Inventive_Dave
Member
(The Backstory) I was lucky enough to find a Gateway FPD2485W for $519, and based on what I had read in these fora, I bought it. Turns out the guy selling it (via Pricegrabber) lives near me outside of Seattle. So I got it shipped FedEx Ground, but got it about 18 hours after I bought it! Sweet!
So I needed a way to get the thing on a stand for a shoot this weekend. A friend of mine took a VESA mount from BestBuy and drilled some holes through it and stuffed a baby receiver in there to put it on a stand. It works okay, but isn't that adjustable, and doesn't look that great. I wanted something better.
What I found was this: The Sanus LCD40 or VMB-3, depending on where you get it. I got a scratch-n-dent from Target for $49.00. B&H sells them for $62. It's a two-section swing-arm mount made of cast aluminum. It's got these pretty neat tapered bearings joining the arm sections. I noticed that the fat end of the taper was very near to 5/8". A plan was hatched!
Anyway, I figured the two arm sections would put the monitor too far away from the stand and the whole thing would crash to the ground expensively. So I took the two arm sections, doubled them over, and used my drill press to drill 5/8" through the bottom one and halfway through the top. Then I used a 2" 1/4-28 bolt with 1" fender washer (both stainless) to bolt through the bottom one into the tapered bearing (which are threaded very handily all the way through) on the top one. This holds the two arm sections together, and allows for the attachment of the VESA spider on it's swivel.
So now I've got a really sturdy, adjustable, good lookin' mount for my really good lookin' monitor. The only prob is all Target had was silver, and I shoulda got the black. $52.00 including stainless bolt and washer! Oh, $53.95 if you include the tie-down knob that I haven't put on yet.
Sorry for all the words: here are some pics- have fun making your own! Half the price of FilmTools' mount, and more versatile!
--Dave
Oh yeah, the Manfrotto kit stand in the pic is way too small. Unless the monitor is directly over a leg, you're in trouble. I'll have to put it on a combo stand on set.
So I needed a way to get the thing on a stand for a shoot this weekend. A friend of mine took a VESA mount from BestBuy and drilled some holes through it and stuffed a baby receiver in there to put it on a stand. It works okay, but isn't that adjustable, and doesn't look that great. I wanted something better.
What I found was this: The Sanus LCD40 or VMB-3, depending on where you get it. I got a scratch-n-dent from Target for $49.00. B&H sells them for $62. It's a two-section swing-arm mount made of cast aluminum. It's got these pretty neat tapered bearings joining the arm sections. I noticed that the fat end of the taper was very near to 5/8". A plan was hatched!
Anyway, I figured the two arm sections would put the monitor too far away from the stand and the whole thing would crash to the ground expensively. So I took the two arm sections, doubled them over, and used my drill press to drill 5/8" through the bottom one and halfway through the top. Then I used a 2" 1/4-28 bolt with 1" fender washer (both stainless) to bolt through the bottom one into the tapered bearing (which are threaded very handily all the way through) on the top one. This holds the two arm sections together, and allows for the attachment of the VESA spider on it's swivel.
So now I've got a really sturdy, adjustable, good lookin' mount for my really good lookin' monitor. The only prob is all Target had was silver, and I shoulda got the black. $52.00 including stainless bolt and washer! Oh, $53.95 if you include the tie-down knob that I haven't put on yet.
Sorry for all the words: here are some pics- have fun making your own! Half the price of FilmTools' mount, and more versatile!
--Dave
Oh yeah, the Manfrotto kit stand in the pic is way too small. Unless the monitor is directly over a leg, you're in trouble. I'll have to put it on a combo stand on set.
