Hot Rod Music Cart Update!

Today is a big day.  I finally received the cup holder that I ordered from Amazon.com to mount on my music cart.

Yesterday I tinkered with it a little, but figured I would need a couple bolts, a couple nuts, and some washers to make it work.  Thankfully I still have my bag of tools at school from when I did the initial Hot Rod Music Cart project.  In my bag I found two 1 1/2" lag screws that fit the bolt holes on the cup holder perfectly, so I knew I was in business.

The cup holder itself is made of semi-rigid molded plastic, and is intended to mount on the windshield bracket of an '88-95 Jeep Wrangler.  I miss my Jeep very much, so this is the best I can get at the moment toward having one again.

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the actual process of the install.  This is something I did by myself in the 5 minutes before students came this morning. 

I debated with myself about the placement, and had all but decided that I would mount it on the left end beside where I intend to mount an Ikea shelf (when the day finally comes that I head up to Ikea).  Then two things occurred to me: 1) I am right handed and 2) I could use the empty space on the front right corner without it being in my way.  Thank goodness.  I think having to use my left hand to hoist my coffee mug might have been a recipe for disaster - think less "Boy, that's awkward..." and more "Oh no! Hot coffee spilled on two third grade violin students! Potential lawsuit!"

We can't have that.

There's something wrong with this picture...  Something is missing...

The best news was that the install was extremely easy.  I used a silver Sharpie to mark where the holes were going to go, checked for level (I still ended up being slightly off, but not by much), and drilled out a pair of 1/4" pilot holes.  Then I held the cup holder with one hand while I inserted and tightened each lag screw.  Unfortunately I didn't bring a socket wrench with me, so I had to use a pair of channel lock pliers (what my Dad and Granddad call "Waterpump Pliers"), but it worked out fine.

Ah, hot coffee in the coffee mug, that's what was missing!  Install officially complete.

The completed install from the right side. Again, notice the boxes of ukuleles in the background!

The important thing is that in the end, I got a fully functional coffee mug holder that is mounted to my Hot Rod Music Cart.  Let's face it, having a fresh cup of coffee close at hand is all it takes to make me happy.  Most days.