Monitor Stands

[jmhobbs]

Time to build a pair of stands for my new monitors.

Here's the master plan (all dimensions in inches):



Base and tops will be made of cherry. The pillar will be made of plywood then laminated with striped sapele. Probably add a little wenge for accent. Pillar will be sealed and filled with sand.

Jon

[jmhobbs]

Here's the starting point; the raw materials 'cept the wenge and sand:



The board on the left is the sapele. It'll be sliced into thin layers and glued to the surface of the pillar. The middle board will become bases, the 3rd board is destined to be tops. The dowels are for joint reinforcement. The sheet of plywood standing on the right will be ripped into strips and screwed together to form the pillars.

Jon

[jmhobbs]

First blood:



I didn't have boards wide enough for the bases and tops, so each of these chunks is paired up with a buddy and the 2 pieces will be glued together to create a wide enough board. Also two narrower boards glued together is less likely to cup and warp than 1 wide board. Wood movement is a concern when dealing with pieces this wide, and I'm still working out the details of how to deal with it.

Jon

[jpaavfc]

Dude, those are gonna look really sweet!!! Cherry is a beautiful wood. Great choice, can't wait to see more pics.

[jmhobbs]

Thanks jp! I've been making a little more progress. Found a gorgeous piece of wenge. It looks stunning just standing next to the sapele. No new pix to post yet, but I did whip up a 3D rendering of the intended result:

[aww-de-oh]

That's going to be purdy!
thanks for sharing, and happy woodworking!

I'd consider doing something else besides a simple "butt joint" (gluing the two ends together for the base and top), as this is the weakest type of joint.
At the very least, i'd cut the joining edges at (oppisite) 45° angles, as that will make more 'surface area' for the wood to glue to.

This wiki article should give ya more ideas if you're not sure what type of joint you want:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodworking_joints

[jmhobbs]

Thanks Aww-de-oh. I'm not sure exactly which butt joint you're referring to - connecting the 2 boards together to make a wider board, or attaching the top and bottom to the pillar. If the former, its a long grain-to-long grain joint. With modern adhesives, such a joint is very strong. Nonetheless, those joints will be reinforced with dowels to add more glue surface. It's a technique I was taught by a guy that's been a pro furniture builder for over 50 years.

If you're referring to the joint between the base (or top) and the pillar, that'll be reinforced with screws. And gravity will be working to keep the joint together.

Thanks for the input, I'm always open to learning new tricks!

Jon

[aww-de-oh]

[connecting 2 boards to make 1 wider board] Nonetheless, those joints will be reinforced with dowels to add more glue surface

^
that one.

Wouldn't want you to have things come crashing down in a couple of years.
but,
With the dowels you should be golden. (even without them, you may be alright.. but monitors tend to be pretty darn heavy... not to mention EXPensive! hehe)

the base/top connection to the pillar should be just fine, as you said.
Looking forward to the build! Keep us posted.

[hewhoiscalledj]

These stands going over carpet or hardwood? If carpet, be sure to use spikes. Extra cool if there's concrete underneath.

[jmhobbs]

even without them, you may be alright.. but monitors tend to be pretty darn heavy... not to mention EXPensive! hehe)

Indeed. A pair of Dynaudio BM12's will be perched atop these stands, so I'm definitely paying heed to issues of weight and longevity as pertains expense. That's the main reason I spec'd 1.5" thick hardwood for the bases. Cherry that thick isn't cheap.

I just tested one of the bases. I propped 2 edges on a couple scrap boards, then stood in the center of it. Then bounced a few times for good measure. Solid as a rock. Not a bit of flex. I probably weigh 3 times what the stand (filled with sand) and monitor combined weigh. Obviously that says nothing for the long-term stability, but I feel pretty good about things staying put. I've considered putting a "foot" under the center of the base (like on the 4 corners) to help bear a lot of the weigh and remove stress from that joint. But the floor in my studio area ain't exactly flat as a snooker table, so that could make things wobbly which would cause more problems than it fixes.

Thanks again for your interest and input!
Jon

[jmhobbs]

These stands going over carpet or hardwood? If carpet, be sure to use spikes. Extra cool if there's concrete underneath.

It'll either be bare concrete, or very thin carpet with no pad over concrete. It's currently bare concrete, but I'm jonesing to roll a cheap piece of carpet out to make things a little nicer. I'll definitely look at spikes if carpet goes down. Great suggestion!

Jon

[jmhobbs]

Here's one half of a top prepped for dowels and glue:



Two halves of a top about to be glued and clamped together:



A base that just came out of the clamps. My procedure for getting the dowel holes aligned didn't work quite as well as I had hoped so the 2 halves are off a bit. A few passes through the thickness planer tidied things up nicely though.



Strips of plywood about to be screwed and glued to form pillars:



Pillars resting on their bases:

[hewhoiscalledj]

Holy cheezits batman... that is one ridiculously awesome build. Now let me get this straight... you have a planer but not a drill press? I'm guessing aligning the dowel holes got messed up because you used a handheld drill? I'm not much of a woodworker but I've always wanted a drill press just so i can make perfectly vertical holes.

Anyway, great job so far man! Those are some of the most solid looking stands i've ever seen (next to the concrete pillars anyway.)

[hewhoiscalledj]

Holy cheezits batman... that is one ridiculously awesome build. Now let me get this straight... you have a planer but not a drill press? I'm guessing aligning the dowel holes got messed up because you used a handheld drill? I'm not much of a woodworker but I've always wanted a drill press just so i can make perfectly vertical holes.

Anyway, great job so far man! Those are some of the most solid looking stands i've ever seen (next to the concrete pillars anyway.)

[redheadbass]

I'd consider doing something else besides a simple "butt joint" (gluing the two ends together for the base and top), as this is the weakest type of joint.

Acoustic guitars, mandolins, violins, upright basses, and electric guitars are all built using butt joints. Agreed, dowels are a good idea, but there aren't any in a strat, and you can smash the crap out of a Marsall stack without breaking the body!

Those are some nice stands BTW.

[jmhobbs]

Holy cheezits batman... that is one ridiculously awesome build. Now let me get this straight... you have a planer but not a drill press? I'm guessing aligning the dowel holes got messed up because you used a handheld drill? I'm not much of a woodworker but I've always wanted a drill press just so i can make perfectly vertical holes.

Well, that's the embarassing part - I do have, and did use a drill press. I'm not sure exactly what went wrong, but the 2 pieces were only off by an 1/8 or less. Not a big deal, but I was hoping for better. I think keeping the board, on edge, perfectly perpendicular to the drill-press table may have been the point of failure. The fence that came with the press wasn't perpdicular to the table, and was too short to be of much use anyway. If I had to do it again, I'd fashion a jig of some sort to keep the pieces locked in perfect alignment with the bit.

Anyway, great job so far man! Those are some of the most solid looking stands i've ever seen (next to the concrete pillars anyway.)

Thanks mate!

Jon

[Elpimpo]

good job!!

Looks GREAT!

[jmhobbs]

Acoustic guitars, mandolins, violins, upright basses, and electric guitars are all built using butt joints. Agreed, dowels are a good idea, but there aren't any in a strat, and you can smash the crap out of a Marsall stack without breaking the body!

Yup. Long grain-to-long grain is the key. With today's glues, that type of joint is as strong as, if not stronger, than the wood itself. I've seen tests where they use hydraulic presses to try to pull two glued-together boards apart. Ninety-nine times out of a hundered, one of the boards splits before the glue-joint separates. On the other hand, end grain to long grain will fail if you just look at it funny. The dowels also help prevent warping and cupping which can be a problem on wider pieces like I'm using.

All that said, the joint in the base of my stand will have about 100lbs of force pushing down on it 24-7 for life (or until I get wild hare to build a dedicated studio and soffit the monitors ), but I feel confident they'll hold up.

Those are some nice stands BTW.

Thanks!

Jon

[jmhobbs]

good job!!

Looks GREAT!

Thank you sir!

Jon

[Elpimpo]

if you can stain them to look like ^this and leave me space to fillem wit concrete (shipping ya know?) i just might make you an offer you cant refuse....

seriously, looking forward to see the result.

most people dont post enough pics. please keep us updated

[jmhobbs]

leave me space to fillem wit concrete

i just might make you an offer you cant refuse....

Looks like I've got the mob on my !

Well, the process of creating veneer crashed and burned. So it's off to the lumber yard to see if I can find another attractive piece.

Jon

[hewhoiscalledj]

Maybe I missed it earlier, but one huge suggestion I have to improve the design is to implement some form of cable management. Maybe a channel along the back with clips (at the least) to keep it all nice and tidy. Heck, a breakout box at the bottom so you can plug and unplug from the base and have nothing showing (cablewise.) Way overkill, but it would fit that project nicely.

[jpaavfc]

Can't wait to see these stands finished, looking really great so far.

[jmhobbs]

Maybe I missed it earlier, but one huge suggestion I have to improve the design is to implement some form of cable management. Maybe a channel along the back with clips (at the least) to keep it all nice and tidy. Heck, a breakout box at the bottom so you can plug and unplug from the base and have nothing showing (cablewise.) Way overkill, but it would fit that project nicely.

No, you didn't miss it. I did give it a thought early on in the conception phase, but then it slipped my mind. Thanks for the reminder! I'll see what I can do to include that in the design.

Jon

[jmhobbs]

Can't wait to see these stands finished, looking really great so far.

Thanks mate!

Ok boys and girls:

The bad news: I went to the lumber store yesterday and couldn't find any boards I like that would match up well with the cherry parts that have already been constructed. I found some way-cool zebrawood. Sweet grain, matches with the wenge perfectly. But the color wouldn't fit with the cherry. I did consider re-making the bases and tops out of walnut which would match the zebrawood, but then that's like pretty much starting over. If I ever need another pair of stands, I'd seriously consider doing a set of walnut/zebrawood/wenge. They'd look sweet.

The good news: I found some nice sapele online. Perfect coloration, nice ribbon striping, and a lot thicker than the board I started with, which should make things easier the second time around. It's been ordered.

The bad news: I have to wait for it to be delivered. And I'll be out of town on business next week Looks like the project is on hold for a week

Jon