DIY Speaker Building Jigs

Hi, and welcome back. As previously mentioned, I have been away for a bit but trust me when I say I am back, and I have a ton of content to share with you guys. That is especially true if you started following the Cuban Redneck DIY Channel on YouTube because of my DIY speaker kit build of the Parts Express C-Note bookshelf speaker. In that video, I said that I have a lot more content coming your way, and I do. But getting not only drivers but also crossover components have been challenging. Like it or not, Parts-Express.Com is still the most reliable and affordable place to bring speakers, crossover parts, and other components for those who share a passion for DIY audio projects.

However, after receiving several emails with backorder updates from Parts Express, I think we should be able to get back on track in the next few weeks. But, before there, I wanted to share the build of several tools, or should I say woodworking jigs, I will be using in upcoming videos. My target audience for those videos is people with limited experience in building DIY speaker boxes, DIY audio projects, and woodworking in general. I will limit myself to building these projects using two basic tools: a 5.5″ circular saw and a trim router.

Circular Saw Straight Edge Guides are nothing new. However, most of the ones you find on the market have some clamping mechanism that grabs the two outer edges of the boars. When cutting thin boards or one that is not square, that could be an issue. This simple Circular Saw Straight Edge Guide relies on you making a straight line, and that is it. The design could not be more straightforward, and it is nothing more than an upside-down “T” where the flat side serves as a base and zero-gap edge, and the vertical part as a fence for the saw the ride along.

As I mentioned in the video, there are no specific dimensions for these jigs. And how long you make is more relevant to how big of a sheet you intend to use! For me, the ideal length is 24-inches. That allows me to use off-the-shelf 2X4 sheets. You could also make it 48-inches long, enabling you to rip 4X8 sheets but know that the longer these are, the more inaccurate they become, and the quality of the material they are made from also plays a role.

Much like the Circular Saw Straight Edge Guide, these Router Straight Edge Guides utilize the same upside-down “T” concept where the base of the router rides along the flat part, and the vertical part serves as a fence for the router. Like the Circular Saw Straight Edge Guide, the Router Straight Edge Guide’s zero-gap edge help with breakout and produces clean edges.

As previously mentioned, dimensions are not important and more relevant to your particular router and circular saw than anything else! All you need is two pieces of stock, a flat panel wider than the distance from the center of your router shaft to the edge of the router base X2, plus the with of your fence. In my case, my router measures 1.750 from the center to the edge of the router base, and my fence is a piece of 1X2 furring strip measuring 1.5 X .750. That means that the overall width of my straight edge guise is 5-inches. The same goes for the Circular Saw Straight Edge Guide. The distance from the edge of the saw blade to the base is 1-inch, giving me a total width of 4.5-inches. Those are the final measurement! However, you want to cut these pieces anywhere from .250 to .500 wider than needed and trim them o size using the tool and the proper bit size for each of your straight edge guides.

That is it for this video. I hope these woodworking tips were helpful, and even if you are not into DIY speaker projects, they have a lot of uses around the shop. I look forward to seeing you next week with a new project!