I think that instead of hijacking other threads about Steve's or any of the rest of our posts with technical questions on how to cut or finish or whatever... I'd start a place to discuss things.
I'll start,
How in the world do cut angles with my table saw correctly?
I can crank it over to the left from facing the front face, but not to the right.
Do I put my fence to the left side, flip the part, cut to a mark??
It is looking like I will need to cut some weird angles to make my Wicked One, how do I get from here to there?

For doing angles on any machine I would recommend picking up one of these. This makes getting the angle you need easier and accurate. The one I bought was GemRed 82305 from Amazon. It works great.

And sometimes for angles greater than a 45, you have to run the pice vertical.

I use a slider with clamps for that...safest way I know.


Zygi

What about a panel saw to use when making those big odd cuts?  I'm thinking that setting up a panel saw would be a much safer way to go than standing up a big (and heavy) panel on the table saw.

About 10 years ago I inherited all of my ffather's wood working tools. Cars in garages is a dream, not a reality.  I just need to invest the time to become proficient with them.  Adding a panel saw does not bother me and is likely cheaper than a Festool option.  Those babies are not cheap.

I was just wondering if that would be a viable alternative to getting the difficult cuts. I don't have experience with using a panel saw (or a festool).

Like I mentioned there is a few options out there to chose from. I just mentioned the Festool because that is what I have and it works perfectly for me. That is also the only Festool I have. Their prices are a little high but they are great tools. I also think Makita makes something similar and Kreg as mentioned.
To me a panel saw is great for ripping sheets down to manageable size.  You are stuck to cutting vertical or horizontal, so to get those hard cuts you would have to get creative. I think a track saw would be easier to use for those cuts but as Donnie mentioned, your cuts are only as good as your measurements. That goes for any tool you use.
If you want to see a panel saw in action go to a Lowes or Home Depot (when you are allowed) and watch them cut with it. If you have a Wood Craft or a good wood shop close to you they will let you try out a track saw. See which one will be better for your needs.

I'm getting ready to start a new speaker project and am looking for some ideas about joinery and things like that.

The speakers are small  8" wide X 12.5" tall X 8.5" deep using .750" material.

The idea of making these out of real wood instead of MDF is really starting to intrigue me. I did go through a period of thought about veneering over MDF, I've done this before with some luck, so I won't throw out that idea if a better way doesn't come up.

Anyway, I notice that the local Menard's has wood planks of varying widths and lengths that end up being .750 thick.
My idea right now is the glue up several species of wood, probably some combination of mahogany and either maple or hickory, into planks of around 9" wide to give me something to work with. Simple enough I think.

My big sticking point right now would be on how to join all of this together?
I don't think that butt joints would look at all good, so what to do?

Miter cuts? Finger joints? Dovetails? What else is out there?

As far as wood working skills, I'm one hell of a metalworker! If you want to build some kind of complex device out of metal I'm your guy, if you can afford me!
So I need guidance on how to approach this. I figure that I have the basic mechanical skills to be able to do this kind of work, but need a bit of insight on the best direction to take.

Dan,
I'm impressed! Very nice indeed.

You have given me inspiration!

Since day one, I have incorporated a router table with my table saw. This lets me use the saw fence as a guide if needed. Good quality bits make a difference as well. When it comes to joints, make sure that the wood grain can handle what you are planning on. Dovetail joints are great when the wood allows. I don't care for miter joints as much since getting them lined up and glued right can be an issue. I have used a Liegh jig in the past, but you had better be patient, and it is also best to use 2 different routers for the process. Having a router that is powerful enough makes a big difference too.
With this speaker, I used dado, miter and butt joints.

Poplar is a "junk" wood and has always been considered as a paint-grade wood.  I've used miles of it for painted trim.  Works great for that.  And paint it red!