Loudspeaker base material

[smallangryboy]

I need a leg up or rather a foot, what the hell am I talking about ?!

I'm looking at making a base for my floor standers as they have a narrow footprint.

Currently I have an X shaped tubular foot:-

Longball

but I'm not happy with the way the spikes are fitted so I've drafted an alternative [if you look at the image]

MDF I think would be too brittle so I'm wondering if there are any materials suitable as an alternative that could be easily machined, say like solid ABS plastic, or a composite ?

[ShinOBIWAN]

How much do the speakers weigh and what's the footprint of the cabinet?

[smallangryboy]

At a guess I'd say the speakers weigh no more than 15Kg each, footprint is 18cm x 18cm

[GM]

Greets!

I'd use Maple, whether a large one piece base or 'X' frame as its rigid, damped, dimensionally stable with all the cosmetic options wood offers.

GM

[ChrisA]

Originally posted by smallangryboy
MDF I think would be too brittle so I'm wondering if there are any materials suitable as an alternative that could be easily machined, say like solid ABS plastic, or a composite ? [/B]

I'd say any kind of hardwood should work best. You could laminate two 1x3 oak boards to make a 1.5" x 2.5" board, round the edges and make an X as a direct replacement for the metal legs but perhaps wider.

If you don't care a bout cosmetics Home depot sells plumbing pipe. Buy a "cross and four end caps in 2" PVC and you'd be done. Fill the pipe with cement and/or lead shot to add stability if you want.

One more idea. Buy a 25 pound weight, the kind used by weight lifters on barbels. These are just a big iron disk and they are cheap. You can find some that are plastic coated, some that are chrome plated and some plain iron. Pick up two then drill them to fit your speakers and maybe spikes. Maybe you like the smooth shape of the chrome disk but not the color, so paint it.

[el`Ol]

http://www.tecnaro.de