Easy Nailing Guide

[mlkras]

When I build my BFM speakers I use my finish nailer to hold the joints as the PL cures. On my first couple of boxes I used the nailer freehand and had many shots that poked through where they weren't supposed to or missed altogether on the back side. It is tough to nail through any surface where you can't see the part underneath that you are trying to nail into. The one thing that every BFM builder has is great piles cut offs of box material. I decide to make a nailing guide out of some scraps. It is essentially a large set of tweezers made of whatever you are using to build your boxes. In the case of this example I used half inch Baltic birch. First I cut two strips of material 24 inches long (you can make this thing any length) and about three inches wide on the table saw so that they are exactly the same size. Then I sandwich them around a short piece of the same material, as an example three by six inches. The first picture shows the nailing guide.

In use I slip this over the edge of the top surface that I am nailing into and the bottom of the guide stops at the edge of the board underneath. I position my nailer against the edge of the top part of the nailing guide and then fire away. All I have to worry about now is keeping the nailer perpendicular to the top surface. In the example I have slipped the guide over the top of the OT12 cabinet and the edge has stopped at the intersection of the top and the right side of the horn section.

I have used this gizmo on all of my OT12 speakers and all of my Titans as well and it has been a real time saver in construction. I now regularly make them on job sites for similar nailing operations.

Please note that I have used a previously built OT12 as a demonstration box to maximize the contrast in the picture. I usually paint after assembly!

[escapemcp]

Nice Personally I don't use brads, but sure wish I did!

[LelandCrooks]

Nice. I like it.

[jimbo7]

Nice Personally I don't use brads, but sure wish I did!

You haven't lived till you used a nail/staple gun. But there is a big downside to using one. If you're not square with the wood, you can punch a nail out the side. I've had a few . I have a cheapo Harbour Freight deal that's a champ. I still use screws in the corners, though.

[jswingchun]

Yup, that's a great idea!!

[Scott Brochu]

That's better than doing all the measuring and lines that I do.
I love it!

[byacey]

A really good idea. One small improvement would be to make it a little narrower and radius the inside end so it doesn't need to be squared up against the inside panel.

[jswingchun]

After thinking about it, the only downside I see is that it would get into the PL squeezeout and smear it around a bit, making it a bit more difficult to clean up. Not a major downside, but still something. Maybe offset the end that butts up against the joint where the PL squeezes out?

Still a great idea though.

[Rick Lee]

Ingenious. Use a chop saw to put an angle on the end so it won't get any PL on it.