Ensuring Stability: Calculating the Base Weight for a DIY TV Stand

[hbchao]

Long story short...

I have a lightweight 32" LED TV that I need to mount in my office at work. Building management will not let me wall mount it, so I plan on building a stand to attach my wall mount to. I want to take a standard wall stud, and attach it to a base.

INFO:
-The height of the stand needs to be about 6 ft tall
-TV is 20 lbs
-The wall mount is 12 lbs and of the articulating type, and its arm can extend a maximum of 20 inches (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000WYVBR0/?tag=pfamazon01-20)

Approximately how heavy does the base need to be to ensure that the system will not tip over? I loosely understand the concept of torque and center of gravity, but it has been many years since I was last in a classroom. THANK YOU!

 

[chrisbaird]

It is not just a question of how heavy the base, but how big the footprint of the base it where is comes in contact with the ground. If fact, you can use as light a base as you want (as long as it is strong enough) if the base's footprint extends beyond the center of mass of the system (or to be safe, beyond the dimensions of the TV when extended). Look at any standard http://www.dell.com/monitors" with a built-in base and you will see the bases aren't heavy but are wide.