While reading the the latest issue of Make Magazine I came upon an article that talked about transforming the Maker Faire benches into display units.  These  “Maker Shed” store displays are being used to feature Make Shed products in FYE stores in California. 

You can see more pictures of the transformed Maker Shed in our favorites.

The Beauty of Reusability

One of the great things this features about the Kee Klamp fittings is their reusability.  They aren’t the cheapest thing in the market to build with, but they’re durable and if you don’t or can’t use what you originally built any longer, you can re-make it into something else.  This isn’t just environmentally friendly, it’s fun!  Fun to be able to take apart something you are not using any more and reuse it all over again.

Yesterday I posted a link to the standing desk that I built and and I videoed this segment talking about the benefits of the parts.

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Recently we posted a completed computer gaming chair from Don Sturrock.  I am in the middle of a project (details coming soon) where I want to mount a monitor to a horizontal pole.  I remembered Don’s project and asked him how he attached his monitor.  He was kind enough to share the details and a few pictures.  I thought others would be interested on how to attach a monitor to pole or pipe, so here are the details:

Details from Don

For my monitor I used two flat 3"x5" nail plates from Home Depot and a 6" long piece of alderwood 1×4. I attached the nail plates to the 1×4 with six #4 x 3/4" screws and then lined up the monitor mount holes onto the plates, drilled them out, painted it with RustOleum Flat Black Enamel and used the screws from the monitor to attach to the plates (see pic). The metal clamps have a good bite on the pipe so I feel the monitor is secure (22" monitor).

I also sent a pic of the underside of the keyboard. you can see the velcro that attaches it to the 16" long 1×4 alderwood and the plastic clamps (sorry for the fuzzy picture).

Downsides of this Approach

In looking at this mounting approach, it may be inexpensive but there are probably some downsides to be recognized

• Not sure how this will work on a vertical pole – Don mounted to a horizontal pole (that’s what I’m planning on doing.)  I’m not sure how this would hold if mounted on a vertical pole or pipe.
• Scratches up the pipe – Judging from the pictures, adjusting the monitor (because of the bite of the clamps) scratches up the pipe pretty good.  If you’re doing something that has to have really clean look then this might not work for you.

The Alternatives

A decent pipe mount looks like it’s going to cost you a couple of dollars.

All pricing as of March 5, 2010.

	Triple-Pivot Pipe-Mount Monitor Bracket Kit, Pipe Clamp (fits 1.5" dia. pipe) $50.00 – looks plastic not sure about durability
	Direct Pole Monitor Mount – Silver $119.00 – I know someone who has used these satisfactorily.
	Pole Mount Monitor Arm $69.00 – not sure what pipe size this will work with (I’m going to find out)
	Ergotron – Pole mount kit $52.92 – Picture is sketchy, not sure about the function or the quality
	CCTV Garage VTLCD PMT LCD Monitor Swivel Pole Mount $36.48 – This one looks promising. (here it is even cheaper)
	Chief KPP110S Flat Panel Pivot/Tilt Pole Mount $72.99
	Chief Dual Swing Arm Pole LCD Mount – KPD-110 $161.49

Speak Up.. add you 2 cents.

If anyone else knows of (or has an idea about) how to inexpensively attach a monitor to a pipe or pole, then please leave a note in the comments or shoot me an email: chris – at – simplifiedbuilding.com

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A couple of week ago we posted a blog post on a sketchup idea for a computer gaming chair by Don Sturrok.  Well, it didn’t take him long to make that idea become a reality.  The other day Don sent us some pictures of his completed gaming chair.

Don appreciated the project gallery of our web site saying:

It is finished! Thank you so much for all of the inspiration your web-site gave me! I wouldn’t have been able to do it without it!

We love it when our customers get creative and build things that they never thought possible with Kee Klamp and Kee Lite fittings. 

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jtwanderlust on Instructables built this really nice looking bed frame made from pipe and Kee Klamp fittings.  His Instructable takes you from start to finish, showing you all the steps and pitfalls of the project.   We love to see this kind of ingenuity among our customers.  Our compliments to jtwanderlust.

See similar projects in our project gallery and browse for kee klamp and kee lite fittings in our store.

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For store designers who are looking for a bit of an industrial look, you cannot go wrong using Kee Klamp fittings to build your clothing racks.  Below is another example of how our customers are building clothing racks with Kee Klamp fittings.  Our sales team is available to help talk through your design.  If you’ve got an idea, give us a call! 

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The most recent issue of Wired Magazine (Feb 2010) has a cover article entitled “Atoms are the New Bits” written by Chris Anderson.  The article outlines an industrial seismic shift in how the manufacturing world is changing to reflect the Internet and the world of open source computer software development. 

Because of the lowering cost of expensive manufacturing equipment, smaller companies can now get involved in producing their own goods for special and unique products.  Because of the Internet, there is a global market to reach when the product might only appeal to a very small sliver of the population.  Bring these two things together and you have new industrial revolution where people can actually build a sustainable businesses by manufacturing niche products in their garage.

As the general manager of an online shop that sells connectors and fittings, this article was invigorating and inspiring.  Back in 2006 when we first got started, one of our first big jobs was to provide tables for O’Reilly Media’s Maker Faire.  They loved the “tinker toy” of building with Kee Klamp fittings. These components can be used to build just about any tubular structure simply and easily.  We loved the faire and even met some of the folks who were featured in Chris Anderson’s article (namely Jim from TechShop).  The faire was an exciting time, and while people groaned at the price, they loved the concept. 

The New Industrial Revolution and the future of Simplified Building Concepts

Simplified Building Concepts has been a work in progress from the beginning.   We’re not one of those companies that started off with a crystal clear vision.  Over time we shifted this way and that to respond to the market.  More recently our focus has turned to the development and sale of safety products which ultimately led us to produce a new web site exclusively focused on safety: Simplified Safety.

With the creation of the new site, Simplified Building Concepts is rediscovering its roots in the sale of simple connectors and fittings.  After reading this article I hope we can become an online resource for the growing number of folks involved in manufacturing out of their garage; providing them with quality parts and pieces that can be used to produce great OEM products. 

Every age has its amount of “interesting things” that are happening.  I enjoyed hearing about this new wave of garage styled industrial entrepreneurs and hope that our business can help them bring their products to market quicker and easier. 

Making it Easier with Google SketchUp

One of the ways that we are trying to make it easier for industrial entrepreneurs is by providing SkechUp models of our components.  This allows product developers to model their product before they build.  Take a look at our SketchUp component library to view both components and projects.

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Don Sturrock sent us this idea of a computer gaming desk made from Kee Lite aluminum pipe fittings and pipe.  Using parts from our Sketchup Library, Don put together a frame that would support the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and chair.  So far it is just a concept, but this kind of creativity and ingenuity is what we love to see from people who visit our site.

Visit our Project Idea Gallery for more ideas of what you can build with Kee Klamp and Kee Lite.

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Channing Glover has done it again, using Kee Lite fittings to construct great architectural structures such as the one pictured and described below.

L2 Overflow Scupper

This is an example of using kee-lite fittings and aluminum pipe to support a custom stainless steel overflow scupper on a wood turning studio/residence in Wilmington, North Carolina.  The water is gathered off the roof and channeled to downspouts on either side of a large picture window. The water is then captured in a corrugated culvert pipe and used for gravity feed irrigation of plantings around the house.

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I’ve a had a couple of sample grating clips hanging around my desk for a couple of years.  Most of the time I fiddle with them while I’m on the phone.  Recently, I picked up another head set and got a little frustrated with the pile on my desk.  In the midst of that, I was inspired to use these grating clips as a headset hanger… and it worked!   The screw allowed me to clamp it down on my desk.  Just another thing I love about the things that we sell.. you can use them for all sorts of creations.   

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It All Starts with an Idea

When our customers come to us, they usually have ideas.  We love ideas, and helping people to realize their project.  Cletus O’Brian came to us with an idea for a shade structure made with pipe and aluminum Kee Lite fittings.

Sometimes it Becomes a Drawing

Sometimes, in order to better visualize the project, our internal SketchUp expert, Sam Wender, will produce a drawing.  This drawing allows the client to clearly see how all the parts fit together.  It also enables us to make sure that we have listed all the appropriate parts for building the structure.  The drawing also serves as a basis for further ingenuity.  In this case, Cletus modified the design further before he placed his order.

A Bill of Materials and a Purchase

We produce a bill of materials for the project.  The client purchases the materials from our web site and has them sent directly to the project location.

The Fun Part.. Installation

Once the ordering process is complete, the real fun begins, the construction of your project. Cletus attached his structure to deck that houses several picnic tables.  The structure looks great, and is a tremendous example of what can be constructed with Kee Klamp fittings. 

Here’s what Cletus had to say about this project:

Our small community has a beach park that used to have a wooden gazebo but that was destroyed in the hurricanes in 2004. We have been putting up cheap carport awnings for a few years since as the state will not allow permanent structures on the beach anymore. We would have to replace the tarp anywhere from 1 week to 6 months depending on the weather , and the frame would need to be replaced every 3 months to a year depending on how well the “foreign” manufacturer decided to galvanize his poles and fittings. I had seen your fittings used at jobsites for safety railings for years so I thought it might make a good awning. We have a local awning sewer who uses a welder to make awning frames but after talking to the welder it was obvious that the frames were not exactly an engineered product. I showed the awning sewer your sketch and he felt that his custom awning could be tightly snugged against the frame which would help hold the entire structure together. We hope the frame will last for years and the awning itself is rated for 40 MPH winds. We envision taking the awning down any time a tropical storm or larger is on the horizon but the frame is well fastened to our deck and should survive all but a category 3 or higher in our minds. We’ll see!!

 

Here are some pictures of Cletus’s completed project:

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