Building some speaker stands. (1 Viewer)

[JoshGivens]

I've worked through my dimensions to build the PVC center pipe MDF style speaker stands for my Polk Lsi7 (10 1/4 Deep x 8 5/8 wide) fronts. I'm planning on having the stand come in right at 35.5 inches tall. This should put the tweeter at seated ear level. I'm trying to decide if a stand that tall (requiring 34"'s of PVC) needs to have 4" or 6" PVC. I'm thinking, after doing some shopping at the local chains, that the 4" would look better. For some reason when I was planning the design, I was thinking that the outer diameter was 4" but in all actuallity it's probably closer to 4.5".

The dimensions, to make them look right with the rectangular shaped speaker are planned to be as follows.

top plate -------- 10 5/8 x 12 1/4
next top --------- 8 5/8 x 10 1/4 (centered below)
PVC ---- 4" or 6" X 34" (inset into inside plates)
next bottom ------ 10 5/8 x 12 1/4 (centered above)
Bottom plate------ 12 5/8 x 14 1/4

The edges of the MDF would all be routed to basically a 1/4 round shape. And the PVC would be filled with sand and the all thread running through the middle to tie it all together.

You guys think 4" would look the best for stands that height?

What about keeping the top and bottom of the stand from twisting, do you just line it up and hope it stays or do you leave a notch or something to help with the lineup?

 

[Troy R]

I used two 4" PVC pipes per stand. You'll want the extra weight for a stand that high so if you can do it, more is usually better.

My DIY speaker stands

 

[meeks]

You could do what I did & get some of the roman column looking plant stands & use them. I got mine from Old time pottery & they have different sizes up to like 40" or so, mine are 28" I believe. They are hollow & I filled them with sand, painted them gloss black & put spikes on the bottom. I think all the stuff cost me $25. They weigh about 70lbs each & look awesome with my Swan 2.1's on them.

 

[JoshGivens]

Do you have any pictures of the columns you painted?

 

[JoshGivens]

Here's some renderings of the 4" and 6" versions. I'm leaning toward the 6"

Four inch http://www.villier.net/kyfbody/joshs...stands - 4.jpg

Six inch http://www.villier.net/kyfbody/joshs...stands - 6.jpg

 

[Dave Poehlman]

Links don't work for me... try uploading the images to a photo-share site like www.imageshack.us

 

[JoshGivens]

Links fixed, I hope.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Sadly, since I built mine (much more beefy since I had a lot of 4" PVC and 6" PVC laying around a few years ago), I have yet to paint them. My speaker stands. They are of the same design that you posted, I just wanted to make sure they wouldn't tip over if my big fat cats were to jump up and off from them, which they do on ocassion, thus the 3-prong column approach for my design.

 

[JoshGivens]

Pat,

I like that design but I was afraid it would look too bulky with the height that I was going for. I did consider that option though. For not being painted they look nice.

 

[KeithMoechnig]

I built my speaker stands(base 12 x 12, top 12 x 8.5) with 4 pvc posts 1.5" in diameter, 2 feet high, and they're very sturdy and strong. They hold around 120 pounds. I would not recommend using 2 posts, as they're unsturdy. A simple push may have them falling over. for 35 inch stands, I would try using 2.5 inch pvc pipe and a possibly bigger base. They look neat and more unique, but since I don't have 15 posts yet, I can't post a picture. If you're interested, you can pm me or email meat [email protected]. and pat, those stands look cool.

 

[MarkRoberts]

Josh,
If you like the look of Patrick's stands you could do the same thing with 2-2" and 1-4" pipe. I don't think that would too bulky. Otherwise I think your rendering with the 6" looks good

 

[JoshGivens]

I went ahead with the 6". I've got everything cut out and ready to piece together, I've just got to go get the hardware (all thread, nuts, and washers) to piece it together with.

Hopefully I'll have some time tonight or tomorrow night to get them finished.