speaker stand idea, for a xmas present

[Dave Tesch]

i am building a pair of speaker stands for my parents this christmas (they have wanted them for a long time and i have some time to do it now). i made a crude plan in my head and scoured the lowes for suitable material; i ended up with a 1"x16" x 72" board, (4) 1"x6"x8' finish pine, and a few 1"x2" finish pine. my plan was to cut the top and bottom from the 72" board and the columns from the 1x6 boards, and use the 1x2 in case the top and bottom need some perimeter bracing. the wood is pretty good, minimal warp, i'd say 9 out of 10; i dug through all of them :D

on my way home i had an idea to turn the columns diagonal in relation to the top and bottom to look neater, and then i had another idea; what if instead of columns i just used a 90 degree "L" or "V" made from 1x6? i think it should be strong enough and provide the left to right and front to back support(?)

i kinda stole the idea from a friend of mine, he made some nice speaker stands in an "I" beam configuration (I beam column) but he made the bases too small so they are a little tippy. his bases are the same size as the speakers and the center of gravity is a little wrong, so i decided to make my bases 4" bigger than the speakers. should i go even larger?

so, here are my questions:

1. do you think the 90 degree "V" column placed diagonlly on the bases is neat, or should i go ahead and do 4 sided columns?

2. i havent used screws in my last 10 projects or so, i have just been using my brad nailer and titebond II. the speakers probably weigh 50# or so, do you guys think screws are neccesary?

3. any advice about making these a little more 3 year old proof? my neice lives with them, she's a good kid but hey, she is 3.

thanks, i hope to start making sawdust on monday.

p.s. i guess i have to drive over two towns to their house so i can secretly measure the things :D :D the spec sheet i found online says 10" wide by 12.20" deep but i trust my own measurements more.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I personally would not put 50lb speakers on stands in a house with 3 year olds. In fact I rebuilt my bookshelf speakers into floor standers to avoid this.

http://photos.ganzhorn.org/albums/album712/69CG3877.sized.jpg

Maybe it is a non-issue in their house but I KNOW my kids would knock them over onto themselves :).

As for strength I would use screws if it is going to be a painted project. I am sure you can make a couple 1x6's strong enough to hold 50lbs easily without screws but they make for cheap clamps :).

[Dave Tesch]

those are neat, did you laminate particle board for the base or is it something different?

i just checked and the speakers weigh 33#

they are these: http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:udrX2sD2v_4J:www.fullcompass.com/common/files/2036-hr824%2520mackie.pdf+hr824+dimensions&hl=en&gl=us&sig=AHIEtbTJQli3FPcp5C9chXoVXPDdSBvx-w

[Joshua Layne]

you could also use PVC for the verticals with circles routed into the bases - seal them with some caulking and fill halfway with play sand (or rocks) the base will be heavy enough then that they won't tip. I've done some like this, but have lost all my old photos.

[Sean Nagle]

you could also use PVC for the verticals with circles routed into the bases - seal them with some caulking and fill halfway with play sand (or rocks) the base will be heavy enough then that they won't tip. I've done some like this, but have lost all my old photos.

I have successfully made stands just as Joshua describes. I used 4" PVC pipe and MDF for the foot and shelf. I routed grooves in the MDF and epoxied the PVC to the foot and shelf. Size the shelf the same size as the speaker's footprint and the stand's foot a bit larger. I finish them with black lacquer.

Some speakers have threaded inserts on their bottom. If these do, drill corresponding holes in the stand shelf and use an appropriate bolt to attach to the speakers. If they don't consider screwing the stand to the speaker. Fill with sand and you'll have bookshelf speakers on stands that are as stable as any floor-stander. Also, I like to use speaker spikes on the foot. They help with stability too... use them only on carpeting :)

By the way, since you're making custom stands, size them so the tweeter sits at about 38", ear height when seated.

[Larry Rasmussen]

First the advice regarding setting the height of tweeter at ear level when seated is really important, would make the stand height somewhere around 24" or so.

Two things will help stabilize the speakers the most. First is the size of the base piece, larger the better. Next is the weight of the stands overall. Use the square or a rectangle shape and fill it with sand. This is done quite often to increase stability and therefore quality of sound. You could do the same with a triangle shape made with three boards.

If the speakers have threaded holes fine, drill the top of the stand accordingly and attach with bolts. Otherwise be sure and use some putty made for jobs like this. A common brand is blue tac. It usually comes as a flat sheet 1/8" or so thick and usually in a small package, 2" X 4" or so. It stays flexible. Put a piece on each corner of your stand top and set the speaker on it and squish it down a little. Not bombproof but really helps with stability and holds well over time.

If these are going on a hard surface you could buy "feet" of some type for each corner of the base, screw them on or use double back tape. You could also use a threaded insert in each corner and then screw the feet in. Size 1/4" x 20 is common for this application. Rugs present a problem with stability. Even if you have a rather large base it will be a little wobbly on a carpet. Most better stands will come with spikes that will pierce the carpet and give the stand a solid base connected directly to the hard floor underneath. If I am making a pair of stands for someone else and am not sure about eventual location I find it easiest to drill and install a threaded insert, the 1/4 X 20 threads for a stand of this size. That way you can supply a set of 4 spikes if the owner wants to put them in a room with wall to wall carpet and a set of 4 feet that will screw in to your insert if these go on a hard surface. You raise or lower each foot or spike by theading it into the insert and easing each one in or out until they sand sits level without rocking. Then use another bolt to lock into place if you want. An easier way to avoid any rocking is to use the triangle shape and 3 feet or spikes. If the base is fairly large it will be stable with 3 and no fussing with the leveling process.

A good place to look at spikes and other speaker building parts and much more is Parts Express. It is a Canadian company but service is excellent, I think it all ships out of USA anyway. Try partsexpress.com but you might have to google it if I did not remember correctly.

Luck,
Larry R,
Seattle

[Michael Drew]

Pine tends to move. I’d probably run a dado down the middle of one board and glue another into that dado for the column. Make the base a couple inches larger than the top to provide stability. If you want to get a bit more involved, I made these a couple years ago for a set of my speakers. I wanted them to be adjustable so I could raise / lower them as needed.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/mdrew/IMGP0021.jpg



http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/mdrew/IMGP0023.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y231/mdrew/20090127-P1274702.jpg

[Dave Tesch]

wow. that is a lot more fancy that what i am planning. i am not a finish carpenter by any means, more of a 'utility carpenter' if you will. i can build a mean road box but nothing fancy.

like this:

http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/25826/2742474170026985969S425x425Q85.jpg (http://entertainment.webshots.com/photo/2742474170026985969PWqqxK)

i actually have bought several hundred dollars worth of stuff from parts express and have an active account there, but i haven't decided on feet yet. i think they are wanting to put these on a hardwood floor so i was thinking about using felt pads instead of rubber, on a 10/32 shaft with an insert. i've seen this done with t-nuts but i'd rather not do that, is there a toothed insert i can buy somehere?

pine was not my first choice but these will be painted black. i did buy the expensive pine but i do plan on it moving. maybe a good excuse to buy the dado blade?

thanks for all the discussion so far, having someone to talk to about this stuff really helps me get my ideas sorted out. its good to get advice from experienced folks.