Entertainment center and shelves for equipment

[Dan Oelke]

So this Christmas the family got a new TV and now my old TV stand won't do any longer. So the "tragedy" is that I have to spend more time in the shop to make a new setup.

Anyway - as I am doing some sketches and planning on what I want to make I came up with the idea that it would be nice to be able to access the back of all the various pieces of equipment. Stuff like the satellite tuner, DVD player, VCR, stereo equipment, etc. I seem to remember seeing somewhere someplace a design that had the equipment on a set of shelves inside the entertainment center, but the entire set of shelves were hinged. This would allow you to swing out the set of shelves at least 90 degrees, if not more, and access the back panels. Of course you would need extra cable length and probably some good cable management to make this work.

Has anyone else seen something like that? If so, any pictures or links? I can't seem to find anything using google (maybe I'm not using the right search terms). Any other ideas along these lines?

[Steve Leverich]

If you gotta lotta bux, maybe this

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=11184

Or, for heavy duty use I've used 1.5" pipe floor flanges and short nipples as a swivel - been thinking about this method for a rotating shelf assembly where you'd use one pair of flanges/nipple above and below the shelf section as a front corner pivot.

You would need to make the opposing side of the shelf at an angle so the rear corner would clear the outer box - I thought about a narrow "face frame" to the opposing side from the "hinge" to disguise this.

If that's not clear but you're interested, I could probably come up with a basic sketch... Steve

[Steve Leverich]

This is what I've been thinking about doing - Steve

[George Bregar]

I would be concerned with it tipping over unless it's a built in.

[Mike McCann]

I was just thinking if you put casters on the bottom of section with all the components you can pull it out and put the back panel on hinges. You can cover the fronts with molding so you do not see the wheels.

[George Bregar]

I was just thinking if you put casters on the bottom of section with all the components you can pull it out and put the back panel on hinges. You can cover the fronts with molding so you do not see the wheels.

Exactly what I would do on a standalone piece. Pulling or swinging out a section bearing a lot of weight on a stand alone piece is a disaster waiting to happen.

[Steve Leverich]

George, I couldn't agree more - forgot to mention that I'd ONLY considered my idea for a built-in situation... Steve

[Homer Faucett]

I was just thinking if you put casters on the bottom of section with all the components you can pull it out and put the back panel on hinges. You can cover the fronts with molding so you do not see the wheels.

We had a full-sized water heater in our kitchen (small 1800's house "updated" piecemeal so that almost all appliances were in the kitchen because that was where the water/electricity ran as water/electricity became available). It originally had a small base cabinet permanently installed in front of the water heater, and a plywood box with removable panels (3' x 6 foot panels) built around the water heater. It made getting to the water heater a PAIN, and the base cabinet projected well into the kitchen entry way.

So, when I first started building storage solutions for the house (some of my first case work), I did exactly what you propose above. I built a shelving unit on casters, placed "trim" around the base to cover up the casters, and placed hinges on one side of the shelving unit. Worked like a charm, and made getting to the water heater much easier while providing more storage space. No one ever knew the shelving unit was on casters except me.

[Dan Oelke]

I had thought of using the pipe-flange type of thing, but this isn't *that* heavy of equipment, and it isn't that wide of a shelf. Standard hinges (maybe heavy duty ones) should be able to hold the load I think. Maybe a quality piano type hinge.

You're right - this does need to be a built in so that it doesn't tip.

I was sure I had seen someplace (and I was thinking maybe here on the creek) a photo of something that did this.... maybe not. Maybe I'm remembering seeing the Rockler catalog and their "Accuride Media Acesss Center"

As for the back-corner catching.... why not make the face frame attached to the shelf. That is for the non-hinge side. A wider face frame (guess 2" wide) with relatively shallow shelves (10"?) should keep the that back corner clear (but I'll have to do the drafting to confirm it)


Looking at that Accuride setup..... could you do the same sort of thing using standard heavy duty full-extension drawer glides and a lazy-susan? You wouldn't get all the cable management stuff, but that is handled with a number of cable ties.

[Chris Padilla]

I have gone this route for my EC area. In order to maximize the amount of room I had, I decided to make my equipment holder mobile...gee, like 90% of the equipment in my shop!

It is still somewhat of a pain to access the cables but I can live with it. I also have the piece of trim around my sliding glass door that is next to the mobile TV stand on with screws so it can be removed to slide the stand in and out. My faceframe is installed with rare earth magnets so it, too, can be easily removed.

Not fun but to maximize space, that is what I had to do.

[Matt Meiser]

I've always thought the ultimate solution would be do do a built in against a a wall where there could be a door on the backside (perhaps into a hallway) so that you could just open that door and fiddle with everything.

Putting one of the newer console-style EC's on casters with a door behind the equipment would do the same thing. The center of gravity on the newer style units is much lower than the old behemoths. Jim Becker build a mobile kitchen island that has a skirt that hides most of the casters--you could do the same.

[Ben Grunow]

Go with heavy drawer slides and a lazy susan. You will be much happier and you wont have to invent anything that might not work. Just buy 2 slides.

[Gary Redden]

Go with heavy drawer slides and a lazy susan. You will be much happier and you wont have to invent anything that might not work. Just buy 2 slides.

This is exactly what I did. I am currently staining the entertainment center which means it is in pieces right now or I would post some pictures.

Gary