Hotas desk mount DIY

[TrueGrey 43]

Hello,

 

For some time I have been looking for a desk mount and I think that none of the well known options satisfy me, be it

 

• Foxx Mounts - quite expensive, $175 + shipping to Europe.
• Monstertech - ridiculously expensive,  €212 + €48 if you want it black (that seriously killed me) + shipping (~€30).
• Virpil - price is fine but constantly out of stock, takes way more space than the previous two.

 

So decided to build my own basing on Monstertech/Foxx Mounts design, and here comes my request, could any of you owning the non extended Monstertech mount, measure the width and height of used aluminium extrusions (both vertical and horizontal) and groove's width and the diameter of used nuts, length and diameter of plate screw and plate thickness, if you have warthog stick would be nice to get plate's length.

 

I am attaching picture with mentioned dimensions in red, to make it easier.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

1. 280 mm
2. 80 mm
3. Slot 8
4. M5
5. M8?
6. 70 mm and 120 mm for versions with extension
7. 4 mm ?
8. 230 mm stick, 290 mm throttle
9. M8?

Edited August 1 by TrueGrey

[TrueGrey 43]

Actually the most important dimension for me is the size of the slot/groove used in the extrusions.

[Sokol1 1524]

An "how to" with parts list:

 

https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/t-slot-hotas-mounts.350789/

 

Monstertech seems made in 4084 profile.

 

https://8020.net/40-4084-lite-black.html

 

 

Edited July 21 by Sokol1

[TrueGrey 43]

@Sokol1

 

Thanks for the hints, I've seen that ED thread but the guy there isn't quite right, as the horizontal extrusion is either 7cm or 12cm (information from Monstertech's website), also he is guessing the screws and nuts, which can be seen in the last post.

 

Profiles can be really similar, also she slot size can be different between same profiles, I haven't seen this particular video though, so I will give it a shot, as it might contain some valuable information. 

Currently with the power of math I calculated that the slot is 8.09mm, so probably it is slot 8, that would mean i just need to mounting plates dimensions and screws/nuts used.

 

Since I am not in a hurry as I will not have my stick for some time, I am trying to gather exact information to copy the design as closely as I can, to check the price difference : )

Edited July 21 by TrueGrey

[jaygee485 62]

On 7/20/2019 at 12:15 AM, TrueGrey said:

if you have warthog stick would be nice to get plate's length.

 

 If you're mounting the stick, It's best to remove the base plate, which is designed to be large and heavy to provide a stable base for use on a desk.

When removed from it's base plate, the stick base is circular, roughly 110 mm diameter. (An exact fit for the end-cap of 100 mm PVC pipe, as I used)

The 4 mounting screw holes are arranged in a square, 60 mm apart.

Diagonally, the distance between the holes is 85 mm.

Edit: To answer your question though, base plate is 270 mm x 230 mm, with mounting holes 255 mm & 190 mm apart

Edited July 22 by jaygee485

[TrueGrey 43]

@jaygee485

 

Thanks for the post, however I meant the base plates for Warthog hotas from Monstertech, like these www.monstertech.de, which I believe have different dimensions (length, thickness, screws). 

[jaygee485 62]

Ok , I misunderstood.

If you can't get those monstertech base plate measurements though, to fabricate your own mount you really just need the dimensions of the stick base and screw holes.

You can use the supplied WH screws for attachment.

I omitted to mention that the WH base plate is 3 mm thick.

Sounds like a good project. We hope to see pics of the completed article...  

[TrueGrey 43]

@jaygee485

 

I was more talking about the screws to attach the plate to the mount, as the ones used by Monstertech seem to be kinda universal as they are using one type for all throttles/sticks plates, probably they are using the biggest you can fit into 8 type slot, this is what I will eventually do if I will not find official size.

The plate has small contact area with the mount so I believe it can't be too thin, from what I have managed to gather they are using 4 mm thick base plates and if I will not get better information I will also use 4mm.

 

Sure I will post pictures with total cost and comparison to buying it off the original producer. I am already trying to find best supplier for the extrusions, who can also tap/cut them, as I don't have the means to do it myself.

[SevenFifty 7]

Don't try to copy Monstertech nut to nut, they are really well engineered and you will struggle to do the same with hand tools.

Just eye ball it and adjust to your desk or sim pit, this is mine:

 

 

Cost me less then £40 and few hours of my time, although I already had some screws and metal plates. The clamps Monstertech are using alone are about £30 each, mine are £10 for 2. And their mounting screws perfectly fit the  slots in 6020 profile I have used.

 

Edited July 23 by SevenFifty

[Raptorattacker 1159]

52 minutes ago, SevenFifty said:

Just eye ball it and adjust to your desk or sim pit, this is mine:

Fair play to ya! The art of bodging, a fine and noble art that is much - maligned and looked down upon!! I'm a fan of it meself also and it's caved me a fortune over the years.

Rap's Throttle, under the desk, next to the printer, held on by zipties. Not 'pretty' but who's looking and, more importantly, who cares?!!

Edited July 23 by Raptorattacker

[SevenFifty 7]

Haha, mine throttle is fixed using zip ties as well (not visible on the picture). The plate was cut to accommodate X-55 throttle but recently I have rebuilt TQS, still work in progress so it's not permanently fixed yet. 

[TrueGrey 43]

3 hours ago, SevenFifty said:

Don't try to copy Monstertech nut to nut, they are really well engineered and you will struggle to do the same with hand tools.

 

Well the design is nice but it's really simple, there are only two/three things requiring more than hand tools and that is tapping, cutting the extrusions, drilling the holes for universal connector, that's it, once you have it you can do everything on your own (except nice looking base plates ; ) ).

 

I am trying to keep it as close as I can to the original design, as I am using Warthog hotas which weights a bit, I am trying to avoid future damage, also I am curious about the price difference, if it will not be significant I will simplify the mount.

 

@Raptorattacker

 

Guess my wife cares,  I am glad she's not complaining about all the peripherals I have on my desk already, as everything is open for visitors eyes and making good looking "workplace" is fair easier/faster and entertaining than refurbishment

[TrueGrey 43]

Little update.

 

I could copy Monstertech's solution more or less with my current aluminium extrusion supplier (I would have to change universal connectors for angle connectors and that's it I guess) and that would cost me (shipping/tax included):

 

• 2 clamps (same as Monstertech) - 46.49€
• 4 aluminium plates - 8.24€
• Aluminium extrusions + accessories - 63.88€

Which in total gives us 118.61€ for a pair, so less than a half I would need to pay when buying from Monstertech (241.57€).

 

But since I am waiting for the second extrusion supplier's offer I decided I might pay little bit more (5.54€) to my plate supplier and he will provide me with additional steel plates (5mm thick), which I could use to build less adjustable but much cheaper mount, I would use bessey clamps (46.49€) + hotas aluminium base plates, which in case of hardware chance could be replaced (6.57€) + steel plate mount (5.54€) + 12 screws (2.5€), which would give us total of 61.1€, which is two times cheaper than my extrusion build and four times cheaper than original Monstertech solution.

 

So since I need the clamps and plates in both solutions I will order them now and check the steel mount if it will work and look ok, I will stick to it saving lots of money, if not I will proceed with the extrusion build, which still is way cheaper than buying it from the shop. 

 

 

[TrueGrey 43]

Update.

 

I am kinda struggling with plate cutting, as every company I ask requires drawings in .dwg/.dxf format, since I am not cad user and never have been, I need to ask around for it (maybe there is someone here who could help?), if will not find anyone who could make those for me I will need to cut those myself (with basic tools, thus worse effect) but guess that will be much faster than learning the software.

 

[TrueGrey 43]

@Sokol1 @jaygee485 @SevenFifty @Raptorattacker

 

Ok, took me longer than I thought but finally have finished it! Thank you guys for the support : )

I had some major problems with extrusions, I had to wait for four separate shipments as every time I received one there were some problems with it...

 

At some point it appeared that I will need additional clamp spacer so I used piece of beech wood (additional 2x10€ saved). Here are the photos:

 

 

Edited September 3 by TrueGrey

[jaygee485 62]

8 hours ago, TrueGrey said:

finally have finished it!

 

Very impressive creation, looks fantastic.

Well worth the effort.

[TrueGrey 43]

6 hours ago, jaygee485 said:

 

Very impressive creation, looks fantastic.

Well worth the effort.

 

Thanks, I am also very happy with the results, plus I saved almost 50% (141.92€ to be precise) comparing to the original price.