Simple Phone Speaker Amplifier

I was blown away with the difference this simple but effective 'gadget' makes! It not only amplifies the sound but also removes the slight 'fuzzing' phone speakers make and enhances the sound quality. This is a fun little project to make and a classy addition to boost the sound of your phone. Let's get to it!

Tools

Belt sander

Drill

Scroll saw

Holesaw

Woodlathe and Chissels

Supplies

Wood glue

Sandpaper

Drill bit 5-10mm, 15mm

Clear coat varnish

Hard wood, 500mm long, 95mm wide, 20mm thick,

Lighter coloured wood 250mm long,95mm wide, 17mm thick

Blank of wood for lathe, at least 150mm long

Take your planks of wood and cut two pieces 250mm long from the hard wood and one from the lighter colored one. The reason for the hardwood is so the sound does not absorb into the wood and thus dampen the sound. You could also use plywood as this also it quite hard and would act the same as hard wood. I used black walnut for the two outer pieces and macrocarpa for the inside piece.

To increase the sound output I decided to add two horn shaped pieces to the front. The tapered shape of the horn allows the sound waves to gradually decompress and increase in displacement until they reach the mouth where they are of a low pressure but large displacement. This is what increases the sound output.

To make them you are going to need a wood lathe and a blank of wood. Take your blank of wood and narrow it down till it's 70mm in diameter. Then cut two pieces from it both 35mm thick. Once you have done that drill a 15mm hole through the center of both pieces.

Attaching one of them to the lathe, take your flat chissel and work from the hole outward making a horn shapped center. once you're happy with the shape take some sand paper and sand until the insides are smooth as this will help with sound quality. Now do the same with the second one.

Print off the patterns and glue them to your slection of wood. Pattern 1 is for the front, pattern 2 is for the center piece and pattern 3 is for the back.

Pattern 1: to cut out the center piece you you will need either a holesaw,scrollsaw or jigsaw. Drill a hole at the edge of the circle, to be able to access without cutting into the rest. I used a scroll saw, which is probably not the best tool as it is best for thinner,softer wood. Using the scrollsaw on the hard wood caused the blade to move around quite a bit, making it more difficult to get clean circle. The best tool would probably be a jigsaw or a holesaw on your drill.

Pattern 2: I used the15mm drill bit to do the ends of the slit and then used a scroll saw to cut along.

Pattern 3: you just cut it the right length (tricky;)

Now depending on what kind of phone you have you are going to need to do adjust sizing accordingly. The phone I modeled it for was a Galaxy A10. To fit other phones just follow the steps...

Samsung: the speaker is typically located at the bottom of the phone to the right of where you plug in your charger. (Same as my phone, Galaxy A10)

Iphone: Speakers are on the bottom right of the phone. You will need to widen the gap to be able to fit the iphone and also modifiy the bottom (see photo 3)

Xiaomi: Speaker at bottom right, same as Iphone

Huawei: Can be on the bottom left or right (Just do the same as for other phones, just swap sides)

Also each phone is a different width and thickness so you will also have to change dimensions to fit your phone. I used a router to create the pocket for the phone and that worked great. For a thicker phone just preset your router to the thickness of your phone, allowing a little wiggle room.

Now glue them all together. Take the front and back piece and add glue to the insides of both. Then take the center piece and create a sandwich. Make sure to use two or three clamps as only one will leave gaps at the end decreasing the quality. Now leave until the glue dries. Try using a glue that is especially made for wood, this is important if you are using hardwood, as non-wood glue will make a weak bond.

Once the glue has dried you can then tidy it up and make it smooth. I found a belt sander made short work of evening out the edges. After that I used 200 grit sandpaper to round off the edges and 360 grit for the whole thing. Once I had done that I used 800 grit then 1200 grit to really give it a good smooth finish.

I used a clear coat polyurethane to add protection and make the natural color of the wood really pop. You could also use an oil but I that will not give as much protection. You could also leave it unstained but I really don't see the point unless you are going to be using it as a food plate, but then again why would you do that😜

Now for the most important part! Watch the video and listen to the difference.

Now to enjoy and use what you have just created!

At the end of the day this is a classy little project and a great little amplifier.

Bye for now,

Idea machine.