opinions on how to build a wall Turntable shelf

Why wouldn't you simply buy one?

Depends on the amount of rigidity you want and the permanence you can allow, in my mind. I do believe that a well constructed home-built one will work better than most that can be purchased.

I made mine using Stanley 1,000 lb. rated angle brackets which I bought at Home Depot. I sanded, primed, and painted them with textured black enamel. I mounted the brackets, spaced 16", to a 2 1/2" thick Boos rock maple cutting board using 2" lag screws. Then, I attached the brackets to the wall studs using 3" lag bolts so that the level of the cutting board was 44" from the floor. Total cost of the project was about $125. Several others I could have bought for similar money, but I had fun building mine.

Plus, I can set a glass of water on the board, jump up and down, and not see so much as a ripple on the surface of the water, so I know it is very stable. Positioning for best sonic results is, of course, a whole other issue.

I have also heard that combining a Neuance isolation platform by Greater Ranges (Ken Lyons) with a wall support (or solid floor stand) provides incredible results and is a real value.

Oops, I see you have plaster-covered brick, not a "stick-built" wall. Make sure you ensure the integrity of the masonry before proceeding and try to stick to using the expansion lugs on the cement joints as opposed to the brick, itself. Perhaps not easy to find, but the brick may well not provide a sufficient anchor and you would NOT want to come home to find that your support has given way!

4yanx - I like your method of combinig wood and metal for your turntable shelf.
As per your last pharagraph, that is why I want to build this shelf myself. For attaching the shelf to the wall, I was going to run two 5 foot parallel lengths of angle irons vertically on the wall, spaced 20 inches apart (slightly wider than the turntable). The shelf will be placed at the 2 1/2 foot mark, with half of the angle irons sticking above the shelf and half below. I was going to drill six holes in each angle iron, spaced about 1 foot apart. That makes 12 lag bolts holding the shelf to the brick wall. That may be overkill, but also, the tension force pulling the top bolts out of the wall will be way less than a short bracket, say 1 to 2 feet in length.
What do you mean by positioning for best sonic results? Assuming the entire wall is rigid, does it matter where on the wall the turntable is placed? (at least from the wall's point of view) Ceartainly, if the speaker is near the place in the wall where the turntable will be placed there may be feedback. The shelf sould be near the amplifier; I am under the impression that long interconnect lengths are undesirable and would affect the sonics. Thanks, -JB

Your idea sounds pretty "solid" : )

To add to what has already been said here, try to keep the TT away from a corner or a speaker. The closer you get to a corner of a room or a speaker, the more likely you are to encounter acoustic feedback. Other than that, i would suggest "floating" the shelf and not rigidly coupling it to the support structure. When doing so, just make sure that the shelf itself will support the weight placed upon it, will not sag over time and has some type of adjustability built into it. This will allow you to level it out, even if the holes that you drill to anchor the support structure aren't perfectly aligned. Sean
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Thanks Sean and others....you answered my question nicely!

You might want to check out "User510's" website he has experience with the type of solutions you seek. The website has photos and nice solutions for Thorens users.

Click the link below and scroll down to the "Do it yourself Dept. Built-from-scratch turntables, wall shelves and platforms" in the center of the page.

http://www.theanalogdept.com/index.html

I had trouble with wood floors for many years and despite a Brightstar sandbox and airmass, my TNT would respond quite audibly to footfalls. I finally decided to get some metal brackets made (by Mike at VPI himself) and place the VPI on the wall. I also have plaster walls on a brick house, but the beautifully finished brackets went into studs inside the wall. I then put screws in the top of the brackets to level a 2 inch thick piece of maple (made by Mapleshade) ontop. Without the four screws for leveling, the platform could not be leveled no matter how careful you are with the brackets. The turntable immediately sounded much more stable, bass was more extended, and best of all, I no longer have to worry about my daughter or anyone else disturbing my listening!
Randy

I think you should just buy a Target shelf for $150.