Okay, they're a little crude, but this is the first wood working project I've done. A while back I got an itch to put my tube amps back in my system, but I had no place for them on my TV stand. So, in a moment of inspiration I decided to build my own stand for each amp. I'm really surprised how well they turned out and now I have this weird compulsion to build more things.






Close-up of spikes. I spent a lot of time thinking how I wanted to install these. In the end, I drilled some pilot holes and pounded them in place with a block of wood and a heavy mallet.


Here's the stand in place with the tube amp.


The other side. As you can see, not a whole lot of room.


All in all, this was a very satisfying project. I think I spent a total of $60-70 bucks. The spikes were the most expensive things at about $20 per set of four. Initially, I think I wanted to go DIY to save money, but then it changed to simply wanting to do a project from start to finish. Believe me, if I can do something like these, you guys can, too!

These are things I learned:

1. Do not have a Home Depot employee cut your board, even if it is free. The first time I told the guy, "Cut this in half." He gave me one piece 10 inches long and the other 16. The second board I measured for him. . .

2. Sanding sucks. Especially when your hand slips and you get that splinter under your fingernail.

3. A little bit of wood glue goes a long way.

4. A rag is much better at applying stain than a brush.

5. Patience is a virtue.

6. Do not do a project in your parent's garage especially if they throw the cats in there at night to sleep unless you enjoy wiping dirty paw prints off the wood every day.

Awesome job Sean! When ya going into business.

Sean, those are pretty sweet. I love the way you mounted the spikes.

I wouldn't mind having something like that under my 80s to elevate them up a half foot.

Thanks guys!

Randy, if I could make a living doing this, that'd be pretty fun.

Tex, get to building! That would be a great project to do.

Pretty darn good for a first project, your wood working skills are a lot better than mine.

Great job. Nice DIY effort.

Beautiful amps. I had to Google Dodd. Never heard of them but good to know about them.

Very nice, Sean.

Does cat hair come free with the paw prints, or do you have to pay extra?

LOL! The cat hair is a free bonus.

Why do you wan them higher?

And Sean it looks like the stand turned out very nice. I love the color.

Half foot + Half watt = Shinier Beaver

PS: pretty cool stands, BTW!

Maybe I jumped the gun on that one. I've been meaning to raise my 80s up since that discussion about the M3s just to see what the difference would be. I'd expect the sound-stage to float higher which wouldn't necessarily be a good thing.

I love the performance of my 80's raised on my 8" stage below my screen...puts the tweeters in prime listening locations.

Isn't it prime for the tweeters to be ear level? I take it you sit higher up.

When seated in the front row lazy boys 13 ft away, my ears are around 41" off the ground, exactly the same distance as the center of the bottom tweeter of the 80's on the platform. That puts the top tweeter around 45.5" which works great for the front row and higher back row.

Well done Sean. Did you use Pine?

Thanks, Mike. Not pine--I found some poplar boards at Home Depot (I really dug the grain pattern on it). The first board had a really nice grain and clean edges. Of course that's the one the dude couldn't cut into equal halves. It was a free cut, what should I expect?

Your stands look very nice, good job.