DIY speaker stands? (1 Viewer)

I'm planning on my first HT purchase in a couple months. I am most likely going to get Axiom M22Ti's for mains, and then M3Tis for rears and the center. Rather than buy stands, I thought that I might try making them with my carpenter friend. However, I don't know what characteristics matter in a stand. What are good woods for stands? And special shapes better than others? Or is it all more just aethetics? All I have seen so far is that heavy, sturdy stands are good. Anything else? Any insight would be appreciated.

I made my own using 3/8" plywood to make a 4x6 column, so I could fill them with sand.

Look at my www for an idea.

Scrap lumber, no cost.

3 Coats of black paint and a gel-coat of gloss.

Nice thick oak for the top and bottom plates.

Not quite level, though, I need spikes....

- CM

Ryan,
I asked about DIY stands about a month ago and found the pics I needed. Brian Steeves has just one of the nicest DIY stands I have ever seen. I have all my plans set up and know exactly what I want but I just have been so busy I haven't been able to start construction yet but will by this weekend.
Anyway, I am using MDF for the stands and also red oak for the side pannels. The MDF column will be hollow so I can fill them with sand too. Top and bottom base will also be MDF. The stands should be very heavy even without the sand. The oak is just added for looks. I'm planning them to look much like the stands in the picture in this link:
http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ghlight=stands
This is the link to my previous post. Brian Steeves also has links to pics of his stands there as well. I believe he used MDF as well with veneer over it. This should give you plenty to feast on for a while.

Thanks for the link! That should help me out some...Those are rather nice stands.

I have made some speaker stands using 4" PVC pipe if you're interested I can send you some pix of it.

Here's a question about stands that I haven't seen yet. With the wooden type stands that have been discussed here and in the sand-filled thread, should I be physically attaching the speakers to the stands. I've got a 9 month old that's just getting mobile, and I'm worried about putting a speaker on top of one of these things and then it getting bumped enough to topple the speaker but not enough to knock the whole stand over.

Ralph Lauren makes an excellent color to paint the speaker stands that you make. Pick up a quart of semi-gloss "Ebony" at your local Home Depot. Prior to applying the paint, use some Floetrol (latex paint conditioner) to condition the paint. This will allow your painted finish to be virtually free of brush marks.

To attach the speakers to the stands, you might consider using some flexible "putty" which you would compress between the speakers and the stands. This would allow you to separate the two at a later time. This "putty" is sold at your local hardware store and usually serves many purposes such as hanging lighter posters or pictures on a wall. We've used this stuff to keep things "in place" on our shelves in the past and it does a pretty good job. Another option, would be to utilize velcro for keeping the speakers attached. However, I feel that this would be a bit messy because you have to utilize something to adhere the velcro to the speakers and stands.

Scott,

Lots of people use the blu-tack sticky putty to attach the speaker on the stand, I think earthquake putty is the same thing. Some say it has such a good bond that their stands have fallen over and the speaker remained solid on the stand. If you have heavy stands with sand they should be nearly impossible to knock over for little tykes.