They say necessity is the mother of invention and, for me, it was necessary to get my guitars off of the bed (couch, floor, car, closet {insert your guitar home here}). If your guitars are lying around they get damaged, dusty and potentially your significant other wants you to make a plan, and fast!
Hooray for PVC! This most wonderful of inventions allows you to make almost anything your imagination can conceive, including a Guitar Stand. And here’s how to do it…
What you will need:
• Approximately 4 metres of PVC pipe (they normally come in 6 metre lengths)
• 5 ‘Inspection T Piece ’ Couplings
• 4 ’90 Degree Inspection Bends’
• 4 Round ‘Inspection Covers’ (I don’t know what the technical term is. Show your DIY guy the photo) make sure they only have 2 sides where PVC pipe can be fitted
• PVC Pipe Foam Cover (again, not the technical term), about 2 metres
Make sure to measure the Height, Width and Breadth of your axes. This will determine how wide and ‘deep’ the stand must be. I will focus on the measurements I used.
Start by cutting two 600mm lengths of PVC (pipe cutter or good ‘ol hacksaw’). Cut two 580mm lengths of the Pipe Foam Cover and slide these over the two lengths of PVC. Fit a Round Inspection cover on either side of each length. Now cut four 50mm lengths of PVC and fit these to the ‘open’ ends of the Round inspection covers. Fit two of the T pieces to the smaller lengths of pipe. You should now have a square. See pic for details:
Next, cut two 750mm lengths of PVC and insert them into the T pieces facing up. Now fit a 90 Degree inspection bend on both the pieces of pipe, so that it faces ‘backward’.
See pic for details:
Now cut two more pieces of PVC between 80mm and 100mm. This will depend on the width of your guitars. Insert one into the open end of the 90 Degree inspection bend and add another Inspection bend to the end so that the bends look ‘inward’. See pic for details:
Next, cut three lengths of PVC between 180mm and 200mm (this will depend on the width of your guitars). Cut three lengths of the foam and slide it over each. Place each of the length in the centre of a T piece. See pic for details:
You will now add four more length of PVC between each of the T pieces and the inspection bends. I suggest using varying lengths to determine the best ‘fit’ for your guitars.
See pic for details:
Make sure it is sturdy and place the guitars in one at a time to determine if there are any adjustments you need to make. Take it apart again, spray it and glue it (if you want). Congratulations! Your guitar stand is ready to use.
DISCLAIMER!
I did not use ANY glue on mine, simply to be able to fold it or disassemble it if needed. I would however suggest ‘PVC WELD’ to all the connections that can move. This will make the entire frame more sturdy. Because this is PVC it does tend to ‘bend’ when the guitars lean against the frame. A heavy guitar may just topple the whole thing. I have found the best place for the stand to…erm…stand, is in a corner with support behind and to the side. My guitars then lean toward the wall.
The additional designs and improvements you can make with this is only limited by your imagination… and supply of PVC.
I hope this will help your Guitars get off the couch and somewhere safe. Let me know if you have any questions and please upload pics of yours!