Members Tomm Williams Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 Have a number of round base stands that could use some more weight in the base. I could of course use a 10-15 lb dumbbell plate but would like to avoid buying $100 of weights for this. Anyone have a cheap idea ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 I use bar-bell / dumb-bell weights... which are generally readily available yard sale or thrift store items really cheap (and look pretty "pro" painted satin black). The only consideration might be the hole size as most bar-bell weights seem to have a 1" hole, and a 1 3/8" hole is generally needed to fit over the telescope clutch. My weights are cast steel with 1" holes... I just unthread the pipe from the base to install or uninstall a weight. Come to think of it... I suspect my "mic stand weights" are likely one of the few things in my audiopile that has possibly appreciated in value over the years/decades... as they were "old" when I bought (or were gifted) them... and that was going on 30 years ago. They might be collector items by now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikekars Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 That is what I did. You can usually find them at garage sales pretty cheaply. The plates are surprisingly easy to drill through and take black spray paint well. But they do look a little hokey. In the end I took most of them back off. I did keep a 2.5 lb weight on a small desk top stand with a gooseneck. That works great for bass cabs with a D112 (shush!) or low lying guitar cabs. Another thing I have tried is the wrist/ankle strap on weights around the base of the pole. Does work but looks dumb. I guess in a studio situation any of these ideas would work but for live stage they look really amateur. What we really need is those bigger diameter round bases you see on some old Atlas stands. On a related note does anyone know where to get replacement rubber inserts for the bases? The ones I need to replace have some sort of squarish metal back that is supposed to keep them from coming out of the recess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mkfs9 Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 Melt some lead and pour into the upturned base. No one will notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 On a related note does anyone know where to get replacement rubber inserts for the bases? The ones I need to replace have some sort of squarish metal back that is supposed to keep them from coming out of the recess. I believe I got my last batch, a couple years ago, from Full Compass: http://www.fullcompass.com/brand/ATL...ice-Parts.html Model: MS1012RF-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted July 19, 2014 Members Share Posted July 19, 2014 On a related note - today I got smart and took a couple of the heavy-duty "on-stage" brand tripod stands I bought on sale cheap as a SDOTD a while back. They are stoopid heavy (all metal, no plastic) and with light-duty booms fully extended worked great for the drum overhead and drummer's mic without having to weight down a leg to keep them from falling over . On another related note I picked up some smaller weight plates for free a few months ago . Last I knew WalMart has them for cheap anyways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Dogoth Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Save your old stripped out mic stand bases and ream out the center hole. Simply unscrew the good base, slide on the modified one and reassembly. Twice the weight in a small footprint. It does put extra stress on the "good" threads so make sure you use one with high thread integrity as the main stand. I use one of these as my drum vocal stand (way up high with a boom coming down). It's nice and stable and will still fit against a wall and underneath drum stands (small footprint). The fast & flexible way is to use small saddle sand bags (wonderfully useful devices but they can be pricey). On our main stage we use a 20 lb pig weight which lays against the tube. The guide at the end fits everything but the biggest tubes but that's just because they're handy. If you work in a theatre with a fly rail this is another option. My .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomm Williams Posted July 20, 2014 Author Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Came up with a cheap answer with materials laying around the garage. Ended up filling the base with dirt and adding water to pack it completely. Then attached a thin wooden plate to the bottom of the base plate thus retaining the dirt. As the retaining plate was a bit wider than the metal base plate, this allowed me to reattach the rubber feet slightly wider than original. Now the overall weight is about 6-7 lbs heavier with a wider footprint done with available materials and looks hardly any different. Works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dboomer Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 I've always kept a few sand bags around. http://m.markertek.com/product/detail/http:%7C%7Cwww.markertek.com%7Cmobile%7CDigital-Video-Production%7CTripods-Accessories%7CMatthews-Studio-Equipment%7C29959E.xhtml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Audiopile Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Melt some lead and pour into the upturned base. No one will notice. Tried that... it failed miserably the first time I used it. I'll assume it worked better for you... so how did you keep the lead in the base? Did you use melted down wheel weights or some other type of lead? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mkfs9 Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 Tried that... it failed miserably the first time I used it. I'll assume it worked better for you... so how did you keep the lead in the base? Did you use melted down wheel weights or some other type of lead? Welded a few tacks to key in the lead. Used lead flashing/sheet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_big_e Posted July 20, 2014 Members Share Posted July 20, 2014 I've used concrete on umbrella stands in the back yard in the past so I guess it would work on mic stands too.Weld on a few small studs or bolts to the top to key the concrete.Make a fence around the edge out of card and tape in place, ditto the center hole.Mix up some ready mixed concrete from the local hardware store, pour in and let it set. remove the card fences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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