Building your own cardboard speaker stands depends on how heavy your speakers are. While elevating small speakers to ear height makes them sound better, it is important to protect expensive speakers from falling, so speaker stands must be built appropriately sturdy. Two designs are easy to build and relatively strong. Each incorporates a wide base for stability, and each can be built from readily available scrap materials held together with a minimum of glue and hardware.
Cut thick cardboard tubing to a 35-inch length with a saw, making sure the cut is perpendicular to the length of the tube.
Mark and cut four 18-inch squares and four rectangles matching your speaker bottoms for each stand out of 1/4-inch thick sturdy cardboard. Glue the 18-inch squares together, spreading the glue thinly and evenly over the mating surfaces. Place a large, heavy object on the glued stack to clamp them while they dry. Repeat with the speaker rectangles.
- Building your own cardboard speaker stands depends on how heavy your speakers are.
- Place a large, heavy object on the glued stack to clamp them while they dry.
Hollow out a 1/2-inch deep circle in the middle of the top of the speaker rectangle stack for the top of the stand. Make the hole diameter just large enough to accommodate the washer. Repeat with the bottom of the 18-inch stack for the base of the stand. Drill a 1/4-inch hole through the stacks in the centre of the hollowed-out circles.
Fasten a fender washer and a nut over one end of the threaded rod. Turn the nut flush with the end of the rod end. Apply glue to the rim of both ends of the cardboard tube. Push the threaded rod through the top of the speaker rectangle stack, through the tube and through the top of the 18-inch base. fasten the base with a fender washer and nut. Tighten with a socket wrench and let dry.
- Hollow out a 1/2-inch deep circle in the middle of the top of the speaker rectangle stack for the top of the stand.
- Push the threaded rod through the top of the speaker rectangle stack, through the tube and through the top of the 18-inch base.
Spray-paint the stand.
Cut an 18-inch wide, 35-inch-long piece of card board for each stand. Mark the width off with lines in three 6-inch wide sections.
Bend the cardboard into a triangle along the lines. Apply glue along the edges you are bringing together, tape them together with 2-inch-wide brown paper packing tape and let dry.
Perform Section 1, Steps 2 through 5.