DIY grilles on a budget, without lots of tools

[Grim Tuesday]

I just picked up a set of Epicure Model 14s, recently re-foamed at the bargain price of $70. They're in really nice shape and sound great, but did not come with grilles. I want them to be my main speaker in my living room but my cats are very curious of things like that and would like to touch the passive radiators and stick their noses into the tweeters. Not a great situation. So I would like to make some cloth grilles to protect the speakers. I don't have a whole woodworking shop like some other people seem to in most threads that talk about making DIY grilles. I am handy and have hand tools, but unlike others who seem to often make grilles, no router or jig saw. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the often-recommended Parts Express kit that costs $35 and only has enough for one speaker and doesn't even come with cloth. Any other suggestions for how I can build grilles on a budget?

 

[baeron]

I just picked up a set of Epicure Model 14s, recently re-foamed at the bargain price of $70. They're in really nice shape and sound great, but did not come with grilles. I want them to be my main speaker in my living room but my cats are very curious of things like that and would like to touch the passive radiators and stick their noses into the tweeters. Not a great situation. So I would like to make some cloth grilles to protect the speakers. I don't have a whole woodworking shop like some other people seem to in most threads that talk about making DIY grilles. I am handy and have hand tools, but unlike others who seem to often make grilles, no router or jig saw. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for the often-recommended Parts Express kit that costs $35 and only has enough for one speaker and doesn't even come with cloth. Any other suggestions for how I can build grilles on a budget?

Have you thought about using 1/4" hardboard.
Cut hole size of your drivers. Velcro to hold on to the cabinet. And a cloth of your choice.

Using 3M spray adhesive to the back to hold the grill cloth on.
A Idea for ya maybe.
Good luck with the project.

 

[seely]

If you have a staple gun, you could likely build a frame using precut trim strips.

I'd glue the joins, "clamp" them together with painter's tape, and then drop a couple staples in each corner through the tape. Once the glue dries it should be pretty sturdy (don't use expanding gorilla glue).

The thinner trim can be cut pretty easily with a utility knife or small hand saw. Not necessarily any better than the other option suggested, but another approach.

 

[elitopus]

I think the trim suggestion above is pretty good. If you had your exact measurements you could cut the strips right inside Lowe’s or Home Depot. They have a hand saw and table right by the trim area for customers to use.

The hard board is a good idea too, but you would need a jigsaw or some other way to cut the holes.

The grill cloth will probably be the most expensive part. Read up about it and make sure you get something that’s pretty acoustically transparent. I know Walmart sells some curtain material that worked well for me with a Dynaco project. Otherwise head on down to the craft store.

I have not owned a pair of Epicure model 14, but it looks like the grills are held on with pins/pegs. So it will be a little harder to get that to work versus a speaker where you can use a friction fit grill.

 

[seely]

I forgot to cover the "cover" part! By us we have several fabric stores (the best being Field's fabric... it's like old school the hometown hobby shop for sewing) with tons of clearance bolts and remnants for huge discounts. For speakers I just look for something pretty with a looser weave.

 

[YY1]

Partsexpress used to sell a grill kit that had glue together corners and cut to length plastic sides and top along with your choice of black or brown cloth.

Not sure if they still offer it but mine have been in use on my BIC Venturi's since the 1990's.

 

[hugo454]

perfect!

 

[Lavane]

Partsexpress used to sell a grill kit that had glue together corners and cut to length plastic sides and top along with your choice of black or brown cloth.

Not sure if they still offer it but mine have been in use on my BIC Venturi's since the 1990's.

They still do. I had to make a set of grills for a pair of Marantz Imperial 6's.
The kits work well. One kit and a second joint kit will do for many money coffin sized speakers. If your going to use the pins and rubber cups, make sure you make exact measurements so that when you drill holes for the cup, the pins will line up. I was off just a bit with one and it took a little finessing to get one grill to fit. But you can use magnets P.E. sells or velcro. The frame rails cut easily and the frames go together nicely. They even have "T's" for a center brace. The grill cloth PE sells stretches nicely too. You only have to glue or use hot glue in groves on the back side of the grill slats.

 

[teal'c]

Some grill cloth from Joann Fabrics and some clear packing tape in the corners?

Look on Youtube for picture framing videos, basically the same thing, just a different way to go about it.

 

[cgutz]

I made replacement grills for my Jensen 24 using 3/4x3/4 inch strips of wood - since your speakers have front mounted grills, perhaps 1x1 inch would be better. If you have a miter box to cut properly, you could use 1/4 round trim to have nice rounded edges to the grills, but the corners are more complex to cut.

As described above, create a rectangular frame of appropriate size using glue and staples at the corners, stretch grill cloth and staple or glue on back side of frame, attach the frame to the speaker with velcro spots.

Only tools required is a staple gun, some white glue, a saw to cut the strips of wood. Of course, scissors to cut the grill cloth.

 

[Porkloin]

Do your Epicures have the proprietary grille retention system that I've seen in the photos? You may need to cater to that - it looks like the hook side of a round piece of extra strength Velcro embedded into the baffle.
The easiest way I could think of will involve some 45 degree cuts on some 3/4" poplar quarter rounds that cost next to nothing at Lowe's or Home Depot. Brace the corners with anything 3/4" thick that your have and use those triangles as a staging point for the Velcro that will mate to your existing Velcro mounting points (if you have them).
I would second @baeron's suggestion of the use of Velcro retention if you don't already have it built in. The pictured peg and cup retention on my grilles is not quite as nice as advertised and allows no room for error - they're hard to pull off if they're a bit out of line. I'm using rare earth magnets on every project from that point forward.

 

[donprice]

A couple of tips to consider...

Use flat angle braces at the corners to help square up the assembly and add strength to the joint. Use rare earth magnets to fit in the peg holes and grab the metal angle braces. A little shopping on Amazon should get you exactly what you need.

As mentioned above, some 3/4" quarter-round molding is almost dirt cheap and easy to work with. The rounded edge will look much better than using flat stock.

 

[cgutz]

I realize I forgot to mention the corner bracing as described by porkloin in my plans. That really helps keep the whole frame from flexing/warping. I also used that corner brace it to attach some vintage speaker logos I got off ebay!