My wife sings choral, classical, and operatic music for several churches and other venues in the area. The choirmaster at one of her gigs wanted some music stands based on the Trinity Church choir’s stands in Princeton. We were able to help.
After looking at the designs presented – sketches from Trinity’s choral pamphlets – and listing to the needs and wants of Gary, the choirmaster, I drew up some designs. The benches themselves are 2- or 3-person width (4 feet and 6 feet respectively), with a lower deck that is parallel to the floor, and an upper deck that is canted at 45 degrees, and raises or lowers on elevators that descend into the legs.
The elevators are held in place by spring-pin latches that are cable activated under the lower deck. A simple pull of the cable toward you, and the locks release allowing the user to adjust the height of the upper deck. We did our best to ensure a smooth, piston fit into the legs. After a few iterations we decided that using the Domino to cut the holes (6mm domino about 1/2 depth into the leg’s elevator) made for a good fit with easy release and enough play that the pins wouldn’t get friction-locked in the holes.
2 inch casters are affixed to the bottom of the feet that span, front to back, the same width as the lower deck, providing for a well-grounded rolling platform that works well without being top heavy. The legs were created using a series of dado cuts in the leg blanks then glued together forming a rectangular cube, sized at 3/4″ x 1 1/2″ for the leg elevators to drop into.
All told, we made a total of 11 benches; 3 of the 6-foot (3-person) and 8 of the 4-foot (2-person) stands, and the appropriate amount of stools to go with them. The stools were a simple stick-n-stretcher design with 18×12 inch slab tops, rounded over on the edges for comfort.
We donated the labor, so the church only paid for materials and hardware and consumables. What we lost in revenue I feel like we made up in good will and favorable thoughts from the choir, the church leaders, and the parishioners.
Thanks Gary, and Immanuel On The Green Episcopalian Church in New Castle, Delaware. Lovely working you.
