Center Feet Not Flush On A Flat Surface

Stratoblaster

Stratoblaster

Fractal Fanatic
I've been investigating mounting of my FM today and have noticed that, when sitting on a flat surface, the center two round rubber supports on the bottom of the FM9 are not contacting the flat surface of the board and are ~1/16" of an inch too short.

The screw is too short to install a suitable spacer so I'm likely going to affix some felt pad standoffs to provide support for the center of the unit.

I'm not sure if this is common across units...is anyone else finding this?
 
I haven’t noticed but I’ll have to put it on my granite work surface to be sure.

How sure are you that your surface is perfectly flat?
 
I used a machinist's ruler and a two-foot machinst's level to verify that the surfaces I've been trying are flat (a high quality planed wooden surface, a cement floor, a ceramic stovetop (heh), and several other surfaces) and find that the center supports don't touch the bottom/aren't flush with the bottom of the side-rails consistently.

The unit is stable on all of these surfaces and doesn't rock at all (well, unless I'm cranking out some Deep Purple heh).

It's not a big deal since I can work around it but found it a bit odd.
 
I didn't notice it until I looked closely at adding a little grab strap there. Since I can't get my fat fingers underneath the edges to pick up or move the FM9, I pulled that center foot and using the same screw, attached a short piece of nylon strap between the rubber foot and the bottom of the unit. Works perfectly, stays out of the way and apparently adds just a bit of thickness to even that foot. 👍

Strap.jpg
 
BTW ... as a builder/designer I would guess a slight amount of camber was designed purposely into the bottom of the FM9. It's plenty rigid to be supported at the four corners, with those center feet offering just a bit of extra backup support if there were any flex. Since many surfaces aren't completely flat, this design would make it less likely to experience wobbling if the area below the center was slightly raised. Just a guess, but it does make sense from a design standpoint.
 
Den said:
BTW ... as a builder/designer I would guess a slight amount of camber was designed purposely into the bottom of the FM9. It's plenty rigid to be supported at the four corners, with those center feet offering just a bit of extra backup support if there were any flex. Since many surfaces aren't completely flat, this design would make it less likely to experience wobbling if the area below the center was slightly raised. Just a guess, but it does make sense from a design standpoint.
Click to expand...

That's very interesting and makes sense. I just didn't expect to find this was the case when I was measuring things out to mount the FM9 to my board...things that make you go hmmmmmmmm.

At any rate, I used Velcro Alfa-Lok (their equivalent to Dual Lock) to secure the board and found that standard, 1/8" felt buttons, found in the same section at the hardware store, fit perfectly under the center rubber supports. They make the slightest contact; the FM9 rubber sets into the felt button just a bit so, with the Alfa-Lok, my FM9 is now in place quite securely.
 
I double checked on my granite block as well and same thing here. It’s maybe a 1/16”. I totally agree with @Den on the reason. Makes perfect sense.

I actually held my super perfect straight edge up to it and it seemed perfect… and then I realized the knife edge of my rule was going in between the little grooves in the outer feet haha.
 
Heads up for those who own one...the Temple Audio boards offer some flex in their boards as well as stabilizers you can buy that provide added support when you step on the FM9. I used (IIRC) #8 6/10 gun screws (metric equivalents of the FM9 specialty screws) to hold the 4 corners of the FM9 with washers to the board. The washers are large enough to cover the perforated hole where the gun screws are attached. No need for additional washers or padding to compensate for the center-screw FM9 and Temple boards.

You'll find the gun screws at upscale building and supply stores.
 
Hi @Stratoblaster
Is it possible to get a couple of longer screws and put a washer under the feet, say 1/16" thick?

Thanks
Pauly

Stratoblaster said:
I've been investigating mounting of my FM today and have noticed that, when sitting on a flat surface, the center two round rubber supports on the bottom of the FM9 are not contacting the flat surface of the board and are ~1/16" of an inch too short.

The screw is too short to install a suitable spacer so I'm likely going to affix some felt pad standoffs to provide support for the center of the unit.

I'm not sure if this is common across units...is anyone else finding this?
Click to expand...
 
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