Ship of Fools: Lecterns

Thread: Lecterns Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.

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Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :

Not so much a discussion as a request for recommendations. It appears the musicians may finally be able to reclaim the purloined music stand that's impersonating a lectern, but that means finding an actual lectern.

Google turns up many possibilities in many prices, so I was wondering if anyone had recommendations (or avoids) for a purveyor of perspex/acrylic lecterns in the UK that balance quality and price neatly?

Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :

Personally, I prefer natural wood over and against acrylic. Acrylic over time will get cloudy and if it is moved around a lot it will get scratches. On the other hand, a rich hardwood (like cherry wood) lectern will retain its luster for much longer. Even if it gets scratched up, it is relatively easy to refinish.

My personal opinion, of course.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

YMMV, but I can't easily visualise any setting which would actually require an acrylic/Perspex lectern!

What Gramps49 said.....

If you must have something that's see-through, go for glass! It can be made unbreakable, it can be nicely engraved, it can be subtly coloured.......

Ian J.

Posted by Bishops Finger (# 5430) on :

Sorry to double-post.....but glass can also be easily cleaned and polished....

....and no, I possess no shares in any glassworks anywhere....

Ian J.

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

I've never used a Perspex or acrylic lectern - but are these of any interest?

I also looked at Kevin Mayhew but they only seem to do wooden ones.

And, yes, I have used music stands!

Posted by Emendator Liturgia (# 17245) on :

We have two lecterns in the worship space we share - one is brass and the other acrylic - the problem with the acrylic one is that while one can easily place a poster on it to identity the community being videoed - it also has the unfortunate effect of having to be wiped over almost every week due to fingerprints being clearly.

Give me the brass one (yes, need to wipe but with lectern fall looks great) or as others have said, a nice light-coloured wooden one.

Posted by Enoch (# 14322) on :

Whatever material it's made of, and whether it's in the form of a reading desk or an eagle, can I suggest you make sure,

a. it's easy to attach a microphone to it,

b. you can alter the height,

c. it's big enough to put an open bible and open notes on it at the same time,

d. there's somewhere, other than the floor, to put a glass of water, and

e. unless it's always going to stay in the same place, it's light and stable enough to be easy to move without falling over, falling to bits, or anything on it falling off.

Posted by Circuit Rider (# 13088) on :

I was in a church once that used an acrylic see-through pulpit, all the rage of 1980s non-denom charismania.

That was, until the pastor came to the pulpit one Sunday and discovered, much too late, that the zipper on his trousers was down. Apparently the congregation noticed too. [Hot and Hormonal]

The next week the acrylic pulpit was replaced by a large wooden one. [Biased]

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

Perhaps I shouldn't say this - but has anyone used a lectern or pulpit with a flat computer screen embedded in it?

Posted by Amos (# 44) on :

No, but I can tell you that the pulpit at St Paul's has a clock built into it, which is useful, as well as making you feel like you're on the bridge of a magnificent ship.

Posted by seasick (# 48) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Circuit Rider:
I was in a church once that used an acrylic see-through pulpit, all the rage of 1980s non-denom charismania.

That was, until the pastor came to the pulpit one Sunday and discovered, much too late, that the zipper on his trousers was down. Apparently the congregation noticed too.

The next week the acrylic pulpit was replaced by a large wooden one.

A colleague in this circuit had that zipper malfunction... I told him that's why he should wear a cassock in future! [Smile]

Posted by Snags (# 15351) on :

Thanks all. I have merely been handed the research task, and have no dog in the inevitable fight. As a musician and pa person I'll be paying attention to the mic/robust/movable issues though!

Will pass all comments on, and much appreciated.

Posted by mark_in_manchester (# 15978) on :

I got fed up of our lot mangling about with a conventional mic stand, and fitted a flexible 'gooseneck' mic onto the wooden lectern. To calm the thunderclaps resulting from vibration-borne mic pickup when someone drops a bible on the thing, I used a rubber-isolated mic socket set into it, which helps a bit. None of this stuff costs so very much, and I think it is common enough from any supplier - thought I'd draw it to your attention.

cheers
Mark

(ETA - tiny electret mics on a gooseneck work fine and are more convenient than a big stage mic on same, which tend to suffer problems with long-term 'turgidity'... [Big Grin]

)

[ 14. February 2014, 21:09: Message edited by: mark_in_manchester ]

Posted by Baptist Trainfan (# 15128) on :

quote:
Originally posted by Amos:
No, but I can tell you that the pulpit at St Paul's has a clock built into it, which is useful, as well as making you feel like you're on the bridge of a magnificent ship.

So does the one at our local Crematorium
[Cool]

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