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127 Posts
Tricks I've done in the past...
1. In some situations an access panel may come in handy. You can leave the back open then attach hardwood strips 3/4" from the back edge, make a panel that slips right in, put some gaskets on the edge to seal it, then just screw the entire back on. If something goes wrong, like one of your wing nut things starts spinning, just take the entire back off.
2. Ratchet straps can make some pretty good clamps on the cheap. If you make an entire cabinet and are glueing it up, you can wrap ratchet straps all the way around it then tighten hard, pulls the entire thing in to itself. Of course long clamps are best but multiple long clamps cost money and may keep you from having to fire brads into the thing.
3. If you use plywood, consider a Kreg jig setup. You can build an entire box with no clamps at all, by yourself. These are very strong.
4. Much of the hardware can actually be found at your local hardware store, cheaper and better than a speaker specialty shop. For example with pro audio cabinets, rubber caster wheels, handles, gaskets, acoustic egg crate lining, wing nuts, and all kinds of other stuff can be found locally.
5. consider baltic birch plywood instead of MDF. It glues up real nice, is stainable, very stiff, much more sandable, you basically have a nice veneer coated box when you are done already, you could just put polyurethane over it and call it good, its beautiful. Even the edges don't look bad but you can use white birch iron-on edging and it looks super nice.
1. In some situations an access panel may come in handy. You can leave the back open then attach hardwood strips 3/4" from the back edge, make a panel that slips right in, put some gaskets on the edge to seal it, then just screw the entire back on. If something goes wrong, like one of your wing nut things starts spinning, just take the entire back off.
2. Ratchet straps can make some pretty good clamps on the cheap. If you make an entire cabinet and are glueing it up, you can wrap ratchet straps all the way around it then tighten hard, pulls the entire thing in to itself. Of course long clamps are best but multiple long clamps cost money and may keep you from having to fire brads into the thing.
3. If you use plywood, consider a Kreg jig setup. You can build an entire box with no clamps at all, by yourself. These are very strong.
4. Much of the hardware can actually be found at your local hardware store, cheaper and better than a speaker specialty shop. For example with pro audio cabinets, rubber caster wheels, handles, gaskets, acoustic egg crate lining, wing nuts, and all kinds of other stuff can be found locally.
5. consider baltic birch plywood instead of MDF. It glues up real nice, is stainable, very stiff, much more sandable, you basically have a nice veneer coated box when you are done already, you could just put polyurethane over it and call it good, its beautiful. Even the edges don't look bad but you can use white birch iron-on edging and it looks super nice.
