Secure my 43"monitors (violent cat)

[Lurking]

I have a small 48" wide desk  with two 43"monitors. They do hang a bit over on each side (2-3"). The reason the desk is "too small" is that a family member bought it for themselves, deemed it too small, and gave it to me. The desk surface is 30mm thick and sturdy. it is supported by a good steel structure underneath. For a few years this wasn't a problem since my desk is clean and the PC hangs from the desk. As you see from the pics, my setup partially covers a window, but I don't have a better location. 

 

This morning i woke up to one of our cats throwing the right-hand side monitor to the floor. Fortunately the monitor still works and only has some damage to the plastic back panel (however, there could be latent damage). I suspect the window sill behind that monitor provided a better attack vector. Cat might be 15 pounds. 

 

Needless to say, I need to affix the monitors. Temporarily I used a wood board and a clamp to clamp down the two monitors. It is a bit Ghetto, but is what I had on hand. what are best options?:

1. Get a wider (60") of the same desk for $680 (I may be able to let my daughter use this 48"version)
   • Even with the monitor stand being fully supported
2. Find a nicer looking way to attach the monitor foot to the desk.
   • I would be OK to screw the stand to the desk, but wonder if there is a neater solution? Any clamps would need some wood or so
3. Use monitor stands. I actually have one Vivo stand
   • This could work with the existing desk, but the mount would be close to the corner unless i buy a dual-monitor. However, i didn't find a dual stand for 2x43"monitors. So i might have to buy a second single-monitor mount. I also would have less confidence both monitors attached to a single 
   • Two single stands may work better on a wider desk. 
   • I like to stick to actual name-brand quality mount. Where the manufacturer can guarantee their rating is workable. 

 

At the cost of those monitors, I'm open to spend the needed $ to get a safe and decent solution. Getting rid of the cats was voted down by family. 

 

Some questions:

1. Would the original monitor stands when supported by a full desk surface be stable enough to not fall over from the cat (especially with the window sill behind one)
2. Is a Monitor mount like the Vivo more stable from a lateral force? More stable than just the original "gravity" stands?
3. Is mounting a Vivo single monitor mount close to the corner stable enough (like i would have to with the current 48"desk)? 
4. Is there a neat way to adhere or bold the original monitor stands to the desk surface? 

 

Edit: another rabbit hole is which wider standing desk to get. The 72" version from Vari desk is $760. but I saw a $300 71" from Vivo. One noticeable difference is, it says is uses 25"mm particleboard. I'm nit exactly sure what the 30mm surface of my Vari desk is made of. I'm a bit concerned with that when mounting a monitor stand. 

[jaslion]

Vbh tape and then they'll never come loose :p.

 

Check the weight limit of the desk could be you can just mount a larger slab to it.

 

Else id just make 2 wooden beams one if front one at the back of the neck part of the monitor. Then out of the same wood make an l and attach it to the beams and secure the L with screws on each side of the desk.

 

Or just get a metal strip bracket and screw it in to the top of the desk.

 

Monitor arms are a fair option but since rhey are on the edge you'd want SCREW INS not clamps.

 

Many options depends on you whats best. Overall it looks a bit sillt with how they dangle over the edge already so id say monitor stands (arms) that screw into the desk.

[TetraSky]

A cheap solution would be to drill a hole through the bases of the monitors and bolt them down to the desk.

An expensive solution would be to get one or two monitor mounts and bolt it down onto the desk.

[OhioYJ]

45 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

A cheap solution would be to drill a hole through the bases of the monitors and bolt them down to the desk.

An expensive solution would be to get one or two monitor mounts and bolt it down onto the desk.

This. My son some how knocked both his monitors over once (dual monitor stand). Since then I just drilled a single hole in the stand, directly into the desk. The bolt has a large fender washer on it. It's never happened again.

[Lurking]

5 hours ago, jaslion said:

Vbh tape and then they'll never come loose :p.

 

Check the weight limit of the desk could be you can just mount a larger slab to it.

 

Else id just make 2 wooden beams one if front one at the back of the neck part of the monitor. Then out of the same wood make an l and attach it to the beams and secure the L with screws on each side of the desk.

 

Or just get a metal strip bracket and screw it in to the top of the desk.

 

Monitor arms are a fair option but since rhey are on the edge you'd want SCREW INS not clamps.

 

Many options depends on you whats best. Overall it looks a bit sillt with how they dangle over the edge already so id say monitor stands (arms) that screw into the desk.

I like to be able to remove the monitors without destruction if I ever have different plans with this desk. 

 

The desk is rated to 220 pounds and is sturdy with the lateral beam. But the slab has the metal mounting threads inserted (those are actual bolts, and not just wood screws). I haven't asked the manufacturer yet, but their wider models also have wider-apart legs. So it is unlikely they have a ready slab. So, I would have to buy a 3rd party slap.

 

I took the monitors off the stand. it looks like the recess is a bit too small and the mount bracket would be larger than the recess. the bolts also are too short. i guess with longer bolts it could work, but this seems to be a janky solution. So, i think a mount is out. The one i have is a clamp type. But it seems to have the option for grommet installation.

 

I don't follow exactly what you suggest to build with strips and brackets. The Dell stands are 10"deep. I could get a 5'long 2x12 and lay it on the desk and put the monitors on top of that. Basically make my desk a bit higher and wider at the back. I could screw this on, or just rely on it being heavy enough. But arresting it would be better so it doesn't move around. 

 

One problem with using a simple 2"x12" board of wood, they are warped in real life. i don't have carpentry tools to plane them. And if it isn't really plane, the monitors are less stable... 

 

5 hours ago, TetraSky said:

A cheap solution would be to drill a hole through the bases of the monitors and bolt them down to the desk.

An expensive solution would be to get one or two monitor mounts and bolt it down onto the desk.

I took the stand apart as much as I could. There wasn't a hole or prepared bolt location to affix the stand.  Are you proposing to just run a bolt or screw through the foot anywhere? I assume under the plastic cover there is a wide sheet metal base. 

 

One problem with bolting to the desk is, it requires me to very finally know the monitor location and if I have other future plans with the desk, I have ugly holes. 

 

Maybe a clamp that looks nicer than my current clamp may be a solution? 

 

 

 

Edit: I improved my temporary setup a bit and now use a 2x4 I had laying around. 

I'm looking in some options to shuffle around/buy a larger desk. But I think even if I get a larger desk, I may feel more comfortable if I can attach the monitors in some way. 

 

[TetraSky]

Well, a hole in the desk would certain suck if you buy new monitors later on for sure.

 

The clamp with the 2x4 certainly would work too at preventing the cat from throwing the monitors off the desk.

If you can't push them off by putting a good bit of strength on it, a cat ain't going to do it.

[Lurking]

27 minutes ago, TetraSky said:

Well, a hole in the desk would certain suck if you buy not monitors later on for sure.

 

The clamp with the 2x4 certainly would work too at preventing the cat from throwing the monitors off the desk.

If you can't push them off by putting a good bit of strength on it, a cat ain't going to do it.

2x4 is fine for now. But long term I prefer a less conspicuous solution.

Maybe clamps like these could work in addition to a wider desk surface. 

[Lurking]

I got the 60"wide version of the standing desk. That fits the monitors better. and i also got these clamps to arrest the base of the monitors. that should keep the cats under control.... 

 

Thanks everyone.