One of the most common do-it-yourself projects is building speaker stands. Almost everyone needs them, you can make them cheaply, and they are a great starter project.

Many home-theater systems use bookshelf speakers for left and right main channels. Bookshelf speakers require stands to get them to the right height. With store-bought stands, you'll probably find that one stand sits your speakers down too low, another raises them up too high, and the only stand that does work sports a ghastly price tag that makes you gasp. This is a perfect place to add some DIY know-how and get a perfect fit.

Basic bookshelf speaker stands
First, measure the footprint of your speakers, which is just the width and depth of the bottom of the speaker. You usually want to match that pretty closely with your stand; too much excess and the stand looks like it was made for larger speakers (and we don't want that!). The stand tops shown in figure 1 are 8 inches wide and 8 inches deep. These stands are about as simple as you can get and still look good.



Figure 1. Basic speaker stands


Once you've measured the base of your speakers, obtain some 3/4-inch thick, medium-density fiberboard (MDF). Cut two rectangles to your speaker measurements, then cut two more squares slightly bigger (for example, cut two squares 8 by 8 inches, and two more 10 by 10 inches). The smaller squares are for the speaker base and the larger ones are for the stand base.

Next, cut four longer rectangles; these should be about 2 inches less deep than your speaker base. So, if you have a top plate that is 8 inches deep, these rectangles should be 6 inches deep. To obtain the height, you'll need to know how high you want your speaker to sit. Then, just subtract 1 inch and cut to length.

The top and base of your stand actually total 1 1/2 inches in height, but assume 1/2 inch of settling, especially if you have carpet. In fact, if you have really thick carpet, you might want to assume even more. So, these might be 6 inches deep and 30 inches wide (for example). Two of these become the connectors for one stand and two for the other.

At this point, if you're able, bevel the long edges of the connectors. You also should round all four edges of the tops and bases. This will add a polished, classy look to your stands and allow the base of the stands to sit more firmly on the floor.

With the rounded sides up on both the top and bottom plates, the two long pieces should be evenly spaced, centered, then angled slightly (see figure 1 as a reference). Now, glue and nail in place. All that's left is to paint the stands; prime first, then lay on a couple of good coats of black or whatever color you prefer.

Sturdier stands for heavier speakers
If you have heavier speakers, you might want a sturdier design. This design also works well if you need your speakers quite high; the basic stand sometimes looks a little wobbly as the connector pieces get really lengthy. The basic procedure is similar, with just a few twists for stability.

First, I'll assume you have larger speakers. For this job, mine had a footprint of 16 by 10 inches, so my tops were a bit larger than in the basic stand. Again, round the tops. The base follows the same process; in this case, my bases were 18 by 12 inches, also rounded. Instead of long connector pieces, though, I made a square box out of MDF (3/4-inch thickness is fine). This box was half the depth of the top--in this example, 5 inches--and the height was calculated as shown in the basic stand section. For a nice look, the edges of the box should be sanded slightly round, to look less...well...boxy.

Glue and nail this box to the base of your speaker; I set mine in the shape of a diamond for a bit more visual interest (see figure 2).



Figure 2. Sturdier speaker stands

Now glue and nail on the top. Before you finish up and paint, though, drill a hole in the center of the top plate, which opens into the box that acts as a support. Now prime and paint. However, before putting these stands into action, fill the box support with sand. This really solidifies these stands, allow them to hold heavier speakers and look more substantial.

Costs involved
Believe it or not, it cost me only about 30 bucks to make all four stands. Online, similar stands ran from $30 a pair (on the low end; and this is only for two) to hundreds of dollars in higher-end shops. Clearly, this is a no-brainer way to get into DIY and save some bucks. Also, don't be afraid to get creative. If you don't have a lot of tools, find materials you can work with that require only simple tools. Buy premade shelves and have the hardware store cut them to the sizes you need. Substitute threaded rode (the line you see attached to the anchors of small boats) or PVC pipe for the center supports. Add door or corner moldings to get a different look. Whatever you can come up with that gets the job done and saves you money will make your project successful.