DIY Speaker Stands

I have been in need of a pair of speaker stands for a while. Realizing that I had enough scrap material to probably throw a set of stands together, I decided this past weekend that a DIY attempt was in order.

The stands are constructed primarily of 3/4" MDF. While not as heavy as a sand or lead filled stand, the thick MDF does give the stand good mass and sturdyness. The base is 11 1/2" x 11 1/2" with a beveled edge that really doesn't come out in the pictures. There are three 24" high x 5" deep uprights and a 6" x 6" top plate (from 3/8" MDF). Total width of the three uprights is 5", basically forming a square. There are small bracing pieces made from 3/8" MDF at the top and bottom of the uprights. These pieces add considerable stability to the stand, yet are hardly visible due to the black color. The pieces were first painted flat black and then assembled using liquid nails heavy duty adhesive and a nail gun.

Given that I had all the materials available as scraps except for the paint, total project costs was $5.

Rob

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One more pic...

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Very nice speaker stands.
Tanx for sharing.

Frankly, I'm very impressed. With the MDF's mass, I bet they still weigh a ton. Well done.

Great job !!, I've known Noel at Skylan Stands for a while now and he is widely recognized as 'the' guy for stands. One tip I can share is to get something that will penetrate thru the carpet to the floor like a spike, not as easy as it sounds but for a diyer... , makes a big difference in bass performance.

Noel's stands are also made out of MDF and he swears by it, most fill their Skylan stands, I haven't (have enough heavy things to lug around) and find they still work great.

Cheers,
Ian

This post has been edited by Grant Fidelity on January 29, 2009 04:24 pm

Thanks. Now that I have done it once, I feel comfortable to make what ever stands I will later need for my home theater speakers. Next time I will spend a little more time sanding the pieces before painting so I get a better finish. Otherwise I happy with them.

I thought about spikes, but I didn't have anything I thought would work unless I used liquid nails to stick a short nail the bottom of the base plate. But then I would be concerned about being able to level them. I might wander around a hardware store and see if I can find something that would work well. Otherwise I can just order some from Parts Express or elsewhere.

Rob

Damnit! I am definitely going to make some for my Mirages now. They really need to be about 12" ~ 18" off the floor and I hadn't even considered MDF. I have my brother's big bench saw in my garage at the moment so that will make the job a breeze! Nice design too and yes, I can see the bevel in the pics.

Ian, we have a ceramic tiled floor in the lounge room. Are spikes really necessary for me? My old metal stands (lost in &^$% transit) had effectively nails welded to the bottom and they seemed to be the right thing on the timber floor in our old place but do I really need it here?

At the moment I have four bricks under each speaker

no spikes needed for hard floors, but you might consider something to couple the stands to the floor like blu-tac.

Frankly, Tom and I are both impressed.
I was thinking of building some with a decidedly different design concept.
I am pretty pleased with yours, Rob, but mine will not entail a lot of time or money, so I think I will give it a shot. Mine will be working with this whole "laying back" concept, and I'm not sure about the deadening properties. I'm pretty sure yours are prettier than what I'm contemplating.
Thanks for sharing.
dennis

No, the nails or spikes are just to get thru carpet and make contact with the floor underneath. Use whatever turns your crank if you don't have a rug. My favourite was hockey pucks.

Cheers,
Ian

Thanks for the positive comments from everyone. I am glad I inspired a few others to build their own stands. I am interested to see others' designs. You never know where a good idea will pop up.

Rob

I use to have bricks as speaker stands as well. for a long time. I'd fill them with cement and paint them in black. Nobody notice they were in fact bricks...
With a good set of spear stands the bass becames more firm and tight and the mids are more defined and clear.

BTW, i still have those bricks.