Monitor mounting - does this look strong enough to you?

[Fuzzguitar]

Ok, after posting in the "Aussies - where to get an arcade monitor?" thread I've realised I started to change topic so I'll continue my story here.

Basically I worked on my cab today, re-made the bezel/mounting boards and supports to fit better but there's a hitch;

I've accidently jig sawed a bit closer to the top two holes (which the tube will be bolted through) than I would like. Now, I know my camera SUCKS (especially at night) but from the pics below do you think it will be strong enough to support the dog ears & monitors weight? Ignore the chassis altogether as it's weight is to be supported with cross bars.

The bottom holes are fine and most of the weight is down there, I've used strong 5 ply/15mm pine...even IF the bolts were to tear through I doubt the tube would drop through  as the ears would still overlap the top by enough and the bolts would be screwed up tight.

So, have I answered my own question? Have you guys had experience mounting pc monitors like this? From what I've seen the ears on PC tubes are much smaller than arcade tubes, the gap is always going to be small.

Let me know.

[fredster]

You can always hedge your bet by adding braces under the monitor.

You can drill some holes in the flange and put in some screws just to make sure.

That one on the upper left looks pretty flakey to me too.  I'd put a wood brace under the monitor too.

When you or somebody else moves it, you might put it on it's back, and hard sometimes.

[MonitorGuru]

I'd go with a 3/4"+ x 3"+  (+ meaning at least or bigger) (sorry, don't know metric conversion off the top of my head) mending brace bars with one of their holes centered over the existing hole, run tangental to the cut.  

This would spread the weight across a larger area and over the stronger part of the wood away from the cut... you could even router it in to not affect depth of things.  The additional screws holes in the strip will secure it to the wood.

What you have might cause a problem if you don't have the monitor pointed directly vertically (like a cocktail)... if it has slant, it will want to push against the wood edge where it is so thin.

Go with extra mending braces. In the US a pack of 4 large ones with screws are about $1.99.

[Ghoward]

That is how I mounted my monitor in 3/4 plywood. I think you should be ok with the holes being close to the edge just some big washers on top of the wood for extra hold.

Gary

[bwest]

Go buy some flat strap metal, drill corresponding holes to what you have in pictures, then drill additional two holes further out from existing holes through flat strap and wood.  You would end up with a long strap across the top extending a couple inches out from your monitor in both directions.

This would certainly secure that monitor for a long time to come.

[Fuzzguitar]

Well thanks for those replies, each one helped me reach the decision to make a new frame with extra supports.

I tend to think that Ghoward is right but I know I can build a better frame on the next try, so I'll stop bieng impatient and do it next week on my days off. A stronger frame to begin with plus some kind of metal braces or brackets will more than do the job, plus I can rest easy then.

I was so keen to get this done and move onto the finishing touches (and play!) but everytime I've re-done something it's turned out better. I'll let you guys know how I go.

[Fuzzguitar]

Ok, managed to get hold of some metal strips that were absolutely perfect! Have attatched them already and tomorrow should get the monitor in and hopefully some pics too.

I'm really impressed with the strength and no longer have doubts except to say this; I've seen many people here mount pc (and other) monitors using the dog ears and can't recall anyone questioning the strength of the monitor itself. The ears seem to be attatched by spot welding (am I wrong? I'm fully guessing there) and how do such small bits of metal hold the tubes weight? If left in a pc monitor case they would not have to, are we stressing them too much? Can we all expect our mame cabs to have monitors fall through them in a few years time? Haha, somehow I think not but can someone explain how this works to me anyway? It's just some general knowledge I'd like to have.

[Fuzzguitar]

Just realised the components on the chassis pcb are very close to the tube when my frame is attached now.
 
It's not so hard to fix that ( i just have to wait for tomorrow when it's not too noisy to drill) but I thought I'd ask anyway - how far apart should the chassis sit from the tube? I was thinking 1cm should be sufficient, any thoughts?
 
I guess my main concern was that the tube may get warm and melt a component or something?

[Fuzzguitar]

Ok, all done and here's the pics. Much easier to see with my girlfriend's camera too. Thanks to all who gave advice. From experience now I can recommend people go with 15mm pine (five ply) and extra metal strips for support. I will be touching more on this on my web site (eventually) as I tend to see a lot of "lowboy" cabs in Australia that need this treatment.

I'm surprsised nobody answered my question about the metal ears strength in relation to the tubes frame though.

[Fuzzguitar]

corner

[gprime]

That looks very durable. Now you'll sleep better at night knowing your monitor won't fall through