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The “Newbie help with MTM and Morel tweeter” thread leads me to suspect that when Steve gets back from vacation there will be questions about “beginner tools”. Although there is a “tool” thread in the reference section
it might be a bit overwhelming for a beginning speaker builder with no plans to set up a full woodworking shop who still needs to cut baffles for pre-made boxes. Thinking that we’ve got two weeks to get ready here are some of my thoughts for a start . . .
NECESSARY TOOLS (well, sort of . . . you can make a perfectly serviceable baffle with a keyhole saw and a rasp if you have time and patience)
There is good news . . . you do not need to spend a fortune or buy “the best”. Relatively inexpensive “homeowners” tools will last you through dozens of speaker projects . . . if you wear them out more power to you, then it’s time to look for “quality”. I’ll assume you have at least a cordless drill, a hammer, a handsaw, and screwdrivers and chisels etc. If you have hands you should have hand tools. What you may not have but will need (or need access to) for that “first build” includes:
A Shopvac.
This is the most important tool in the shop, even if it’s a temporary “camp shop” in the driveway. Nobody should be without one. Get a good (HEPA) filter . . . most of them come with filters that are not good enough, so make sure there is a HEPA filter available for whatever you buy, and get one.
A Workbench
Probably the second most important tool, so it’s odd that I’m recommending a $15 (often on “in store” sale for $10) piece of junk from Harbor Freight, but it’s handy and it works and you can put it away. You can sacrifice the work surface without feeling bad. Black and Decker makes a slightly better one (the original “Workmate”) for a lot more money.
Folding Clamping Workbench
47844-4VGA
bar clamps
any woodworker will tell you that it’s impossible to have too many clamps. Woodworkers are given to understatement. Get what you need, then get a few more. Go crazy. You can probably get by with four for a start (if you get the right four). Regularly on sale at HF. There are lots of different kinds . . . a real man has lots of each. Get the lengths you need. Too long works better than too short, but a four foot clamp on a nine inch box gets in the way of everything. Some examples:
24” 38183-1VGA
18” ratchet 46808-8VGA
a plunge router
you don’t need an expensive one . . . Harbor Freight (the 2.5 HP one anyway) or Ryobi actually work fine. The $250 ones work better. If you build 5 speakers that’s $15-20 per hole. The $5 holes from a $80 tool (which can still make thousands of holes before it wears out) are just as holy. Go figure . . .
router bits
¼ and ½ straight cut, ¼ spiral upcut, edge trim, ½ roundover.
Sets usually have lots of bits you’ll never use, but individual bits mount up fast in price. You generally won’t find a spiral bit in an inexpensive set, but the smallest set that contains the others will probably save money
circle cutting guides
Jasper Jigs. Get the small one first, but you’ll need the big one for your subwoofer.
A drill guide
HF calls it an “angle drill guide”, 95622-2VGA. Mine is over 30 years old (before Harbor Freight existed . . . you can find versions of the things everywhere), has lost its springs and chuck key (it’s that old), and has been banged and bent enough that it vibrates when used. I should get a new one. I can’t recall ever using it to drill at an angle. I can’t reliably drill a hole straight and square without it (or the drill press). It is important that the guide pin hole for the Jasper Jig be straight and square.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT NO ONE EVER TELLS YOU
Use a backing board when you route a baffle. Run a piece of scrap a bit bigger than your holes the length of the baffle. Screw or nail it (brad nails work fine . . . pick a length that won’t go through the baffle) on (in places the router won’t hit) to the back of the baffle and to each piece (hole) that’s going to come out of the baffle. That way you don’t lose your center when using a circle cutting guide, and mess up the hole. You can clamp to the backing board if you use the folding clamping workbench mentioned above, and sacrifice the surface of the backing board, not the work table, when you through cut. It makes the otherwise difficult much easier. Be careful when you pull it off . . . the nail holes in the back of the baffle don’t matter.
Things that people do tell you, but which bear repeating are, in no particular order:
Always test your settings on a piece of scrap. It is much less embarrassing to measure too many times than it is to cut a hole a quarter inch too big, or a panel a quarter inch too short.
Self adhesive shelf paper protects your finished, or to be finished, surfaces. You can write notes to yourself on it. It is much easier than sanding and refinishing.
If you use a clamping work table it’s easy to “batch” each cut, which reduces tool setup and makes for uniform results. If you’re doing two speakers you’d have your setup piece and the two finish pieces ready, and do each cut three times.
Take more small cuts rather than a few big cuts.
When doing roundovers or edge trim it sometimes helps to clamp pieces of scrap to the entry and exit edges so the tool is off the workpiece (but still guided) before it stops cutting. This avoids splitting and sniping.
A machinist friend once told me “the cut is the least of it . . . you spend your time on setup before the cut, or crying after the cut. Take your pick.”
Sanding pads are handy, and you can wash and re-use them. They’re good for removing calluses, too . . .
it might be a bit overwhelming for a beginning speaker builder with no plans to set up a full woodworking shop who still needs to cut baffles for pre-made boxes. Thinking that we’ve got two weeks to get ready here are some of my thoughts for a start . . .
NECESSARY TOOLS (well, sort of . . . you can make a perfectly serviceable baffle with a keyhole saw and a rasp if you have time and patience)
There is good news . . . you do not need to spend a fortune or buy “the best”. Relatively inexpensive “homeowners” tools will last you through dozens of speaker projects . . . if you wear them out more power to you, then it’s time to look for “quality”. I’ll assume you have at least a cordless drill, a hammer, a handsaw, and screwdrivers and chisels etc. If you have hands you should have hand tools. What you may not have but will need (or need access to) for that “first build” includes:
A Shopvac.
This is the most important tool in the shop, even if it’s a temporary “camp shop” in the driveway. Nobody should be without one. Get a good (HEPA) filter . . . most of them come with filters that are not good enough, so make sure there is a HEPA filter available for whatever you buy, and get one.
A Workbench
Probably the second most important tool, so it’s odd that I’m recommending a $15 (often on “in store” sale for $10) piece of junk from Harbor Freight, but it’s handy and it works and you can put it away. You can sacrifice the work surface without feeling bad. Black and Decker makes a slightly better one (the original “Workmate”) for a lot more money.
Folding Clamping Workbench
47844-4VGA
bar clamps
any woodworker will tell you that it’s impossible to have too many clamps. Woodworkers are given to understatement. Get what you need, then get a few more. Go crazy. You can probably get by with four for a start (if you get the right four). Regularly on sale at HF. There are lots of different kinds . . . a real man has lots of each. Get the lengths you need. Too long works better than too short, but a four foot clamp on a nine inch box gets in the way of everything. Some examples:
24” 38183-1VGA
18” ratchet 46808-8VGA
a plunge router
you don’t need an expensive one . . . Harbor Freight (the 2.5 HP one anyway) or Ryobi actually work fine. The $250 ones work better. If you build 5 speakers that’s $15-20 per hole. The $5 holes from a $80 tool (which can still make thousands of holes before it wears out) are just as holy. Go figure . . .
router bits
¼ and ½ straight cut, ¼ spiral upcut, edge trim, ½ roundover.
Sets usually have lots of bits you’ll never use, but individual bits mount up fast in price. You generally won’t find a spiral bit in an inexpensive set, but the smallest set that contains the others will probably save money
circle cutting guides
Jasper Jigs. Get the small one first, but you’ll need the big one for your subwoofer.
A drill guide
HF calls it an “angle drill guide”, 95622-2VGA. Mine is over 30 years old (before Harbor Freight existed . . . you can find versions of the things everywhere), has lost its springs and chuck key (it’s that old), and has been banged and bent enough that it vibrates when used. I should get a new one. I can’t recall ever using it to drill at an angle. I can’t reliably drill a hole straight and square without it (or the drill press). It is important that the guide pin hole for the Jasper Jig be straight and square.
THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING THAT NO ONE EVER TELLS YOU
Use a backing board when you route a baffle. Run a piece of scrap a bit bigger than your holes the length of the baffle. Screw or nail it (brad nails work fine . . . pick a length that won’t go through the baffle) on (in places the router won’t hit) to the back of the baffle and to each piece (hole) that’s going to come out of the baffle. That way you don’t lose your center when using a circle cutting guide, and mess up the hole. You can clamp to the backing board if you use the folding clamping workbench mentioned above, and sacrifice the surface of the backing board, not the work table, when you through cut. It makes the otherwise difficult much easier. Be careful when you pull it off . . . the nail holes in the back of the baffle don’t matter.
Things that people do tell you, but which bear repeating are, in no particular order:
Always test your settings on a piece of scrap. It is much less embarrassing to measure too many times than it is to cut a hole a quarter inch too big, or a panel a quarter inch too short.
Self adhesive shelf paper protects your finished, or to be finished, surfaces. You can write notes to yourself on it. It is much easier than sanding and refinishing.
If you use a clamping work table it’s easy to “batch” each cut, which reduces tool setup and makes for uniform results. If you’re doing two speakers you’d have your setup piece and the two finish pieces ready, and do each cut three times.
Take more small cuts rather than a few big cuts.
When doing roundovers or edge trim it sometimes helps to clamp pieces of scrap to the entry and exit edges so the tool is off the workpiece (but still guided) before it stops cutting. This avoids splitting and sniping.
A machinist friend once told me “the cut is the least of it . . . you spend your time on setup before the cut, or crying after the cut. Take your pick.”
Sanding pads are handy, and you can wash and re-use them. They’re good for removing calluses, too . . .
. Take it slow, I often go backtrack a little to give the bit a second to cool and clear out the trench of dust left behind.
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