Issue: finding a monitor arm for a solid wood desk

[GeorgeGeef]

I've been trying to find a mounted arm to support a drawing monitor (15 lbs, standard 75x75 mm vesa mount).

The main problem I've had is finding one that fits my desk. I have a large solid wood desk with a relatively thick lip around the edge. Here is a quick sketch of the dimensions of the desk's edge.

The lip itself is just under 2 inches thick with a 1.25 inch overhang. There is a thin crossbar beneath that stretches 5 inches downward.

The main issue with the arms I've tried is that, as you can imagine, there is not a whole lot of real estate to clamp onto with the grommet mount. Some of them manage to squeeze onto it barely but leave a fair bit of room that frankly I'm not willing to risk the monitor toppling for. Does anyone have a suggestion as far as models of arm mounts that might work, or some workaround for the lack of space? Since the desk is relatively new and good quality, I would like to avoid drilling holes through it if at all possible. Thanks.

 

[burburbur]

The Humanscale clamp mounts work on desks up to 2.7" thick, but they are pretty deep so it would probably not work with that cross bar only 1.25" away from the edge. I doubt any clamp mount is going to work with only 1.25 inches. You could email Humanscale for more info on the clamp mount dimensions. If you don't want to drill in the desk and don't want to move that crossbar, your only other options would be mounting directly to a wall or getting a floor-standing mount (like the image below) that you put behind the desk.

 

[Iratus]

Another thing to consider is just replacing the bolt on another clamp with a longer one. You’d just need to increase the size of the jaw to make sure that the increased torque / leverage doesn’t mean it will topple. Maybe put a thin piece of fibreboard there too if you are worried about the edge of a jaw denying the wood underneath

That said, as per above, my humanscale 8.1 is good to 2.7” thick, it is two sets of mount points depending on whether the thickness is more or less than 1.8”

 

[noxqzs]

You could use an L bracket on the backside and a small C clamp on the bottom to hold it in place.

 

[Iratus]

You could use an L bracket on the backside and a small C clamp on the bottom to hold it in place.

that’s a great solution, nice!

I’d definitely go with that if you wanna save some money.

To the humanscale stand answer, this is what the clamp is like just FYI. My desk is an inch thick, if it was over 1.8 then you move the jaws onto those second set of bolts and it’s good for 2.7. As you can see though the jaws are pretty flush to the edge so it’d be fine with your constraints.

 

[cataclysmic]

Found this thread when I was looking for a solution to the same problem. I think this is the best product I found: Ergotron does offer a low clearance “c-clamp” under-desk clamp. It calls for 1.2” und the desk. Available on the LX and MXV models at least but not from all retailers.

https://www.ergotron.com/en-us/products/product-details/45-503
Doesn’t work for me since I only have an inch of clearance but thought I’d pass it along.