How to make a PVC guitar stand

I wanted a stand for my bass guitar, and I didn't want to shell out the $15 or so for a "real" one, so I decided to build my own. I was inspired by the PVC multiple guitar stand and the Hole Shot by Basturd Brother's Guitar Stands. I spent less than $5 on this project, but that's only because I get a sizable discount at the hardware store where my mom works. I can't imagine it'll cost more than $10.

Step 1 The Parts

You'll need the following parts to build this:

• 5 feet of 3/4" PVC pipe
• 1 foot of 1/2" PVC pipe
• 2 feet of 3/4" pipe insulation foam (I had to buy 6 feet to get any)
• 5 3/4" PVC tees
• 2 3/4" PVC elbows
• 1 3/4" to 1/2" PVC conversion elbow
• 1 1/2" PVC tee
• 2 1/2" PVC elbows

Comments

[darrennie]

benfarhner, Thanks so much for the great stand.
Not only was it inexpensive,(about $15 Canadian) but very easy to build as it was laid out so well.
As I was not building for a bass I modified it a bit for my guitar. I increased the width to 7" for stability and I shortened the depth by half to 3 1/2" and to compensate put 3 rolls of pennies in the front tube and it sits like a rock now, with no glue needed.
Also since I did not want to buy another 10' of 1/2" I just used 3/4" tube and fittings for the top piece but modded it as well to support the guitar as it wanted to lean all the time. Inclosed are some pics, and thanks again, darrennie.

http://min.us/mncIE3Z4g#1

[benfarhner]

This is fantastic! I love how the top hooks around. Great job, always fun to see others' builds!

[bschröder]

I'm going to try this tomorrow. I'll probably fill the bottom pipes with sand and cap them to make a heavier base. Any thoughts?

[jackcade]

i love playing guitar ...... but i'm broke this will help a ton

[averma]

Thank you thank you so much................ dear

[jpmonkey]

why cant this be made with all 3/4" pvc

[crobertson317]

This looks great! Would like to build this weekend ! having a bit of trouble finding the 3/4" to 1/2" conversion elbow ? any help ? Thanks

[stevo1994]

Sorry if its too late, but I found my 3/4" to 1/2" at Lowe's.

[Glockenator]

Uh, yeah my Gibsons aren't going on one of these

[dannyo013]

A lot of people cant afford nice guitar stands... not to mention Gibsons... But i stand by my Squier Showmaster before any Gibsons any day. ;D

[ushuaia]

This is nice. Really simple. Thanks for sharing!

[pwellbball]

Nice job. I just built mine for my acoustic. I made the bottom pieces 11" and the upright is only 28". works very well. Thanks

[plyher]

Decent looking stand and nice directions. Thanks. There's some concern about damage to a guitar's finish caused by rubber or other padding from "real" guitar stands. I'll probably substitute cloth diaper strips instead of the foam before I use it for my Ric 4003 or Hofner basses.

[valhallas_end]

You could wrap the foam/rubber in a few layers of your cloth of choice - I've found silk to be very kind to any finish, but if you have a static-y room heavy cotton may be better. I actually just built one of these today and found this Instructable when looking for the best bumper material, but on the previous store-bought stand I had (now broken) I had to wrap the rubber with silk after I noticed a slight discoloration on the finish.

[Constructo Man]

Will this work for acoustics?

[benfarhner]

It should work fine for an acoustic guitar as well. However, acoustic guitars have thicker bodies, so you may want to make the base a little longer to compensate.

[wazupwiop]

excellent

[HAL 9000]

Wow, this is a surprisingly well put together stand, especially for being PVC. Many PVC projects are a little half-assed, then again some are not. this is the latter. I can see this being duplicated with steel electrical conduit. I'm fine with the PVC though, and I think I just found my weekend project, along with making the mast and sail for my tiny homemade sailboat (future instructable). One question, i got a nice "real" stand for Christmas, which i like very much. The top part goes all the way around the fretboard to keep it from falling out, and it has a nice little flip-down thingie on the side to get it out. How about a bit of Bungee cord or a rubber band or something to go across the front of the fretboard to keep it in? Very good instructable, I'm definitely doing this over the weekend! Ill see about making the aforementioned alteration, I'll post pictures. Favorited!!

[HAL 9000]

Ok. so, over the weekend i made two of these, one for myself and one for my brother. I went down to the hardware store and the folks down there were very helpful in cutting me the right sized PVC pieces (I went to a local store, no Home Depot or Lowes). I came home and chopped them all up and was surprised at how well this worked out. Its very easy to make, a child could do this if he had access to a hacksaw. Great job. If anyone does this instructable be sure to get the thick walled Schedule 40 PVC, the thin walled crap will break if you look at it wrong. Not suitable for this. Anyway, the total cost of all the little pieces and the lengths of pipe was just over $14, so about seven dollars per stand, which was great since I already owed my brother 7 bucks, now were even. This stand looks great, I'm going to paint them sometime. I didn't use the PVC cement, mostly because i plan on taking it apart when I paint it. All around great instructable, and a great design, too!

[benfarhner]

Thanks for the great feedback! I'm glad you found my instructable useful :) Did you ever figure something out for holding the fretboard? One problem I have is I left mine unglued so as to be more portable, but every once in a while it works its way loose and will fall over when bumped. I may end up gluing it, but I'm definitely interested in something to hold the fretboard in.

[n0ukf]

To leave some joints unglued, drill and pin them with nails to hold them together. We did that for a PVC and curtain puppet stage.

[HAL 9000]

I thought about something to wrap around and what i thought to do was to cut one of the little arms on the top part about an inch shorter, add a 90 elbow and another piece about 3 inches long to flip down and up. If you glue it I would leave a few parts unglued so that you can still adjust it and fold it flat.

[omegaspartano85]

wait a sec, wat if you dont have a bass guitar? wat if your guitar is an electric? will it still fit in there properly?

[benfarhner]

You may want to make the long part a little shorter, but other than that, it should work fine for an electric guitar.

[omegaspartano85]

yeah i just made mine after school. it is a little long. anyone that is making this gor an electric, shorten it down about 5 to 6 inches. but this is great!!! and btw, my local hardware store didnt have the right padding. none at all. no PVC insulation wat so ever. except for this stuff thats about 1 inch thick and comes in a package which there is 6, 4 foot tubes of it, which i dont need. any other ideas for padding?

[n0ukf]

And shortening for a regular electric won't bother much for bass. Any reduction or increase in stability would be from the stand's footprint, not its height

[Rebecca09]

My boyfriend requested I make him a single guitar stand just for his 7 string Ibanez...so I think I am going to have to get the supplies I need and try this out. I will let you know how it goes.=]
Thanks for the great instructions!

[phant0m_sp00f3ra]

hey man I got that same bass, i dunno what brand is urs but mine is a Gibson, but the body is wood colored, as the neck. cool instructable by the way. LONG LIVE TO FLEA mr mojo risin

[omegaspartano85]

I think it says Ibanez on the head.

[phant0m_sp00f3ra]

yep it says ibañez Lol i feel stupid

[conor1148]

if you just bought small amounts of pvc that would cost about $7 at the most. i bought a bunch of L and T joints for my stands for 20 cents each. so...

[mondaymonkey]

GAG, i hate buying guitar stands, they go for over 40 bucks some times! WTF?!!!!

[Joe Fitz]

What would someone do without PVC,Red Hot Blue and Duct Tape? My wife started with tomato gages, bean poles, ....etc. I'm gonna make one out of wood, but this is an xlent quick fix. Thanks. JF

[Metal4God]

im going to make a double verson

[Ohm]

That is a nice looking stand, well designed.

[gmoon]

Yes, there have been a few PVC guitar stands on instructables already....but, this is a particularly good one. Excellent pics and comprehensive instructions.

Nice job, thanks.