Pat's DIY Speaker Stands:

All photos are copyright 2002 by Patrick Sun. Unauthorized use without written consent is prohibited.

Table of Contents: Construction

Welcome to my DIY speaker stand page. This was just a quick-n-dirty project made out of scrap MDF and leftover PVC pipes from my other DIY projects. I started it in June, 2001, and finished it in the end of July, 2001.

Navigational Hint: When you click on your first picture link, don't close the window, I've designed it so that you can leave that window open, and you can click to your heart's content, and the images will only show up in that one other window. This should also speed up your visit here. So just open up my web pages, and leave the picture window open, it'll seem like the photos just magically appear as you click about the page here.

• June 9, 2001: Here are the MDF boards I will be using. The outer base is 15"x15", and the inner base is 12"x13" (this is where the PVC pipes will fit into the overall bases). I used a 3/4" roundover bit to give is a nice polished look to it. These boards were cut and rounded over well over 6 weeks ago. That's how long I've been sitting on this project!:
  
  
• July 28, 2001: Here I have marked off where I want to glue the top layer of MDF to the bottom layer, and poured the glue where it's needed.:
  
  
• Here I clamp the boards together. I do this for each of the 4 sets of bases (top and bottom):
  
  
• Next I start on cutting the PVC pipes down to size. I use a couple of pieces of typing paper, taped together to form a banner around the pipe so I can mark off a clean cut line that will be as square as I can cut it.:
  
  
• After hours of hand-sawing the PVC pipes, I'm finally done! My shoulders were aching badly after I finished. I had to rest between each piece. This was the part I dreaded the most. I'm getting old...:
  
  
• July 29, 2001: Just to make sure my paint will stick to the PVC pipes, I first spray gray primer on it.:
  
  
• Hey, look, it's Mickey Mouse! I place the pipes in position where they should go on the bases. I draw circles, and I locate the center of each circle with a compass. The centers will allow me to use my router/circle jig to groove in the trenches for the pipes to fit into later.:
  
  
• I drill in the center holes for circle jig. I do this for 2 of the bases.:
  
  
• After routing through MDF, I had trenches for the pipes, and here are the test fitting of the trenches. I've made quite and a mess, and I'm only half-way through!:
  
  
• This is how I insure that the top and bottoms of the bases will have mirrored trench holes. I use that block of MDF to measure one set of center distances from the block and mark them on the bases that will be mated to the base on the right and side. First you do one set of markings, and then turn each bases 90 degrees to the right, and mark off the intersection of the hole distances and that gives you the mirrored center hole for the trenches. :
  
  
• So finally, I routered through the 2 top bases and created the pipe trenches. Here's what they look like after I put in the pipes in the lower base, and covered them with the top base. Ta-daaaa!:
  
  
• Here's a shot of the SunOne on top of the new speaker stand. I'm not sure if I need to glue in the pipes to the bases because the trenches I routered were very tight and the pipes fit very snug. For now I'm going to leave it unglued until I get a good reason to glue them (and even fill them up with sand or kitty litter).:
  
  
• And this is a final shot of how the stands look in my humble home theater setup.:
  
  

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