I know. Real Men™ don't put grilles on their speaker. They cover up the pretty wood, introduce diffraction effects, and hide those high-tech drivers. The diffraction part is measurable, and I like taking an occasional peek at the drivers as much as the next guy. However, my 1801Fs are going in the family room, where decorating concerns reign supreme, and grilles were not an optional feature; they were an absolute requirement.

The Cabinet Plans section contains a detailed drawing of my grilles.

Each frame is cut from a single piece of 1/2" MDF. When I made them, I had cut the front baffles (7 1/2" wide), but I had not assembled or veneered the cabinets, so I did not know exactly how wide they would be. I just added 1/16" to the frame width to compensate for the thickness of the veneered sides (and for the thickness of the grille cloth).

The woofer cutout is a bit fussy. I probably could have just cut and beveled the long flat sides, then used sandpaper to remove that small bit of material near the sides of the woofer cones.

To try to minimize diffraction effects, I beveled the inside edges of the frame. I used a 1/2", 45-degree chamfer bit, but I raised the bit about 1/16", just enough to let the bit's bearing ride on the inner edge.

That inner bevel, coupled with the roundover on the outside edges, leaves just enough of a flat area on the front of the frame to allow the grille cloth to lay flat. If you decide to replicate this design, take careful measurements and/or make test cuts to make sure you leave those flats, particularly around the woofer cutout.

I used 3/8" diameter by 3/16" thick neodymium magnets to fasten the grilles to the cabinets. (I bought my magnets from Parts Express, but they're available from many sources, including eBay.) I used epoxy to glue the magnets to the cabinets (prior to veneering, of course) and to the grille frames.

It's critical that you align the magnets carefully. Here's how I did it.

• After cutting and routing the frames, I marked the magnets' center positions on the back of one frame.
• I clamped the two frames together, front to front. Then, using the smallest drill bit I had, I drilled small pilot holes through both frames.
• I placed each frame on a cabinet, positioned it carefully, then clamped the frame to the cabinet. Then, using the same small drill bit, I drilled through each pilot hole into the cabinet, just far enough to clearly mark the position.
• Using a 3/8" brad point bit, I drilled the magnet holes. The pilot holes kept the larger bit in the correct position. (I don't have a drill press, so that was a big help to me.)
• Before I glued the magnets to the frames, I filled the pilot holes on the front side so the epoxy wouldn't leak out.

To attach the grille cloth, I used a variant of Phil Bamberg's Applying Grille Cloth tutorial. I used 3M 77 adhesive instead of 3M 90, skipped the non-stick spray, and I just masked off the inner hole before spraying the adhesive. It worked out pretty well, but getting the corners right takes a bit of work. One pleasant surprise was that the spray adhesive does let you peel the cloth back to restretch it if necessary. It's not like using contact cement to veneer, where one shot is all you get.

The Links section includes a link to an alternate grille cloth procedure by HUMAN Speakers. It specifies a different way to deal with the cloth at the corners.

Cabinet grille frames.

Grille frame closeup. The holes in the corners are for 3/8" diameter magnets. Matching magnets are embedded in the cabinets, underneath the veneer.

Grille frame mounted on a cabinet. There's very little room around the woofer. I had a Homer Simpson "Doh!" moment when I tested the fit after mounting the woofer. Two of the mounting screws were in line with the grille frame edges. The mistake was simple to fix with a drill and a little sanding.

Finished grille mounted on a cabinet.