Building My Own Pipe Stands

[noved1]

I am really thinking about trying to build my own pipe stands but don't know what I can use as the base. Does anybody have any suggestions?

[Big Mike]

I am really thinking about trying to build my own pipe stands but don't know what I can use as the base. Does anybody have any suggestions?

I have seen this asked dozens of times.(myself being one) It never works out that I have seen. You can just buy them to cheap to make it worth while.

Mike

[dperry]

It depends on what you are capable of doing. Do you have a table saw to cut wood?

Here's a sketch of a plan I had to make some pipe stands. The base is 3/4" MDF, which is a kind of fiber board. It's very heavy and very sturdy. The base is 16" square with corners knocked off. The smaller square is 8" and the smallest is 4". My plan uses 3" PVC pipe with a 1/4" threaded center rod. There are suppose to be some spacers in the pipe to hold the center rod. I was planning of cutting those out of MDF with a hole saw. The flange would just be assembled the same as the base, but with smaller pieces of MDF. Finally I would paint it all black.

You can cut about 6 of these bases out of a 4'x8' sheet of MDF. That sheet costs about $20. The pipes can run about $4 and the center rod about $2. All in all it could cost you less than $20 per stand.

I suppose you could make the base and just screw in a pipe flange and then use it to screw in your 1" steel pipe too.

[noved1]

What does MDF stand for?

[caserri]

What does MDF stand for?

Medium Density Fibreboard. It is a much stronger version of particle board.

[mainor5251]

Nice looking stand, but if I had a preface of wood or steel I would choose steel and when I priced the materials at a steel yard it was around $14 per stand then you just have to find a buddy with a welder and supply a 12-pack and you are in business. This will be the route I will be going later this year when the need for more stands arises.

[dperry]

Nice looking stand, but if I had a preface of wood or steel I would choose steel and when I priced the materials at a steel yard it was around $14 per stand then you just have to find a buddy with a welder and supply a 12-pack and you are in business. This will be the route I will be going later this year when the need for more stands arises.

I had heard from other forums about these Metal Craft stands. I've even seen them around sometimes, locally and on ebay.

http://www.metalcraf...view.asp?id=308

Sounds like they are a company that already does it. Sounds like they are made in the USA too.

Of course, after looking at the dimensions on the page, a 12" x 12" base seems like it will only hold a single head. That fits I guess because the people on the forum who raved about these guys were all single-head gumball venders.

[noved1]

That stand looks like it might hold a double dperry.

[sherlock]

That's a nice stand plan you got dperry.

But, I've built a few things out of MDF and didn't like working with it.

The dust was a PITA when sanding/cutting it.

Just my personal preference to avoid MDF now.

Still, MDF does take a coat of paint really well though.

Finish is smooooooth.

Built my wife a rolling pantry with MDF a few years back.

And I made all my jigs for woodworking out of MDF, too.

The jigs and pantry have taken a licking and still look good...so it may be a good choice of material for a stand despite my feelings.

[dperry]

Hillbilly makes some interesting stands out of those pre-made rounds found at Lowes.

[dperry]

Here's another idea I've been toying with. It's a 4" x 24" PVC pipe with groves cut at 120 degrees around it, and then having some wooden legs screwed into the grooves.

[sherlock]

Hillbilly makes some interesting stands out of those pre-made rounds found at Lowes.

What pre-made rounds are you referring to?

Don't know that I've seen them.

[dperry]

What pre-made rounds are you referring to?

Don't know that I've seen them.

Here you go. Found them on lowes.com Building Supplies >> Lumber >> Boards >> Edge Glued Panels and Rounds.

Stain Grade Rounds

[sherlock]

Here you go. Found them on lowes.com Building Supplies >> Lumber >> Boards >> Edge Glued Panels and Rounds.

Stain Grade Rounds

Got it.

THANKS!

[noved1]

I'm headed to Lowes.

[dperry]

I was going through some of my old emails from other vending forums, and I found this little gem.

I've not tried it myself, but since people were asking about it, I thought I'd put it out there.

From the sound of it, you take a large flat cake pan, and fill it up with cement, then paint the

whole thing black. At first I thought this guy was saying to use the cake pan as a mold

and then remove it so its just the cement block. But after reading it a second time, it

sounds like its meant to be a complete unit. I would be afraid that the bottom of the cement

block would not be level and would cause it to wobble.

===== HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN VENDING MACHINE STAND =====

These are my preliminary plans to develop my own stand for a vending

machine. They're very similar to the plans that MMM_CA mentioned in

a previous posting, but I made a couple modifications...plus I

included my cost breakdown & detailed construction steps. Note that

these are preliminary plans...and I am going to make one of these

stands this weekend if I have time (I've already bought the parts).

I estimate I could reduce costs by using a shorter 24" pipe (saving

$1.50), cheaper cement that cures slower (saving $0.50), using black

pipe (saving $0.50) and using a pipe cap instead of a 2nd flange in

the base (saving $1.50). The reasons I didn't go the cheapest way: I

declined to use the cheaper cement as I need it to cure relatively

quickly, I want my stands to be 36" tall, my local Home Depot was

out of black pipe in the right size & I used the 2nd flange instead

as I think it'll make the base far more sturdy & safer. I'll make

some final plans & post them too...showing any modifications to

these instructions. Considering you can get an LYPC stand for $12.50

before shipping...they will charge me about 75-100% of that cost to

ship the same dang stand to Dallas! That increases my cost to $25

for one of their stands. I'd still have to spend a little bit of

money ($0.50) recoating their stands myself. I save a clean $10 by

doing it this way. I'm not sure if I'll do it in the long run, but

we'll see. I think it's worth trying at least once.

==Items Required...$14.41 estimated cost==

[1] One - 36" x 3/4" galvanized pipe ($5.47)

[2] Two - 4" galvanized pipe (floor) flanges for 3/4" pipe ($2.47x2)

[3] One - 12" to 16" pie pan, metal bowl or something similar ($2)

Quick drying cement ($1.00/proportionate distribution from a bag of

cement)

[4] Black enamel spray paint ($0.50/proportionate distribution from

a can of paint)

==Tools Required==

[1] Drill

[2] 3/4" drill bit

[3] Elevated clothesline/wire OR something else that's strong enough

to suspend a stand upside down

==Steps==

[1] Drill a 3/4" hole in the center of the pie pan

[2] Insert the pipe through the 3/4" hole in the center of the pan

[3] Screw both flanges onto the ends of the pipe

[4] Take the pie pan and turn it upside down, so that the open part

of pie pan is facing upwards. Push the pipe through so that one end

of the pipe touches the ground & the other end is at the top (at the

bottom of the pie pan).

[5] Suspend the stand upside down using the elevated

clothesline/wire OR something else that's strong enough to suspend

it upside down (it will triple in weight, or more, once the cement

is added!)

[6] Mix & pour quick drying cement into the pie pan. Make sure that

you almost completely fill the pie pan up to the top, but not quite.

Align the pipe that it's perfectly straight - this is very

important. The cement will cure in 30 minutes if you have the quick

drying kind, otherwise it may take a few hours.

[7] Turn the stand back upright once it's dry...and apply a coat of

black enamel spray paint from top to bottom. I recommend Rustoleum

as it will prevent rust. Per the instructions on the can , apply a

2nd and/or 3rd coat if you desire a few minutes later.

[8] Once the stand is done drying...mount your machine and see how

she looks. =)

[noved1]

I think I might try this plan just to see if it works