Make Your Own Bluetooth Speaker From Scratch With This Guide

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Can't find the Bluetooth speaker of your dreams? Then instead of wasting your time shopping for one, why not consider making your own from scratch?

Follow this simple guide to find out how. 

As you can imagine, you'll need some tools and materials before you get started.

Materials and gear needed

• 3/8-inch (10mm) MDF board
• Veneer
• Wood lacquer
• Acrylic Amplifier Board with WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0
• 4" 4 Ohm Woofer (2X)
• 4 Ohm Tweeter (2X)
• 26x95mm Ports (2X)
• Crossovers
• DC 24V 5A Power Supply
• Remote Control 
• Rubber feet 
• LED holder 
• 25mm standoffs 
• M3 16mm screws 
• M3 nuts
• M4 12mm screws
• 2mm clear acrylic 
• Plans for build
• Wood glue and PVA

With all your materials and tools in hand, it is time to get on with the build. 

Step 1: Prepare the main boxing

The first step is to take your MDF and cut it down to size — check out the plans in the material list above for details. Route grooves and other details as needed too.

With that done, drill holes for the amplifier and other parts as instructed as well. Once the wooden components for the boxing are complete, grab your wood glue and assemble as needed.

Clamp the boxing until the wood glue has dried as needed. Prior to gluing the front face of the speaker, be sure to mark out, and cut out, holes to fit the speakers of the device too.

Once done, glue the front face into position as well. With that done, take your veneer and glue it to the outside of the boxing as needed to give it a wood grain aesthetic. 

Where required, take your orbital sander and router to clean up any cut areas to make them as smooth as possible. 

Once all the woodworking is complete, add a layer of lacquer to the veneer as needed. 

For the front face of the speaker, take your black acrylic and glue it into place on the front face. Trim down and cut out holes for the speakers as required. 

Step 2: Build the electronics

With the main boxing complete, take all the electronic components and begin to assemble them as needed. Parts like the crossovers should then be installed inside the Bluetooth boxing and fed through internal cable runs as shown in the instruction video.

Where required, glue circuit boards into place inside the boxing using PVA glue. Solder or connect wiring between components as needed as well. 

With the amplifier, modify the circuit board to either remove or add required components as shown too. Once the amplifier module is ready, install it into the middle of the rear of the Bluetooth speaker. 

With that done, take your clear uPVC sheet, cut it down to size and shape, and cut holes through it to access the ports and buttons of the amplifier. Secure this into place over the void with the amplifier at the rear of the speaker. 

You may need to drill additional holes through the acrylic covering and underlying wooden boxing to do this. This will depend on the design of the speakers you have to hand. 

You may also need to seal some parts of the speaker interior using glue too. 

Also, install any LED lights to the front too. 

Next, install the main speakers and woofers to the electronic circuit and install them into the front panel of the speaker as needed. Be sure to add the rubber cushioning between the speaker and boxing first, however. 

Step 3: Finish the piece

With all the main steps complete, we can now finish off the speaker. Take the feet, and affix to the bottom of the speaker as needed. 

With that done, tidy up the outside of the speaker as needed. Trim off excess bits of acrylic or veneer, if any, and clean away any sawdust, again if any, prior to use. 

With all that done, all that remains is to find some tunes to play, turn on the speaker, and invite your friends around for an impromptu Bluetooth speaker christening. Happy days!

If you enjoyed this build, you may enjoy another interesting speaker-based project? How about, for example, making your own DIY portable speaker from a log.