DIY Floor Bases?

Heya, apologies if I put this in the wrong forum. It's not electrical related but since it's for lighting instruments....

I need to setup some shin busters on the regular with an incoming dance production and don't have the scratch for buying $200 bases for my S4's. Was curious if anyone has a simple DIY build they like for making floor bases for instruments. The last company that came through used stage weights with a big hole drilled right through it which I thought was kinda hilarious, but we don't have a fly system so no bricks. I was thinking a simple plywood square with some runners on the bottom to clear the bolt coming up from underneath? Suggestions appreciated, especially if they have pix! :)
 
Last time I made some I did either 12x12 or 14x14 plywood with a hole drilled in it and a tee nut from below so you could bolt the yoke down to the plywood and wrench it from above to tighten it. Then cut a bunch of runners to put on 2 ends of the bottom side of the plywood to lift the panel off of the floor and give clearance between the exposed end of the yoke bolt and the stage floor. Spray paint black and you're good to go.

Tee nut here, if you aren't familiar with them.
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Might need a wider base if your S4's are the LED versions. The heavier fixtures may be more prone to tipping over.
 
I get an appropriate size piece of plywood, Take a paddle bit and drill into the center of one side about 1/4 inch. Finish the hole with a 1/2 inch drill. Now I have a 1/2 inch hole with a countersink on one side.
Take the C clamp off your fixture and put it aside.
Take a 1/2 inch carriage bolt, feed it through the side with the countersink, pass it through the yoke. Put on a nut and tighten it up so it will not move.
Put the plywood base where you want it, and then screw it down to the floor.
If desired - paint it black.

If you can drill into the floor, my experience is that these are quite solid, easy and cheep to make, and last for many years.
 
3/4 ply with some 3/4 ply legs and cut it whatever square you want minimum 12x12
 
3/4 ply with some 3/4 ply legs and cut it whatever square you want minimum 12x12
@Michael Hayes and @Amiers When you're adding your 3/4" ply "legs"; consider my two following thoughts:

- Square 3/4" ply of suitable dimensions with only three much smaller 1.5" square feet; place the feet on the underside as the points of a triangle with two as close to the square's corners as convenient and the third foot in the centre of the opposite side.
( Why the heck is that north of the walls geezer suggesting this? )
When you set your mounting bases / plates on your ever so less than flawlessly flat, smooth, and level floor, three feet will ALWAYS have a greater chance of settling stable the moment you lay them down than a base with four feet; professionally custom cast or otherwise. Think back to how many three-legged stools you've sat on and likewise how many tripods you seen employed by photographers and surveyors.
Have you EVER seen a photographer with a four footed quadro-pod?? A mono-pod maybe but bi and quadra pods, not so often.
They just MAY know something; if they can afford ten grand for their camera, it's not likely they cheaped out by buying a tri-pod rather than a quadro-pod.

To get back to bases, (or basics for that matter).
Seventy years ago in my 'struggling amateur' pre 'starving pro' days; I built my first half dozen square bases with three feet.
In use, I normally positioned them with two feet facing off stage and the single foot facing on stage, essentially below an ellipsoidal or Fresnel's lense.
One reason for keeping the base square even though it had only three feet, was the thought it would be less likely to topple when assaulted by an exiting dancer if it had that extra wood to (literally) 'fall back on'.
My first iteration of square tri-pods worked well with minimal problems.

Second generation:
Why not cut the bases as tri-angles, save wood, cut more bases from the wood on hand AND be able to snuggle them closer together when the LD can't quite achieve his "vision" with less than 6 clustered together in each of four or five entrances on either side of the stage.
I recall initially fabricating 12 of my second generation bases then four more a few years later when some guy simply HAD to have 16.
(BTW, I may have been that guy)
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
I’ll take a picture of what we got in the shop. It shouldn’t cost you more than a few bucks to make.
 
@Michael Hayes If you are wanting a single fixture at floor level here is a very stable and cost effective option.
cut two pieces of 1 5/8 unistrut about 16" long. And 1 1/2 round black pipe 8" long. Place the 2 pieces of unistrut on floor open side up next to each other. one end 6" apart and the other 12" apart. On top of them place the black pipe across both. It should kind of look like the letter A but open at the top. Weld the round pipe where it crosses the square unistrut. Clamp your S4 or fixture to it.
Why the "A" shape and not parallel? .... when not in use they they slide together like stackable to take less space. Cost $30ea
 
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Down n' dirty. Works for a quick one-off in a pinch.
FloorMt copy.jpg


Are you in a ballroom doing a banquet? Politely "borrow" some plate covers, add the bolt/nut/washers of your choice and...
proxy.php


But mostly, 3/4" ply base with 3/4" high feet. If ERS for shinkicker s, consider 8"x18" with 1/2" hole 6" from one end--smaller footprint=less trip hazard.

See also the thread https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/floor-mounts.8350/ , but sadly most of the pix have been lost to the internet monster.
 
Down n' dirty. Works for a quick one-off in a pinch.
View attachment 19167

Are you in a ballroom doing a banquet? Politely "borrow" some plate covers, add the bolt/nut/washers of your choice and...
proxy.php


But mostly, 3/4" ply base with 3/4" high feet. If ERS for shinkicker s, consider 8"x18" with 1/2" hole 6" from one end--smaller footprint=less trip hazard.

See also the thread https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/floor-mounts.8350/ , but sadly most of the pix have been lost to the internet monster.
Down n' dirty. Works for a quick one-off in a pinch.
View attachment 19167

Are you in a ballroom doing a banquet? Politely "borrow" some plate covers, add the bolt/nut/washers of your choice and...
proxy.php


But mostly, 3/4" ply base with 3/4" high feet. If ERS for shinkicker s, consider 8"x18" with 1/2" hole 6" from one end--smaller footprint=less trip hazard.

See also the thread https://www.controlbooth.com/threads/floor-mounts.8350/ , but sadly most of the pix have been lost to the internet monster.
@derekleffew and @Amiers
The basic / bare bones scrap of 2 x 4 version can be improved with the simple addition of 1/2 of practically any old hinge you've got laying around.
Position it correctly such that it's located under the bolt where it attempts to burrow into the wood and, optionally, sink one screw through it to secure it in place where it will serve as a landing pad for the bolt thus allowing the bolt to be tightened more securely with out burrowing into, and eventually through, the 2 x 4 or 2 x 6 or 8, whatever you've got in the cut-off bin under your Rad' saw.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
I've always made then from 2x10 and a 2x4 ripped in half for the "legs". 1/2" hole drilled in the center to mount fixture. IF stability's a concern, you can either screw the base to the deck(if wood) or weight it down with sandbags/stage weights, ect.
 
@Michael Hayes If you are wanting a single fixture at floor level here is a very stable and cost effective option.
cut two pieces of 1 5/8 unistrut about 16" long. And 1 1/2 round black pipe 8" long. Place the 2 pieces of unistrut on floor open side up next to each other. one end 6" apart and the other 12" apart. On top of them place the black pipe across both. It should kind of look like the letter A but open at the top. Weld the round pipe where it crosses the square unistrut. Clamp your S4 or fixture to it.
Why the "A" shape and not parallel? .... when not in use they they slide together like stackable to take less space. Cost $30ea
 

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I use 1x4, cut two runners about 3" longer than the instrument, one cross-piece to join the runners together leaving that 3" extending past. I drill a hole in the cross-piece for the C-clamp bolt and install a longer version, with washer, from the bottom, nut on top of the yoke. Very low profile for all shins, more often used for angle-up, nose of instrument over the long feet.
 
Take a weighted mic stand.
Unscrew the stand part.
Get a nut, bolt, and two huge Fender washers.
Bolt light to the weighted base. Voila!
@FL123
Anyone who knows the term "Fender Washers" (and doesn't think Leo invented them) [or spells Voila as Viola] is welcome here.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
 
I don't seem to have taken any pictures of the ones I made at my last job. They were basically just 12" (IIRC) squares of 3/4 ply, with 1" to 1 1/2" runners along two sides, and an 1 1/2" carriage bolt in the center as others already described. I found it easiest to attached the runners (with glue and air staples of course!) allong two sides of a long 12" piece of ply before cutting it down to squares. Most were used to attach units to exterior walls, so I'm not sure what the stability was like as a floor mount. They were certainly much easier to use then a single center lag (and likely more secure).

Really liking some of the other ideas here, I'll likely borrow some of I ever get the chance. 🙂
 

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