Pallet Wood Mini Speakers

I really love pallet wood projects!

I had a couple of USB powered mini speakers that didnt work right. I removed the casing and kept the speaker elements, cables and USB driver board. I also had some leftover pallet wood blocks from some of my other projects.

With this project I entered the EPILOG IX CHALLANGE. Consider giving me a vote. It would be very much appreciated!

If you rather want - there is a small video to watch here.

For this build I used

• A miter saw
• Ruler
• Pen
• Marking gauge
• Drill with a 10 mm size drillbit
• 5 cm holesaw
• Router with 6 mm roundover bit
• Glue
• Screw
• Clamps
• Super glue
• Sanding paper
• "Disk sander/spindle sander"
• Chisel and a hammer/mallet
• Pallet wood
• And some speaker parts...

The pallets blocks are in different sizes and not square. I pick two blocks that looks the best.

I use a marking gauge to square one side.

Then I use my miter saw to cut one side at a time.

I put a screw in the bottom of the block through a piece of wood. I do this so I dont need to hold the block with my hands cause that would be very dangerous so close to the blade.

I then cut one side, loosen the screw and turn the block to the next side and so on. I do this on all sides to make them square. When one side is square, I make a mark with the gauge so booth blocks are the same size.

I mark the center of the block by drawing two lines from corner to corner.

The small speaker is made to fit in 5 cm holes. I use that size hole saw and drill out a center hole.

I then make the same process in the bottom side of the block. The holes will meet in the middle and will be easier to hollow out later. I hope that you can see what I mean in the pictures.

Before you make any holes, be careful to choose the right front side and upside of your speaker. They will be visible.

I put a tape marker so I dont drill trough the block. Then I make a series of holes on one side (the side that will be the bottom of the speaker).

I then use a chisel to clean out the hole.

I use the router with a 6mm round over bit and round over the out side of the blocks. Four sides.

Then I use the same router bit and setting to round over the hole for the speaker.

Be steady at hand, so you dont tilt the router. The blocks are quite small and dont support the base of the router very good.

I have to admit - I really hoped to mount the speaker element without cutting up the blocks. But I risked breaking the blocks if I made the walls any thinner. If I had cut the the front earlier the hollowing of the block would be so much easier too. So if you do this project, consider cutting the front after you made the roundover.

Also two small tips here.

I dont have a disk sander. I just clamp my drill to my work table and have a make shift disk sander like shown in the pictures.

I made a round dowel that I glued a bolt trough and covered with a layer of sand paper. This works the same way as the disk sander but as a make shift spindle sander. Just be careful and dont use gloves... ;-)

I glued (with super glue) the speakers to the front.

I also "fixed" the speakers by re-soldering the speaker cables.

Off camera I made some wooden plugs. I put them in to cover the nail holes. This is a very optional step, but It looks better. I let the glue set and then used a small saw and chisel to clean the plugs up.

Then I glued the front (with the speaker) to the hollow block. Those smalll clamps worked great.

Before I did this, I tested the speaker again, just to be sure that everything works.

After the glue sets I hand sand the speaker from 80 grit to 240.

I glue the bottom with some wood glue.

I also made an extra spacer in a slight angle, so the speakers leans back a litte. For looks and for better sound distribution.

I used some mineral oil for the final finish.

I'm a bit unsure about the mount/foot in the bottom of the speakers. I will leave it there for now, and I may remove it or sand it slimmer in the future.

This was a fun project and I like how it looks. I will make some real speakers in the future and borrow some of the design from this build.

Now the real question is what music I will listen to? Norwegian Wood of course...

Thank you for reading this instructable! Please let me know what you think or ask me if you have any questions.

If you want to watch this instructable with some sound and moving pictures there is a small video here.

If you like my work, please follow me here for more projects in the future. Thanks!

With this project I entered the EPILOG IX CHALLANGE. Consider giving me a vote. It would be very much appreciated!