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Retro-Mod Speaker Legs

winters860

winters860

AK Subscriber
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This is the ubiquitous JBL spun aluminum leg:

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Designed and built by George Nelson/Herman Miller, it was standard equipment on the C36 and C38 cabinets. A set of these is a nice mod touch for a pair of 60's or 60's-inspired cabinets. Unfortunately, pricing on a full set of eight puts them into the "unobtanium" category for a lot of us.

I'd like to look at some alternatives.
 
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The last option I'll examine is to forgo metal legs entirely and go for the classic wooden leg from Waddell Manufacturing, available from 6" to 28":

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http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/builders-hardware/furniture/furniture/6-table-leg-round-taper/p-1464795-c-9690.htm

Matching mounting plates allow for slant or vertical installation. The prop master from Mad Men will be knocking on your door in no time!

Slant:
http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/builders-hardware/furniture/furniture/angle-top-plate/p-1464807-c-9690.htm

Straight:
http://www.menards.com/main/tools-hardware/builders-hardware/furniture/furniture/straight-top-plate/p-1464806-c-9690.htm

If you know of other retro-mod legs available to buy new, I'd love to see them in this thread!
 
I'm leaning heavily towards the Ikea Capita for my next project. I'm having some friends pick them up for me while they're there today and I'll make a final decision once they're in my hands.
 
Despite style being the major attribute, I'd also consider how heavy the cabinet with all drivers installed will be. Some of those threaded mounting systems may not work well, especially if press-in captive nuts are used for the threaded studs.

I like the Ikea mount better for that reason, too.

Cheers,

David
 
I may put some IKEA Capitas on a pair of Frazier Black Box IIs. I put some (now discontinued) IKEA birch legs under my F12-4H speakers, and was very happy with the results.

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p6240001pi8.jpg
 
OK, so according to the folks at the West Chester Ikea, the Capita has been "discontinued due to quality issues" and will not be stocked again.

Back to square one... Does anyone have any other great vintage-looking legs to recommend?
 
I'm not sure I understand how to attach these legs to the speakers.
Do you build a kind of stand / platform, so legs attached to stand, and JBL speaker sits on this stand? Or what?
 
In most of these examples, a threaded stud screws into the leg and then into a captive nut in the bottom of the speaker.
 
Capita legs should be available. Ikea has legs for their Besta series in a few different styles. Aluminum legs for the Karlstad sofa are available also.

A really cool look would be steel hairpin legs like the ones originally designed by Henry Glass in '42. Several companies make reproductions of these.
 
Winters, in response to an inquiry I made to the George Nelson museum curator, the JBL legs are a contract specified version of the George Nelson thin edge leg. The specific changes were to make it five inches rather than seven, and change the three screw flange fastening setup to a center threaded stud with no top collar.

You will notice the footer and flare rate to be identical.. BTW, these are from humemodern.com. and still available for purchase. :thmbsp:
nelson_pulls.jpg
 
sheltie dave said:
Winters, in response to an inquiry I made to the George Nelson museum curator, the JBL legs are a contract specified version of the George Nelson thin edge leg. The specific changes were to make it five inches rather than seven, and change the three screw flange fastening setup to a center threaded stud with no top collar.

You will notice the footer and flare rate to be identical.. BTW, these are from humemodern.com. and still available for purchase. :thmbsp:
nelson_pulls.jpg
Click to expand...

That's wild! I learn something new all the time.

With regards to the prices on those reproductions, do I even want to know? :D
 
They are probably at the higher end of the continuim, but some of the knockoffs turn out to be just as expensive as the real vintage ones on EBay, shipping included. Your noted favorite is a good looker, but a little pricey also.

The rule of thumb I use is half price. Anything above 50%, you might as well get the real thing. The one set of eight prices out at around $80 + shipping, a deal too hard to pass.:thmbsp:
 
sheltie dave said:
The rule of thumb I use is half price. Anything above 50%, you might as well get the real thing.
Click to expand...

Whoa. That's double the cost.

My rule of thumb is buy the cheaper item as long as the quality is comparable. But I'm probably just a cheap bastard. In general I covet the design more than originality, unless I'm concerned about keeping collectible value. Some people think a Shelby Cobra replica is an abomination. I think it's a steal.
 
For the correct period look I would scour my local thrift stores and look for an old metal tanker desk, they can usually be had for around $20 and the tapered metal legs should easily unbolt.
 
DMannn, keep an eye on EBay for prices. While the legs seem costly, the JBL C series speakers that usually fetch the big $$$ are the ones with the original correct spun legs. For the true collectors with the deep pockets, the wood legs and the knockoffs are castoffs.

The reason these legs command $200 to $300 now, rather than the $50 they fetched five years ago, is because thin edged leg speakers now sell for $500 to $800 more than the tapered wood leg speakers, all things the same. Of course this is all moot if you are never going to sell them, and don't have the midcentury house that demands that look.

I just wish they made them at 7", as the 5" legs are a scooch too short for putting the tweeters at head level sitting down. JBL and Stephens both benefitted greatly from their associations with leading designers back in the fifties and early sixties.
 
The AlphaFurnishings candidate in the threads's third post would be the winner, at a little over $8/per. I would be tempted to further run that one down on a me-too lathe jig to the exact contours, after adding a continuation block for the additional half inch.

Even stock, they are almost a dead ringer to the inattentive.
 
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