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How To Make Your Own Military Style Ammo Box Boombox

Gregory Han
Gregory Han
A Los Angeles native, Gregory’s interests fall upon the relationship between design, nature, and technology. His resume includes art director, toy designer, and design writer. Co-author of Poketo's "Creative Spaces: People, Homes, and Studios to Inspire", you can find him regularly at Design Milk and the New York Times Wirecutter. Gregory lives with his wife Emily and their two cats—Eames and Eero—in Mt. Washington, California, curiously investigating the entomological and mycological.
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updated Aug 23, 2019
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Tho­dio’s A-Box is a military style inspired take on the boombox, with a 1950’s ammo box con­verted into iPod speaker+dock. They don’t come cheap, setting you back between $307-$430. Of course, there’s a more cost-efficient DIY route, if you’re so inclined to get your Instructables on…

The high-end inspiration for this project: Tho­dio’s A-Box.

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Maker Dustin White’s Ammo Box Speaker project isn’t an entry level project, but he goes into clear detail about what you’re need and what steps you’ll need to take to make your own military inspired ammo box iPod/iPhone docking speaker system.

This Instructable will demonstrate how to turn a .50 caliber ammunition box into a sweet set of speakers that can be used with your mp3 player, laptop, or any other portable device. This set of speakers is rugged, compact, easy to take on the go, and LOUD! The whole project will cost about $50.00 usd. and can be completed in an afternoon.

Heres what you need:
1. One .50 caliber ammo box

2. Two 4″ audio speakers

3. 2 sets of speaker wires- these will come with your speakers typically

4. 12 volt amplifier

5. 3.5mm panel mount plug

6. 12 volt illuminated toggle switch

7. Computer power supply- a broken one is ok for this, as you will just be using the plug and cord.

8. Egg carton foam- I had this piece of foam from some type of packaging.

9. 1 3/4″ desk grommet- these can be found in the hardware store or office supply store.

10. 12 volt power supply- this is the kind of power supply that a laptop would use.

11. Two 4″ computer fan grates

12. 3.5mm male audio to RCA audio

13. 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male audio cable

14. Cheap little tripod from the dollar store

15. Misc hardware.

Check out the complete step-by-step Instructables here.

(Photos: Dustin White)