Supporting my 'study' worktop thingy!

Bendy_House

Quite sensible. (Tho' 3x3 would be overkill.)

Please, tho', do consider what I said about that front-RH bracket - it will be out of sight, easy to fit, and transform the worktop support, taking the worst forces from the gallows. Ditto a far-left leggie.

Then a couple of gallows roughly spaced in between.

Please don't just rely on gallows for this - it's going to be a substantial and dynamic weight.

Bendy_House

Mind you, your desk will stop it from hitting the floor...

ChilliBob

Many thanks for these comments, I'm partially taking them in whilst out and about.. I'll sit down and draw it out to understand more. The weight is far from evenly distributed on top but there's other twists in the tail to add :0

ChilliBob

Right so here is a crude plan and front view sketch (yep, done the oldskool way!).

As you can see, from the looking front on at it perspective the right hand side, so the corner, is supporting both turn tables and a mixer, so this is circa 22kg, on the (probably) full width of 630mm, possibly reduced a little to say 550,600 etc, TBD.  On the left hand side it's just one monitor, about 8kg. This will be approximately in the middle of the 'left half' if this makes sense, and, this will be cut back considerably, 250mm perhaps.

So, the level of support varies considerably really.

This makes me think... (in addition to a Batton at the back, which I think will be 44mm square section pine) 

1.  Possibly a 'near invisible' breakfast bar leg right in the right corner about 80mm in from the front, right close to the wall (can even paint the same colour as the wall or something!).

2. Gallows bracket right in the corner, which will be mostly hidden by the speaker.  (so perhaps make myself with 44mm square section matching the baton at the back?)

3. Another gallows bracket on the other end of this full width section - so one either side of the turntable support essentially. This will be very visible as to the side of it the worktop will be cut back... So, if I make it myself, I can round it, sand it nicely, paint the same colour as the walls, fill any gaps in my joints plug screw holes etc.

4. Repeat what's in steps 2 and 3, however, this one will be smaller, max 275mm out from the wall, and will be *super visible* - as in first thing you see in the room almost. (on this side). 

An alternative to 4. Could be a leg like in 1. That's real tight to the speaker and painted, but I think this will look pants to be honest! 

So this would be one leg, two sturdy gallows and one baby gallows. Note how I've gone from making no gallows to making three, eek! 



Another possibility, which I have done before, is to attach two upright bits which would sit either side of the amp in the above picture, basically sandwiched between the Homebase cube storage and the worktop.

A 'near invisible' leg could also go between the vinyl storage and sub, set back say 20-25 cm from the front. (I'm hoping I can get these in say matt black, or some colour I can paint with satin wood to match my wall.

Thoughts? 

ChilliBob

Just reading through your previous post @Bendy_House...

"And the important detail is that the strut's ends should be FULLY secure to each rail and not be able to slip. So worth cutting in a shallow mortice near each end of the rails to take the strut's tips. Oh, and also that the two rails are well secured where they join at their right angle corner.

And if Chilli adds that hidden support bracket at the RH front, and a leg LH front, the dynamics of the gallows will change dramatically so they now largely only need to hold the w'top UP, and not pull forwards, as that force will have gone."

What do you mean by 'rail' in the first bit? And slip etc?  - I was thinking the gallow would just be secured top and bottom to the wall, and then just at the front on the top? Beasty bolts on the wall, small screws in into the top (it's 25mm thick, so not massive!).

As regards second para, rh front will have a leg (I think!), lh front is proposed to just have a small gallow. 

Bendy_House

"Another possibility, which I have done before, is to attach two upright bits which would sit either side of the amp in the above picture, basically sandwiched between the Homebase cube storage and the worktop."

This, almost certainly, is the single best thing you can do.

Are the Homebase units sturdy in themselves? Ie, do they have 15mm or 18mm chipboard sides like a kitchen unit? If so, and if they fit nicely flat and firm on the floor, then perhaps you can just add further sides to the top to fill in the gap to the worktop? Or, possibly safer, just fit two separate new sides to this - check out your local Facebook Marketplace for a cheap or free kitchen base unit. Paint it any colour your like.

Then, the standard stuff - a batten all along that rear wall. Either continue that batten up the RH return wall (front end secured to the stud beside the door frame) or else add a sturdy angle bracket there.

That will take care of the most important 'deck' section. Forget tallying up the weights of each item - that is academic. You, and other folk, will be leaning on this, sitting on it, plonking heavy objects down on it, and even standing on it. There's your cue - if you cannot STAND on this top without fear, then it ain't strong enough. These two vinyl-unit sides will make it strong enough.

That leaves the LH section. If you can come up with a strong support bracket for the very (400mm deep) end, then all you'd need between that end and the first vinyl unit side would be another batten as shown. From your sketch, there's enough space between the desk top and the worktop for this, and set it back a couple of inches and it'll be near invisible.

So, what to use for that LH end support? Your call. Could be a cut-down end panel (from the buckshee kitchen units) - that would be the strongest. Or, a gallows bracket of your own design. Or a leg. Whatever, it would have to avoid the speaker cabinet.

Bendy_House

ChilliBob said:

Just reading through your previous post @Bendy_House...

"And the important detail is that the strut's ends should be FULLY secure to each rail and not be able to slip. So worth cutting in a shallow mortice near each end of the rails to take the strut's tips. Oh, and also that the two rails are well secured where they join at their right angle corner.

And if Chilli adds that hidden support bracket at the RH front, and a leg LH front, the dynamics of the gallows will change dramatically so they now largely only need to hold the w'top UP, and not pull forwards, as that force will have gone."

What do you mean by 'rail' in the first bit? And slip etc?  - I was thinking the gallow would just be secured top and bottom to the wall, and then just at the front on the top? Beasty bolts on the wall, small screws in into the top (it's 25mm thick, so not massive!).

As regards second para, rh front will have a leg (I think!), lh front is proposed to just have a small gallow. 

The 'rails' are the two battens that make up the 'L' shape of the gallows. The diagonal strut must be very well secured to each, or else they will tend to try and slip outwards under load:

Good timber gallows will therefore be tenoned into the rails to prevent this from happening. The forces at each end will be considerable, so don't be surprised if skew-screwing, for example, doesn't work - the wood could well split around it.

Similarly, the right-angled join of the two rails needs to be very secure and strong.

Basically, if you can come up with a design that doesn't require 'gallows' (unless bought pre-made and of a suitable strength), then so much the better, I think.

Remember - if you cannot jump on top of the worktop without concern, then the supports just ain't strong enough :-)

ChilliBob

I'm sorry @Bendy_House our newborn is kicking off somewhat making both my wife and me kick into survival mode, hence my lack of response! Between nappy changes and copious cups of tea I did ponder the merits of the upright sections near the vinyl storage...

1. Solid wood the full width is for sure an option, joined to the top with a small bracket...

2. I wonder if two legs either side, one say 1/3rd from the back, one 1/3rd from the front would achieve the same thing whilst giving a less heavy look than two 90*60 odd sheets of wood...

Originally I had planned go just have fill width, or near so, bits between vinyl storage and the top, so they would be say 150mm heigh.. However, I guess that puts much more force on the Homebase unit.. Its basically a copy of an Ikea Kallax in essence. Although I intend to fix a decent thickness ply or OSB board to the back to reinforce it .

I think the whole upright side of things is a new avenue to explore. I'll see what's out there and how it may look. It's for sure a good solution, I just need to consider aesthetics and 'visual' weight.

Gallows, tempted to make mysllelf, however, I suspect unless a recent mortice and tennon joint then its strength will be reduced. Whilst I may have done this 25 years ago in CDT its a bit rusty!

I'm bound to add further detail to this thread, and pics, once out of survival mode :0

DanDare999

Is there any reason why you can't make the vinyl storage part of the whole thing? That way a good percentage would be supported by that. 

ChilliBob

DanDare999 said:

Is there any reason why you can't make the vinyl storage part of the whole thing? That way a good percentage would be supported by that. 

Yeah I did go down that route to start, however, the wood and construction time made it prohibitively expensive compared to the purpose built units, especially when it was on offer.

They aren't as good (looks and strength wise) as something that'd I'd make from wood from scratch, but I have to take some compromises sometimes or I'd never finish a job!