Creating an entertainment center

[gregnash]

Definitely this should have more info, etc@!!! I will have to post the GARGANTUAN thing that my wife calls an Entertainment Center (that I consequently want to be rid of!!).

Oh yeah here it is!! 113" W x 80" H x 36" D.....

[gregnash]

Creating an entertainment center

Definitely this should have more info, etc@!!! I will have to post the GARGANTUAN thing that my wife calls an Entertainment Center (that I consequently want to be rid of!!).

Oh yeah here it is!! 113" W x 80" H x 36" D.....

Wife found some DIY schematics in this months edition of Fresh Home Magazine for a 70" media center/bench. Best of all she said "If you can build that for the $115 it says, go for it and you can kiss the big ass thing goodbye!!!"

Looks like I have some DIY woodworking in my future!! :E :banana:

[deewan]

Wife found some DIY schematics in this months edition of Fresh Home Magazine for a 70" media center/bench. Best of all she said "If you can build that for the $115 it says, go for it and you can kiss the big ass thing goodbye!!!"

Looks like I have some DIY woodworking in my future!! :E :banana:

What does said bench look like? Are the plans for hardwood, painted mdf, or something totally cool that I have not thought of it yet?

[bbcmp1979]

I'm interested in this 70" bench you have coming...

[gregnash]

Here are some quick (bad) scans but you get the idea....

Image



Schematic



When I have more time I will list the cut list and all dimensions if necessary..Pretty cool for a $5 magazine from Lowe's and must be pretty new because their site still says that it is under construction (www.freshhomemag.com) Oh and the plans call for most of it being made out of AC plywood... I think I may go with MDF and then veneer it dont know though will see what lowe's and homedepot have.

[bbcmp1979]

Gregnash, that looks pretty slick. What are you gonna do with your old entertainment center? I think that's a great entertainment center there.

[gregnash]

Gregnash, that looks pretty slick. What are you gonna do with your old entertainment center? I think that's a great entertainment center there.

Probably go back in storage with the rest of the pieces... Was the in-laws in their old house and totals (if I remember correctly) 11 pieces. It is definitely a beautiful piece but the shear size of it just kills the space in the room. My wife's best friend (who is an interior designer) keeps telling her to get rid of it because of how congested it make the room. I will do a build thread when I start work on it, the version I am going to build will be slightly different, adding drawers to the bottom center sections for movie, video game, and junk storage. Also, thinking of trying to put glass/plexi in the doors so that way I can still control all my components without the need of an RF remote.

Also, with the ET I have now I am limited to a 42" MAX...but that has nothing to do with why I want to get rid of it... :twisted:

[ThomasW]

This discussion was removed from the furniture gallery thread.

[Paul W]

If you build it from MDF, the cabinet top and shelves will, with time, bow with very little weight. I'd stick with plywood & watch grain orientation. My local HD has what they call "cabinet grade" 3/4" plywood for $25 per 4x8 sheet. Looks good enough to veneer.

[gregnash]

If you build it from MDF, the cabinet top and shelves will, with time, bow with very little weight. I'd stick with plywood & watch grain orientation. My local HD has what they call "cabinet grade" 3/4" plywood for $25 per 4x8 sheet. Looks good enough to veneer.

Thomas - Thanks for creating this as it's own thread, much appreciate!!! :T

Paul W - I went to my local Lowe's yesterday and did see something similarly named that runs for about $37 for a 4' x 8' sheet (think they called it "project plywood). Looking at the cost to use MDF and then veneer it (price difference was about $10 per sheet) it would actually be cheap to use the "project ply" stuff. I am in the process of creating a sketchup file of what I am looking for, but from what I think I will need the cost should be pretty cheap to build a very good looking media bench! Now just to get the time and money to get everything I need and start cutting. Once I have the finalize sketchup item done I will post an image.

I was initially worried that 3/4" ply would not be strong enough but seeing as I plan to eventually wallmount my LCD that should be less of an issue.

[IceZero]

Don't use HD plywood, regardless if its cabinet grade or not. I would suggest you get yourself over to an actual lumber yard since many of them sell plywood. You should be able to find some nice veneered plywood for cheaper than HD stuff.

[gregnash]

Don't use HD plywood, regardless if its cabinet grade or not. I would suggest you get yourself over to an actual lumber yard since many of them sell plywood. You should be able to find some nice veneered plywood for cheaper than HD stuff.

Closest thing was have to an actual lumber yard around here is a Meeks. Haven't been there so not really sure what they have but will have to check it out... I plan on building a cut sheet once I figure out my build (I will be deviating from the plans shown) but I believe that 3 4x8 sheets should be more than enough for everything.

[Finleyville]

Good luck with your build!

Sorry to be a troll, but I just completed an entertainment "hutch" for my parents. Made from pine with a reclaimed barn wood top. It fits nicely under a wall mounted 50" flat screen and holds all their A/V equipment behind the doors. This was the first time I totally designed a piece from scratch without any plans at all. Big learning experience for me. If you have plans it will be much easier for you. The pine plywood I bought from HD was good enough to paint but that is all. (Yes, that is chicken wire on the doors. My mom is a country nut. :roll: )

[Finleyville]

If you plan on placing your TV on top of your unit I wouldn't let the vertical dividers support the top. I would do what I did above: build a frame with stringers like a kitchen cabinet. That way your top won't sag as much if at all.

[gregnash]

Thanks for the info Finley and great job!!! I do plan on having my 42" on top for a short time, but just until after taxes when I can afford to buy a nice wall mount.

So you painted the wood? Did you try staining it? I was hoping to stain it to match close to the color of the ET now as our kitchen (which is about where I took the picture from) has old world fruit wood cabinets that are about the same color.

Also, I want to do something similar with my doors, except I would rather go with frosted glass or plexi to semi hide my A/V stuff but have it still see the IR signal.

[Paul W]

Careful with the airflow and glass doors. A friend of mine is having a heck of a time keeping his receiver cool in a closed entertainment center. The new gear has so much DSP processing going on it can get very hot. He's currently trying three of the large low-speed computer fans...one on top of the receiver, one intake, one exhaust in the back of the cabinet. If you want to close it in, perforated metal, fiberglass screen, etc. may be better for air circulation.

[numberoneoppa]

If I ever build an entertainment system, I am definitely going to be incorporating a cooling system into it. If the company is still around, I'll be using Noctua 120mm or 140mm fans. Silent and awesome. I use them in my PC and they're inaudible.

[gregnash]

Paul I planned on incorporating a cooling system into the back. Here is what I have come up with for a general design... I am a complete noob to sketchup so there are somethings I am still learning. The two middle sections will be drawers used to hold DVD, etc. Holes in the top back will be used to create a custom plate that will hold 2 or 3 120mm Yate Loon DS12 fans for active cooling. Will probably have to build a small converter for each side that will run them.

[Finleyville]

I am glad you thought out the cooling problem. That will help a lot.

The pine ply that I found from HD I would not consider stain grade. Which was fine with me because the parents always wanted the bottom painted anyway with a stained or natural tabletop. The higher grade pine boards were much better than their ply, but I do not think that helps you much in this project. I HAVE used HD's baltic birch ply and stained it for a free standing kitchen cabinet project. That turned out pretty good actually. Just pick through the junk boards and skip over the ones with the plugs.

The doors I got away with a 2" frame because I knew I was going to use wire for the inside. If I was going with glass I might have used a thicker frame for support. However, that might interfere and cover up your IR sensors in your equipment. Tough call.

BTW, nice sketchup...

[gregnash]

Friend at the office just told me of a couple of specialty wood places in Reno that I am going to have to visit. Apparently both have a pretty good selection and are rather cheap (what this means I am not sure). Anyways, also playing with the design of the ET, not sure that I like the dropped center portion and will need room to store all the crap/videos/dvds/bdrs we have acquired over the years.

[gregnash]

Been a bit since I have said anything about this.. I actually redesigned the bench a bit and decided to go with a flush top. Also, found that the local Lowe's carries pretty good quality hardwood project panel in both Oak and Birch. Since they are only ~$39 for a 4x8 sheet I will end up going that way for the bench. Did a full mock up of the room with the new stuff and think I like it, everyone keeps asking if I can adjust the room 90degrees but the wife says no. Might just have to "test" things out once I build this bad boy....
Does anyone know of a table saw table that has and adapter for a circular saw? Thought it might save me the hassel of trying to a) cut the line with the circular, or b) haul the wood to a relatives that has a table saw?

[Bent]

for perfect cuts with a circular saw, consider building a "sawgude"
(google it, slick)
A sawguide also helps prevent tear-outs at the end of the cut.

[cjd]

Have you ever done drawers before? They'll blow your budget, the original got off cheap because it did not have drawers...

If you are not going to be using a table saw, I would recommend doing vertical pillar corners. Do you have a router? If you do you could rebate slightly on these to accept the side panels. The reason is that getting a 4-corner 45 angle perfect isn't easy on a good table saw - I can't imagine trying it with a sawboard and circular saw. And if you're using oak or whatnot plywood, you'll need to do this to get the edges right, or you'll end up with banding on the ends. Maybe that's expected and it's just the perfectionist in me balking.

I would still suggest trying for a pair of nice little equipment hutches so you can put a vertical center in there... Easier to move around, easier to re-purpose in the future. . .

C

[gregnash]

CJD I was thinking about rebating (didn't know what to call it, thought countersinking) the braces to help add some strength by 1/4" (since I will be using 3/4"). Also, why do you say that adding drawers will blow my budget? Is it purely because of the cost of hardware?

[Bent]

drawer hardware can range from $pendy to philanthropic.

[Nichol1997]

Just finished this recently:

Image not available

Build details can be found here (post #809):

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=646455&page=27

[gregnash]

Wow... bass crits you for 10289379817239871 hit points!!

Very nice design... I am looking for something similar but I am thinking of taking CJD's recommendation into account of making it 3 separate, movable pieces. I haven't had time to play with sketchup lately but hopefully will tonight.

[evilskillit]

Wow... bass crits you for 10289379817239871 hit points!!

Man I haven't seen something like that in a while. Don't tell me you used to play MUDs MUSHes OR MOOs. That would take me way back. I lost thousands of hours to Realms of Despair. I'll never get em back. 8O

[gregnash]

Unfortunately Evilskillit, I did play MUDs when I was younger. However, I was at the tail end of it when the first true GUI RPGs started coming out so my MUD background is not that extensive. But yes this is something old skool and I didn't know if anyone here would recognize it! Glad I am not the only "dork" (as my wife calls it) to have had this point in their life!