Hardwood Floors, spikes etc.

Posted by: Peter Stockwell on 18 September 2001

I'll bet there's a long thread on this somewhere. Tony Lonorgan remarked, in reference to Mana stands, that coins under the spikes are not a wholly good thing.

I'll be moving to a very nice hardwood floored room soon, and I don't want to have spike holes everything. I've seen Vuk's carriage bolt gizmos, is there anything like this ready made ?

Does anybody have a definitive answer ?

Peter

Posted on: 18 September 2001 by garyi

Now I don't normally go in for this kind of thing, but I bought these spike feet things a piece of round metal with a dip for the spike to go into, (An expensive 2p if you get me)

Anyhoo it completly robbed my speakers of bass, to such an extent even my girlfriend remarked, I promptly removed them and went back to the 2ps, with the added benifit of making it easy to push the spikes to move the speakers around on the wood floor. Mind you i have that pretend wood stuff so it slides real easy.

Posted on: 18 September 2001 by Happy Listener

Peter, before you think of putting coach bolts through anything (is this the plan?), check to see whether the floor is srung i.e. if it's a Junkers floor (laid in strips and clipped together), the clips are designed not only to hold the strips together but also to inject some spring in to it.

Furthermore, the floor must have room to spread laterally -- the instructions say 15mm across the width (perpendicular to the board runs), if memory serves. So be careful about bolting through it.

I have found the 1 or 2p solution the best, and I am not all overly concerned with strident/forward base.

Another point, if you need to run leads around the skirting, I use plastic electrical conduit with a rectangular profile (you may have already have wood moulding?) -- it finishes very well once the capping is put back on and covers the expansion gap very nicely indeed.

Posted on: 18 September 2001 by garyi

Pholland, I think they mean to use the bolts as a replacment for the spikes, at least I hope so, all of the new style floors require room to move.

Posted on: 19 September 2001 by Peter Stockwell

Is not so new, it was laid in 1979. It's glued to a concrete base, no 'weeny' suspended floor. Vuk's illustration above looks worth a shot. At a few euro cents each.

No bolting through floors just looking for an effective spike replacement.

My mate Bruce in New Hampshire is very pleased with the ball footer arrangement, but I don't have much time to go searching for the materials while building up to the move.

Peter

Posted on: 19 September 2001 by Happy Listener

Peter, just how does this work?

Am I right in assuming that the carriage bolts are threaded in to the spike seatings, and the round profiles then sit on the penny coins on the floor?
Or are you going to create a whole new structure per Mike Hanson's diagram, per his post under the 'It's the room' banner?

Can you advise?

I have heard of people sinking Philips screws in to floorboards and then sitting their spikes on them i.e. in to the tiny recess in the head.

[This message was edited by pholland on WEDNESDAY 19 September 2001 at 22:41.]

Posted on: 20 September 2001 by Neil Bennett

I use some circular metal devices with recesses for the spikes made by Linn. I believe they were called "Skeets" and were sold in packs of 4 for around £20. I don't know if they're still available (I bought mine more than 5 years ago). I "upgraded" from 2p's and don't remember much difference in sound, but the Skeets look much better!