How to Turn a Mic Stand into a Cymbal Stand

After completing my hi-hat stand successfully, I needed a stand for my crash cymbal. We happen to have accumulated a lot of mic stands (and, ironically, no mics), so I thought the easiest thing to do would be to repurpose one of those as a cymbal stand.

I spent less than $4 on hardware for this. I already had the mic stand and threaded rod, and the rest I bought from the local hardware store. The build was very simple and took me less than 5 minutes to put together.

Step 1: The Parts

You'll need the following parts for this build.

Mic stand with 3/8"-16 threaded end
3/8"-16 x 6" threaded rod (could be as short as 3")
3/8"-16 coupling nut
3/8"-16 wingnut
3/8" x 3/8" x 1" nylon spacer (2x)
3/8" x 1-1/2" rubber washer (2x)
Crash or ride cymbal

Note: the mic stand I used had a removable end, revealing a 3/8"-16 thread (I got lucky). If you can't find a mic stand like this, the outer threads on mic stands appear to be pretty universal, so the workaround would be to use a different coupling that fits that larger diameter and use a reducer to fit the threaded rod. You may also need a finer threaded rod if that's the case.

Step 2: The Extension

First you'll need to install the extension onto the mic stand that allows the cymbal to be mounted.

Unscrew the removable end to reveal the 3/8"-16 threaded end on the stand, and screw on the coupling nut.

Then thread the rod into the coupling and tighten everything down. The extension is complete.

Step 3: The Cymbal

Now you need to mount the cymbal. Slide first a nylon spacer and then a rubber washer onto the rod. This provides padding for the cymbal.

The slide on the cymbal itself, followed by the second rubber washer and nylon spacer.

Thread on the wingnut to keep everything secure. I found that tightening the wingnut all the way snug gave the cymbal more of a ride cymbal sound, whereas leaving about 1/8" to 1/4" of wiggle room let it ring like a crash cymbal more, which is what I opted for.

Step 4: The Finished Product

And with that, you're ready to play! For less than $5 and less than 5 minutes of assembly time, you can turn a mic stand into a cymbal stand to help complete that drum set that you got for $50.