For a while now, we have been doing our museum shows, Geekfests, and Makerfaires. At each event, we always have a problem displaying our 8 foot SheekGeek.com banner. For years we’ve basically taped the banner to the front of our table but no one can really see it, especially when we get busy and there are several layers of people in front of the table. In recent event we’ve been taping it behind the table on a wall. This doesn’t always work because we aren’t always in front of a wall. When we do luck out and get a wall behind us, we can’t always use it to tape up the banner. Looking for a portable solution to hold the banner behind us at a table, we found a few designs for a PVC banner holder.
It might not be well known to you guys, but I love PVC. It is the perfect medium in many cases for all sorts of neat furniture and DIY projects. Anyway, let’s get started. While searching for a design, I stumbled across this great site that uses a PVC stand to hold up photography backdrops. This is the perfect design! In fact, that is what our banner holder will double as when Jessi wants to take pictures.
To start, we held the banner up on a wall at about the height we wanted the final product to be. We measured the height from the ground to the top of the banner. This was about 6 foot 3 inches. We then measured the banner we expected to hold up. It was 97 inches long (8 foot 1 inch) by 24 inches wide. With this in mind, we added a couple of inches to each of the measurements and calculated the lengths of PVC we were going to use. The final measurements are shown in the sketchup screenshot below or feel free to download the sketchup file from the 3D Warehouse.
Click the pic above for a screenshot with the measurements.
Luckily I had a bunch of 3/4″ diameter PVC fittings lying around from a previous project so we decided on using them. This lead us to choosing 3/4″ PVC as our building material. To hold the banner up, we used a combination of small rope and S-hooks. these together cost somewhere around $4.00. I had to bend the S-hooks a bit because I wanted something that would stay on the PVC and I could just hang the banner on once everything was set up.
Enough chatting, here’s the pics:
We used about 4.5 pieces of 10-foot 3/4″ PVC. It only cost about $8.00. Simply cut these to length using a PVC cutting tool or do what we did and use a dollar store hacksaw. Both tools work well.
We made fine adjustments to the measurements as we went to make the banner look better. I recommend doing this for your own project. Also, if you are unsure, always cut longer pieces than you need by a couple inches. You can always shorten them up, but you can never make them longer if you cut them too short.
After everything is cut to length, simply put it all together. Below are the knots I used to hand the S-hooks.
Left shows the front and the right pic shows the back of the center post.
The left pic here shows the top corner and the right pic shows the bottom. Notice the gap on the bottom between the banner and the lower PVC pipe. This is a result of an extra inch or so when I cut. I left this here in case I eventually tie up the banner with rope alone or it becomes loose it will still look nice.
The finished product! the next step from here will be to design and build a over the shoulder carrying bag for all the pieces out of ripstop material.
awesome, thanks, this is going into practice this weekend!!
You are welcome :0). Have fun making your own!
Thanks for the great instructions. I constructed on This morning.
You are welcome!
Awesome tut! I have set up something similar thanks to this but I would just like to know more about the knots used for the hooks. Are they a specific type of knot? Specifically the corner ones.
I’m glad you like it. I don’t do any special knots, I just try to wrap the bungee cord around the top pole once, then the side pole once before hooking onto the banner. The middle is usually set up so that I put the midpoint of the bungee across the center post on the front side, then take the loose ends to the back side, then take each free end over the top bar before hooking it in. It really just takes some playing with it to see what will work best for your particular lengths of bungee cord or rope. Good luck!
Thank you for posting this. I am going to run a booth a a merchandise who and everyone has some version of this above their table. I really appreciate you breaking this down. My question: Did you need any sangbags or any other weights on the low end to keep this stable?
Sandbags would have helped, but we never used them That would have been a good idea.
This works great. The only trouble i’m having is taking it apart.
Do you have any suggestions on making that part easier?
I find using two people is helpful. Use your body for leverage. Also, I always leave the connector pieces attached to one of the pvc pieces. Why take it all the way apart if you don’t need too? Adam sanded the pvc ends as well so that may have helped. Good luck!
Just noticed this frame. I used to build these types of things for trade shows for many years. Finally found a pretty neat one available for tables. The company is EZ Frame Company. They can be found at http://www.ezframecompany.com
This is brilliant. Exactly what I’m looking for. One question, did you find that the bottom needed any kind of reinforcement pipe connecting the legs?
Hi Kresta,
If you are in an indoor space without drafts, it stands well on its own. It does help if there is a wall behind it just in case. If you are outside, you’ll need something heavy to anchor it in place. Of course with high winds, the banner turns it into a sail (we know from experience at an outdoor event), so be careful!
-Jess
Any suggestions for a 6 foot 4 tall by 5 feet wide banner stand that has 2×2 feet squares as a base but seems a bit tipsy. My banner is 4X4.
Thanks!
E
That size sign will be heavier than mine You can try adding a couple feet on the length of the base or add sandbags like these to the feet. These sangbags are used a lot for lighting equipment by photographers and work really well in my experience.
So what did you end up doing for the carry bag?
I made a canvas bag with D-loops for a strap from a laptop bag I got from Goodwill. It didn’t work well honestly. It would likely be easier getting a duffle from an Army-Navy surplus store.
thank you! this is exactly what I need for my banner