So I finally decided to put some money down for building tabletop studio monitor stands to bring my tweeters up to ear-level. I'm using Alesis Elevate 3's that weigh around 6 pounds each, so I'm pretty sure my design should be fine for bearing the weight of these things.
 
I'm primarily looking for some thoughts and ideas from you guys - to me this might not be very stable with a monitor on top, and I can't think of any good way to clamp it to the desk or weigh it down or anything, nor to keep the monitor itself from falling off if bumped. It altogether doesn't have too much mass. It IS meant to be a bit elegant in appearance, but it actually is a bit more important that it's functional and long-lasting.
 
Any thoughts and ideas are appreciated.
 

 

 

Anyone got any tips for this project? I may begin on the build tomorrow but I want to make sure I'm not in over my head.

Just put a piece of wood in the front and your good to go

A couple of ideas:
1- For ensuring that the Elevate 3's stay on the C-stands, use the two screw positions on the rear of each speaker. Make a short pair (1/2 inch wide, 2-inches long ?) of steel or aluminum 'straps' that have a hole near each end.  By using a slightly longer screw replacing the original, you can go through the strap into the speaker.  The other end of the strap accepts a screw that goes into the rear edge of the upper part of the C-stand.  
 
2- If there is any overhang of the rear edge of the desk on which you're placing the C-stand, then a vertical slot in the center rear of the C-stand's spine (between the two lower triangular brackets) could be made to accommodate a 3-inch C-clamp as is commonly found in home improvement stores. The slot would have to be about 3/4-inch wide for the clamp's hooked end, and (obviously) the threaded circular post touches the underside of the desk's overhang.  If the desk doesn't have an overhang, and it's not a family heirloom, you might be able to add a small block of wood to the rear edge of the desk to create an overhang.
 
HTH

I think the top will wobble at some low frequency and could cause problems. I'd put a support top-bottom along the front. How are you decoupling vibrations between the monitor and whatever the stand is on? That will color the sound as well.