how do I inset speaker grill material in cupboard doors?

[richard plumb]

Its been recommended that I have my L/R front speaker further apart in my setup. I do move them out when using the projector, but that means leaving those doors open. I don't mind that but it was suggested I'll get better imaging leaving them further apart even when watching TV. To do that means being discreet.

I could get some white material (tights or something similar), but how would I go about getting that inset into the doors? It would need to be a really neat finish, so is it better to get someone to do it? They are IKEA doors so I guess they are particleboard? Gloss white fronts though so that might be difficult to cut/get a good clean line on. Assuming a hole can be cut, any tips on finishing off? Ideally the material would be attached flush with the front, but not sure how best to do that.

How big would you recommend for the holes? the speakers are fairly small but I think a small hole would look odd. I was thinking something like 1/3 the width/height of the door, in the center?

The doors are about £25 each, so I'd probably buy 2 more and get those done so I don't risk the currently installed ones.

Pic of setup below - the doors in question are the ones immediately to the left/right of the speakers.

[adam4478]

have you considered mounting them on the ceiling instead and pointing down towards your seating position - it looks like it'd be very difficult to achieve what you're suggesting - but for the sake of £50 it might be worth trying - whatever material you use it's likely to look out of place with the gloss finish on the rest...
if you go this route try this:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Speaker-Grill-...QQcmdZViewItem

[adam4478]

also - you'll tend to get shadowing behind the cloth. i'd suggest that cutting a hole which leaves a 10cm border around the edge of each door will give a more uniform look once covered. simpy stretch the fabric and use a decent staple gun to attach to the rear of the door.

[Kenny Glasgow]

You can get acoustically transparent cloth from Maplins, for around £5 per metre

[mattym]

i would look at the maplins option too, that cloth is quite good, there are places that you can buy material that is used on acoustic panels..

[richard plumb]

Originally Posted by adam4478

also - you'll tend to get shadowing behind the cloth. i'd suggest that cutting a hole which leaves a 10cm border around the edge of each door will give a more uniform look once covered. simpy stretch the fabric and use a decent staple gun to attach to the rear of the door.

thanks. But wouldn't it look better if I (somehow) tried to get the cloth flush with the front of the unit? Stapling to the back would be simple but then leave it indented. Plus when the units are chopped there would be wooden sides (although I guess could be painted easily)

[hornydragon]

what you do mate is this have the doors off and take to a chippy get some frames made the same overall size as the door then either wrap speaker cloth arond the frame so cloth is on the front then refit hinges etc needs careful folding in the cornsers etc but could look awsome an upholsterer would/could do it for you if you dont fancy DIY with white cloth i think it would be stunning

[richard plumb]

so you mean don't try and inset it, just make a door with the entire front made of cloth?

[hornydragon]

Originally Posted by richard plumb

so you mean don't try and inset it, just make a door with the entire front made of cloth?

pretty much

[ab1385]

Why not cut out a hole, say 20x20cm or whatever size you want in the door. Then make a frame, like an artists canvas frame, out of wooden batons, say 19.9cm outer width, wrap the speaker cloth over that like you would a canvas print. Then slide that into the hole it'll just fit into, so that the canvas is flush with the front of the hole, then fix it with your preferred method (screws, no more nails, etc.)

That's how I'd do it, I think.

[johndon]

I guess that you want something like that shown in the picture of my ARCA units that I've attached.

Much like what ab1385 proposed, the speaker cloth is attached to a frame that then fits in a rebate behind the hole cut in the front of the doors.

John

[richard plumb]

thanks ab1385, that sounds like a plan.

Thanks for the photo too, Johndon. Thats the sort of thing I'm looking for.

I don't know if it'll look weird having a gloss door with inset matt cloth. If so then Hornydragon's plan is a good one too.

I might try both and compare. Get a door from Ikea to play with and try both in situ for a while to see which works.

[Simon at Nexxia]

Looking at the colour of the cloth, there is some similar cloths available on this page below. They usually bond well to wood using impact adhesive like Evo, but smelly stuff.