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DIY Dust Cover for Teres or Other Audio Equipments


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I have not seen Do-It-Yourself Dust cover on the Internet, so I post it here simply for your interest, if you decide to make one.

My Teres turntable does not come with dust cover, and I have seen professionally custom-made dust cover costs about $300.00. I also like the idea of owning a unique dust cover. This dust cover will not add to the musicality of your system, but it protects and ornaments your expensive gear well.

All you need are:
(1) Five pieces of “plastic glass” (acrylic material from home supply stores, and some would even cut the glass for you with minimal fees paid) that make up the top and the four sides of the dust cover. I use clear type and relatively thin one.
(2) A tube of kitchen & bath adhesive caulk to glue the glasses (make sure you get “CLEAR” color to get the transparency, glass-like effect).
(3) Various length of small (less than half inch) wood trim (you can pick the designs and finishes from home supply store) not just for ornamentation but also for enforcement on the corners where the glasses are glued. I also made a smaller dust cover for my pre-amp without wood support and the dust cover holds up well.
All these cost me less than US$30.00

I spent about 3 hours in all to finish the project and waited about 12 hours for the glue to dry before using the dust cover.

First, I cut the plastic glass myself using a sharp utility knife (knife with diamond tip is best; be very careful with the cutting!). I sand the edges with different grades of sandpaper, 800, 1200, 1500 grit (sandpapers are available from automobile supply store; these sandpapers are leftover from my Teres polishing project).

Then, I prepare the wood trims, sanding them and staining them to match my Teres base. After that, I paper tape the glasses together on the outside to the shape you want (the dust cover should stand pretty firmly), and then glue the wood trims to the inside corners where the five glasses join.

I also place similar trims on top to decorate the dust cover a little and to serve as handles when I remove and put on the dust cover.

That’s about it, and it will serve you well for many years to come. If you need picture to see how my dust cover looks like, send me an email.

Simply let your imagination guide you in this kind of project, and Have Fun!
ykk
ykk's avatar
ykk OP
124 posts
 
Hi,

You do not need a machine, a simply square ruler is what I use, or a simple sawing box that allows you to cut standard angles.

As for wood trims, I got them from HD. I have seen beautiful ones at Menard too. I have yet to visit a new Lowes, just opened in my area two weeks ago. If you have leftover cocobolo, that will be very nice.

Now if you want the dust cover to be transparent throughout, you do not have to use wood trims, simply use acrylic cube or bar.
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
Looks exactly like the one I built, except I didn't use the pressed pattern trim on mine, opting instead for plain corner round which I stained. I used the next size up in acrylic thickness (just over 1/4") and while it is extremely solid, it is also heavy. Using the thicker acrylic will boost the cost rather substantially, though (I spent about $65 total for mine). Also, the thicker acrylic is way too thick to cut with a utility knife. But, if you place a couple of layers of masking tape on the under side of the cut line, you can use a sabre saw, with an appropriate blade, to make your cuts without casuing too much melting and burring of the material. If you are uncomfortable with this, you can get your pieces cut, for a fee.

Miter cuts on the wood can be made without a box, but it helps. Keep in mind, though, that if your "box" isn't square to begin with, even perfect miter cuts will not join well. I drilled holes and used screws and epoxy to hold my pieces together, so I needed the wood trim to "tidy" things up.

One can also chemically "weld" the pieces together using acetone, but I was afraid it would not hold well over the long-run with all the on and off lifting and twisting action.

It works great but for the price charged for higher-end tables, they could either include a cover or I don't think $100 or so more for a cover would be rejected.
jphii
485 posts
 
If I can get my cover finished next week, Ill put up some pictures. Decided to go with plain mahogony & lexan. It will give me a chance to show off a cool corner joint I use in making display cases. I want it to disappear into the background. Thank the vinyl god that Ykk posted this thread. I don't know how I never thought of doing this before, especially since it is exactly the same as the display cases we build!
ykk's avatar
ykk OP
124 posts
 
Jphii,
let me know how it turns out, it must be cool!
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