My girlfriend is a music major and she needed a music stand in order to practice. As it turns out, music stands aren't cheap, so I decided to build her one from some parts lying around my basement. (I did have to buy a few things).

Step 1: Parts and Supplies

Arguably, the parts lists is a bit long, but I had most of the supplies and even purchasing all the parts should only run you around $15.

Parts
1x 32" long 1" diameter PVC Pipe
1x 32" long 1/2" diameter PVC Pipe
1x 1/2" PVC T-Connector
2x 1/2" Two Hole Strap
1x 5/16 Carriage Bolt
1x 5/16 Wingnut
4x 10-32 Bolt
4x 10-32 Wingnut
1x Poplar Craft Board
1x 2'x2' thin Plywood Sheet
1x Small piece of moulding

Supplies
Power Drill
Some Drill Bits
1 1/4" Bore Bit
Clamp
Hack Saw
Wood Glue
Tape Measure
Pencil/Marker
Miter Saw (helpful)
Rigid Jobmax or like (makes things easier)
Spray Paint
Straight Edge
Piece of Hobby Foam (I used sub floor)
Safety Glasses

Step 2: Cut and Drill Holes in PVC

First, take the large diameter PVC pipe and measure and cut it so that you have a 32" segment. Then drill a hole through the pipe towards the top. This will be for the carriage bolt that adjusts the height of the stand. I found drilling a sort of pilot hole with a small drill bit made it easy to line up the larger bit.

Now take the smaller diameter PVC and cut it to 32" as well. Now mark every 2" down the pipe and drill through with the same bit used for the single hole on the larger PVC pipe.

Step 3: Make the Document Holder

Take your 2'x2' piece of plywood and cut it down so you end up with a 20"x12.5" sheet. This will be the back to the part that actually holds the music. I used the Jobmax tool for this, but you can use whatever you want. Be sure to keep the left over plywood as you will use it later.

Next you'll want to give the piece a brief sanding. I wasn't too concerned about having a smooth finish so I didn't put much time into the sanding.

Now drill the holes for he brackets. Use a drill bit roughly the same size as the smaller screws. Put them about 5" off of the short edge and center them. Then mark where the holes are and drill.

Now take the poplar craft board and small molding and cut it down to 18". Put wood glue on one side of the molding and attach it to the bottom of the poplar plank. Clamp it and allow it to dry.

Finally attach that assembly to the bottom of one side of the large plywood sheet. I used screws to help hold it together while the glue dried, but that's optional.

Step 4: Cut Remaing PVC

We're going to cut the last bit of PVC now. Take the remaining smaller diameter PVC and measure a cut so that you have two equal pieces See the images above.

Step 5: Begin Painting

You can now being painting. We'll use the time that the paint is drying to construct the base. I painted the larger diameter PVC pipe black along with the document holder. There isn't any special technique to this, just paint.

Once the larger diameter PVC piece dries, assemble the T configuration from the smaller diameter pieces and paint that as well.

Step 6: Make Base

The base is simple, it just uses the extra plywood and a scrap 2x4 I found lying around. Cut down the remaining plywood sheet to a square. I believe it ended up being about 11.5" x 11.5". Then cut the 2x4 into a square as well.

Mark the middle of the 2x4 block and use the 1 1/4" bore bit to make a whole all the way through. You're probably going to need to wiggle the drill around inside the hole to make the hole slightly larger than 1.25 inches so that the larger diameter PVC pipe fits.

Shove the PVC pipe in the hole. It should be a tight fit. Adjust the pipe so it's straight and glue the 2x4 directly to the plywood. Use plenty of glue. Also put some glue around the top of the 2x4 where the pipe and the wood meet. Allow to dry.

Step 7: Finish Painting

Now take the base and the paint it to match the larger diameter PVC. I also went ahead and put another coat on the PVC for good measure.

Step 8: Assembly

Now it's time to put it all together.

First, take the T-shaped PVC assembly and loop a bit of the hobby foam around the bottom. Either tape or glue the foam. I used some sub floor here from a recent renovation but any type of foam will do. This is simply to help the pipes fit better together.

Next, attach the document holder piece to the T-shaped PVC by first putting the screws through the document holder piece. You may need to physically screw these in depending on what size bit you made the hole with. Now, attach the Two Hole straps to the T-shaped piece and attach with the smaller wing nuts.

Lastly, slide the smaller diameter PVC pipe into the larger diameter pipe and secure it at an appropriate height with a the carriage bolt and the large wing nut.