Console Table Construction

[frederic]

More pictures. The last picture shows the entire table, bolted together, upside down. Tomorrow I have to do the cross pieces that actually support the gear, then grind down all the beads, prime and paint. Then dismantle it, and hump it up a flight of stairs without destroying my new walls

I gave up trying to have the table be one span, supported only on the far away sides, so I solved two problems with one solution... I made a leg support in the center towards the back of the table, so there is still room for my legs when I'm sitting in front of the table. Also, this gives me two additional bolt-through points to join the two sides of the table together, for a total of four. The leg will support the two halves, and also make the center joint that much more rigid. $22 worth of steel, all done.

Michael - welding doesn't have to be difficult. The process I use is Gasless Fluxcore MIG. The welder is a large box, with a spool of welding wire in it, which feeds through the hose and the gun (the part you weld with), and the wire forms the arc. All you need for this kind of welding is a 20A, 120V outlet, a face mask, gloves, and the welder itself. Mine is a Lincoln SP135 which is more than enough for welding 1/8" thick material. This unit is typically $550 - $600 or so, and a really nice unit. Hobart and Miller also make welders of this time, and cost a hair more.

If you're ever in my neck of the woods (central NJ) I'd be more than happy to teach you how to weld with this method. Within 2 hours you'll have it down pat. Its really that easy. Just takes a little time to figure out how to set the machine for different thicknesses, as well as learning the hand control. Also there will be wood on the front of this, giving me a nicer appearance since I'll be using poplar. Also, a desk surface so I can route an indentation for my trackball and keyboard, then cover with foam and stretched material over that, for a nice cushiony surface to lean on. More than likely I'll use vinyl, since its inexpensive, easy to clean, and provides a nice tough surface as long as one doesn't puncture it. The desk surface supports aren't attached yet, that should occur tomorrow if the weather holds out, snow wise.

Rick - I used to be vary happy with a ibanez guitar, a 4-track, and a roland TR202 drum machine. This was back in 1983 though... things have scaled over the years - scaled up!

 

[geet73]

Welding is kinda fun. I'm not all that good with it.. but whever I do it, the arc just keeps me mesmerized. Heh.

I can't wait to see this all put together.

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Hey frederic...........H E L P!!! Sorry I didn't post the CAD drawings of the arm rest yet. Tomorrow at the soonest. I just fired up my NEW computer on Saturday, and BAM!!!! Immedietly I picked up some kind of virus. Still got it. Been fighting the mofo ever since. Looks like I'll have to reformat the whole hardrive. Picked up something that redirects internet searchs to a wierd homepage. I even found a whole website dedicated to eradicating it. But, looks like too much trouble for me. Its easier to reformat. DAMN!!! Anyway, I'll post those as soon as I get the files and autocad loaded. My sister-inlaw managed to save my files from my old hardrive that crashed God, I hate computers. I suck when it comes to this stuff. Oh well, thank god for gurus.
BTW, your console frame is lookin AWESOME!! Been working on mine too, all week. Soon as I get this damn computer thing solved, I'll poke all three of em in the belly box and start inserting the goodies
fitZ

 

[frederic]

Sorry you have to reformat, that blows. You might consider acquiring some kind of tape backup drive, and after you reinstall, back it up. I have a large network in the house (with several servers), and one of the servers connects to a SCSI-attached HP Surestore quad 70gig DLT, 15 tape library. This of course is gross overkill for most people, but backing up data is critical if its valuable (and/or your time is valuable). You could even backup your system with a DVD writer these days...

When my studio PC's go back online, its actually two PC's. One for midi, audio, etc, one for adobe premiere, animation, and other software that takes forever to "render". I don't surf the internet on either machine, at all, ever. Neither PC can see the internet, and the internet cannot see them.

To read mail or surf the internet, I have to open a remote "VNC" viewer, pointing that viewer to a small linux computer in my server racks in the basement. Or, this laptop, which has absolutely nothing on it of any value. Surfing using Linux is great because all the virii I've seen thus far in the last decade goes after WinBlows, rather than Linux.

Plus, old PC's make good linux computers. Linux can be tuned for specific hardware and is blazing fast as compared to winbloze. Of course you can't run Sonar, Premiere, Bryce3d on Linux. But keeping internet surfing and studio stuff seperate has kept me out of the virus, popup, redirect hassles that everyone else experiences. This laptop is windows, and the only thing on it is emule for file sharing and a IE for net surfing. If it gets infected, I have a boot image DVD I created with the "build", I simply put in the DVD, it boots, I press "reinstall" with the mouse, it wipes the drive and reimages the entire laptop and I come back a few hours later with XP Pro, emule, and IE on it

BTW, your console frame is lookin AWESOME!! Been working on mine too, all week. Soon as I get this damn computer thing solved, I'll poke all three of em in the belly box and start inserting the goodies
fitZ

Thank you... its been a fun project thus far, though the snow that's expected today and tomorrow might torture me a little bit. But I have no choice, it must be done this weekend as there are no more nice days left. Can't finish the floor until the console table is done, painted, assembled. As it is I have to paint it upstairs in the studio where I can get the temperature to painting temps.

For the arm rest, workspace, PC Keyboard/trackball area, I'm going to weld on 10" long 1" square tubing across the front of the desk every so often, bore holes through the ends of those pieces vertically, and use short deck screws through them into the wood that I choose to put on top of them. I am fairly sure I'll use poplar, but that may change. Originally I was going to use pine, but looking in the corner of the room I see that my pine is highly curved and warped in several directions. Oh well, should have known better.

 

[frederic]

Welding is kinda fun. I'm not all that good with it.. but whever I do it, the arc just keeps me mesmerized. Heh.

I can't wait to see this all put together.

There are many different methods of welding the "home guy" can do. I view welding as "soldering with a huge soldering iron".

Gas welding, which uses oxygen and a fuel, typically oxyacetelyne though sometimes propane, can also be used for welding steel. My welds look much better with this method, as I've been using this method for decades. But, then you have to deal with refilling tanks, and sad to say, unless you weld constantly, i.e. for a living, you have to deal with the tank nazi's. You either rent your tanks for $30-50 a month (each), or you buy them outright for $300 each, and exchange them for refilling. And if your welding place goes under, no one else will touch your tanks. That's happened to me twice in my life now. Not fun.

Mig welding comes in two flavors, fluxcore which is the method I'm using, in which the welding wire inside the machine has a coating on it which provides the shielding around the weld puddle to prevent contamination. Works great, but generates a lot of smoke and fumes. People often complain this method is difficult because of the smoke, but the trick to it is not to place your face shield above the smoke, but rather next to it. I weld outside, so the smoke goes right up and away. If I'm welding a smaller project in the garage, I'll just put one of those white fans on the edge of my welding table and blow the smoke away.

Mig welding with shielding gas produces cleaner looking welds, using either CO2, Argon, or a mix of the two, depending on what you want to weld. While the welds look much better, this introduces two problems for the DIY'er. First, you're dealing with the aforementioned tank nazi's as you have to have a tank of shielding gas, and second, the spool of wire in the machine, because its not flux coated, will rust very quickly if you don't use it up. If you live in a dry, hot climate (arizona) this is not an issue, but if you're in a humid area the bare wire becomes useless quickly. To save money, I buy large spools in bulk, so this was another reason why I chose fluxcore.

TIG welding is by far the sexiest... the machines are more expensive but the welds are by far prettier. This is because the area that you heat for your weld is by far smaller, its very localized. One of the reasons why TIG is preferred for aluminum - the entire workpiece doesn't sag and drip onto your worktable

I've welded aluminum with my MIG welder though, using an Argon/Helium mix, with decent results. Not as pretty as TIG of course, but the parts "stuck" and were very strong. The Lincoln 135 is a very versatile welder for sure. Its big enough to do decent sized jobs (like the 1/4" plate "superbumper" I made for my truck, see pics further up this thread), as well as able to be adjusted down for welding steel as thin as 22ga. Really, really, thin stuff.

There is also arc welding, which is nothing more than a huge-ass transformer in a box, with a switch to control what tap you're drawing power from. Arc welders are very well suited for thicker materials, as the penetration of the weld is deeper. This is what you use for welding bucket loaders, trailer hitches, stuff in the 1/2" thick and up range. You can weld thinner materials with an arc welder, but its much more difficult. The major advantage I see with Arc welding is twofold - the welder itself is cheaper ($200-300 or so) and what you weld doesn't have to be clean. Because the current is so high, any dirt or paint just evaporates off your welds. Mig, Tig, and Gas welding require some prepwork in order to make an effective weld.

Every weld I've done on this table, for example, required a quick zap with the angle grinder... because steel is covered with a hardened black oxide coating. Its part of the manufacturing process in making the steel, and it protects it from rust at least for a short time, long enough to ship from the plant to the warehouse and in turn, to you.

You probably can't see from my low-res pictures, but there are a few spots here and there across my table where rust has formed, in little 1/4" to 1/2" patches. This is where I've bumped the steel with a tool, banged it around on the way home in my pickup, etc. The black oxide coating was chipped off.

But, before I paint I'll have to sand the entire console table, then prime it with a good automotive primer. Then paint.

Anyway, sorry for the long post... but if anyone is considering learning welding, consider a flux-core wire mig welder. Lowes and Home Depot sells Miller and Lincoln Electric units at reasonable prices. Imagine being able to make console tables, rack furniture, etc.

 

[Michael Jones]

I know this guy that must be a world class welder.
I don't know what kind of welding it is, but it uses a flame and a rod.
You had to heat the rod up in some sort of oven before starting, but when he was done, his welds looked like stack of dimes that had been knocked over.

Pretty impressive!

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Hey frederic, thanks for the welding info. I REALLY want one. As to your arm rest, I used TWO layers of 1/2" ply, with the first layer at the metal, only 4" wide. I drilled 1/4" holes through it and the metal tubing for 1/4" 20 bolts. Then RE drilled out the ply for "T"nuts. Drove the Tnuts into the ply, and then cut another layer of 1/2" ply at 5" wide. I fastened the two layers of ply together with screws from undernieth through the first layer. This provided a flange 1/2"x1/2" for the 1/2"thick foam to be stapled flush with the bottom of the first layer of ply. I used the type of high density foam that are used for sleeping bag ground cover. Works great. Then I wrapped black naughide around the pads and stapled it through the foam. The trick is leaving the naughide wide enough to overhang the ply, and then trim it off flush with the first layer of ply, right along the edge. Comes out real nice. Anyway, good luck.
fitZ
ps. I made the pad assemblys/arm rest frame assemblys in 3 sections, as the center section framework is removable for another frame for a midi controller, and to replace the naughide on smaller sections. PLUS, it was cheaper to buy the naughide, as I didn't have to buy ONE piece 10 ft long.
Here is a pic of one of the frames(I think!)
http://www.psychossite.com/rkpics/30.jpg

 

[frederic]

More pictures.

Here is the console table top, legless, with the cross pieces sitting waiting to be welded nicely.

Here is the primary equipment resting on the console table, giving me proper placement for the crosspieces. I spent a good hour shifting gear side to side to make sure I had the same margin on both ends. The margins will be filled with poplar, mating to the front sections of poplar, that obviously aren't there yet. By the way, this is really not the proper way to treat your recording equipment

Another shot just to show equipment density.

Crosspieces welded for one section.

All crosspieces welded for both sections.

I also built a 19" rackmount area, which I'm going to call a doghouse, for the Akai DL1500 recorder remote, however I had to pack up for the day and forgot to snap a picture. I'll post a picture of it tomorrow, if I have a chance to weld. Too many xmas parties and not enough sunshine!

One of the things you might have noticed is there is a lot of extra space behind the smaller tascam mixers. This was deliberate. In that space there will be several uprights, supporting video monitors across the center section, to be covered in poplar, and also towards the end, I'll have uprights with square mounting pads for my audio monitors. I haven't worked out the height of the audio monitor posts, but they will be a bolt-on item rather than welded, so I can cut-to-fit after the table is upstairs, painted, and installed. Two piece of 2" angle iron, bolted to the top and front of the back rail, with a 2" square upright welded on, monitor on top. This way I can mount the monitors in a balanced position on the support, then before I drill and tap the console, slide them left and right to my ideal listening position. Welding is permanent of course, well, moreso than bolts. I might drill and tap several holes so I can move the mounts left and right.

The center video monitor section will be welded for strength, before the table goes upstairs into the studio room.

Michael - Gas welding is usually oxy-acetelyne welding, occasionally oxy-propane or oxy mapp. The baking of the rods in an oven dry the flux coating out so they are useful. The flux coating absorbs moisture, and even though they feel dry, the flux just burns off if its "wet". The baking in the oven eliminates the moisture so one can use the rod. Even when you store the rods in threaded-top waterproof tubes, they still soak up some moisture.

Rick - Pic looks good, decent welds there. Depending on the method you're using, weld slower, or turn up the heat. You can get more penetration that way, which will make for stronger welds. What method did you utilize?

Its so nice to be away from homemade crap like my original "table":

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Well, I finally found the armrest detail. Here it is. Actually, now that I look at it, the flange is wider than I remembered. Hmmmmmmmm, its sitting right in front of me right now. What a moron. Anyway it shows how I did it.
http://www.psychossite.com/rkpics/CONSLDTL2.gif

Here is my frame. Look familiar? (Great minds think alike......er, maybe )
http://www.psychossite.com/rkpics/C22.jpg
http://www.psychossite.com/rkpics/24.jpg

Here is one of those armrest frame assemblies mounted to the Main Frame.
http://www.psychossite.com/rkpics/32.jpg

BTW, steel really IS the way to go.
fitZ

 

[frederic]

Console top laid out, bolted together, with welded on doghouse for akai DL1500 remote controller. Yes, the doghouse looks flimsy, but that's okay because I'll be drilling and tapping the mounting holes for the Akai unit, which will hold things rigid. 1/4" is easy to tap.

Welding of the video monitor perimeter frame. This will be covered with a piece of poplar for appearance, and strength. The poplar will be screwed from underneath using wood screws. Its wider than I need right now, but it will support 200lbs no problem. I have two 19" trinitrons to put on top for starters, eventually to be replaced with four LCD monitors which weigh significantly less, even though there are four instead of two.

Finishing up the supports of the video monitor support shelf. The shelf is welded to the uprights, which in turn are welded to two sections of angle iron, which will bolt to the top of the desk. I made this removable on purpose, in case I change the configuration down the road. Also, bolts allow me to keep the two halves of the desk removable.

A view from the back corner, showing how the video monitor shelf attaches. Excuse the clamps, I used them to clamp the angle iron down to assure myself things are dead-nuts straight.

Primer! Four cans so far!

 

[DDev]

Looking mighty fine. Definitely a labor of love

Darryl.....

 

[frederic]

Looking mighty fine. Definitely a labor of love

Darryl.....

Thank you! Its now green - coat one of four.

I think I'll put the webcam up so people can watch it being assembled in the room. Since last time I had the cam going, there were a TON of hits.

Voyuers!!!

 

[frederic]

Its now green, to match the moulding in my studio.

And now its upstairs in the studio, waiting to be assembled

 

[RICK FITZPATRICK]

Lookin absolutely fantastic frederic!!

 

[geet73]

Awesome work.

 

[DDev]

Frederic,

The other day you mentioned getting your webcam back up. Did you do it yet? If not, no big deal, but it would provide me with some entertainment

Anyway, hope you're having a wonderful holiday season.

Cheers,
Darryl.....

 

[frederic]

First half assembled in studio:

Entire "core" assembled in studio:

Now to drill and tap holes for the video monitor shelf, and mount the audio monitor posts. Wait, no, forgot the paint the video monitor posts. Damn!

heh-heh

 

[frederic]

The other day you mentioned getting your webcam back up. Did you do it yet? If not, no big deal, but it would provide me with some entertainment

Its up.. but it seems to not be working correctly. It was earlier, but not sure what happened.

http://www.midimonkey.com/camera.html

An applet box should load in the page, 320x240 I guess, and display a live image.

Its not my firewall, because it didn't work locally either, so I'm thinking something is skanked with the camera.

Give it a try though, I'd be curious if it doesn't work because of my browser... I've been having problems with the laptop also.

 

[punkin]

I'm not seeing...sorry.

The table frame is looking great!

 

[frederic]

Well, its working for me locally and remote. Apparently norton AV deleted an activeX DLL that was necessary. Oopsie.

Weird.