triple monitor desk stand!

[Christhenoob]

Goooood evening strangers!

As you can read in the title, this is the worklog for my triple monitor desk stand.
The stand will be made out of steel bars. The stand will hold 3x Acer 243 (24 inchers) monitors. Theese monitors are great for multitasking/gaming/watching movies because of the small bezel they have. only 14mm! (compared to other monitors that have 20mm-40mm bezels)

The before picture:

The lower part of my stand. The bars are there for stability when i mount the monitors.

First weld!! Yes i know, im not good at this. But trust me. It gets better

better?

Theese holes were covered up later, and they didnt show later on!

you like?

The first tack on the middle pole. Theese are just made so that the pole is stuck.

All grinded and polished up. What do you think?

Hope you liked this!

There will be a small update tomorrow. I'll show how i am mounting the monitors on the big middle bar i have yet to weld onto the stand

Stay put, and please comment!!

 

[oilfieldtrash]

Don't have any friends that weld?

 

[Christhenoob]

Nope!

My grandfather worked as a welder at a shipyard for about 30 years, but after he got parkinsons disease he cant keep his hands still. And as i hope you understand, a welder needs a steady hand.

Allthough my welds are terrible, they are covered up by the grinding arent they?

 

[rayman2k2]

Nope!

My grandfather worked as a welder at a shipyard for about 30 years, but after he got parkinsons disease he cant keep his hands still. And as i hope you understand, a welder needs a steady hand.

Allthough my welds are terrible, they are covered up by the grinding arent they?

I think I'm a little more worried about the strength of the weld...

 

[Christhenoob]

@rayman - i understand your concern, but all i can do is try this out!
I'll test this thing tomorrow. maybe i can stand on one of thoe angled welds to see if it can hold me (90 kilos) The three monitors weigh like 15kg all together, so i dont see that as my biggest problem.

 

[oilfieldtrash]

Yeah the grinding hides the welds but I'm worried about it holding several hundred dollars of monitors up.

 

[Redleader]

Id rather have ugly welds behind my monitors than a weak stand that drops my monitors. Just my opinion. Id test it out with something besides monitors.

 

[stiltner]

I'm not worried by looking at them. I've seen far worse welds, holding far more weight, on far thinner material.

As long as he makes a reasonable connection, pinholes in the weld really won't be a huge issue in this situation.

I've seen 1/32" thick material hold something easily 50x its weight. Trust me, he'll be fine

 

[Crispy002]

I would not mount a monitor on those welds, let alone 3. You can see from the picture where you grinded everything down that your welds are full of air pockets. This greatly weakens the weld as well as providing a nice little space for rust that will eventually cause the entire weld to fail. Picture #5 shows that the base metal didn't melt with the filler metal, which means it's extremely weak. The "T" section is better and probably strong enough since the welds won't be supporting much weight.

Practice on some scrap metal for a little while until you can get a smooth bead then do the load bearing welds for the upper arm you mentioned. If one of those breaks you might lose a monitor and smash a keyboard/hand/small furry animal.

 

[King Icewind]

Nice man, though you have 4 monitors in the picture. Not putting them all on the stand?

I would definitely consider rewelding. Most likely place for it to break as at or around the weld. Practice on some scrap metal.

 

[Christhenoob]

Hi!

i see that you have some serious doubts about my welding. I guess thats ok
Trained a bit today, and i think im getting better at this. Had my grandfather check all my welds. As far as he knew, they were approved. Remember: He is an educated welder, with 30 years of experience.

A few "teasers" if you will, from todays work:
do note, theese welds have not been grinded alot. Just took away the top layer of dust and other particles.

Please tell me what you think! As far as i know, this isnt as bad as yesterdays work..

This weld explains what King Icewind was trying to show me with his drawing. You can see that i started out pretty good, but rushed into it and got a bit thin weld there at the end.

 

[nlancaster]

That looks like a much better weld.

 

[Temo Vryce]

I have done some Welding in the past and know how hard it can be. Your second attempt looks much better.

 

[Christhenoob]

Its time for another update.
Today i did several things with the stand.
- Bought the monitor-mounts
- cut a new top bar (The one supporting all monitors)
- welded the top bar to the stand
- trained on my welding - very important!!

The pictures of my training are already shown, so we'll jump right to the wallmounts!

As i hope you understand, the one in the middle is for the mid-monitor. The two on the sides, are ofcourse for left and right monitors. I bought the "little" one for the mid monitor because this creates a fine angle of viewing. I hope my horrible explanation is made up by my fantastisk photography

Cutting the top bar here

Loooads of clamps

Muy importante that that the Top bar sits in a 90 degree angle on both sides here. Seems like that is correct!

The stand is done! I would love comments/tips on how i can improve this.

This is how i am going to mount my monitors btw:

The left and right monitors slide right in onto the top bar. The wall mounts will be welded onto theese small bars. The left/right monitor mounts fit like a glove onto that top bar.

This is how the mid-monitor will be welded on. Just showed it for today.

Next update will consist of:
- stress testing of the entire stand
- welding the monitor mounts onto those small bars
- welding the mid-monitor mount onto the stand
- grind everything down to a nice smooth surface
- test the entire stand with 3 monitors mounted onto it

 

[darkboricua921]

Thats awesome bro, I'm hooked. I've toyed with the idea with the past. I'm just glad someone is trying it.

 

[RS3RS]

I think people forget that this isn't exactly for automotive use, it's just to hold a few monitors a number of inches above a desk. You probably could get by with a few layers of duck tape. (Not that I recommend it!)

Good work so far man!

 

[brasherman]

Yeah, your second attempt at welding looks way better, but in all reality, the LCD's don't weigh 50 lbs a piece, so you should be just fine with what you have. Great job and keep up the good work!

 

[Crispy002]

Your second set of welds is substantially better and will last a very long time. Mount everything perpendicular and you'll be golden.

 

[Blazestorm]

The only thing I would be concerned about is balancing the weight... if it's too front heavy or back heavy it's just going to tip over once you mount the displays.

I didn't read too much into it if you actually handled this or not, I've been looking to get a triple LCD mount for my 3 x 23" NEC's in Portrait... trying to find one that can rather mount to the desk itself and let me switch to landscape too.... and be ~$100 or less D=

 

[Christhenoob]

Hi!
Been working on the stand for the last few days, and i can honestly say that i am satisfied. All of you "haters", and pessimists(hope i spelled that right xD) can suck on theese pictures!

Ps! I dont mean to be rude or anything, its just that no one seems to have any trust in me.

Without further due, here are all the pictures. This is actually a double update. I didnt post my last update here, because of all the whining about my welds n shit. Sorry!

Update nr.3
First off, i had to do some stress testing of the welding i had been doing. Only one picture here.. thats me standing on the -stand- for about 10 minutes. I weigh 90kgs, and i think its safe to say that the welds will hold. No one or nothing was hurt/destroyed during theese tests

Theese are the wallmounts for my sidemonitors. I will be welding theese together. If you dont understand why, then just hang around for a couple more pictures. Will show!

Ok, first side-monitor-"wallmount" is welded!

You can see that my welding is getting decent, atleast better than before!

this was the idea When my sidemonitors are mounted this way, i can slide the monitors all the way in on the stand here. Pictures below will show that this effect worked perfect!!

fits like a hand in a glove

Both side-monitor-mounts are done!

Not so tight anymore? =\ But wait! i Hazz solution

Drill a hole!

Weld a nut + bolt onto that thing. You can see here that both side-monitor-mounts needed this.

Much better

Time to weld that mid-monitor-mount onto the stand

Just did some tacks here and there, to get the thing stuck.

One of the welds are done. The mount looks kind of horrible in this picture. Only reason: Heat + bad powdercoat = ugly mess

Second weld, you can see that my endings are rather bad =\ Allthough, all my welds were approved by my grandfather (Welder with 30 years ++ experience)

Its done :O Well almost.. I was very happy with the way this turned out. All of the mounts are perfectly leved with eachother.

Just another angle here.

Ok, time for another update within this big ass update!
Update Nr.4

Ok! Time to get some work done with the monitors on this stand. Current population: 3

Since this is a real workshop, i had to make sure my monitors were treated well. This sheet of some kind, took great care of em

The stand in all its glory, right before mounting all monitors. Notice that it is VERY tall. This was later cut down and welded together again.

WOOT!!! WOOT!! First show off picture Also, notice that this thing stands by itsself! Allthough you all doubted me, i was right in the end The stand is also very stable. Will take some serious force to knock this thing over.

See how my idea turned out pretty good? The side-monitor-mounts work just the way they were suppost to.

The monitors sit pretty even together. Almost perfectly leveled.

Grinding down the entire stand

See the difference?

After grinding all the welds down with 60 grit, i changed the "wheel" on this thing, to 120

A couple of "show off" pictures

One monitor mounted.

two monitors mounted. See how this stand is VERY stable? Doesnt tip over, even when the weight is off balance like this!

Was able to change the sidemonitor-mount enough to do this. Perfectly leveled.

This shows one of the side-monitor-mounts.

Now this is awesome! IF i decide to buy larger monitors, i can actually change how the stand looks. All i did here, was to remove the mid-monitor, and slide the side-monitors further in.

Monitors mounted up, ready to go

And it is done!

My keyboard+ mouse fits very nice into this "area" created by the outgoing feet.

*Hover-effect*

Above. The monitor might look tilted here, but trist me. That is the camera angle and my horrible non-stable hands.

Working Also, notice how NO cables are shown.

With blitz.

my "smart" cable management behind the mid-monitor. And yes, it is safe to use a pad like that.

Another *Hover-effect* shot. You can see one of the cables peaking out there

The entire system.

And here you can see my ghetto wired system, running the four monitors.

(currently waiting for the new Lian Li V352 case to come out)

 

[FaRKle0079]

Sweet man! I'm digging it. Are you going to paint your stand at all?, You might consider adding some end caps to the base.

Lol at your wooden case. I'm sure the temps are pretty decent though.

 

[Wahoomcdaniel]

After enjoying it for a bit, I suggest that you take it back apart and get it powder coated. Also, find some plugs for the open ends of the tubes.

The stand turned out great. Good job.

 

[Christhenoob]

Thanks for the nice comments guys

Sorry i did not mention that!
YEs, i will be closing up the ends on the stand, and yes it will be painted black.
Going to contact a powder coater guy on monday to check prices and when he can do this for me. The final update with pictures will most likely be some time next week

 

[shadowlord]

well done!

now you need to weld together a case for your PC.

 

[guitarslingerchris]

That stand is pretty awesome and I am digging the case

 

[Blazestorm]

Wasn't being a pessimist, just trying to save you some trouble later

but looks good

 

[Christhenoob]

Wasn't being a pessimist, just trying to save you some trouble later

but looks good

didnt say YOU were either, but i guess you were looking out for me

 

[Kaos]

price wise what did the steel and monitor mounts cost?

 

[Rogue71]

very nice. so when are you taking orders?? lol. i think i would paint it a flat black though and plug the tube ends for looks. think i might take up welding....

 

[Blazestorm]

Yea if you wanted to make more I might take one if it could fit 3 x 23" in Landscape too that would be nice.

Triple LCD mounts are like $200-250, desk mounts are $80-100 ... =/

 

[Christhenoob]

price wise what did the steel and monitor mounts cost?

The steel was bought a LONG time ago, but i paid like 120 dollars for 6m of the 40x40mm steel, and 35x35mm steel. Yes this might seem expensive.. but its norway. Everything is expensive

very nice. so when are you taking orders?? lol. i think i would paint it a flat black though and plug the tube ends for looks. think i might take up welding....

Not sure if i should be taking orders They cost so much to produce, and i would have to charge you ALOT more than you'd want to pay for such a stand. And yes, i will get this stand painted black, gonna contact a powder coater on monday. Yep.. should plug up the tubing ends aswell, i'll have to think of something

Yea if you wanted to make more I might take one if it could fit 3 x 23" in Landscape too that would be nice.

Triple LCD mounts are like $200-250, desk mounts are $80-100 ... =/

The stand i just made, would fit 3x23" in landscape very good. As long as you have 3 of the same monitor, my stand pretty much fits for every monitor size up to 27" (due to the height).

But again.. This stand is a bit expensive to produce. The 3xlcd mounts you can find from companies around in the states, are cheaper than what i just made.

 

[Temo Vryce]

Great work Chris. I'm sure that your Grandfather is proud of the work you did.

 

[Christhenoob]

Great work Chris. I'm sure that your Grandfather is proud of the work you did.

thank you And yes, he was pleased with the work
In other news, i sent the stand off to the powdercoaters today. The said they would call me sometime this week

 

[RX3]

Very nice! I love it when people create their own solutions!

I am jealous of two things: 1. You have a lot of nice monitors 2. You live in Norway. I am half Norwegian and still have never gone. I am dying to take a trip up there soon!!

 

[craigr1982]

great work on that stand!!!

You've inspired me to make my own when I start my plans for a new desk

 

[Dasimpson]

all i can say is find a powder coater and well your futer job

 

[Christhenoob]

Very nice! I love it when people create their own solutions!

I am jealous of two things: 1. You have a lot of nice monitors 2. You live in Norway. I am half Norwegian and still have never gone. I am dying to take a trip up there soon!!

1. Thank you very much
2. You should REALLY go to Norway. I'd say the best time to travel around here, is June-July-August. Other than theese months, all we have here is rain and snow

great work on that stand!!!

You've inspired me to make my own when I start my plans for a new desk

Thank you! And yes, i hope i've inspired you to do some welding of your own ^_^

all i can say is find a powder coater and well your futer job

Already done Forgot to post that here (i think). The stand was sent to a powdercoater on monday, they told me that they would call me whenever the stand is done. Im hoping it'l be done by friday BTW: The powdercoater only charged like 20 bucks to paint the stand :O im soo happy with that price. I was preparing to pay like 100-150 dollars

Anyway, will update with some final shots of the stand whenever i get this back from the painter.

 

[nimbyfaygo]

1.

The powdercoater only charged like 20 bucks to paint the stand :O im soo happy with that price. I was preparing to pay like 100-150 dollars

Anyway, will update with some final shots of the stand whenever i get this back from the painter.

The whole stand is excellent. It will look very professional when it's finished!
A lot of the cost involved with painting is the prep work. You took care of most of that before hand, so the labor will be a lot less.(not to mention you got a great deal)

 

[KingSmoth]

Your initial welds looked suspect, but practice makes perfect and the stand turned out great. Congrats!

 

[Christhenoob]

Here it is! The stand is back from powdercoaters, and i can fainally say that this stand is finished. Check out the results!

Yep, the desk is cleaned (those spots there are scratches =\ )

The stand i am SOOO happy with the results

shiney surface

The keyboard sits nicely, and the colours are great for eachother

First monitor mounted.

Second monitor mounted.
The reason as to why i took the picture this way, was because i wanted to show that the stand can hold up the monitors being fully extended. How? Well, the point of *force* for the monitor, sits just in the joint where the wallmount is connected to the monitor. The outfacing bars are just a perfect length. And no, that wasnt planned. I guess im a bit lucky!

No tricks. Both are fully extended, and it still stands stable.

First picture with all the monitors mounted If you take a look at my last update, i think you can see that i've cut the stand a bit on that mid-bar. Due to the stand being too tall at first, i felt like i had to do this. my way or the highway

A bad picture, but i hope you can see that the monitors are lined up perfectly!

looks clean

this is optional, if i ever find out that 2 monitors are better then 3. Or if i get larger monitors..

Now lets try that portrait mode

No idea if this is looks good.. i personally hated it =\ Using a 5760x1080 solution fits me ALOT better.

The matrix is alive!
Idk why i still like that green thingy, but i dooo