Cabinet constructions tip, techniques, how-tos, and how-to-nots

[David LR]

Thank you Brian. I don't have router table, but I will at some point. Any recommendations for a quality but not uber expensive table ?? Space is a premium in my one car garage/shop.

The reasons for wanting to do a removable baffle are 1) just to do something I haven't done before, learning new skills & 2) make it easier to apply veneer to the box. I've only built 4 speakers so my experience is not vast. On the last set, I glued the baffles to the box, did the flush trim, round-over, then finished the baffles, carefully & painstakingly masked off the baffles, then applied veneer using the iron-on method

The baffles were masked on the assumption that some glue from the veneer process would leak out the edges onto the finished baffle. Can't say I actually observed that however. It must have happened to a certain extent though, because I ended up carefully removing, via razor blade, little bits of blue tape that stuck at the border of veneer & baffle.

Anyway, with a removable baffle, you could finish box & baffle separately, avoiding the tape process and getting a nicer product in the end.

Another approach, also new to me, would be wrapping the veneer around the sides & front. Just a different look, learning new things.

[Brian Walter]

Thank you Brian. I don't have router table, but I will at some point. Any recommendations for a quality but not uber expensive table ?? Space is a premium in my one car garage/shop.

A router table doesn't have be any more than a sheet of plywood or MDF with a hole in it with the router attached to the underside and a straight scrap of wood clamped to the top to serve as a fence. The whole thing can just sit on top of a couple saw horses. Ideally, a simple table like I described should be made of 1/2" material and braced from the underside with hardwood 1" x 2" or similar to keep it flat. The reason to to with 1/2" thick material for the top is that the thicker top reduces the distance the bit can stick up above the table top.

The next debatable step up would be to use a double thick MDF top with a router insert plate in the middle to hold the router. This technique allows you to easily remover the router for changing bits and by being thin, usually only 1/4" thick also provides greater depth of cut compared to say using a 1 1/2" thick top without the router plate. If you want to learn more about routers and router tables I'd suggest going to Pat Warner's website, patwarner.com and read up.

If you want to buy a router table I'd suggest checking out what Rockler has available, their house brand tables seem to be a rather good bang for the buck, but no where near as cheap as making your own. I know a lot of wood workers buy the router table top and build their own cabinet to say money.

Brian Walter

[Bill Schneider]

Yeah, I keep drooling over my Rockler catalogs.

In the meantime, I personally have gone cheap and small - one of David's requirements. I have an old Sears metal router table with the awful grooved aluminum top - now covered with a smooth 1/8" thick piece of MDF and drilled to accept my Bosch router.

Note the expensive :W fence employed for making brace dadoes for a ZMV5...



I expect that these can be picked up very cheap in the used market, and with a little creativity, can be made very functional.

The only thing that I can't do right now is use very large diameter bits because of the small 1-1/2" through-hole. If I enlarge the existing through-hole, I'll lose table support for smaller pieces. That's where having different inserts of the Rocklers, etc. would help.

[jeffc]

I know a lot of wood workers buy the router table top and build their own cabinet to say money.

Brian Walter

Good advise Brian! Another great route (pun intended) is to build Norm's table, plans are about $10 and it is the Cadillac of all tables IMO

[bemis23]

Lots of good advice coming through this thread!!!! Thank you guys for bestowing some superior woodworking skills here. I feel awkward to request a sticky/reference-thread-move for my own thread, but given the wealth of information from some folks here, it seems like it may be worth it.

[jliedeka]

I agree that a biscuit joiner is a nice thing to have. I removed the fence from mine because I feel like it got in the way. For a guide when making horizontal cuts, I clamp the work piece to a flat piece of MDF and slide the joiner along that. For vertical cuts, I grab a piece of scrap wood to use as a fence and clamp it where it is needed.

I would say that having some straight scraps of hardwood around is good for making ad hoc fences. Just clamp where needed. I use them to guide my jig saw and router especially.

I would also agree that a router table is very useful. I made my own out of stuff I had laying around - 4x4s for legs, a support frame from 2x4s, a plywood base and a piece of hardboard for the top that is removable. I put two bit holes with corresponding holes for screwing into the router base. That is handy so I can switch it around for large diameter bits. I usually keep my standard base permanently attached so I can slide the motor in and out. I do all my free hand routing with either the plunge base or D-handle.

Additionally, this is a lot of work but it helped me get accurate cuts. I cant really work with a full sheet in my table saw, especially with something heavy like 3/4" MDF. Instead I would put it on saw horses, cut the piece a little large with a jig saw (circular would be better) and then square it off with a flush trim bit. I haven't come up with a good support system yet so I was finding the piece would sag as I was getting to the end of the cut. That would cause the cut to not be square. I think an extra quarter inch was good enough and easy to trim with one pass of the router.

Jim

[ThomasW]

I feel awkward to request a sticky/reference-thread-move for my own thread, but given the wealth of information from some folks here, it seems like it may be worth it.

Threads themselves are not moved to the FAQ/reference section. Links to threads are placed there and I'll do that in good time..

[JonP]

I still haven't had a good "biscuit experience", so I'm still gluing w/o other support. I got the super cheap biscuit cutter from HF, and it's one of the tools that isn't even worth it's low $40 price. All plastic, lousy alignment... Maybe I'll make the biscuit table jig and that will salvage it.

For those who want to forgo brads, biscuits, screws and etc, a tip is to sprinkle a few grains of salt along the glued surface. It provides traction, and done very lightly doesn't affect the glue. Works great! You tighten the clamp and the joint doesn't move. It's suggested to get Kosher salt, in that it has larger and more ragged grains than table salt, but they both work.

[jliedeka]

I did a lot of research before buying my plate joiner and ended up with the Makita. It appeared to be the most accurate one short of stepping up to the really high priced ones.

I have found that you don't need to be laser accurate with biscuit joints, there is a little room for slop. Still, I spend a fair amount of time marking all my cuts. The actual cutting goes pretty fast. Even with clamping the work pieces and/or fences, cutting takes a fraction of the time that I spend marking the cuts.

Jim

[Black300zx]

I have the craftsman one, and it definitely is more trouble than it's worth. I also paid $40 for it.

What I found to work well was loading the bit that came with the craftsman kit into my router table, setting the fence appropriately, and cutting the biscuit slots that way.

[tizeye]

While I typically buy a new tool per DIY project (not limited to speakers), I didn't know what I was doing when I bought my router/table combo on sale at Sears. Now stuck with a non-plunging 1/4 drive router so these tips are for safely improvising with less than the ideal equiptment enjoyed by quite a few on this board.

1. For circles, obviously with a circle jig, avoid forced manual plunging at all times. Drill a start hole along the circumference, which allows making multiple depth passes WITHOUT PLUNGING until the circle is totally removed. On woofers, the drill hole is inside on the piece to be thrown away. Tweeters usually require two holes centered on the circumference to accomodate the posts. Also, before doing the full circle cutout noted above, complete your outer inset. To accomplish this, from the drill hole manually route a start groove out to the outer circumference created by the inset, then concentric circles back to where making the full depth cutout.

2. Roundovers. A 1/4" drive router cannot handle a 3/4" roundover bit. You can find 1/2" roundover bits on 1/4 drive everywhere but nothing larger, however, I did find a 5/8" roundover bit on 1/4 drive at Sears. That nicely slpits the difference in the 3/4 vs 1/2 roundover debate.

3. I prefer to veneer the boxes rather than paint (but the current one will be a combination of both.) the surface and joints need to me smooth, not paintable imperfection free smooth. When clampling and gluing the box, for additional strength without buiscuts, while clamped, I drill and glue in dowels, eventually covering over with veneer. Would be hesitant to do that if painting as the sanded filler with inset dowels can show up as an imperfection with certain lighting angles.

4. Finally, back to the routing and veneer trimming. Edges no problem with a trimming bit, however the roller guide at the base of the bit is too large for most driver insets. To accomplish this - tried a dremel one time, and we won't talk about the results (and no, they don't make a dremel sized veneer trimming bit). Now, on a scrap of MDF cut a circle the EXACT size as the driver openings, insert in hole, securing the back so it doesn't fall through - even if "flush tight." On sealed boxes where the front baffle has been secured, rounded edges and veneered, create at removable "T" jig to keep the circle plug from falling through. Razor trim the veneer to "close" then finish trim the inset with the circle jig attached to the center of that plug and a straight bit. Now just lift out the plug and "T" jig. That tight fitting plug can also be used when sanding (or painting) vs. paper masking to keep sawdust out of the enclosure.

[JonP]

I also had the veneer over the cut driver holes situation. Spent a lot of time agonizing over methods, tried to find one of the polished carbide rod with notch flush bits that had a very short end... couldn't get one. Finally just gritted my teeth, cut holes to about 1/4" freehand with the router, got a brand new Xacto blade, and went VERY SLOWLY around the edge.

Went very well, and was embarrassed that I sweated that much over it. This was a paperbacked African Mahogany, your veneer may vary. But with a lot of patience and a steady hand, you should get good results.

[gimpy]

If I flush mount my drivers, I first rout out the recess to its correct depth, then, just cut the inside of the hole out with a jig saw. Quick and easy and a lot less mdf dust than when using a router.