Tablet Arm Mount

Overview

Working in the shop is a relaxing and rewarding way to spend some free time; either repairing or creating.  While working it’s nice to have either news or music playing.  The shop already has four speakers and an amplifier (read about the Lepai amp) in place. The music source has been either an old car stereo or more recently a MP3 player, each have pros and cons.

Criteria

Ideally the right solution would be touchscreen (no room for a mouse and keyboard), have internet access and be large enough to read the display from a few feet away.  Internet access would be really helpful when looking up reference material.  A small fanless computer was a consideration, but then a touchscreen monitor would have to be purchased driving the cost of the project up.  In the end a tablet seems to be the best solution meeting all the above criteria.

The power tool battery charging and audio components are located in a cabinet, and that’s where the tablet is to be mounted as well.

Build

The tablet used for this project is an Asus SL-101 that was not being used, the mount will be an old Monoprice dual monitor mount that’s missing pieces.  Only one of the two arms will be used for this project.

The monitor arm was attached to the side of the cabinet.

TabletArm_01 TabletArm_05

The tablet case is made from 1/2″ birch plywood (scraps from a previous project) held together with glue and brads.  The dimensions would depend on the size of the tablet, in this case there was about 1/16″ gap on all side so it can easily be removed.

After checking the fit was ok, the case got a couple coats of black epoxy enamel spray paint (meant to be used on appliances, but works just fine on wood).

This system allows the tablet to be extended about 14″ out and can be rotated to display portrait (as some apps require).  An adhesive mount was attached and the wires kept in place with a zip tie.

 

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