W-I-P TV Stand

[Black wallnut]

Almost a couple of weeks ago one of my co-workers was asking me about making him a TV stand for his new wide screen tv. I told him to ask our boss about how he likes the one I made for him three years ago and gave him the URL to find the pics of that one. He decided to have me build one and to have it stained dark oak. I purchased a sheet of 3/4" oak ply and about 8 bf of red oak 4/4 stock. The stand will go into a corner. I detest miters but that's what he wanted. It sits about 17 1/2" high and is 22" deep at the deepest part and 46" + wide. I used an off cut from a bygone project for the rear center section. The case is just glued. The face frame and top edging is solid wood all glued. The top is affixed to the cabinet by wodd blocks with a rabbet that fits into a dado in the case and faceframe.

One of his requests was to have a seperate box to sit on top to encase his satelite receiver with a lazy susan shelf to hold the TV. This will not be attached to the top of the cabinet but will have 6 locating dowels. He was able to get a used bar stool lazy susan from a local furniture store. The main part of the case is ready for staining in the pics. The upper box and shelf still need some final planing, scraping and sanding. I'll post more pics once it is completed. Still need to stain and 3 or 4 coats of brush on gloss poly.

[jackellis]

That's nice Mark. I think your co-worker is going to be very pleased.

[Bill in Buena Park]

Nice design and execution, Mark. I like the platform idea - useful as noted, asthetically pleasing, but also elevates the screen without creating a larger-than-needed entertainment center. I may employ that feature when I do mine.

[SARGE..g-47]

Very nicely done, Mark. I cannot tell from the picture but.. does the top thingy have 90* edges or have they been slightly rounded to knock off the sharp edge?

[Black wallnut]

Very nicely done, Mark. I cannot tell from the picture but.. does the top thingy have 90* edges or have they been slightly rounded to knock off the sharp edge?

Sharp corners as of now. I may soften them a bit but am not sure since the tv is so wide. The base has sharp corners. The buyer does not have any toddlers so sharp corners may not be an issue.

[cabinetman]

An interesting design and well done. I like the wide borders, with the "inlay" look.
.

[SARGE..g-47]

Sharp corners as of now. I may soften them a bit but am not sure since the tv is so wide. The base has sharp corners. The buyer does not have any toddlers so sharp corners may not be an issue.

I was not trying to steer you toward routing them as you did the base as you know what the details of why you did what in design. I will point out that you could... if you chose "soften" the edge without sacrificing your design concept with the why.

Without a radical change to keeping it square as you intend.. a piece of 180-220 grit used lightly by hand will "soften" the sharp edge around the perimeter as the corners are not a problem from what you stated. I have actually sliced my finger on a sharp edge before finish much a razon slice.

I find a sharp edge is difficult for the finish to adhere to as it leaves an extremely thin film where the main body is more of a coat. If someone bumps it with say the TV bottom getting it up there.. there is more of a chance the finish will nick or chip on the edge.

Again... I am not trying to influence your approach or tell you to do this or do that.... merely point out a few things I have encountered and how I came to a solution for myself. Just give them a thought and determine if "you" feel they might be of concern with the bottom line.

Regards...

[dewi1219]

Looks great Mark. I'm about to start on a very similar stand, and your pictures bring up a question I've been meaning to ask here. What is your method for getting the length of the mitered pieces just right? Normally for pieces that are mitered on both ends, I cut the first end, then cut the second end intentionally about 1/8-1/4" long and then sneak up on it until I get a perfect fit. Takes a little time, but I've never had much success at marking and cutting the second end for a perfect fit the first shot. Is there a better way?

[shoottx]

Very Cool

Great design and great execution!

[Black wallnut]

Looks great Mark. I'm about to start on a very similar stand, and your pictures bring up a question I've been meaning to ask here. What is your method for getting the length of the mitered pieces just right? Normally for pieces that are mitered on both ends, I cut the first end, then cut the second end intentionally about 1/8-1/4" long and then sneak up on it until I get a perfect fit. Takes a little time, but I've never had much success at marking and cutting the second end for a perfect fit the first shot. Is there a better way?

Bruce, I normally soften edges with a pass or two of 220 grit to address the issues you've mentioned.

What works for me is to cut the shelves and use the shelf to set the width of the panels. By bisecting the angle of both corners and extending the lines I use the actual piece lined up on one edge with the first line, mark the second line and trim until the line is cut away. A dry fit will tell if you are close and you can adjust from there. Like I said I detsest mitered joints. Mine are far from perfect because of the compounding of errors. Although the final product somewhat hide the errors. I can notice for some reason errors in the pics that the naked eye just does not pick up when viewing it in person. The real saving point is that when this project is put into service none of the miter joints are normally visable, so close is probably good enough as long as you can live with it and you have a suitable glue bond. Those can be two huge ifs!

[Texas splinter]

[quote=Black wallnut;397517]"I can notice for some reason errors in the pics that the naked eye just does not pick up when viewing it in person."

I donno, Mark, it looks pretty darn good to me.

[bigstick509]