So far I have one speaker screwed and glued. To get here it cost me money, time and aggravation. Hopefully my marriage will survive!Having had no real woodworking experience to speak of I needed to learn a lot of basics live without a net. I had no tools except an electric screwdriver.
First job - determine whether I was going to rabet or miter. Looking at the cost of the routers I decided to go with the miter. Purchased a sabre saw for $40, made sure the base could tilt 45deg. Tried my first cut and it would not go in a straight line, it kept veering to the right. My guess was that the blade was not rigid enough so I bought a circular saw for $50. Same thing happened, veering to the right. I was told by my buddy at Home Depot that I needed a Carbon blade. I bought one for $40. Worked like a charm! Had some trouble learning about how to properly make a straight lines at 90deg angles but I got though it. Used a compass and the sabre saw to cut the holes for the drivers, port and binding posts. So far I have spent 9 hours and $130.
Time to fit the pieces together. They fit better than I expected. I screwed them all together first drilling the holes for the screws. I then took it apart, drilled the 'outside' holes bigger so that the screws would squeeze the two together. I then applied glue and re-screwed them. The glue cost $8.00 I thought that the mdf (MDF cost $15.00) would be soft enough that the flathead screws would countersink themselves. Wrong! Now the screw heads are sticking out slightly. (Do I remove them and then countersink them or do I remove them and add wood putty?) Time spent assembling - 4 hours.
I am not going to veneer them as I am now broke so I am going to paint them. I purchased a quart of primer for $7.00. I purchased around 90 inches of R13 insulation for about $30.00.
So there it sits. Time spent so far - 13 hours. I need to brace it, insulate it, sand it, prime it, paint it, and then install the drivers and the binding posts.
Then I will start on speaker number 2. I am expecting the time to drop dramatically.
ITEM 2 spkrs Tools
Saber Saw 40.00
Circular Saw 50.00
Carbon Blade 40.00
MDF 30.00
Glue 8.00
Primer 7.00
Insulation 30.00
Screws 10.00
Paint ?
Sandpaper ?
Braces ?Total So Far $85.00 $130.00
Unless everyone objects, I will continue the saga as it unfolds.
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