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DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2012 8:48 am
by admin
DIY Speaker Feet Coasters

Background: I use Martin Logan Vantage speakers with Mapleshade Threaded Brass Heaveyfeet. My floor is hardwood and I did not want the spikes to damage the floor. My original concept was to buy wood blocks that I could stain and use as coasters for the feet. I went to the hardware store (Home Depot) and found some nice wooden blocks in the "trim and crown molding" department. As I was walking around, I came upon the flooring department in trying to find a thin rubber mat that I could cut to attach to the bottoms. What I found to my surprise were some very nice 2"x2" marble sample squares. They were nicely cut, polished, and had rounded corners. I immediately grabbed 8 of them, and took back my wooden blocks. They looked really nice, and best of all, they were free! I felt a little bad about taking 8 free samples, but hey they charged me $5 for two 6"x6" inches of rubber padding so I'm sure they still made a profit. Overall my only cost was the rubber sheets. Below is the simple guide for making these:

Supplies needed:
8 2x2" Marble samples
Gasket Rubber sheets (or alternative flat rubber mat) 1/16" thickness and at least one 6x6" sheet
Crazy Glue (or alternative that will bond rubber to stone)
Ruler, Pen, Scissors

Guide:

First, get all your supplies together.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-01.jpg
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Measure the base of the marble stones. I would recommend the goal of leaving a border of 1/8" between the edge of the rubber sheets and marble. In other words, with my 2x2" stones, I marked out the rubber sheets in 1 3/4"x1 3/4" squares.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-02.jpg
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With a good pair of scissors, cut gently and slowly along the lines.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-03.jpg
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Once your all done, you should have your 8 (or nine in my case) squares.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-04.jpg
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Next, get your favorite glue. I used super glue which worked well.
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Apply a small amount of glue to the rubber sheets and stick them on the bottom of the marble tiles.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-06.jpg
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I applied some pressure on the rubber and marble for about 30 seconds and found that they were well bonded. It should not be a real problem even if it is not the best seal as your speaker will put constant pressure on these and they won't slip. And here they are all finished.
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Coasters underneath my speaker feet:
SpeakerFeetCoaster-08.jpg
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2013 12:30 pm
by admin
I was recently at home depot to pick up some supplies for a home improvement project and could not help but wander over to the flooring department. I picked up some more 2x2" marble samples and I decided to make a few more of my coaster feet.

I placed them under my center channel speaker as well as my power conditioner. Here are some pictures:

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Tue Mar 19, 2013 12:49 pm
by admin
I was at Home Depot to pick some things and could not help myself to a few more samples....
Both pictures are of the same coasters, just in different lighting conditions. I am using these under my turntable.

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:38 pm
by admin
Another set I made. A very nice white marble with subtle accents (picture does not do it justice).

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Apr 10, 2013 10:44 am
by admin
Another set made. This time with "White Granite" and "White Quartz" varieties. I also decided to strip a 1-2 mm section off the corner rubber padding. This was purely for cosmetic reasons as with the beveled corner you could sometimes see the rubber ever so slightly. This will make it more hidden. I think these will go under my amp and some other component!

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 5:36 pm
by camusmuse
Gotta admit, I love it when someone is able to get over on those mega stores. They have all but killed the "small" hardware store where the guy behind the counter knows the thread count and diameter of a screw just by looking at it.....and...has plenty in stock....and if not, will gladly order what ever you want.....ahhh I digress.....

Really like the marble feet. Will have to do that, much easier than cutting and polishing my "leftovers" from other flooring projects...lol.

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2013 7:34 pm
by admin
camusmuse wrote:Gotta admit, I love it when someone is able to get over on those mega stores. They have all but killed the "small" hardware store where the guy behind the counter knows the thread count and diameter of a screw just by looking at it.....and...has plenty in stock....and if not, will gladly order what ever you want.....ahhh I digress.....
Yeah, I hear ya, unfortunately we don't have any small hardware stores like that around here. Pretty much a Home Depot and then a Lowes a little further up.
Really like the marble feet. Will have to do that, much easier than cutting and polishing my "leftovers" from other flooring projects...lol.
Having the precut and finished pieces is really nice. They really are perfect size and because they are samples, they have a nice smooth finish on them and the edges are nicely beveled. I think it would be very difficult for me to make these of this high finished quality on my own, not to mention all the equipment I would need to buy just to attempt it.

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Apr 24, 2013 6:40 pm
by admin
Made another set for my Jolida JD9 phono preamp....

Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 4:01 pm
by admin
I had a pleasant surprise in my email inbox today. Audiogon's "The Hub" featured my Coaster Feet project on their website. Here is the link if you want to take a look:

http://hub.audiogon.com/2013/06/diy-coa ... aker-feet/