Built a TV Shelf From Scrap Wood Because.....

[Old Moparz]

1)  All the inexpensive ones are junk & we returned the one we bought.
2)  The few that my wife & I both liked were priced higher than what we paid for the TV.
3)  None seemed to work well in the corner with the baseboard heat.
4)  Despise buying something that I know I can make better & for less.
5)  Guess I'm just cheap.   


After shopping several stores & buying what appeared to be something decent, we ended up returning a Chinese POS that was rated for 135 pounds but bent when we placed a 55 pound TV on it. We looked online, but it just didn't seem practical & you can't really judge the quality. That's when I convinced my wife that we either put the TV on a milk crate, or I build something that I know will hold the TV & a few pieces of electronic equipment. 

I always have scrap wood around & after sketching what I was going to do, I measured what I had. Turns out that I only had to buy a can of semi-gloss black paint, some screws of a certain size that I didn't have in stock, & some unwarped 2x8's from the scrap cart at Home Depot. The 2x8 frame attached to the wall also forms the inner structure. The top & bottom are 3/4" plywood, & the front face over the 2x8's is actually 1/8" think, wall paneling scraps that look like wainscoting.

Since the plywood wasn't furniture grade oak or birch & just clear, I knew I'd cover or paint it. The moulding along the front edge covers the plywood edge & the paneling covers the rough 2x8's. Trying to keep the budget low, painting it all one color made more sense once I assembled it & decided that staining several types of wood is going to look strange. I tested it out by climbing up on top of it & doing a river dance while I drank some beer. It held, the cat ran & hid, so I put the TV & the equipment on it, plugged it all in & watched the live version of Edgar Winter's Frankenstein on my wireless streaming device.   

The total cost was less than $20 & it's nice to know I'll never wake up to the sound of a plasma TV crashing to the floor.       

[rt green]

thats impressive. love the cheapness too. gotta hand it to ya-

[twodko]

Great use of that space and your clever design. Good on ya!

[jdiesel33]

That is a way cool,custom design. Nice work. Wish I could do stuff like that. 

[Paul G]

Good going. One can surprise ones self with what one can acomplish.

[FlatbackFanatic]

looks great!!!

[resq302]

very impressive!   

[BananaDan]

Nice work!  Do I spy a VCR?   

[greenpigs]

I was going with #5 before I even opened the thread, also being a hippie so your inclined to do these type of things.

[Indygenerallee]

NICE!!!!

[nh_mopar_fan]

I like it!

[PocketThunder]

Tell me you weren't the one who wallpapered over the light switch.?..?? 

[TheGhost]

You didn't cover it in tinfoil?  Now the government can hijack your TV!

[BigBlockSam]

what no wing on it 

[skip68]

     
I think it looks great.   Right on.   

[AKcharger]

Do you have photos of how you did the edging??

[Old Moparz]

Do you have photos of how you did the edging??

The front edge above the shelf opening?

No photos of it before it was done but it's just some leftover, pre-shaped mouldings from one of the home improvement stores.

Like this.....

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Woodgrain-Millwork-WG-100-11-16-in-x-11-16-in-x-96-in-Solid-Pine-Cove-Moulding-10001941/203898762?gclid=COnq3euT9NACFQtMDQodFnEN9A&gclsrc=aw.ds

[69rtse4spd]

Vary nice, now just hope the wife doesn't want to move the tv all the time like mine does.

[Old Moparz]

Vary nice, now just hope the wife doesn't want to move the tv all the time like mine does.

Thanks. 

If my wife wants to move the TV or rearrange the room, she's going to need to learn how to use power tools to relocate the stairs & the coal stove.

[67440chrg]

Good job I am a frugal person. My wife calls me cheep but I don't care. I reuse lumber and hardware a lot.