DIY Bluetooth Speaker: 14 Powerful Tips to Build

Introduction

Are you tired of using low-quality Bluetooth speakers that lack style and sound quality? Do you want to create a unique and functional piece of art that showcases your woodworking skills? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take you through the process of building your own DIY wooden Bluetooth speaker. With the right tools and materials, you’ll be able to create a high-quality speaker that not only sounds amazing but also looks stunning.

Follow these steps:

• Woodworking Essentials: Table saw, miter saw, drill press, router, jigsaw, sandpaper, and clamps
• Wood: 1/2″ thick wooden planks (e.g., birch or walnut)
• Electronics: Bluetooth speaker module, amplifier board, rechargeable battery, power bank, JBL speaker drivers (or similar)
• Adhesives and Fasteners: Wood glue, wood screws, and hot glue
• Finishing Touches: Paint or stain, polyurethane, and a LED light (optional)

What You’ll Need to Build a DIY Bluetooth Speaker

Before we dive into the project, make sure you have the following materials and tools:

• 1/2″ thick wooden planks (e.g., birch or walnut)
• Bluetooth speaker module
• Amplifier board
• Rechargeable battery
• Power bank
• JBL speaker drivers (or similar)
• Wood glue
• Wood screws
• Sandpaper
• Paint or stain (optional)
• A drill press
• A jigsaw or circular saw
• A router (optional)

Designing Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker Enclosure

The design of your speaker enclosure is crucial to the overall sound quality and aesthetic appeal of your DIY Bluetooth speaker. Here are a few things to consider:

• Acoustic Resonance in DIY Bluetooth Speakers: The shape and size of your enclosure will affect the sound quality. A rectangular shape with a slightly tapered top will help to reduce resonance and improve sound clarity.
• Driver Placement for Optimal Sound in DIY Bluetooth Speakers: The placement of your speaker drivers will also impact sound quality. Experiment with different placements to find the sweet spot.
• Aesthetics of DIY Bluetooth Speakers: Consider the style and design of your speaker enclosure. Do you want a modern and sleek look or a more rustic, wooden feel?

Cutting and Assembling the DIY Bluetooth Speaker Enclosure

Now that you have your design, it’s time to cut and assemble the enclosure. Follow these steps:

1. Cutting the Wooden Planks for Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Use a jigsaw or circular saw to cut the wooden planks into the required pieces for your enclosure.
2. Assembling the DIY Bluetooth Speaker Enclosure: Use wood glue and wood screws to assemble the enclosure. Make sure to clamp the pieces together to ensure a tight fit.
3. Sanding and Finishing Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Sand the enclosure to smooth out any rough edges and apply a finish (e.g., paint or stain) to protect the wood and enhance the appearance.

Installing the Electronics in Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker

Now it’s time to install the electronics:

1. Installing the Bluetooth Module in Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Connect the Bluetooth module to the amplifier board and attach it to the enclosure.
2. Installing the Amplifier Board in Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Connect the amplifier board to the power bank and attach it to the enclosure.
3. Installing the Speaker Drivers in Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Connect the speaker drivers to the amplifier board and attach them to the enclosure.
4. Installing the Rechargeable Battery in Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Connect the rechargeable battery to the power bank and attach it to the enclosure.

Adding the Finishing Touches to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker

The final step is to add the finishing touches:

1. Adding a Grille to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Cut a piece of metal or wood to fit over the speaker drivers and attach it to the enclosure.
2. Adding a Handle to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Attach a handle to the top of the enclosure for easy carrying.
3. Adding a Charging Port to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Attach a charging port to the enclosure for easy recharging.

Tips and Variations for Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker

• Adding a Subwoofer to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Consider adding a subwoofer to enhance the bass response of your DIY Bluetooth speaker.
• Using Different Woods for Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Experiment with different types of wood to create a unique and personalized design.
• Adding a LED Light to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker: Add a LED light to the enclosure to create a visually appealing effect.

Here is a Complete Guide Step by Step With details and Tools 

Step 1: Tools and Materials

Materials:

Parts Express C-Note Bookshelf Speaker Kit

Dayton Audio KAB-250v3 Amplifier Board

Dayton Audio KAB-FC Function Cables Package

Dayton Audio KAB-BE 18650 Battery Extension Board

Dayton Audio KAB-PMV3 Panel Mount (this wasn’t available when I built my boombox, would have simplified things)

Sonic Barrier 1/2 Acoustic Foam (needed 2 sheets)

White Perforated Crossover Board

Black Screws

2.5mm Panel Mount DC Jack

Volume Knob

18650 Batteries

Power Supply

Rubber Feet

Crimp Terminals

Handle

Wipe-On Poly

Tools:

Festool Kapex Miter Saw

Festool CXS Cordless Drill

Festool PDC 18/4 Cordless Drill

Festool ETS EC 150/5 Sander

Festool OF 1400 Router

Powermatic 15HH Planer

Powermatic PJ-882HH Jointer

Inventables X-Carve

3/8″ Radius Roundover Bit

Flush Trim Bit

Parallel Clamps

Countersink Bit

Bandsaw Featherboard

Table Saw Featherboard

Digital Angle Gauge

Step 2: Milling the Wood

I crafted this boombox from solid Walnut, cutting the rough lumber into individual pieces. To simplify the process, use sheet materials like plywood or MDF, or even buy pre-milled lumber.

After cutting the boards to rough length with the miter saw, I squared them up using the jointer, planer, and table saw.

I used 6/4, or 1 ½” thick, Walnut for this project, aiming for a final thickness of ½” on the boards. To achieve this, I needed to resaw all the boards, essentially splitting them in half.

Follow these steps:

• Cut the wooden planks into the required pieces for your speaker enclosure
• Use a table saw or miter saw to make precise cuts
• Sand the cut edges to smooth out any rough spots

Step 3: Resawing the Wood

I built this boombox from solid Walnut, starting by breaking down rough lumber into individual pieces. For an easier build, you could use sheet goods like plywood or MDF, or buy pre-milled lumber.

First, I cut the boards to rough length with a miter saw, then squared them up using a jointer, planer, and table saw.

I used 6/4 (1 ½” thick) Walnut, aiming for a final thickness of ½”. To achieve this, I had to resaw the boards, essentially splitting them in half.

The resaw blade on my bandsaw was extremely dull, so I did most of the resaw work on the table saw. I marked the center of the board with a marking gauge and set the fence so the blade would pass through the middle. I added a featherboard to keep the board pressed against the fence.

I made the cut in multiple passes, starting with the blade about an inch above the table. I flipped the board end for end, keeping the same face against the fence, and made the cut on the other edge.

After repeating this for all the boards, I raised the blade high enough to leave about ¾” of material in the middle. I didn’t cut all the way through with the table saw, just removed most of the waste. Then, I moved to the bandsaw.

At the bandsaw, I set up another featherboard to maintain pressure against the boards and resawed them completely.

Finally, I planed the boards to get them flat and remove the small ridge left in the middle.

Before gluing up the panels, I trimmed some boards and removed areas I didn’t like aesthetically, such as sapwood sections.

Follow these steps:

• Use a bandsaw or resaw to cut the wood into thinner strips
• Cut the strips to the required width and length
• Sand the cut edges to smooth out any rough spots

Step 4: Orienting the Boards

Once all the boards were cut to size, I arranged them in the best-looking orientation and labeled them to avoid confusion during the glue-up.

Before gluing, I jointed each edge to ensure perfect glue lines. I used a trick I learned from my buddy Jay Bates: jointing two mating boards with the opposite face of each board against the jointer fence.

I placed my pencil line towards the fence on the first board and away from the fence on the second board. This technique negates any slight errors in the squareness of the fence, ensuring a flat panel in the end.

Follow these steps:

• Use a marking gauge to mark the wood grain direction
• Align the boards according to the marked direction
• Clamp the boards together to ensure proper alignment

Step 5: Glue Up and Milling

Finally, I could glue up the panels. Since there were so many boards, I didn’t use anything for alignment. Instead, I added clamps to the ends of the seams to keep them in line.

After letting the boards sit in the clamps for a few hours, I scraped off the glue and ran them through the planer to clean them up.

With the boards cleaned up, I ripped the top, bottom, and side panels to their final width on the table saw, using a featherboard to maintain consistent pressure against the fence.

Next, I set my blade to 45 degrees to cut the miters. I started by cutting a miter on one end of each board that made up the frame of the box.

With one end cut at 45 degrees, I set up a stop block on my miter gauge to cut the miter on the other end of the boards. This ensured that the top and bottom panels, as well as the side panels, were all exactly the same length.

Finally, I glued up the box, using a combination of strap clamps and corner clamps. The result was a perfectly square box with gap-free miters, which was very satisfying.

With the box frame glued up, I cut the front and back panels to their final size based on the frame’s dimensions, using the miter saw.

Follow these steps:

• Apply wood glue to the assembled boards
• Clamp the boards together and let it dry
• Use a router or jigsaw to mill the enclosure to the required shape

Step 6: Cutting Speaker Holes

Next, I needed to cut the holes for the speakers in the front panel. I used the C-Note kit from Parts Express, which comes with MDF enclosures. You could use a flush trim bit and these enclosures as templates, but I decided to let the X-Carve handle the job.

I quickly modeled a design in Easel, Inventables’ free CAM software, and did a test cut on a piece of ½” plywood to ensure everything fit correctly. Once I confirmed the fit, I made the final cut on the Walnut panel. This operation took about 13 minutes with a ¼” bit—super quick.

After the X-Carve finished, I cut the tabs holding the leftover pieces in place and cleaned everything up with a spokeshave and some sandpaper.

Follow these steps:

• Use a jigsaw or hole saw to cut the speaker holes
• Cut the holes to the required size and shape
• Sand the cut edges to smooth out any rough spots

Step 7: Routing the Edges

I wanted to recess the front and back panels into the frame slightly for a more secure fit, so I set up my router table to cut a ½” wide by ⅛” deep rabbet. I cut these rabbets on all four edges of the front and back panels, starting with the long edges to prevent blowout on the end grain.

Next, I glued the front panel onto the frame, using plenty of glue and clamps to ensure an airtight seal, which is crucial for speaker boxes.

I planned to add a heavy roundover to all the edges of the speaker box, which would involve removing a significant amount of material from the corners. To reinforce the corners, I attached blocks inside the speaker box. I used a combination of CA glue and wood glue, with the CA glue holding the blocks in place while the wood glue dried.

I also added more blocks inside the top and bottom panels. These blocks are where the screws that attach the back panel, which I wanted to be removable, would connect.

Follow these steps:

• Use a router to cut decorative edges and profiles
• Choose a router bit that suits your design
• Sand the routed edges to smooth out any rough spots

Step 8: Creating the Center Divider

The final piece to add to the speaker box was the center divider, which I had almost forgotten about. To make room for the divider, I notched out the blocks on the top and bottom. I cut the divider from ½” Baltic Birch plywood and used plenty of glue to ensure an airtight seal.

Next, I added a rabbet to the center of the back panel so it wouldn’t interfere with the center divider. I did this at the table saw.

I clamped the back panel in place, pre-drilled and countersunk holes, then secured it with 1” screws.

Follow these steps:

• Cut a piece of wood to the required size and shape
• Use a router or jigsaw to cut a decorative edge
• Attach the center divider to the speaker enclosure using wood glue and screws

Step 9: Final Shaping

With the box built, I moved on to cleaning it up. First, I used a flush trim bit on the router table to even out any overhanging areas on the front and back panels, which I had cut slightly oversized.

Once the edges were flush, I switched to a ⅜” radius roundover bit and added a roundover to all the edges of the box. I’m always amazed at how much a heavy edge profile enhances the overall look, and this roundover really made the speaker box stand out.

Finally, I installed the speakers. This was a straightforward process: I made sure the screw holes were aligned with the cabinet and used a self-centering drill bit to pre-drill the holes. Then, I attached the speakers with ¾” black screws and took a beauty shot for my social media.

Follow these steps:

• Use sandpaper to smooth out any rough spots
• Shape the speaker enclosure to the required shape
• Apply a finish (e.g., paint or stain) to protect the wood and enhance the appearance

Step 10: Soldering the Electronics

With all the wiring complete, I moved on to drilling holes for the various ports, LEDs, switches, and the carrying handle. This was one of the more tedious parts of the build since each component had different post sizes. I used a caliper to measure and find the correct drill bit size for each hole.

Inside the cabinet, I used a Forstner bit to allow the components to feed through properly. Most of these parts had a threaded area of about ¼” in length, so I had to recess these holes to ensure the threaded areas could protrude through the cabinet.

Finally, I added rubber feet to the bottom of the speaker cabinet to keep it from rattling while playing music.

Follow these steps:

• Use a soldering iron to connect the electronics to the speaker drivers
• Make sure to follow proper soldering techniques
• Use heat shrink tubing to insulate the connections

Step 11: Drilling Holes

The final holes I needed to drill were for the ports on the bottom of the cabinet. These ports were 1 ¾” in diameter, and since I didn’t have a 1 ¾” drill bit, I had to improvise.

First, I used a 1 ¼” Forstner bit, the closest size I had, to drill a hole. Then, I used the X-Carve to create a template for the port. Mounting a flush trim bit in my router table, I secured the template to the cabinet’s bottom with double stick tape and routed out the hole.

While buying the correct Forstner bit would have been simpler, I couldn’t find one locally. This solution not only saved me twenty bucks but also turned out to be a clever workaround.

Follow these steps:

• Use a drill press to create precise holes
• Drill holes for the screws and electronics
• Use a countersink bit to create countersinks for the screws

Step 12: Creating Ports

With all the holes drilled into the speaker cabinet, the next step was sanding everything up to 180 grit and preparing for the finish.

For the finish, I opted for wipe-on polyurethane, mainly because I had just enough left in the can to finish this project. I applied three coats, allowing each coat to dry for about 6 hours in between. The polyurethane really brought out the beautiful grain of the Walnut—just stunning.

I also sealed the inside of the cabinet with spray polyurethane. While this step wouldn’t be necessary with MDF or plywood, I decided it would help minimize seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood.

After the finish dried, I proceeded with the final assembly of the cabinet. Ensuring an airtight seal on the cabinet was crucial, so I used foam insulation I found at the home center. It’s peel-and-stick, and I applied it along all the rabbeted areas on the back panel.

When the panel is installed with screws, the foam compresses, forming a perfect seal.

Follow these steps:

• Cut a piece of wood to the required size and shape
• Use a router or jigsaw to cut a decorative edge
• Attach the port to the speaker enclosure using wood glue and screws

Step 13: Adding the Finishing Touches to Your DIY Bluetooth Speaker

With all the holes drilled into the speaker cabinet, the next step was sanding everything up to 180 grit and preparing for the finish.

For the finish, I opted for wipe-on polyurethane, mainly because I had just enough left in the can to finish this project. I applied three coats, allowing each coat to dry for about 6 hours in between. The polyurethane really brought out the beautiful grain of the Walnut—just stunning.

I also sealed the inside of the cabinet with spray polyurethane. While this step wouldn’t be necessary with MDF or plywood, I decided it would help minimize seasonal expansion and contraction of the wood.

After the finish dried, I proceeded with the final assembly of the cabinet. Ensuring an airtight seal on the cabinet was crucial, so I used foam insulation I found at the home center. It’s peel-and-stick, and I applied it along all the rabbeted areas on the back panel.

When the panel is installed with screws, the foam compresses, forming a perfect seal.

Follow these steps:

• Apply a finish (e.g., paint or stain) to the speaker enclosure
• Use a polyurethane to protect the finish
• Apply a LED light (optional) to create a visually appealing effect

Step 14: Final Assembly and Testing

Next, I applied ½” sound damping foam to all inside surfaces of the cabinet except the front baffle. The foam features a peel-and-stick backing, so I cut it to fit using scissors, ensuring it accommodated the drilled holes.

Following that, I mounted the crossovers and amp board inside the cabinet using screws, securing them to the center divider. To facilitate cable management, I created a groove in the center divider using a round rasp.

Afterwards, I proceeded to install the switches, LEDs, rubber feet, handle, and ports. Once these were in place, I attached the back panel and then inserted the speakers.

With the speakers installed, the Boombox was now complete, and all that remained was to give it a test run!

Follow these steps:

• Assemble the speaker by attaching the speaker drivers and electronics
• Test the speaker to ensure proper function
• Make any necessary adjustments to the speaker

Conclusion

Building a DIY wooden Bluetooth speaker is a fun and rewarding project that requires some woodworking skills and attention to detail. With the right tools and materials, you can create a high-quality speaker that not only sounds amazing but also looks stunning. Remember to follow safety guidelines and take your time when working with power tools. Happy building!