Not being one to waste anything, I tried to figure out how to best integrate my old monitor into my new work flow. Very quickly, I realized that the width of my 17" was just a tiny bit more than the height of my 24". If I could just turn my secondary monitor on its side, I'd increase my horizontal screen space significantly. There was just one problem, the MAG was so old as to not have wall mount brackets on the back panel.
The solution? Do it yourself. As always. Step one. Find some particle board. I got mine at Home Depot. You can see the whole piece here, barely fitting in the trunk of my car.
I drove it on over to a place with power tools, and proceeded to cut the shapes out. And the result:
After I sanded the pieces down, drilled some holes and fastened the two pieces together with butterfly hinges. Then, I took them out to my balcony for some painting. I used a matte finish black spray paint that worked beautifully on sanded particle board. The whole thing dried to touch in about ten minutes.
Once the paint was completely dry (I gave it another day for good measure), I brought it back in and set it up next to my primary monitor.
In actuality, the monitor stand is a very simple design. It's nothing more than a large picture frame holder... the kind that folds up into a basic "L" shape. The monitor itself rests against the inside of the bracing, and tilts backwards at about five degrees. The MAG is so back heavy that it's nearly impossible for it to fall forward out of its cradle. Firing it up for the first time warmed my heart considerably. The visual real estate was a sight to see. I ended up downloading UltraMon to help control both display orientations correctly, but the overall setup was relatively simple. Here's a look at my final setup.
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