DIY triple monitor stand (my take on it)

what degree bends would you recommend using for a 5x1 portrait setup? Would this warrent the 22.5 degree elbows, or would you continue to use the 45 degrees?
 
i would stick with 45 degree, no matter if the screens are portrait or landscape.
the 22 degree elbow makes the outlying monitors difficult to look at because you are looking at them on an angle, unlike the 45, where you are looking at each monitor head on. at first i thought 22 degree would be nice, but after i put on the 45's it was a no brainer. not to mention when i had the 22 degree, the monitors seemed so 'far' away when i was looking at them.

having 3 x 27" monitors on a 22 degree angle makes the far end of the outside monitor very far away, not to mention i couldn't read anything on the outside because it was like tunnel vision.

but in your case, you are going portrait, so you MIGHT be able to get away with it.
since you'll be more vertical rather than horizontal. I still say 45 degree in my opinion.

from where i sit, i can reach my arm to the middle monitor and touch it, to the left monitor and touch it, and the right monitor and touch it. that way i know i am in the middle of my semi-circle.
 
billberet said:
yea i know, in the good ole days, they were white, now they are a nice shade of yellow/white, lol
i think i am going to spraypaint them black, then they would look new again.
they sound great, just don't look very nice on my monitors.
i've had them for 6+years and they always work.
i cut my speaker mounts down an inch so the speakers look like they are resting on the monitors, looks much nicer, so i decided to keep them :)

time to break out the spray paint, then i'll post pics of the new updated ALTEC's
Click to expand...

Have the same speakers and I have been thinking of doing the same, but wasn't sure how to keep the spraypaint off the speakers.
 
not for me, my monitors sit about two feet from my face unless i'm leaned back in my chair, in which case I just increase the font size a little if I need too.
 
same here, i'm good.
only because i use 45 degree, so each monitor is the exact distance from me.
 
m_cochran said:
Have the same speakers and I have been thinking of doing the same, but wasn't sure how to keep the spraypaint off the speakers.
Click to expand...

yea haven't quite figured that part out yet, i might put some paper or cardboard inside.
i am not painting the grill. so i will tape that off, only the white part is getting painted.
 
I wonder if i can apply this to a tri 30 inch set up .... just so you know i might steal some of your content when i do it :)
 
mine is a 27" setup, it can hold 30" with no issues. 1/2" steel pipe works wonders.
but i would weld the joints like i did, then you'll have no worries.
 
just on a side note, time to make minor adjustments.
i need my monitors to be able to slide up and down to make everything even, that's the only piece that i don't have. so what i am going to do is take my monitor brackets and turn my main bolt holes into bolt slots. if they are slotted they will allow me to adjust the monitor up and down, and even a slight tilt if i go up on one side and down on the other, but since my arms are at 90 degree and level, i just need the vertical adjustments. time to get out the grinding wheel !!!!!!
 
the video is great, but i was lacking in sound, so i got a pair of eagle 75w speakers and sub. the tweets really give me crisp high's, the sound is great and the speakers look great in my setup. I chose them specifically cause they are square.

here is the new speaker setup
new1.JPG


close up with sub on floor and remote control on desk
new2.JPG


right speaker
side.JPG


left speaker
side2.JPG
 
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Nicely done for DIY monitor mounts. How long did it take for you to finish it? I like it. Keep it up!
 
dikkysun said:
wow,i love it ,it's shocked and amazing, how much do you charge it??
Click to expand...

took about 3 days to get the finishing touches on the stand, 20 minutes to make the speaker mounts. i think the total was $75 for all the piping and joints. and the extra brackets and pipe i had left over i used to make the speaker stands.

if i have to redesign anything, i think it would be the main base at the bottom of the 1" pipe. i just grabbed a piece of wood to secure the base, thank god i secured the main pipe to my desk cross beams, they are supporting all the weight of the structure.
the base wants to kick up against the wall and the top wants to drop forward.
but overall i am extremely happy.
 
it never ends.
ok new mods, i am spraypainting my glass tabletop flat black (underneath), and building in some backlighting on the monitors. i got a few superbright LED strips, 12v, i already created the plug that goes in the power supply, so i can pull power right from the PC. hope to have some pics soon.
 
here is the table top, flat black, waiting to dry so i can bring it inside.
i figured flat black, cause if i used glossy, i would see the reflection of the monitors in them. and i still get a glossy finish when i flip the table over and the glass is on top, with the painted side down.

here is painted side up.
table_black.JPG
 
wow, i didn't expect it to look this good, now i have to do more.


here is a closeup of underneath, painted flat
flat.JPG


new table installed
gloss1.JPG


side view of table
gloss2.JPG


top view of table
gloss3.JPG


i am currently working on the backlighting
 
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ok here it is, my famous back lights. This desk is getting pimped out!!!!!

here are the actual led's
bl.JPG


here is my FINAL tripple monitor setup !!!!!!!
GOD DAMN, I AM DONE!
bl2.JPG
 
My suggestions:

Give the boring white mouse a radiant lime green coat of paint..
Bracket on an adjustable-height foot rest. mmmmm...
Put a finish on that plywood base.
Perhaps you chose blue LED backlights because blue is your theme. If so, fine. If not, a yellow-orange spectrum would be easier on the eyes.
Or just paint bright yellow happy faces on your speaker cones to balance out that depressing blue.
 
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i don't think blue is depressing, it's soothing, when i'm developing it's easy on the eyes, and after hours of coding, trust me, i know.
it's an actual bright white, but gives off a 'blue' hue, maybe that's why it doesn't bother me much.
I like the mouse idea, it does need something, i've had that damn thing for years and just doesn't want to break.

i like the foot rest idea, knowing me it would make me fall asleep alot, lol

as for the base, it's just temporary till i make something more stable.
i should have done that from the start, i keep stubbing my toe on it, lol
i can put some quarter round on the edges and paint it black. should blend in nice.
or if i can get my hands on a piece of marble or some other dark stone, that would make for a good anchor.
 
first off awesome set ups. I'm doing the same thing and was looking for pipe hangers to no avail and then found this site and your set ups. I now know it can be done with backyard engineering. My first question is "where did you fellas find the pipe hangers"? when i tried to find at the depot they looked at me like was was an alien creature. Thanks for your quick reply
Did I mention what an awesome set up
 
i got everything from home depot.
one stop shopping !!!!!

go back there again, you might just have gotten an employee that had a 'duh' moment
print out one of the pictures to show them, maybe that might jar their memory.
 
Very, very nice. I really like the monitor setup. Might have to make a trip to home depot :D
 
well it's been a while but I did MANY upgrades, I now took my triple monitor stand and made it articulated, connecting it to the back wall, a little welding and I was good to go!


first I removed the 2" pipe and added an articulating arm, and a quick weld
1.jpg


I had an issue with it ripping out of the wall, so I welded a support bracket.
used 6 bolts to keep the monitors up.
2.jpg


when I am ready for gaming, I pull the monitors so It is flush with my sim racing rig.
3.jpg


when i'm working, I push the monitors back. so I have the best of both worlds
4.jpg








here are some games
running on my ATI HD 6990 with eyefinity
hawx.jpg



nfs.jpg
 
billberet said:
well it's been a while but I did MANY upgrades, I now took my triple monitor stand and made it articulated, connecting it to the back wall, a little welding and I was good to go!


first I removed the 2" pipe and added an articulating arm, and a quick weld
Click to expand...

Cool idea and nice job :).
You got me thinking though, you can get those articulating wall mount arms for 32 to 50 " tv's so cheap on amazon I might look into retrofitting my 3 monitor stand to one of those as opposed to building one from scratch. I mainly like the idea of not having the pipe coming down under my monitors. I'll have to think about this for a bit....have to figure out how to handle the wiring but that shouldn't be to difficult.
 
this is tru you can use those TV arms, but you will have to see how much weight it can support. my 3 monitors plus pipe are between 75-100 lbs. and when I pull the monitors out to full extention the weight is doubled, all wanting to rip right out of the wall. trust me I found out the hard way, luckily none of my monitors broke when they fell.

I am going to debezel them next, then I will get a better fit.

the arm I used was for a laptop station that you can pull out.
it was connected to a tray to hold a laptop, solid steel, heavy construction. that's why I used it. not to mention it was free ;)

if you make one post some pics. I would love some new ideas too!!!


as for the wiring, it's simple, you fully extend the monitors out.
cable them up one by one, then Velcro them in a nice bundle. then connect that wire harness to the arm. as the arm bends the wire bends too.
looks very clean that way.
 
billberet said:
the arm I used was for a laptop station that you can pull out.
it was connected to a tray to hold a laptop, solid steel, heavy construction. that's why I used it. not to mention it was free ;)
Click to expand...

I know this is kind of a dead thread, but I've been looking around the internet to do the exact thing you have done, and I was just wondering if you, or someone else could give me a bit more information about the articulating arm. Everything I've seen said that they couldn't hold 30+ pounds and three monitors plus the piping will definitely be over 30 pounds.
 
the arm would not break but it would not stay supported to the wall with the extra weight.
So I welded it to a steel strip, then bolted it to my stud with 5 lag bolts.
it's not going anywhere !!!!!

by default the arm cannot be bolted as is to the wall, it's just not enough surface area, I bypassed this issue by welding it to the bar, then I have more support.
it's been on the wall for over a year now and It has not moved at all.

i'll have to see if I can find who the arm mfg is. it's all steel so it can support a heavy amount.
 
billberet said:
the arm would not break but it would not stay supported to the wall with the extra weight.
So I welded it to a steel strip, then bolted it to my stud with 5 lag bolts.
it's not going anywhere !!!!!

by default the arm cannot be bolted as is to the wall, it's just not enough surface area, I bypassed this issue by welding it to the bar, then I have more support.
it's been on the wall for over a year now and It has not moved at all.

i'll have to see if I can find who the arm mfg is. it's all steel so it can support a heavy amount.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! I went ahead and got something made from my Dad's work for a good price for the monitors to mount to, and the articulating arm is a TV mount that I found on Amazon for less than $40.

Mount: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0055IX824?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

It was made from aluminum and welded together. The idea is the large backplate will bolt to the vesa mount of the TV mount. I am waiting for the monitors to arrive to put it all together. Thanks again for the inspiration!
 
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nice, it looks good and solid.
don't forget to post how it looks when you attach it to the mount, I might have to make some alterations to mine and try your idea !!!!
 
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