Steampunk Wine-Boom-Box

Intro:

This instructable describes the build of a steampunk looking boombox.

It was made mainly of stuff I had laying around at home:

• The speakers were part of an old PC sound system,bottle wine case.
• The wine bottle box was a gift and was standing around for several months.
• The bluetooth module and amp were taken from another project.

Some LEDs where added so it can be controlled in the night.

You can connect your music source via:

• Bluetooth
• AUX cable
• SD card
• USB source
• Simply listen to the radio

Note:

Please note that English is not my first language. If you find any mistakes or something is not clear feel free to tell me and I'll try to fix it. Same goes for general mistakes. If you have any suggestions for improvements please let me know.

Check your workshop, attic, garage or whatever for the parts. Or just use the links to buy everything online.

Make sure you have everything you need for the build. There is nothing more annoying than stopping your project because you have to wait for some small part being delivered.

You do not have to buy the listed parts and material from given links. These are examples and show the required properties of the parts.

Parts:

• Wine Box [$17,19]
• Radio / Bluetooth Decoder [$5,34]
• Stereo Amplifier - 10W [$15,20]
• Poti Cap [$0,85]
• 2x Speakers - 3" - 4Ohm [$15,66]
• 3.5mm Stereo Audio Cable [$0,60]
• LiPo Battery - 12V - 4 Ah [$11,35]
• Voltmeter [$0,78]
• DC power jack [$0,71]
• Rocker Switch - 2 position [$0,47]
• 4x Pink 5mm LEDs [$0,56]
• Microswitch [$0,98]

Material:

• Wires
• Acrylic Glass (opaque)
• MDF board
• Fancy Fabric or Pleather
• Something to protect the Speakers (speaker grille)
• Screws

Tools:

• Drill for a 3 inch hole
• Hot glue gun
• Screwdrivers
• Soldering utilities
• Side cutter

As the first step we're going to prepare the blue Lithium Ion battery. Take care not to shorten the batteries.

This battery is actually a package of several smaller batteries. It comes with two wires attached:

• The female charge DC jack.
• The male drain DC jack.

It also has a switch to turn the battery off.

Preparation:

1. Using a sharp knife carefully cut open the blue foil on the top side of the battery pack (where the switch is located)
2. As you the the two cables (charge/drain) are combined behind the switch.
3. Remove the harness so that only the wires coming from the batteries are left (see picture of this step).

With the battery pack prepared we can now start building the control panel. It important to build it first so we know how much space we have left for the speakers.

After the following points the control panel should look like the one in the first picture of this step.

1. Remove the lit of the wine box by removing the screws of the hinges.
2. Cut a piece of the MDF board so it fits the inside of the wine box.
3. Leave some some space (I took the thickness of my smartphone) on the lower end. That will be the slot for the sound source e.g. a smartphone.
4. Cover the MDF board with a material that fits best (or leave it). I added some black pleather to fit the box.

Now we want to prepare the lid:

1. Cut a notch into the inner side side of the lid (the side of the hinges) for the micro switch.
2. Hot glue some MDF board pieces 1cm deep into the lid (see first picture: they will support the glass).
3. Hot glue some MDF board in the center of the lid. This is where the LEDs will be attached.
4. Cut a piece of acrylic glass that fits the inner side of the lid (see first picture of this step).
5. Remove the acrylic glass and the micro switch.

Now for the hard part.

In this step we're going to connect all the parts we need.

Double check the polarity as often as possible.

1. Mount all the parts on the control panel.
2. Use the wiring diagram to connect all parts.

Since we have finished the control panel and know how deep it will go into the box we can now position the holes for the speakers.

The Box:

1. Measure the depth of the control panel.
2. Tape the side of the box where you want to cut the hole with crepe tape.
3. From the top of the box mark the space (depth) the control panel need.
4. Position the holes for the speakers where you want them to be.
5. Cut the 3 inch holes for the speakers.
6. Drill the holes for the screws holding the speakers.

The Speakers:

1. Cut some kind of grille (I used the grille of my old speakers).
2. Check if it fits the speakers.
3. Drill holes for the screws into the grille if necessary.

With all parts prepared we can now assemble the boombox.

1. Fit the speakers into the box and secure them using the screws.
2. Hot glue the battery into the box.
3. Hot glue the control panel to its position.
4. Hot glue a MDF board between the slot of the control panel and the front wall of the box (see picture. This is the slot for the smartphone).
5. Attach the lid to its position.
6. Place the micro switch into its notch.
7. Hot glue the LEDs into the led.
8. Fit the acrylic glass into the lid.

Congratulations you've build your own steampunky wine-boom-box. Hook on some music source and listen with style.

If you like the box vote for this instructable in the contests (as seen in the beginning).

Have a nice day.

18-APR-2018:

Published