iPhone amplifier / Speaker out of Wood

Indoor Plans November 23, 2011 WoodworkCity 42

This is a terrific project that I decided to build for myself. I never want to spend $75 on an iPod / iPhone dock that burns through batteries, but I would like an amplifier for my iPhone. This wooden iPhone dock is a fantastic project. The plans were inspired by others around the web including Koostik.com and a similar iPhone amp project at LumberJocks.com.

This project was a great one that allowed me to work with my 9 year old son. He was happy to work with the drill press to help with the holes and with the spindle sander to clean them up.

Wooden iPhone Amplifier

Download the full iPhone Amplifier Sketchup plan by clicking on the image below:

iPhone Amp Plan

I built mine by using 3 pieces of Cherry that were left over from a past project. I love working with Cherry and the finish always turns out terrific.

There are 3 basic pieces. I began with Part 2 since it had the most work and would be the least visible since it is sandwiched by parts 1 and 3. Follow the Sketchup plan (click the image for the file download, or

click here: http://www.woodworkcity.com/planpictures/iphone-amp.skp .

To construct your own, fabricate each of the 3 pieces from the Sketchup plan. Once you have your three pieces, align, glue, and clamp. After mine was fully set, I flushed up the edges with my chop saw. In addition to that, I wanted my iPhone amp to lean back a bit. This would help to retain the iPhone and give a more professional (finished) look to the piece. I set my saw blade at about 10 degrees and took a sliver off of the bottom. I also decided to put a routed edge on the speaker holes. I used a simple 45 degree chamfer bit.

Perform any finish sanding needed, apply your sealant, paint, or stain, and enjoy!

iPhone Amplifier Plans

A reader requested some additional options for non Sketchup users. I have included a Word version, PDF version, along with some larger scale images:

Word Doc: http://www.woodworkcity.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iPhone-Amp.docx
PDF: http://www.woodworkcity.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iPhone-Amp.pdf
Large Images:
http://www.woodworkcity.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iphone-amp.jpg
http://www.woodworkcity.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iphone-amp1.jpg
http://www.woodworkcity.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iphone-amp2.jpg

Wooden iPhone Amp Summary

Summary

A simple and functional iPhone amp plan

Positives

Free sketchup file
Few materials (probably scrap)
Inexpensive
Listed on apartmenttherapy.com

Negatives

Others will ask you to build one for them.

Skill Level

3 of 5

Time

2 of 5

Cost

2 of 5

Comments

dash
December 5, 2018 #1 Author

What kind of phone did you use?
- WoodworkCity
  April 2, 2019 #2 Author
  
  Didn’t see this comment until now, dash. I used cherry wood. I had some solid cherry panel doors that I cut up for material. Worked perfect for this project.
Marci
July 22, 2016 #3 Author

Is there any way to make this stereo?
Ashton
April 29, 2016 #4 Author

Hi, I was wondering if you had any specs of this but modified for a galaxy S4? Thank you.
Elfe
December 16, 2014 #7 Author

Hey! This is beautiful! I work primarily with mahogany, do you know if this would change the quality of the speakers? And, I would be making two of these for Christmas but both my family members have Samsung phones. The speakers aren’t on the bottom of the phone. Do you know how I could make this work differently, while the speaker is on the back of the phone.
Thanks for sharing this, you have great creative skills!
- WoodworkCity
  December 16, 2014 #8 Author
  
  Thanks. We are happy that this amp is a project that you can use.
  The amplification is not taking the sound quality into account, it is simply redirecting the sound. An audiophile would cringe at the quality (or lack of) with any of these sound redirection devices.
  Do you have any specs on the Samsung phones? We could rework the Sketchup file to work for your phone.
  WoodworkCity.com
- Ryan
  April 2, 2019 #9 Author
  
  The iPhone only has 1 speaker on the bottom which is on the right side as you look at the phone, so that other hole is useless. The left opening on the phone is a microphone. On iPhone 7 and up the sound comes out the bottom right and the top (ear) speaker, so the phone would need to be in a horizontal position with the volume buttons up. Then you can make a channel on the lower left and one covering the very top of the phone to catch the sound from the front ear speaker. I’ve been thinking about building one for my iPhone X.
  - WoodworkCity
    April 2, 2019 #10 Author
    
    Thanks Ryan. Definitely made the mistake with the 2nd port when making this some time ago. It probably did more harm than good. If you do make one, please share your plan here. Good luck.
Gary
July 7, 2014 #11 Author

Hi,
Great plan, one thing Im curious about is how you cut the angle in the middle piece for the phone to lay against?
- WoodworkCity
  July 7, 2014 #12 Author
  
  Gary,
  Thanks for the comment. I am not sure that I understand your question, but I will try. The angle is not in the middle piece. The angle comes by cutting the base at an angle after the assembly of the three pieces. The phone and the face of each piece are parallel.
  Does that make sense? If not, please respond and I will do my best to clarify.
  WoodworkCity.com
Howard
June 27, 2014 #13 Author

Does the opening for the phone need to be a precise fit? I was hoping to make it large enough to fit my Samsung galaxy S4 as well as my wife’s iphone 5, but not sure if that would loose some of the amplification for her smaller phone?
Otherwise I’ll make 2 of them! 🙂
- WoodworkCity
  June 27, 2014 #14 Author
  
  Howard,
  I almost think that it is a personal preference. As long as your speaker lines up with the channel, you should be fine in terms of the amplification.
  I made mine with a few MM to accommodate an iPhone case. As we all know, this isn’t likely to fit whatever the iPhone 6 turns out to be.
  Good luck and feel free to e-mail a picture of your finished project to [email protected] if you want us to include your version in the article/post.
  WoodworkCity.com
Mike
June 3, 2014 #15 Author

Just made my first from a plan in wood magazine and love it already have additional prototype plans to attemp to improve on the design. Mine is funny looking, but a next wood project with Brazilian cherry and oak. Something a friend told me today improved the sound quality drastically, I put 2 pieces of surgical gauze in the slot for the phone, and it made a much richer sound, you sould try it. Can’t share the plans as they came from wood magazine, but if I have success with my prototypes this weekend I can share. Shoot me an email and I can send you pic.
- WoodworkCity
  June 4, 2014 #16 Author
  
  Mike,
  Do you have a picture of your project that you can share? We would love to see it especially if you made some modifications. You can e-mail to contact_at_woodworkcity.com
  WoodworkCity.com
Gill Brewster
December 24, 2013 #19 Author

I love the design and plan of making a version of this plan. How thick are the 3 pieces? I assume each one is 3/4 inches thick. I would appreciate letting me know. Great job
Gill Brewster
- WoodworkCity
  December 26, 2013 #20 Author
  
  Gill,
  You are correct in your assumption. The three pieces are simply 1″ stock (3/4″ true thickness). Very simple project with a cool impact.
  Good luck with your own.
  WoodworkCity.com
J S
October 6, 2013 #21 Author

Hi this looks like a great idea, but the link isn’t working now. What to do?
- WoodworkCity
  October 7, 2013 #22 Author
  
  JS,
  The links should now be working properly. Let us know if they are not.
  @WoodworkCity
Joe Outlaw
April 12, 2013 #23 Author

I haven’t worked out the wavelength numbers yet, but by placing the phone off center you will create a delay/phase shift between left & right which “could” lend a “spatial” effect to the mono sound source. I also think the offset would be visually interesting. You could also play with “tuning” the ports, ie. different size bores, making them “horn shaped” parabolas, extend tubes out the back for even more acoustic – and wood working – fun! LOVE your woodworking!
- admin
  April 12, 2013 #24 Author
  
  Thanks Joe. I knew that a real audio guy could jump on this and make something that didn’t just direct the sound to boost, but could also suggest/create a way to improve the quality of the output.
Joe Outlaw
April 10, 2013 #25 Author

Just another observation. The two holes DO make sense even with the mono, one side only speaker as the through hole cross-drilled couples BOTH sides to the ports, this making the stand functional whether the iPhone is placed face-in or face-out! ; )
- admin
  April 10, 2013 #26 Author
  
  Joe,
  Thanks for the concession.
  I have to be frank, I am a woodworker, not an audiophile or an iPhone nut (just a user). When laying this out, I was not even aware that the left side was a mic. At a certain point, we felt that we had a broken iPhone with sound only emitting from 1 speaker. We looked it up and found that the left was just a mic. Of course that was after laying out the plan.
  WoodworkCity.com
Joe Outlaw
April 10, 2013 #27 Author

Please note! The iPhone does NOT have stereo speakers. The left side is a MICROPHONE. Just place your thumb over one side or the other to test this.
Al Green
April 4, 2013 #30 Author

Just picked this up for use with my Hi school carpentry classes.Looks good!
Jared Nichol
April 4, 2013 #31 Author

Thanks so much for posting these plans! We just got a CNC machine at our school and we recently learned how to use sketchup files and use them to cut out 3D forms with the router! Thanks again for sharing!
- admin
  April 4, 2013 #32 Author
  
  Jared,
  You are welcome. A CNC machine opens up MANY more possibilities with this device. This amplification is crude and the output could be greatly improved with some additional milling. You might want to consider a cone shape on your channel as it enters the “speaker” hole. Just a thought. I am sure some audiophiles would be able to chime in with suggestions that would amplify better.
  Good luck.
  WoodworkCity.com
  PS: If you want some help tweaking the Sketchup file, let me know. I would be happy to make some changes if you need.
- Jared Nichol
  April 4, 2013 #33 Author
  
  I’m so new at using the CNC machine I wouldn’t know what changes would be needed. I’ll consider opening up the channel to the speaker holes with a cone shape. Otherwise, I’ll try the plans as is. I literally tried 3D milling for the first time last night. I was pumped I could take a sketchup model to production in under an hour! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R1B4My73YA&list=UUeYfzeaXTeJT_ORF7wKBvEg&index=1
  http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8619720900/in/photostream
  - admin
    April 4, 2013 #34 Author
    
    That is just awesome. The possibilities.
- Jared Nichol
  April 4, 2013 #35 Author
  
  Is this what you had in mind? Tweaked the file a bit. I love the design, and I think that it might be ready for a CNC test tonight. I have some gorgeous 3/4″ baltic birch plywood waiting for a project like this. http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/8618643139/in/photostream
- admin
  April 4, 2013 #36 Author
  
  Looks perfect!
Ron
April 3, 2013 #37 Author

I can link to the pdf version but the Sketchup file appears to be missing. Can this link be repaired?
Thanks for a great project.
- admin
  April 3, 2013 #38 Author
  
  Ron,
  Sorry about that. The Sketchup file is now in the proper location: http://www.woodworkcity.com/planpictures/iphone-amp.skp
  Good luck with your project.
  WoodworkCity.com
admin
August 17, 2012 #41 Author

Scott,
I created a couple of new versions (output). At the bottom of this post, you will find a list of links that include a Word Doc version and PDF version, along with three (3) larger scale images. I hope that this helps.
Good luck.
http://www.WoodworkCity.com
admin
August 17, 2012 #42 Author

From a user: I’ve just seen your piece on the wooden iphone amp. I want to give the plans to my retired father as something to do but can’t open .skp files. do you have them as a PDF to use? Sorry, my workplace won’t allow a download of the software needed to open .skp.
Great site by the way – going to have a nose around now!
Thanks
Scott
Subject: iphone amp plans
Category: Plan Request

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