"Old" Internet Radio Speakers

Internet radios are great!  Even though I have and affinity for the old AM radios, they just can't match the massive selection of music (bluegrass!!) and news available on the internet.   I hooked my internet radio to a pair of computer speakers, and I like the little system a lot.  Since it sort of looked out-of-place, however, I decided to take on a project to make it look somewhat vintage.  This instructable is focused on building new speaker housings -- later on my plan is to modify the radio to match the speakers.

I began by measuring the existing computer speakers, and then found a pair of oval pressed cardboard boxes at a craft store that the speakers would fit in.  These boxes are inexpensive -- I think I paid about $4 US for each of them.

Next, I made a shelf at one end of each box for the speaker to rest on, and added side supports to keep it centered.  The cut-out at the back (shown in the 1st photo) allows for the wires to pass out the rear of the housing.

I then cut out openings in the lid of the boxes for sound, and an additional opening in one of the lids to allow access to the volume and balance controls.  I also added three screws around each lid to fasten the lid to the rest of the box.

Using some 1/8th inch thick plywood, I made speaker grills for each box (photo 1), then I stained them (photo 2).  The vertical bars on the grill were cut from a piece of 1/4 inch square wood that I bought at a craft store (photo 3).

After the stain had dried, I used polyurethane on all the wooden parts.

The final step was add two small strips of wood to the base of each speaker housing so it would sit upright (photo 1),  paint the boxes black (photo 2), and attach the grills to the speakers (photo 3).  I'm reasonably happy with how the speakers turned out, but now the radio looks out of place!  Making a new housing for the radio will be my next project.