The little bookshelfs are done !!
I’m really happy with how they turned out, and they sound lovely to my (admittedly untrained) ears
Finished product
Process
I cut out the panels on the cnc, the designs come with a specified volume and box dimensions, so that was reasonably easy. I added some inlays for easier alignment, on the side and back.
The components there was less info, so I took a pair of calipers and cut them size, cutting pockets to make them flush where possible.
Once the basic front panel was cut out of oak, I chamfered the back edge to let the drivers breathe a bit (very technical audio language that I’m now realising I’m just repeating from here)
I glued up the sides and back with PU glue (to expand and create an airtight seal, important for ported speakers), which left me with some slightly proud joints I wanted to sand. I took these to the belt sander to smooth it down to a flat finish
During this I left the front off so I could paint without getting anything on the oak. And after sealing them all in white. I changed my mind and decided it would be harder to get a nice flush trim on the front panel without damaging the finish I was trimming to, so I changed my order of operations
The components came with a board with pre-traced routes and traced out, labelled components, which made crossover assembly very straightforward and I mounted them in the partially assembled boxes.
The ports went in and were glued to be the required length.
I then glued on the oak, and trimmed it down as it was slightly oversized (intentionally)
Next I went in with a roundover bit and put a bevel on the 4 corners in the z direction, followed by a bevel on the front face edges
I then masked off the oak, and went at it with some paint rollers, before switching gears and using the air brush. Removed the masking and applied some Hardwax oil ultra in an attempt to finish without darkening the pale oak too much.
From that point the woodworking was done, so I mounted in the terminal cup at the back (with smartly labelled wires), and added some polyfill to dampen internal reflections.
Wired up the tweeter and mid bass woofer, and mounted them in as well and then they were done.
After a quick test firing in the space, they headed home to their new spot on the desk replacing my previous versions of the same design.
Mistakes
I list these here more for interest than shame.
There were a lot of lessons learned during this project, but none of the issues below stop the speakers looking and sounding absolutely great for me.
That being said if I can help someone avoid any of the same issues, maybe you can learn from my mistakes rather than your own
There’s a long list
On the CNC, Frederico gave me a nice sharp cutter and I was ramping down on my plunges, apparently this was not great, but I’m not sure if that was just for fear that it wouldn’t cut all the way through? Are there times I should and should not ramp plunge moves? I still don’t know 
Using the belt sanded to try and get a nice 90 degree angle on my sides. I did something similar on my last set, trying to sand some glue joints flush, and either the table is slightly out of 90 (in spite of frequent adjustment) or I was using the wrong belt, which was making it work harder than it needed to.
But I spent a long time, and removed a good amount of material trying to get these sides flat and perpendicular to each other. Flush trim bits might have been a better choice here.
I tried to add some filler between the mdf and oak to get it nice and smooth. But there was also a little tearout on my roundover, in spite of an attempt to use a climb cut for the last half an inch. I decided to fill this, but after finishing I think it actually stands out more due to a mismatch against the oak colour, probably would’ve left this open.
After rouding over my mdf, I was left with a some exposed mdf grain, which paints in a very different way to smooth mdf side. Maybe some sanding would’ve helped, and someone suggested some filler or primer, but you can still see it through the paint.
In the cutting and design of the all the holes, I got them as close to dimensions as I could. And stuff was a pretty snug fit. Then I added some oil to everything, which might’ve swelled the grain slightly, and suddenly everything was a too tight fit. I sanded down the sides of the inlays slightly, trying not to mar the surface finish too badly. But once the tweeters went in, there was no getting them out again. The rear ports were too wide, once they were glued to the right length so those weren’t going anywhere. The terminal cups were hammered in with a mallet.
All this meant that when I tried mounting one of the woofers, and the gasket behind was slightly out of position, I had no means to get a finger in to push it back out. I tried using the screw holes to twist it loose, to no effect. Eventually, I hammered on the front with a mallet and scrap of wood, and the inertia or vibrations were enough to slowly pop the woofer free, Slightly more clearance would’ve made this much easier, but at least I know my finish will hold up to a beating.
I also made the woofer wires too short to solder on, so had to do a quick extension, a bit of extra wire here is not the worst thing in the world.
Other minor imperfections in the finish that I decided I could live with, rather than do the work to fix properly (see pics)
After gluing the front panels on and rounding them over, I realised that the tweeters were both on the same side. Joe has assured me that audiophiles fight over whether this is better or worse than different sides. I have decided to firmly stake my flag in the ground that it’s better, because there was no way I was starting from scratch again.
Plans
These speakers are following plans from Paul Carmody here: Paul Carmody's DIY Speaker Pages - Overnight Sensations
Using this component pack: Order Overnight Sensations MT DIY components pack - SoundImports
I likely have some cnc files if anyone wants them feel free to drop me a message, although I might be tempted to scale up some of the fits by a mm or so
I’ve built a set before. But those were build with pre-cnc-ed panels, and the finish was significantly less nice.
Thanks
A ton of people helped with this project, and a ton more offered moral support, or at least humour as I procrastinated my way through the build process
And also inducted me on a number of new tools: Big CNC, handheld router, table router, airbrush
@Riggerz for the help with the filling
@joeatkin2 for teaching me some of how the crossovers I was building worked and general speaker advice
@mbg for general wood help
@Destom for inducting me on the airbrush and saving me several days of trying to paint and sand away to some sort of smooth finish
@Federico for helping me with the big cnc and giving me a nice sharp tool for my oak
@Christian for inducting me on the big cnc
Doubtless many others, who’s names or contributions I’ve temporarily forgotten
Thank you all, I have no doubt these have turned out better thanks to all of your contributions