I just took delivery of this wall mount shelf for turntables. It is very solid and weighs about 20 pounds (9.1Kg), and my turntable is about the same weight. The instructions for mounting the shelf emphasize how important it is to screw it to wooden studs, but the top row of mounting holes are on 17" centers with a middle hole, and the bottom row of holes are on about 12" centers. There are three holes top and bottom. There is very little chance that all the outside screws, top or bottom, will catch studs.
Has anyone here installed one of these? Should I screw the middle holes to a stud and use the supplied gyproc inserts for the outside 4 holes? The only other alternative I cann see is to securely screw a piece of wood to the wall and fasten the shelf to that, which kind of ruins the aesthetics of the shelf.
Has anyone here installed one of these? Should I screw the middle holes to a stud and use the supplied gyproc inserts for the outside 4 holes? The only other alternative I cann see is to securely screw a piece of wood to the wall and fasten the shelf to that, which kind of ruins the aesthetics of the shelf.
I think the best I can do is this: Assembly and installation | Pro-Ject Audio Systems Pro-Ject Wallmount it 5 (WMI) User Manual | Page 2 / 3
You can, I hope, see that there is a flat steel plate that has to be fastened to the wall, and suport rails welded to that plate, and then a wooden shelf that sits on those rails. The top row of mounting holes consists of 3 holes; one in the center, and one at each end. Those outside holes are spaced 430mm, which is 17". In North America walls are typically built on studs (vertical members) which are 1.5" wide spaced 16" center-to-center. If I am lucky the two outside screws could just catch studs, but since I am locating the studs with a stud-finder, there is a very good chance that only one would catch a stud, and neither would be in the center of a stud. Meanwhile the center hole would be between studs and has to use a gyproc anchor, which is something I don't really trust with any serious weight.
Meanwhile, the lower set of mounting holes (and one is supposed to use all 6) is 3 holes 145mm apart (a little over 15" total span), so again a bit dicey to have 2 of them in studs.
All I can think of is to use the two center holes to screw the support to a single stud, and use gyproc anchors for the 4 outside holes. I don't love that idea, but at least I am sure to have 2 screws in a stud.
Also the supplied screws are hex-head wood screws with about a 5mm diameter shank, and less than 2" long (45mm?). Given they have to pass through a washer, the steel back plate, and 1/2" wallboard, I feel like that doesn't leave a lot in the wood to support ~10Kg on a shelf more than 14" deep. I think I will get some same size screws about 2.5" long.
It's funny the instructions kind of make a big deal about securely fastwining it to the wall, but the mounting holes are not the right spacing to do that (and I'm not going to put my TD-160 on a shelf that I don't have 100% faith in).
I would get a piece of wood wide enough to span the distance between two studs. Screw *that* to the studs, then screw the turntable mount to that board, using all six mounting holes.
In my previous location I had the turntable on a glass shelf supported by a bracket which was fastened to a single stud. It worked pretty well but could flex laterally, and I had to block it out with some closed-cell foam pieces between the shelf and the wall so it would not oscillate. I was hoping this would get rid of that issue. I suppose two good screws into studs plus four into "wall plugs" to keep it all stable should work pretty well. I was just very surprised by the dimensions that don't match usual wall construction.
As the mounting panel is a flat plate, the outer 4 holes are doing all the work and the middle 2 holes not much at all as under serious load the plate would flex.
If you are planning on redecorating you could cut a hole in the wall & fit timbers internally.
Else fit the external timber as post 5.
Thinking of the way the load acts:
The outer screws at 430 crs would go into the studs with care - after locating the approximate location of the studs, drill some 3mm pilot holes to determine exact location of the studs.
Then fit 4 screws into the studs - 2 holes & 2 slots @ 430 crs.
It will not fall down.
Fit extra screws into gyproc plugs as you see fit.
Even without the extra screws, in normal use, the lower half of the plate is pushed into the wall by the cantilever action.
Rigidity will depend on how much the wall flexes.
You may need to pack behind the plate to level up - walls are rarely flat.
If you are planning on redecorating you could cut a hole in the wall & fit timbers internally.
Else fit the external timber as post 5.
Thinking of the way the load acts:
The outer screws at 430 crs would go into the studs with care - after locating the approximate location of the studs, drill some 3mm pilot holes to determine exact location of the studs.
Then fit 4 screws into the studs - 2 holes & 2 slots @ 430 crs.
It will not fall down.
Fit extra screws into gyproc plugs as you see fit.
Even without the extra screws, in normal use, the lower half of the plate is pushed into the wall by the cantilever action.
Rigidity will depend on how much the wall flexes.
You may need to pack behind the plate to level up - walls are rarely flat.
If you can nail down the location of the studs, and position the shelf between them as best as possible, you could drive screws at a slight diagonal into the studs. If you use flat-head instead of round-head screw, the angle of the head will line up better with the angle of the screw and not look *as* weird. #8 or #10 2.5”-3” screws diagonally into studs should should quite a lot.
This is BS.
"16 inch" studs rarely are. If they were, your top two screws (the top center is useless) would grab 1/4" from the edge, will split-off the edge of the stud, and be as good as screwing in air. Unless you happen to know where the studs bow apart, and can hit the invisible wood, this just won't work.
If you can drill steel(?), you can find your studs and then place your top two bracket holes where they NEED to be. The bottom holes are just so your cat can't lift the shelf when jumping-up. The center holes just mar your wall for no good reason.
Anyway: Mounting a record player on a wall sounds like a terrible idea. I have had trouble with cabinets screwed into heavy masonry walls: there's still enough flex to feed-back (rumble) at high gain. Wood stud walls go boom with little impact, can't be good.
Send it back.
"16 inch" studs rarely are. If they were, your top two screws (the top center is useless) would grab 1/4" from the edge, will split-off the edge of the stud, and be as good as screwing in air. Unless you happen to know where the studs bow apart, and can hit the invisible wood, this just won't work.
If you can drill steel(?), you can find your studs and then place your top two bracket holes where they NEED to be. The bottom holes are just so your cat can't lift the shelf when jumping-up. The center holes just mar your wall for no good reason.
Anyway: Mounting a record player on a wall sounds like a terrible idea. I have had trouble with cabinets screwed into heavy masonry walls: there's still enough flex to feed-back (rumble) at high gain. Wood stud walls go boom with little impact, can't be good.
Send it back.
You are right.
UK studs are 38mm (at least that's finished size not nominal before planing which would be atrocious).
I didn't check stud size before posting and assumed around 45mm which would have been doable with care & pilot holes.
UK studs are 38mm (at least that's finished size not nominal before planing which would be atrocious).
I didn't check stud size before posting and assumed around 45mm which would have been doable with care & pilot holes.
Here at my house in the woods, many studs are 47mm. Or actually they set the sawmill at two inches, and the blade width and wobble left the wood a few eighths shy. No planing; a bandsaw's work is smooth enough for framing.
Likewise the x4 or x6 or x10 of the wood is a unique size. We call it "Glen wood" but I think Glen just bought the beer, someone else ran the mill.
So I have a stock of leftovers in the shed, I save EVERY scrap from renovations, and try to shim-out new wood rather than deplete my stock of Glen wood.
Oh, and everything is 24"(+/-) OC.
> UK studs are 38mm
1.496". George and I remember 1-5/8", but it has been 1.5" here for decades.
Here at my house in the woods, many studs are 47mm. Or actually they set the sawmill at two inches, and the blade width and wobble left the wood a few eighths shy. No planing; a bandsaw's work is smooth enough for framing.
Likewise the x4 or x6 or x10 of the wood is a unique size. We call it "Glen wood" but I think Glen just bought the beer, someone else ran the mill.
So I have a stock of leftovers in the shed, I save EVERY scrap from renovations, and try to shim-out new wood rather than deplete my stock of Glen wood.
Oh, and everything is 24"(+/-) OC.
> UK studs are 38mm
1.496". George and I remember 1-5/8", but it has been 1.5" here for decades.