Birch, find 13-ply Baltic Birch from local cabinet shop or plywood distributor. The core is solid and the veneer is thick enough for sanding.
Handheld Router:
- Same with a table saw, most DIYers do not have access to a router table. Mounting a handheld router to a piece of plywood and using it like a router table works great for making stack fab pieces or anything you need to make multiple exact copies of.
- Most common bits are round over, flush trim, and spiral cutting bits
- Use a circle jig with 1/4" spiral cutting bit to make perfect circles. Make 3 passes adjusting depth with each pass to extend life of your bit.
Jigsaw:
- If a router is not an option, a jigsaw can be used to make your subwoofer cut out.
- Use a blade with high tooth count for precision cuts to prevent tear out and splintering.
- Jigsaws tend to make a wavy cut. You can use a drum sanding bit for your drill if need be to clean it up.
- Jigsaws are also great for rough cutting pieces that you plan to make copies of with a flush trim bit on your router.
- Cut thick acrylic with a fine tooth blade on slow speed.
Cordless Drill:
If this is a one time project, a cheap drill with a cord will get the job done.
- 1/8" x 9" bit is used for making pocket holes for 1-1/4" trim screws. Come up about 3/4" - 7/8" from the edge and drill halfway through making a positioning point to predrill a steep hole to receive 1-1/4" trim screws. Quick and easy alternative to a pocket hole jig. This technique is a great alternative to using a pneumatic crown stapler or trim gun.
- If you have access to a pocket hole jig, actual pan-head pocket hole screws are the strongest method for joining two pieces of plywood on the inside so there are no visible screw holes on the outside. Tip for keeping the two piece perfectly flush is to put a screw in the edge of your piece near the pocket hole then use a hammer to pry on it as you drive in the pocket hole screw. This will hold it flush preventing it from walking off your line. If you have access to large clamps, you can also clamp the two pieces in place.
- Driving screws in on the outside, use #8 1-5/8 pan head wood screws for superior holding strength. Make sure to sink the heads below the surface so you can hide them with wood filler or body filler.
- When drilling a clean hole larger than 1/4", pre drill with 1/8" then use the size bit you plan to drill but go in reverse to start the hole then flip your piece and go in reverse again, then go forward to finish the hole. This will eliminate any tear out. Use this technique for using a hole saw for terminal cups.
Orbital Sander:
- When cutting the parts for your enclosure, use 220g sandpaper on the edges and surfaces to prevent splintering during the build. Its a lot of work and not going to effect the sound quality, but give you a professional finished product.
- Use 40g to follow up after flush trimming and breaking sharp edges
- Use 60g to sand fully cured wood filler or body filler. Small areas, you can sand the filler before it is fully cured but will gum up your sandpaper and if not careful, you can sand off too much filler leaving a dimple on screw holes. Sanding after fully cured completely hides all seams and screw holes giving you a wrapped effect on painted enclosures.
- After sanding filler, use 220g on all surfaces once again before painting or staining the completed enclosure.
- Lightly hand sand with 220g between coats of polyurethane to prevent burning through the grain.
Angle Grinder:
- Use a 40g flap disk for flush trimming if a router is not an option.
- Quickly and easily carve wood.
- Removes any material very rapidly.
- Used to cut bolts or threaded rod with cut off wheel.
Bending Plywood (Kerfing):
A "kerf" is the slot made from a saw blade; hence the name "kerfing". Saw blades leave a 1/8" kerf in your workpiece. To bend plywood, you cut a series of kerfs in the section to be bent. The trick is to set the blade depth just deep enough to nick the last ply of your workpiece. If you are making a tight radius bend, you want the kerfs to be as close together as possible leaving just 3/16" material between the cuts. When attaching the kerf section to a panel, draw a perfect radius to use as a guide. Once the kerf section is secured on both ends, mix up a filler with fine sawdust and wood glue to the consistency of toothpaste to fill the voids making it a solid piece again. For large and/or structural bends, double up the kerf panels and/or use fiberglass instead of glue filler to tie it all together.
Below are the advanced option sheets included with your design
