How to build your own budget speaker stands

[GotToyota?]

Since I'm having a try at building my own speaker stands today, I figured I'd make a guide for those who are wanting to do the same thing, and at the same time, save money.

Now I wanted to make a set of stands for my two bookshelf speakers. I was curious about design, and after looking online to see what others had done, I decided I wanted to do this design:



So from there, I embarked out to Home Depot, and picked up these supplies:



(2) 10"x10" plank, 1.5" thick (used for top)
(2) 12"x12" plank, 1.5" thick (used for bottom)
(2) 3" wide 2' tall PVC pipes
(1) Can of wood stain (finish, color choice is up to you, I chose Colonial Maple 223)
(1) Rustoleum Painter's Touch spray paint, semi-gloss black
(4) Washers
(4) Nuts, size depends on rod size of choice
(1) Threaded rod

The supplies cost me $35 dollars.

Now here is a diagram of the design explained:



The rod will go from the bottom plank through the PVC pipe, to the bottom of the top plank through the top. There will be a nut with a washer on the top plank, and at the bottom plank, which will tighten the boards to the surfaces of the PVC pipe. I didn't even think of this method until I went to Home Depot, the people there were very courteous and I brought in a picture of the stand above, they guided me through everything, and cut the planks to the size I needed (note you can't buy these planks in this size, and have to buy a huge plank 8 or more feet long and get them cut, at least that's what they told me there).

Let's get started with our planks, and our wood finish of choice.



Pop the top off, and take a look at your finish. Shake up the can before you begin working on the wood. This particular finish is very thin, and is almost like water. I decided to use a foam brush to apply the finish.



As stated by the finish directions, go in the direction of the grain. Remember, a little goes a long way, after each coat, wait about 20 minutes and then have at it again. Once you get the coats you want, you can even wait a few hours and do another coat to have it even darker. Here is my plank after one coat:



Comparison of coated plank to blank plank:



*Note, some might have to sand their wood before applying finish, however, I didn't have to because my wood surface was already very smooth.

From here, you want to keep applying coats. Usually 2-3 is the norm, but you can add more if you want a darker color. Here is the plank after it's second finish:



While I let the second coat dry, I made my way to the PVC pipe. Lay out newspaper, and make sure you have ventilation, I did this in the garage with the door open. This is where the spray paint comes into play. First coat wants to be a light coat, not too much, so it might look blochy.



Then once you let that dry in about 10 minutes, finish it off with a medium second coat. Here is the result:



Then once that dries, turn over, and do the same to the other side. Both PVC pipes done side by side:



After that, I finished up the final (ish) coats of the finish. Here are the planks finished (I might add one more heavier coat here in a few):



Mock-up of the stand with other planks I had left over with finished PVC pipe:



And all of my supplies finished and ready for assembly:



Now comes assembly. Once everything is dry, on the planks you're using, draw a point in the middle with a sharpie or marker, this is where you'll be drilling holes. You can also make a circle on the bottom planks that are the circumference of your PVC if you need a guide, like I did.



I accidentally drew circles on the top and bottom planks. But drill a hole all the way through, and make sure it's straight. I used a vice for support, and a power drill to do the drilling. I HIGHLY suggest you wear eye wear, as wood chips will go flying everything. And if you don't know how to do this, get a person there that does.



Once you drill the hole, get a bigger bit, so we can drill another hole. I used a 1" bit as you can see on the left. Now, drill in the middle where the other hole went, but don't go all the way through. Go about 1/4-1/2" inch down. Here is what mine looked like:





And both top planks done:


Now we get to do the same to the bottom planks. Make a point that indicates the middle, and drill through. Now remember the 1" bit I used, this time we're going to do the same thing, but on the bottom of the plank. It will look like this:



Once you're done, time for assembly. Cut the rod to whichever length you needed it, which in my case, was 27". Now we're going to slide the rod through, and then stick a washer and nut in there, it will look like this:



Now stick the PVC pipe on there, and figure out where the middle is, or line it up over your circle indicator if you drew one:



Grab your top plank, and slide it through the rod to place it over the PVC pipe. Grab another washer and nut, put them on and hand tighten it, it should look like this:



From there, grab 2 sockets that are the size of your nut, and lay your stand horizontally. Put one socket on one side, but hold it in place, and tighten the other one that's in the other hand. Make sure you watch the PVC pipe, you might have to have someone else hold it in place because it might slide down. Once you start tightening, you will notice that they are "fusing" together, pretty much like a suction cup. Once you do that, you are set. Check back over all of your work, and you are done! Here is the final product:





I decided to put some adhesive liner on the top so my speaker has some grip. And now for the most important part, here is what it looks like with a speaker on it:



I hope you enjoyed this guide, and I hoped it was helpful to you. I encourage everybody to give this a shot, save yourself some money, and learn about building while doing it. Just to give you an idea of difficulty level, I've never worked with wood before and this is how I did.

Have fun, guys!



-Matt