Timber Speaker Stands

These speakers are made out of affordable, basic pine. At the base of the speaker is a weight to keep it all steady.

If you have any questions feel free to pop them in the comments.

Step 1: Cut Timber to Length

There are 3 cross cuts; cutting the panels, the legs and the rails. These sizes would all depend on your speaker size and how high you want them to sit.

Use a stop block to improve repeatability if you have a mitre saw.

Step 2: Glue Frames

Use wood glue to make rectangles out of 2 short and 2 long pieces.

After applying glue use clamps to hold the pieces together for about an hour or 2.

Once you have 4 rectangles join them using the rest of the short pieces. You will be left with 2 boxes.

Step 3: Insert Dowels Into the Frame

Make centre holes in the corners of the frame and use a punch (or awl) to mark the spot.

Drill holes appropriate to the size of the dowels then insert them using wood glue. Make sure to apply glue to the hole and the dowel. This ensures better adhesion. The dowels can be driven in using a mallet. If you're using a hammer be careful because it can split the dowel.

I cut my own dowels out of dowel stock, but you can buy pre made dowels.

Step 4: Cut Dowels and Sand Flush

Once the glue has dried, in an hour or two, cut the dowels as flush as possible. Normally you would use a flush-cut saw, but because of where they are located you can do this with just about any saw.

Once they're all cut, sand the dowels flush with the frame.

Step 5: Add Weights

Because of the design and the size of the wood used, the stands are centre balanced and fairly light. This is no good if you plan on making them floor standing.

To get around this I added a 2kg weight, from a dumbbell set, to lower the centre of mass. To do this, drill a hole big enough to accomodate a carriage bolt. Insert the rounded top in the panel and screw the weight to the underneath using a washer and nut.

Using a washer and nut means the weight can be removed when the stands are transported.

Step 6: Attach Top and Bottom Panel

Centre the top and bottom panel on the frame so there is an equal overhang. Once you're happy with the location, mark it with a pencil, remove the panel, add some glue, then clamp it back in place.

Use as many clamps as you can. Wide panels like this are prone to warping so gluing it to the frame ensures they can't move.

I added screws into the bottom panel, from the bottom up. You wont be able to see these and they are easier than adding dowels (this'll make sense later).

Step 7: Add Feet

These feet are necessary to raise the stand above the weight. Keep this in mind when you cut the feet to length, and also if you want the speakers at a specific height.

These feet could be made of anything, but in my case I used some left over wood from another project.

Step 8: Insert Dowels Into Panels

This is a very important step. By gluing the panels to the frame you are stopping the wood from expanding. Generally this is a bad idea because the wood WILL move with seasonal changes but in our case we're going to overcome that movement. If you relied on the glue alone the join would eventually fail.

Drill 8 holes to accomodate dowels. I used the same dowel stock as before.

Then attach these the same way as before; glue both the hole and the dowel and insert them using a mallet.

Step 9: Cut Excess Dowels, Sand and Finish

Once the glue dries you can cut off the excess dowels and sand the entire piece. I sanded up to 120 but you could go as high as you want.

You could also paint the frames now if you wanted them a specific colour. I could imagine them black.

You'll want to finish the stands in something, to reduce how much moisture they can absorb. Going back to what we said earlier about wood movement, we need to reduce it as much as possible.

Step 10: You're All Done

Don't forget to add the weights. Happy listening!