# Desktop Monitor Stand



## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

I started a small project recently and figured I would post as I work my way through it.

I have two monitors on my desk at work, and I wanted to get them up a little higher as to not be looking down during the day, and to make a little space underneath to push the keyboard and mouse under when not in use.

It is a very simple design, but it will involve me using a few different wood working skills that I don't have much practice with. I figured it would be a small fun project to learn on, and it probably won't kill me if it isn't perfect.

My shop time has been fairly limited lately, so this will most likely be a slow moving thread with me posting whenever I get a chance to work on it.


This is a picture of the top. It is two pieces of 1/2" ply glued together, and this is right before I glued to edge banding on.








Some pictures of the edge banding glue up. I ripped down some Poplar I had, which is "the good stuff" in my shop, and mitered the two front corners. I made a few miter clamp blocks that I saw in the Shop Notes tips, and they worked surprisingly well.


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## J Thomas (Aug 14, 2012)

Looking great so far CA.. I use those corner clamps as well. They do an excellent job for a freebee outa the scrap pile.
Good luck with the build & keep us updated.
..Jon..


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

*Pleasant Surprise*

I had called it quits for the day and started clearing out some space for a few tools I had coming in that evening. It was one of those friend's dad's friend's uncle type deals where the guy who owned the tools was storing them at a family members house after he moved out of state. I wasn't there to look at the tools, so I had no idea what type of condition they were in. The prices seemed absurdly low, so I figured I'd take a chance, fully expecting to get burned on at least a couple of items. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when a truck bed full of diamond in the rough tools showed up in my driveway late that night.

14" Delta Band Saw with rolling stand
- also came with 5 or 6 extra blades
1 HP Penn State Industries dust collector
12 1/2" Portable Delta Planer
- also came with an extra new set of knives
Delta mortising jig for table saw

Total amount spent: $250!!!

I'm pretty sure I won't be coming across a deal like this again anytime soon, I only wish I had asked for more tools!

































All of the tools fired right up without issue. The deck of the band saw has a fair amount of surface rust, and the fence was broken during the move. I am having trouble finding an owner's manual on it, so if anyone can help me with that it would be much appreciated. I have zero experience with a band saw, so the next few days will be filled with research and cleaning!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

Nice catch on the tools. That rust should be fairly easy to remove using mineral oil (or WD 40) and a plain old green kitchen scrubby pad. That is provided its only surface rust and has not pitted the table.

Your monitor stand and those edging clamps appear to be coming alone nicely. Usually all I do when gluing edging to ply is use strips of tape to hold it while it dries. I may have to try making a few of those clamps for larger projects. :thumbsup:


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## jaydawg74 (Nov 24, 2011)

WOW great score on the new tools!


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

johnnie52 said:


> Nice catch on the tools. That rust should be fairly easy to remove using mineral oil (or WD 40) and a plain old green kitchen scrubby pad. That is provided its only surface rust and has not pitted the table.
> 
> Your monitor stand and those edging clamps appear to be coming alone nicely. Usually all I do when gluing edging to ply is use strips of tape to hold it while it dries. I may have to try making a few of those clamps for larger projects. :thumbsup:


The tape will give you enough pressure to get a tight fit? Do you use regular painters tape? The edge banding I used was about 1/2" wide and 1" tall. It also had a bit of a crown in it which made getting it tight a little difficult.


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## MagGeorge (Jul 5, 2012)

Keep us posted with the work finale.




______________________________________

www.sawblade.com


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

What a great deal on the tools!

I'm following along with your build. I need to come up with some sort of riser for some of the stuff on my desk/workbench at work. Maybe you will inspire me to take steps toward that. Either way, I'm excited to see how yours comes together. Looks like you're off to a good start so far.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

I was able to get a little work done today. Jointed and glued up the panel I will be cross cutting for the vertical supports. It is made up of 2 pieces of 1x6 poplar with a 1x4 in the middle. I know that they don't exactly match up in terms of coloring, but it was the only stuff I had on hand.

I got my planer all cleaned up, and put a fresh set of blades on. It has already made my life so much easier having such a crucial machine finally. I thought I got all of the glue off from squeeze out, but I could feel a slight ridge down one side of the panel after planning. Is this from the glue or could it be something else? The panel was the first and only thing I've sent through it since I put the new blades on.

I also need to adjust the infeed and outfeed tables. I got a bit of snipe on either end, and I think if I can dial in the tables a little it could help. From what I've read, snipe almost seems inevitable.

A rolling stand for the planer is next on my list, as I am not enjoying dragging this thing out every time I need to use it. Also, some 4" fittings, clamps, and hose will be arriving Monday so I can start properly using my dust collector!


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## johnnie52 (Feb 16, 2009)

captainawesome said:


> The tape will give you enough pressure to get a tight fit? Do you use regular painters tape? The edge banding I used was about 1/2" wide and 1" tall. It also had a bit of a crown in it which made getting it tight a little difficult.


Yes, I usually just secure it with strips of painter's tape every couple of inches and it works just fine. The thing with glue is to get an even coating on both pieces, not to clamp it so tight that all the glue squeezes out. It really doesn't take more than finger pressure to make a strong glue joint.

Snipe on those small planers is really hard to get away from. I also have a DELTA and I've found that the only way to avoid snipe completely is to run a scrap piece in ahead of and behind the piece I'm planning. Also, did you flip the board over after each pass? Planning only one side can leave a ridge on the unplanned side especially if your pieces slipped during glue up. I saw that you used caws on the top, but did you use them on the bottom as well? With clamps only on the outer ends of the caws there is nothing to hold the center piece in alignment during the clamping and glue curing process and it could have moved a little.


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## rrbell (Oct 22, 2012)

captainawesome said:


> I was able to get a little work done today. Jointed and glued up the panel I will be cross cutting for the vertical supports. It is made up of 2 pieces of 1x6 poplar with a 1x4 in the middle. I know that they don't exactly match up in terms of coloring, but it was the only stuff I had on hand.
> 
> I got my planer all cleaned up, and put a fresh set of blades on. It has already made my life so much easier having such a crucial machine finally. I thought I got all of the glue off from squeeze out, but I could feel a slight ridge down one side of the panel after planning. Is this from the glue or could it be something else? The panel was the first and only thing I've sent through it since I put the new blades on.
> 
> ...


Sometimes you will get a small chip in your blade that causes a ridge. Planner blades get small notches pretty easily, sometimes glue or even a hard knot will notch one. Don't know how many times that's happened to me even with newly sharpened blades. Try running through the planner in a different spot. To prevent the snipe, or a least lessen it some, pull out with very light pressure after you run them through. Make sure you use the lock down casters, lol.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

johnnie52 said:


> Yes, I usually just secure it with strips of painter's tape every couple of inches and it works just fine. The thing with glue is to get an even coating on both pieces, not to clamp it so tight that all the glue squeezes out. It really doesn't take more than finger pressure to make a strong glue joint.
> 
> Snipe on those small planers is really hard to get away from. I also have a DELTA and I've found that the only way to avoid snipe completely is to run a scrap piece in ahead of and behind the piece I'm planning. Also, did you flip the board over after each pass? Planning only one side can leave a ridge on the unplanned side especially if your pieces slipped during glue up. I saw that you used caws on the top, but did you use them on the bottom as well? With clamps only on the outer ends of the caws there is nothing to hold the center piece in alignment during the clamping and glue curing process and it could have moved a little.


I planned one side flat, then flipped it over to flatten the other side. Last week was my first time ever using a planner, so I expected a bit of a learning curve. I did not use cauls on the bottom, and just had the material resting on the pipe clamps. 

I also think I jointed one of the edges of the 1x6 at a slight angle which made it sit slightly proud during glue up. Working with off the shelf 1x material made it difficult. I wanted to keep the panel as thick as possible in the end, and didn't quite prep it the way I should have by jointing a face of each board before gluing. 

Thanks for the tip about the scrap piece in front of and behind my work piece. I've read that before and just didn't think about it. Luckily, I cut everything much longer than needed just in case, so I was able to cut off the snipe and still have enough material.


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

*Update*

So I made a little more progress over the last few days. With Christmas coming up, I need to finish this project and start making room for the gifts I will be making this year.

I made an exact width dado jig a few months ago, and this is the first time I've really been able to use it on an actual project. 








It works really well, I just always forget that it makes for a very snug fit. I had to do a little bit of sanding to get the supports to slide in better.








Close up of the dado









I started this project for two reasons, to solve a minor problem, and to gain some experience while learning what works and what doesn't. The dadoes are a perfect example. I thought I would like the look of them being cut straight through the edge banding, but after cutting them, I realized that I don't. If I did it again, I would most likely put the edge banding on afterwards making it a stop dado. I went back and forth on this decision when I was laying out the project, and I will most likely try the stop dado method the next time I get the chance. Who knows, maybe I will like the way that looks even less!


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

This is a dry fit of all the parts after the dadoes and rabbits were cut.








I'm waiting for the glue to dry on the two center supports right now, and I plan on gluing in the end supports later today.







I'm about to start searching through the forum to try and find some tips on the best way to glue up the end supports. I won't have a problem getting pressure to hold it down, I'm more concerned with being able to clamp it from the side to get the tightest fit possible on the inside of the rabbit. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

This is a picture of my desk now, and the ******* solution I came up with. I initially propped them up like this to figure out the height for the stand, and figured I'd just leave them there until I finish this project.








More to come...


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## captainawesome (Jun 21, 2012)

*Finished Product*

I kind of skipped over a bit of the finishing, but it wasn't very interesting. I got it all glued up and sanded through 220 grit, and it really cleaned up nice. 

I had my doubts about the through dadoes in the edging, and whether or not this project was even worth the effort. As soon as I got the monitors on there, I was ecstatic with the end result! It was a stupid and minor problem that I had, and now that I have the stand in use, I don't know how I managed without it. Anyone considering building something simple like this should def. do it. 


























Once I set it up this morning, I was glad I didn't do the stop dadoes. I feel like having it this way gives it a much simpler and cleaner look.








I used a basic oil-based clear gloss polyurethane finish. Lightly sanded first coat with 320, then knocked down a couple of areas with some 0000 steel wool to even things out.

Thanks for looking, and I promise to make my next project a little more interesting. I hope this showcase helped some of the beginners, like me, out there with a simple project.

Oh, and the entire thing was assembled without any fasteners, which was another goal of mine!


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## Texas Sawduster (Apr 27, 2009)

*Nice work !!*

Nice and simple. !!!!


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