Ask Lemmy

Oof, I really wouldn't.

The main issue is weight distribution. You're looking at a very imbalanced fulcrum here, with the foot (which is usually mounted to the desk, therefore providing more stability) needing to be super heavy to counter the weight of the monitors.

Even a lightweight monitor - say, a ~2kg one (my 34" Samsung ultrawide OLED, which has its PSU completely separate), would put enough weight on it that any kind of movement would risk tipping this entire structure over.

The reason why it's so expensive is because 1, it's a very niche product and 2, because it's so risky to use on anything larger than a dual 17" setup.

If you want to DIY, of course you can go with a pole on a rolling stand and then buy individual pole mount arms for the monitors... but you'll need to make the base super heavy. we're talking at least 15-20kg, a big concrete block with some lead blocks embedded, or using the base as a weight rack for workouts, to prevent tipping.

Alternatively, have you considered replacing your monitors with AR glasses? Something like the Rokid/Xreal/Viture brands' offerings. They can do both fixed monitor (the entire glass display is a single monitor so it's always in front of you), as well as virtual monitor (one to five monitors arranged in a virtual space anchored to the glasses' position but not orientation so you can look away from them). We're talking a $300-400 expense for a much more portable experience with no DIY.

Looks like a small rolling table, desk, or nightstand would make a fine base. With a monitor stand like that you will probably want a flat horizontal surface to clamp onto. Perhaps there is another type of stand that would be more suited to pole mounting

a swivel-arm, but the weight of two monitors would be a lot for something like that

I'm still wanting to build a rolling desk myself and have some components already, but you might want this: Humanscale M10. It's pricey but it's the heaviest-load arm on the consumer market. It can take 48lb, and if that's overkill, they have cheaper arms that will carry less. You might find some of the cheaper brands will do what you need without the cost, but I don't have experience with them.

Skip their expensive crossbar adapter though, you can use any much cheaper VESA bracket adapter, you just need the arm itself to be solidly constructed.

The real issue for the design you have in mind though is center of gravity. You're stuck with attaching it to something very heavy and wide. I'm still in the early stages of fixing that problem myself. My solution is likely to involve significant amounts of V slot aluminum profile.

Look at overbed tables. They are pretty wide, giving more stability. I'm seeing cheapos on Amazon for $50-60. You should be able to mount a dual monitor stand to one, provided your monitors aren't too huge.

Skateboard. Poof done.

You would be probably much better off with pre-made small table of some kind as a base, as it'll have much wider footprint. If you can't find anything you like, there's always an option of bolting together a frame out of perforated steel angle (or something), putting wheels on bottom and piece of wood on top, and bolting the desk mounted version to said frame (you can probably discard its base)

Just get a portable 2nd monitor.

Can you just put casters on your coffee table? You'd need something that either has a really heavy base or has a really large footprint (or both) to keep something like that from tipping over. So, why not the coffee table? If you are OK with something a little janky then I think putting wheels on an existing desk/table and mounting a cheap stand to it would be doable for pretty cheap. You could also easily add weights to a lower shelf of a coffee table for stability.

I don't know that the base of an office chair would ever really be stable - you need some weight down as low as possible. If you don't want the whole coffee table on wheels then maybe start with a furniture dolly. Mount your post to that with a flange (this needs to be beefy so the post can't wobble at all or it will come apart) and then figure out the desktop/monitors. Add weight to the dolly however you can. This sounds generally unstable and likely to wobble apart but could maybe be made to work. Definitely wouldn't make it any taller than absolutely necessary though.

If you want a custom piece of furniture that isn't janky you will need some wood/metal working skills and tools. If you don't have that already then honestly, 1k is probably cheaper than making your own... I tend go overboard but heavy duty casters (50-100) + steel base out of 1/2 in plate or something (idk, but probably measured in hundreds of dollars to have made) + steel post (50) + wood for a desktop (50 or higher, you could spend WAY more here depending on what you want) + monitor stands (50-100) + finishes (paint, stains, powder coating, 20 or way higher depending) + hardware (how does everything connect together, hugely variable depending on if it's custom made VS off the shelf parts). Obviously a VERY rough outline of costs but it adds up quickly.

Edit: Another idea, use a hand truck - the two wheeled red type. Just mount the monitors to that and put something really heavy on the bottom.