Plasma or flat panel cabinet question

[Tom Bickley]

Here are some pics of what I did for my 42" plasma. This is an old dresser that we had in the house that was donated by my inlaws. We did not like the drawer/door fronts so I removed them and made new (as shown) out of red oak. I removed two drawers to make room for the stereo/cable/dvd components and make false drawer fronts that flip down to hide the components. The rest of the dresser has loads of room for storage.

[wallace chapman]

Hey Tom, great use of an older piece of furniture.

Can't see the overall picture of the Plasma, so can't get a clear idea of how it all falls together.

I've always wondered if there was some unique uses for older furniture or new life for them.


Wallace

[Tom Bickley]

Does this picture help? This was taken from the couch about 12 feet in front of the tv.

[wallace chapman]

Does this picture help? This was taken from the couch about 12 feet in front of the tv.

Yes, that's great. Good accent to the Plasma.

Wallace

[Bob Winkler]

Hey Tom, that's a creative use for an old piece. I often wonder why more old, discarded furniture is not used as a basis for new, functional pieces. With the cost of lumber, and the quality of old furniture construction that is often free or cheap, it makes sense to me.

Great work!

Bob

[Hal Flynt]

I have a DLP and built a base Similar the one in Harish's post.

His Reference http://www.dynamichometheater.com/st...&Category_Code

I built 3 cubes with open ends, 18" inside. Face Frames, 3 Shelves per cube on brass shelf pins into shelf holes. Traditional base and the top overhangs about an inch in front and sides and flush with the back. This holds my A/V gear and some media. I don't have doors as of yeat and haven't decided whether or not to add them.

This year I plan to build a suround for the set as an upper Chest on Chest type. Frame and panel sides, mostly open back (Pluwood panel the comes in about 3" all around to block any back light but allow air circulation) one fixed shelf above TV for center channel and whatever will fit to the sides of the speaker. Maybe a crown around the top.

Due to the dimensions of the thin sets, doors are difficult to fit that will still look good. My set is 48 inches wide and 15 inches deep. I may design a bi-fold (or even a tri-fold) set of doors that will tuck to the sides when open. So far the wife acceptance factor has not requested doors.

Forget about "golden proportions", but scale models help you visualize and adjust to a pleasing proportion.

[Keith Weber]

Wallace,

I don't know if this qualifies as a "good" one, but it was a cheap and easy one. My goal was to make it for under $100 and I did do that. It was made out of a single sheet of 3/4" Birch Ply (plus a 1/4" backer board). It is (big surprise) 48" wide. It is actually suspended 1/32" off the floor with casters, which surprises most people when I roll it out to get at the wires. Finish is Cherry stain and Polyurethane. The pic doesn't really show it, but the Birch has a very curly figure which really looks nice. I couldn't stomach spending $300 on the ugly plastic one to match the TV. My TV is a 50" LCD Projection, but something like this should work for a Plasma as well.

Keith

[Harish C. Mathur]

Hal,

If possible, can you post pictures of what you built? I'd like to use them as reference as I design my set-up. In my case, with three 2 1/2 old kids running around, I don't have a choice but to put doors (prefer them to lock) on. I liked the use of metal mesh door panels because it provides protection and ventilation.

[Tom Bickley]

Hal,

If possible, can you post pictures of what you built? I'd like to use them as reference as I design my set-up. In my case, with three 2 1/2 old kids running around, I don't have a choice but to put doors (prefer them to lock) on. I liked the use of metal mesh door panels because it provides protection and ventilation.

Harish, Just an idea for ventilation (this is what I did in my "dresser" entertainment center): If there is about an 1/8" gap around the door that hides components, then a computer type mushroom fan mounted on the back of the entertainment center is enough to draw air through the compartment. I put a fan on each component compartment. Each fan exhausts something like 15 or 20 cfm and has a 120 V power pack transformer. If you plug the transformer into the switched outlet on the back of the component, it will come on when the component is turned on. It has worked great for me.

[Jim Becker]

You can see a picture of the one I build for our 30" LCD flat screen below. This is not as involved as others, but fit the bill for our needs.

The original threads are:

1) http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=stand

2) http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...ighlight=stand

[Kelly C. Hanna]

Here's one mounted on a fireplace facade (the FP is never used) and the TV is an LCD. The facade is solid Oak as are the bookcases that flank it. As Jim mentioned, not many cabinets are built for these, just backdrops....

http://www.hannawoodworks.com/OakETCTR.html

[Harish C. Mathur]

Tom, That's a good idea. Do the fans produce much noise and the difference with and without the fans on noticeable?

[Hal Flynt]

Hal,

If possible, can you post pictures of what you built? I'd like to use them as reference as I design my set-up. In my case, with three 2 1/2 old kids running around, I don't have a choice but to put doors (prefer them to lock) on. I liked the use of metal mesh door panels because it provides protection and ventilation.

I really need to get a digital camera. I keep buyong tools and not the camera.
Sorry.

[Harish C. Mathur]

Hal, no worries... Tools are a lot more fun!!!

[Jeff Sudmeier]

PM John Miliunas and ask for pics of his living room tv. It is a really neat set up . It is a smaller tv than you have, but it is a great idea!