DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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
SpeakerFeetCoaster-01.jpg (147.54 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
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
SpeakerFeetCoaster-02.jpg (120.9 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
With a good pair of scissors, cut gently and slowly along the lines.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-03.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-03.jpg (127 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
Once your all done, you should have your 8 (or nine in my case) squares.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-04.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-04.jpg (125.55 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
Next, get your favorite glue. I used super glue which worked well.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-05.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-05.jpg (131.48 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
Apply a small amount of glue to the rubber sheets and stick them on the bottom of the marble tiles.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-06.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-06.jpg (94.39 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
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.
SpeakerFeetCoaster-07.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-07.jpg (94.1 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
Coasters underneath my speaker feet:
SpeakerFeetCoaster-08.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-08.jpg (88.39 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
SpeakerFeetCoaster-09.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-09.jpg (86.27 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
SpeakerFeetCoaster-10.jpg
SpeakerFeetCoaster-10.jpg (84.09 KiB) Viewed 6947 times
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Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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:
Attachments
Coaster feet pre-construction
Coaster feet pre-construction
503.jpg (119.47 KiB) Viewed 6644 times
coaster feet done
coaster feet done
504.jpg (159.67 KiB) Viewed 6644 times
coaster feet center channel
coaster feet center channel
505.jpg (67.11 KiB) Viewed 6644 times
coaster feet power conditioner
coaster feet power conditioner
506.jpg (67.33 KiB) Viewed 6644 times
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Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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.
Attachments
coaster feet new1.jpg
coaster feet new1.jpg (119.19 KiB) Viewed 6621 times
coaster feet new2.jpg
coaster feet new2.jpg (106.11 KiB) Viewed 6621 times
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Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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Another set I made. A very nice white marble with subtle accents (picture does not do it justice).
Attachments
Arctic Granite coaster feet
Arctic Granite coaster feet
fr_515.jpg (119.29 KiB) Viewed 6600 times
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Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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!
Attachments
feet coasters
feet coasters
fr_519r.jpg (103.94 KiB) Viewed 6533 times
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Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

Post 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.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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.
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Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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Made another set for my Jolida JD9 phono preamp....
Attachments
coaster feet Ripe Cotton NR
coaster feet Ripe Cotton NR
fr_520r.jpg (112.21 KiB) Viewed 6429 times
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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Re: DIY Speaker Feet Coasters with Instructions

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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/
-admin
Home Theater in Member Gallery
Main stereo: ART Amplifier and ET7s2. 2nd stereo: PV-14L and MV-55. Previously Owned: PF2 preamp, Evolution 2000 Amp, PV-12AL preamp, D/A-2b Vacuum-Tube Digital Processor.
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