Makin' some stands, this a good design to follow? (1 Viewer)

[Justin Ward]

I was checking out this project TNT Stubby.

This design looks really good but I think the base is too large for where I want to put it. Could I make the base thinner. Maybe 12 x 6 inches?

This would be for my surround speakers, my mains are wallmounted right now but I may build 4 stands. I would do this because it is easier and cheaper to build two extra stands now rather than later.

If the gravel guard finish turns out well(see this thread Gravel Guard .
I may use it on these stands as well.

So has anyone out there built these stands? Do you think it would be ok to make the base smaller?

 

[ThomasW]

12X6 isn't wide enough, it will easily fall over if bumped.

See the pic in the article that shows the $500 stands?
That's how a proper stand is made. One could use 4 lengths of sand filled PVC pipe.

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

the smaller you make the base, the lower you want to move the center of gravity. To do this means that you would want to use led shot instead of sand. is the lead enought to compensate for the really small 6x12 stand, ..probably not

 

[Allen Ross]

I have been toying with the idea of building some speaker stands, (thats the acual page that got me thinking about them) and finaly decided that i would build them tomarrow, after a quick trip to home depot, i will snag some picks of them later on,

I will be using them for my Newton M80's, they weigh about 28 pounds, so i won't be skimping on the base. I am also toying with the idea of doubling uo the MDF on the top and bottom more for looks then structure.

 

[Troy R]

I am in the process of making stands similar to those. I am using a 10"x12" base and the top plate is the same size as my speakers. I used two 4" PVC poles (22" long) on each stand, similar to the design in the link below. unfilled with sand my stands probably weigh 20 to 30 pounds (each). They'll probably swallow up 1 to 1.5 bags per stand. So I'm hoping they'll weigh 70 to 80 pounds when it's all said and done! they are VERY SOLID! I was surprised how solid they came out. I'm also putting some rubber between the PVC and the wood bases to help tame some vibration transfer. These things are gonna be great and save me about $200!

http://www.sigsound.com/NU&DInfoPages/Osiris_Review.htm

 

[Allen Ross]

how was the process of caulking the bottom, does it hold well? thats my only concer. if i had my own router i would counter sink the hole for a better fit. ah well off to homedepot, second time in two weeks boy i love break!

 

[TimForman]

While you're at it you could add another smaller diameter pipe to hide your wire. Just a thought.

 

[Troy R]

What I did was cut squares our of scrap wood. The squares fit snuggly in to the PVC (meaning the corners of the square touched the inside walls of the PVC). I then attached the squares to the bases and then slid the PVC onto the squares, this keeps them from sliding around. You'll also have to drill holes in the middle of the squares for the threaded rod to run through them. here's a look at the design (I know everyone will be impressed with my computer graphic skills!)

http://www.angelfire.com/alt/tryrrthg/untitled2.gif

I haven't gotten to the caulking part I'm still staining and painting...

 

[Allen Ross]

if i got some scraps of MDF left i will have to give that a try

 

[Troy R]

It worked like a charm for me! they don't go anywhere! If you're using 4" PVC I believe my squares were just under or right around 3 inches.

 

[Justin Ward]

Any opinions on this idea....

- A 10 x 10" MDF base.
- (3) 2" PVC risers set up in a triangle filled with sand
- 8 x 8" MDF top section
- all black textured finish(maybe gravel guard)
- Rubber feet

Ideas are mostly from the TNT Stubby Project. Base is a little smaller but I think the triangular riser setup would compensate for this.
These would be used with Paradigm Atoms and later Titans as well.

 

[Troy R]

You might want to go with a single 4" or 6" column. You'll get more sand (weight) with a single 4" or 6" column than 3 2" columns (if my volume calculations are correct). also a triangle will be a little more tricky than a single column depending on how much work and thought you want to put in it... that's just my 2 cents.

 

[Justin Ward]

If I went with a 10 inch square base could I get away with only a single 4 or 6 inch PVC riser?

I did some quick calculations and I found that when sitting in my chair my ears are rougly 45 inches high. My rough measurements as to the midpoint between the tweeter and the woofer in the Atoms and Titans are 7 and 10 inches respectively. This gives me an overall height of about 35" or 38"(Titan vs Atom"). Since the Atoms are surrounds should I consider adding a few inches on those stands so the sound doesn't seem quite as direct?

 

[Troy R]

Your main speakers should have the tweeters at ear level. As for the surrounds you might have to get one of the HT buffs to answer that one. My rig is just 2 channel at the moment.

I would think you would be fine with a single 4" or 6" riser. since all the wt. will be sitting right in the middle of the base it should be pretty stable. Sounds like you might have to have a longer tube (to get your tweeters to ear level) you might have to get something heavier than the sand at the bottom to lower the center of gravity. obviously the taller the stand the easier it will be to fall over. which is why you'll have to lower the center of gravity.

If it were me I'd go with the single 6". I went with two 4" risers becuase I wanted the top plate to be the same dimensions as my speakers. but then again I don't know the dimensions or size of your speakers so if they're as small as I think they are they might look a little out of place sitting on top of this MASSIVE pillar! You might want to go to a hardware store and look at the difference in size 4" PVC is the inside diameter the outside diameter is about 4.5". If you use 4" you could use some PVC flanges to attach them to the bases. So you might just want to go to the PVC aisle and see what you can come up with.

 

[Justin Ward]

How's this for a plan: 4 inch PVC with lead shot at the very bottom with a separator of some sort and then sand on top of the lead shot. This would put the center of gravity nice and low. Or is mixing damping materials not a good idea?

As for size the Atoms are(according to my measurements):
6.5"W x 8.25"D x 10 5/8"H

The Titans are considerably larger at:
7.75"W x 10.5"D x 13.25"H

Is lead shot very expensive? Anything else that is cheap but is heavier than sand and could be used at the bottom? A brick maybe ?

 

[Jonathan M]

I am going to be making some similar stands once I've finished my speakers. I'm probably going to use a single 4" PVC tube, and will probably fill the bottom 12" or so with concrete. I'll probably fill the rest of the tube with something light if necessary. Advantage of only filling up to 12" or so with the heavy material is to get the centre of gravity low. If you could get a brick suitably sized to fit in the pipe that would probably do the trick, then just pack it in there with the sand.

I'm more than a little sceptical if any sound difference would be heard between a filled and unfilled stand, but I'll give it a go and see, I suppose! I'll probably just route a 4" hole in the top and base to mount the PVC in with glue.

 

[Allen Ross]

well i got all of my pieces of MDF cut, what i ended up with is 4 pieces that are about 12 squared, and 4 pieces that are 10 inches square, i then glued the 10 inchers on to the 12 inchers.

(on one of them it spun a little, not perfectly square, when i clamped, oh well that will be a top one so no one will notice)

I also cut my PVC pipeing, who knew a radial arm saw can make such good cuts, i had to make 3 passes but hey it beast doing it by hand.

I just finished up putting a coat of primmer on the MDF and the piping, i used 2 cans and tomarrow i will pick up 2 more because i misses some sanding on the edges of the MDF, still has some saw marks :frowning:

If all goes to plan tomarrow i will have a dry assembly no sand. i will post pics as soon as i finish

 

[Troy R]

Justin,

If you're going to use lead shot at the bottom you should mix the sand and lead together. the sand will fill the gaps between the shot. A lot of audiophiles do this with their stands. Lead shot is pretty expensive...

I was thinking I might see if I can go to a sporting goods store and see if 2.5 pound weights (the kind you put on a barbell) would fit inside the PVC. If they do you can just slide the 2.5 pound weights down the threaded rod just like it was a barbell. Put a few of those down at the bottom of the tube, fill the rest with sand and it will be a pretty hefty stand. The concrete idea that Jonathan mentioned would work also.

 

[Justin Ward]

I guess that using the lead shot would be pretty expensive. I will probablly just get some cheap bricks or concrete fragments or some heavy metal pieces to drop in near the bottom.
I did a test spray with the Gravel Guard, it is still drying so I can't say for sure how good it looks. The color is almost pitch black but the texture isn't as coarse as I would have liked. However, I will be applying some more coats to increase the coarseness.

For the stands I believe I will do the MDF pieces in a type of textured paint I saw at Canadian Tire. It looks like granite rock and has good texture, the grey color made it a bad choice for the sub(to my eyes)but I think it would work well with the stands. I will either do the PVC with black gravel guard or a satin black spraypaint.
I think this will give the stands an overall look of a stone monument which I think would look really impressive.

 

[Troy R]

Sounds good! Let us know how it goes.

I finally got my staining technique down (I was having trouble getting an even stain with my limited budget on supplies). So my stands should be done within the week. I can't wait!