I don't know what I'm doing - portable desk

Rennie Heuer

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I need to build a desk for our video station in the AV booth at church. Normally this would not be a big thing, but this one needs to pe portable as we will roll it out of the booth and into another section of the building once a month or so to do recordings of training videos, interviews, etc. It needs to be sturdy, resist racking, and be easy to move for two people.

This is my plan, so far. Probably over engineered (as usual) but I really don't want it to loosen up, rack, get creaky over years of use and moving around. Lots of bracing. Not even sure what wood I'm going to use yet. Just thought I'd throw this out and see what comes back.

Video Station 1.jpgVideo Station 2.jpgVideo Station 3.jpgVideo Station 4.jpg

The lower shelf only needs to hold a Mac Mini and video capture box. The desk holds a video mixer, keyboard, mouse, and joystick control for the 3 cameras. The upper shelf holds 2 flat screen monitors.
 
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I think you'll be alright with the bracing but you might want to extend the base farther back a bit to provide some additional tip prevention. most of the weight will be over the rear casters making it easy to tip the thing over. I would consider some sort of mounting rail for the monitors. Remove them from their factory supplied bases and mount them onto the stand. There're standard sized mounting plates (I can get you a couple if you need them) for this and you can build the assembly for supporting the monitors easily enough. How about some fold up wings on the sides to provide additional space if needed for things like a script or misc. stuff?
 
Wow Dave - good suggestions. The monitors might not have the mounting studs as one is about 7 years old and the other is actually a small TV. I'll check. If they do I will incorporate your mounting idea as it will make moving the thing a lot safer!

Like this? (did not extend base yet.)

Video Station 5.jpg
 
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It they're flat screens they should have them although for small monitors the spacing changed from 75mm to 100mm at one point.

Yes, maybe something like that. You might plan ahead for a couple of larger monitors and make arrangements for the monitors to pivot in near the center so they don't can swing outward in use and fold together for storage.
 
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another thought rennie is to use solid ply panels for your support wings and they can be hinged or pinned together.. like they do for the sewing cabinets pull pins and your knocked down
 
I was wondering why you chose a structure rather than solid panels. Agree with Dave on the base rear extension.

But definitely if you thinking in terms of this being used for years give serious thought to screens. So much is changing in the multimedia scene that if you make this unit too dedicated to the kit that exists right now it may well be an obsolete unit way before its time.



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another thought rennie is to use solid ply panels for your support wings and they can be hinged or pinned together.. like they do for the sewing cabinets pull pins and your knocked down

I was wondering why you chose a structure rather than solid panels. Agree with Dave on the base rear extension.

But definitely if you thinking in terms of this being used for years give serious thought to screens. So much is changing in the multimedia scene that if you make this unit too dedicated to the kit that exists right now it may well be an obsolete unit way before its time.

Thanks gents. I wanted to go with structure rather than solid panels for the weight advantage. Moving this will require it being lifted down (or up) two steps through a doorway. The open nature of the design also allows for easy handholds.

Knock down was not considered as an option since all of the equipment will stay on the desk as it is moved. The way I've set things up I need only disconnect 6 wires to remove it from the sound booth, and connect 6 wires when it is rolled out into the hall to be up and running again.

I like Dave's idea of mounting the monitors as this facilitates the moving - not having to worry about fastening the bases to the shelf in some way. Yes Rob, technology is moving fast, but I think the monitors will be with us long enough to justify building a support for them. After all, the new Mac computer we just purchased is planned to last us a long time so the monitor we use with it is not likely to change. Now, that being said, some geek will probably come up with an idea that renders flat screens to the junk pile of history in about 8 months. :rofl:

Thanks for the input! Some things I had not considered coming to the forefront and I will incorporate them!
 
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I like the flat mount idea. I just ordered another vesa mount for my new photo booth from adorama ($15 total, shipping may vary for you). It's a stationary mount, one part slides on the other and a screw secures them together.

http://www.adorama.com/PEEPF630.htm...ansactionalEmail&utm_campaign=2point0Product1


For the articulating mounts, you may check ebay. I found some pretty good deals there with free shipping. This is the one I picked up for a monitor in the shop, had free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140646150365&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:1123
 
Another thought, I know you said this was for video equipment, but you may consider an add-on pull-out keyboard/mouse tray under the main table top. Would leave the top free for the mixing board if you had to add a computer to the cart for processing.
 
Rennie, you might also have a look at a mount such as this one from Ergotron. Not much money really and the engineering work is all done. I have their LX arm for my Cintiq and I really like it. I have it clamped to the end of my desk and can put the Cintiq in my lap when I need it or use it as a second monitor. You probably don't need that capability, though.
 
Another thought, I know you said this was for video equipment, but you may consider an add-on pull-out keyboard/mouse tray under the main table top. Would leave the top free for the mixing board if you had to add a computer to the cart for processing.
The current "permanent" desk has the pull out keyboard drawer as we were using a PC with a large keyboard. However, when I bought the Mac we opted for the small wireless and it is so small that the drawer is no longer needed.
 
I like the flat mount idea. I just ordered another vesa mount for my new photo booth from adorama ($15 total, shipping may vary for you). It's a stationary mount, one part slides on the other and a screw secures them together.

http://www.adorama.com/PEEPF630.htm...ansactionalEmail&utm_campaign=2point0Product1


For the articulating mounts, you may check ebay. I found some pretty good deals there with free shipping. This is the one I picked up for a monitor in the shop, had free shipping:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140646150365&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:1123

Rennie, you might also have a look at a mount such as this one from Ergotron. Not much money really and the engineering work is all done. I have their LX arm for my Cintiq and I really like it. I have it clamped to the end of my desk and can put the Cintiq in my lap when I need it or use it as a second monitor. You probably don't need that capability, though.
Thanks for the mount ideas!
 
Good work, Rennie. I don't blame you on the curves, thing, though.

One other thing you might want to consider is cable management. The open frame looks nice but once all the hardware is installed and connected, you'll have a rat's nest of cables and wires. And no matter how nicely you try to tie them up, they'll become a mess after people have used it a little while and moved it around. I have a lot of experience in that area and know how bad it can get. It might be worth designing a more solid back--at least around the top part. You'll also need to consider installing a power strip to plug everything into. Maybe a shallow box on the back that can be opened up to provide access to the cables would be a good thing.
 
After sorting out the final measurements and taking some of the fine advice I received, here is what seems to be a working drawing. I'll use the extending tilt/swivel monitor mounts as suggested, and I added two drop down shelves. I'll use the metal drop down brackets sold at Rockler or Woodcraft. I slid the rear casters back a few inches, but still thinking about going a bit further. Still working out wire management - but its not a huge deal. The monitor power will come from a power strip mounted under the lower shelf leaving only the two cables going up to the monitors to worry about. Keyboard and mouse are both wireless. All other cables from cameras and such will be bundled for easy disconnect when the desk moves to its alternate location so they can't be attached in any way to the desk.

Video Station 3a.jpgVideo Station 3b.jpg
 
Good, good. So how wide is this thing going to be? How deep? I would extend the base back about 3 or 4 inches beyond the uprights so the casters can be mounted back farther. Put a cord wrap on the back to wrap up the cord from the power strip when the thing isn't plugged in.
 
Good, good. So how wide is this thing going to be? How deep? I would extend the base back about 3 or 4 inches beyond the uprights so the casters can be mounted back farther. Put a cord wrap on the back to wrap up the cord from the power strip when the thing isn't plugged in.
How's this?

Video Station 3c.jpgVideo Station 3d.jpg
 
Nice. So you've got plenty narrow to go through doors. I still think you need to move the rear casters back more. It'll be top heavy and most of the weight is nearly directly over those casters which makes it easily tipped over. think about the thing getting moved through a doorway with a threshold or hitting a cable or wire laying on the floor.
 
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