My Journey As A Scroll Saw Pattern Designer #681: More Transformations

Last week, I posted a blog called The Butterfly Effect in which I talked about how getting a new sofa led to making some necessary changes in our home and working area.

One of the most necessary changes was to rid ourselves of the two clunky monitor stands that we used to hold our computer screens.

Since the new sofa reclines on both ends, it was almost impossible to do so with having the monitor stands in front of it. Also, since the reclining mechanisms are underneath, we were no longer able to slide the bottom part of the stands under the sofa, leaving them sticking out into an already ‘not large’ room.

But we did find our solution online in the form of desk mount monitor arms that would be able to mount on a desk or a table and we would then be able to pull the monitors into place when we were using them, yet tuck them neatly to the side when we were not. Better yet, there was no need for the clunky stands that we were presently using and we would be freeing up valuable floor space and eliminating clutter. How great is that?

We ordered the stands on Thursday from NCIX, a computer supplier here in Canada. They were not cheap, but in looking at what was available, they seemed like the best solution to the problem. (Each one cost approximately $150) There were cheaper models available, but we read through many reviews and wanted to be sure that we were getting quality products and not just a band-aid that would cause other problems by being cheap or flimsy. In reading the reviews, we found that this brand and model was highly recommended and while it was no where near the cheapest model, it had the range of motion that we needed along with good reviews from other customers who purchased it.

Here is a picture of the arm itself:

This is the pic we got on the computer because you can see it best this way.

The monitor stands arrived yesterday, as scheduled. We were impressed at the fast delivery time, as there was an offer for free ground shipping and it came from Vancouver and by Friday we had seen by the tracking it was already in Montreal. Being impatient and anxious, it was an added bonus not to have to wait (too long) to receive it.

In taking it out of the box, I was immediately impressed with the quality of construction. This thing wasn’t a flimsy piece of cheap metal, but was solid and heavy (it weighed 9 lbs) and was made to support monitors up to 20 lbs. My 22” flat panel Dell monitor was well within that limit, so it was good to go.

The arm had the option of mounting on the edge of the desk or table with a clamp system, or you could drill a hole and bolt it right through the desk. I chose to drill the hole, as it looked much neater and since the lip edge on my side table was only 2” deep, we both felt that it would be much sturdier doing so. The table at my side is a simple pine one that my friend Bernie built for me and I painted black, so I wasn’t drilling into any Eathen Allen furniture or an expensive piece. Besides, by the time we would be done, it would look nice and professional and not like a hack job.

Putting it together was easy and only took about 20 minutes. The instructions were mainly pictures and very little text and everything was quite self explanatory. In a very short time, I went from this:

To this:

Not only have I reclaimed my floor space, but I am able to adjust the monitor properly whether I am sitting in an upright position, have my feet up, or even fully reclined if I wish:

Everything is sturdy and solid and all I have to do when I am done is push my monitor to the side and it is completely out of the way, but still leaves me most of my table:

Needless to say we are thrilled with these stands. It feels just great to have things look so neat and uncluttered and ‘high tech.’

Since Keith didn’t have a table on his side, he wants to build a much smaller floor stand for his monitor. He is working on that today and wants to see how he can attach the stand to the frame of the couch for support from underneath. That will also eliminate the need for his large and clunky stand and really make the place look nice.

I will have a follow up on how he does in the next couple of days. As I was writing this blog today, I received the email from MsDebbie regarding the new contest for tidying up your shop. Yesterday Keith finished making some new shelves for the closets to store his pen blanks and over the weekend he made some sleds to fit our extra wood under the dresser and neaten up that room too. Even though we live in a small place here and use it as our ‘shop’ we are still able to amaze people at the organization we have and how you can walk in and not even know we do scroll sawing, pen turning and run our business from our cozy little place here.

Since I am in the drawing phase of my designing, I will have more pictures of the other projects tomorrow. I think that you will be impressed with what Keith did and it may give you some storage ideas for your own shops.

But for now, I will continue to create in a nice clean and uncluttered environment. Even Pancakes thinks it is cool and he has adapted to the new things very well:

His new favorite place is sitting there over my head. I just need to remember before I put my chair into a reclining position so I don’t send him launching!

I wish you all a great day today and I hope you all accomplish all you want to.

Happy Tuesday!

-- Contributing Editor, Creative Woodworks and Crafts, Sheila Landry Designs http://www.sheilalandrydesigns.com "Knowledge is Power"