I’ve been a huge fan of the Stick since its inception and am now learning Stick since last summer. My preferred playing position for long hours of practice is sitting down with the Stick in a cello-like near vertical position like Bob Culbertson and several other guys. Therefore I’ve searched the forum, looked at guys playing on You Tube and generally tried to find out how others facilitate playing while seated before I attempted to reinvent the wheel. Ever since I saw Bob Culbertson at the NAMM show a few years ago with his wooden crossbrace I thought that idea should be developed a little more but as far as I know no one has done that. So I started experimenting with something a little more sophisticated in the last month or so and have come up with a prototype for an accessory for sit down playing. I wanted an appliance or fixture that could be left permanently mounted yet removable that doesn’t disfigure the instrument in any way like the chin rest on a violin. It needed to have arms that would support the Stick comfortably balanced across my lap at the correct angle solid enough to not need a shoulder strap or belt hook and yet compact, minimal and clever enough to be folded up and left in place without getting in the way if using the belt hook and strap when playing standing. It also had to fit in the case while mounted on the Stick in a folded position. So I went out to my shop and after a few tries I came with this little gadget. For the first prototype it works very well for me so far on my Railboard and fulfills my mission statement. On this one I designed in a fixed angle but if I was to make them for others, besides a more finished look I’d probably design in a way to change to angles of the arms with adjustable stops. As it is you can attach it onto the back of the belt hook with a pair of ½ inch 10-32 flathead bolts through any available pair of those holes that go up the belt hook structure to allow about 4 inches of up and down adjustment in one inch increments. That’s enough for my taste on a Railboard. I’d have to make sure it worked on a 36” scale Grand and make sure the adjustments encompassed any feasible playing angle and vertical position preference within reason. Waddaya think?

Cracking!

Man, I have to say that's really cool. You've obviously put in a bit of time on this!
I like how it's capable of being bolted into the different height positions of the belt hook, which means it's not a "one size fits all" rig.
I can think of only one disadvantage to it: It's not going to be practical for players who alternate between sitting and standing. Maybe one way around that might be to use a pair of spring-loaded nubs that snap into the desired holes of the belt hook. Do you know what I'm talking about ... those metal nubs that you have to press down when adjusting a telescoping leg?
In the meantime, for players who ALWAYS sit, this looks like a fantastic idea! You could even get it anodized to match your Railboard!
A question and a second thought: How much does it weigh? And would using hollow tube (it would have to be a little larger in diameter) instead of solid bar stock save any weight?
I'm a fan of this!

This is a great gadget!
It's there when you need it and folded away when you don't. (Maybe make it black so it's more stealth when folded for when playing standing up...)

One concern I have is that those other holes in the belt hook are for adjusting the height of the stick in relation to the person's belt.
Would a person using those other holes still be able to use this lap bar?
(I'm an NS player so this doesn't really apply to me and I don't have a traditional stick... so forgive me if I am off base here... )

Even if everyone can't use it this is a great tool.
Good Job!

Nice job. I too feel I'll probably enjoy sitting during practice sessions, so have been looking at the options that are available. This is a great take!

Randy

I must admit I prefer sitting down to play my stick. I looked at various
designs from some very clever people on this forum, but took the cheap
and easy solution and use a wooden coat hanger! With the cross-bar removed the Stick sits at the same height as when I play standing up (I took on board what Greg Howard had to say on this topic). Doesn't look very elegant, but hey, it does the job, and replacements are readily available in the wardrobe if I need one

-Marc-

That's a super cool idea. Very well executed!

To jump in on this, I tried the drum stick approach but didn't quite care for how slippery it seemed to be. I'm sure something like this would stay put considerably better
I play with my weight lifter's belt oriented the way it was meant to be worn when I sit down. Essentially the same idea as wearing a loose belt. It sits in the nylon strap portion.
When I stand up, I turn it around so that the wide part is in front.

There's another guy who made an interesting lap bar device. I'll just leave this here:
http://rjaysplace.com/lapstand/index.html

Nice job Capt!
You must be a machinist, or someone whos not afraid to tinker. I wish I could sit and play, but it just doesnt work for me.

again, good work...
cheers,
kev

As far as the weight of the gadget,this one is 9.5 oz. It could probably be made a little lighter if the body of the bracket was milled out of one piece and skeletonized and if I used hollow tubing for the arms. It happens I have some 7/16" OD hollow tubing laying around my shop and I'll try it on my next one. The current one uses 3/8" solid aluminum round stock and I use 6061-T6 aluminum all around because it's light,strong yet soft enough to cut & machine easily. The rubber padded sleeves are made from some hi-temp, hi-pressure hose used in the liquid cooling systems of aircraft that I found at an aircraft surplus joint in Burbank. I used it because it has the correct inside diameter but I also like that the inner sleeve is a hard rubber,the middle is softer rubber and there's a rubberized dacron wrap on the outside. It doesn't seem like it could ever wear out and it's pretty comfortable. With high hopes I tried neoprene tubing (wetsuit material) which is softer and plush but it wears out pretty quickly for this use due to compression fatigue. But as far as the additional weight my gadget adds, I really don't notice it on my Railboard which is a bit hefty anyhow.
As far as the question of whether it will work on belt hooks where the player is using other mounting holes - I haven't honestly tried every single possible option yet but I'm thinking it will always fit on there somewhere and if my gadget is adjustable enough,I could make it work for at least 90% of players 90% the time. Now - back to practicing my scales.

Brilliant. And great comments here. I would definitely ping Emmett on this.

Luc's comment on having a means of hot swapping it out for a second instrument is a good one, but perhaps that rev 2.0.

Having one available in a matching color of for the Railboard is pretty clever.

When you do decide to start selling these, I will take one please...