=Jay=
28th February 2009, 11:11 PM
G'day all
Currently planning on building my own low line tv unit as I can't find one with the right size shelves for my hi-fi gear mainly the centre speaker is too big, and the av reciever is too wide and fat. I'm looking at building something that comes apart and is easy to move as I am renting and so will move several more times before I buy my own house. The plan is to have the centre section house my hi-fi gear and the weight of my tv (a 50' plasma it takes 2 people to lift so is very heavy) with two side units for dvd storage simply sitting on either side so it looks like the lowlines in the shops, or roughly the same size.
Some initial thoughts in sketchup 97806 just the basic structure and sizes I wanted not an end design as its pretty crappy really.
I was thinking fairly thick MDF for the shelves, thinner MDF for the sides with some sort of pine for the structure to hold it altogether as I can get all this from bunnings and it should work out fairly cheap. But will this sort of thing hold the weight I want to put onto it and what could I do to make it stronger/better?
Type of timber didn't really bother me that much as long as it is strong and fairly cheap as I will be painting it. I was looking at just using screws and maybe some internal steel brackets to put it altogether as I can easily manage that with my complete lack of woodworking skills and tools.
Tools I have already which are pretty basic
- Hammer
- Drill
- Dremel
- I have a kingcrome tool set with spanners/sockets (automotive maintenance type stuff)
- Serveral screwdriver sets
- tapemeasures and rulers basic measuring stuff
- sanding block and sandpaper
And are looking at buying
- Jigsaw (to cut the MDF?)
- Chisels (to do some sort of joinery)
- Right angle (know I will need it)
- Spirit level (again I am pretty sure this would be handy to level the shelves)
- Clamps (to hold stuff, mainly while drilling pilot holes for my screws if I go that way)
- A sander (not sure which one to go with prob a handheld jobbie)
- some sort of saw to cut the pine ? (not sure where to go? power tools or hand tools on this one and what should I be looking at?)
What extra tool's would you suggest that I would need or find handy to complete this job?
The end result I am going for is something that is 1600 long x 600 high x 500 thick with 4 doors on the front so it will hide all my stuff and look good but can be opened up for access to the centre speaker when watching movies/tv.
and the finish would be kind of like this http://www.amode.co.uk/acatalog/Uno_Gloss_TV_Sideboard.html (http://www.amode.co.uk/acatalog/Uno_Gloss_TV_Sideboard.html) but without that ugly big circle, Thinking 2 plain white base coats then 2 gloss white layers and a gloss varnish at the end. open to ideas on how to get a nice glossy finish.
Budget I am looking at is under $1000 even with buying some new tools, basically I don't want to spend more then what I could have paid for a similar unit in a shop or to get one customly made for me. Depending on how much fun I have with this first project I would look at making my own coffee table and a side table for the lounge all to match so spending some $ on tools isn't going to worry me too much if I can get a couple of uses out of them.
Currently planning on building my own low line tv unit as I can't find one with the right size shelves for my hi-fi gear mainly the centre speaker is too big, and the av reciever is too wide and fat. I'm looking at building something that comes apart and is easy to move as I am renting and so will move several more times before I buy my own house. The plan is to have the centre section house my hi-fi gear and the weight of my tv (a 50' plasma it takes 2 people to lift so is very heavy) with two side units for dvd storage simply sitting on either side so it looks like the lowlines in the shops, or roughly the same size.
Some initial thoughts in sketchup 97806 just the basic structure and sizes I wanted not an end design as its pretty crappy really.
I was thinking fairly thick MDF for the shelves, thinner MDF for the sides with some sort of pine for the structure to hold it altogether as I can get all this from bunnings and it should work out fairly cheap. But will this sort of thing hold the weight I want to put onto it and what could I do to make it stronger/better?
Type of timber didn't really bother me that much as long as it is strong and fairly cheap as I will be painting it. I was looking at just using screws and maybe some internal steel brackets to put it altogether as I can easily manage that with my complete lack of woodworking skills and tools.
Tools I have already which are pretty basic
- Hammer
- Drill
- Dremel
- I have a kingcrome tool set with spanners/sockets (automotive maintenance type stuff)
- Serveral screwdriver sets
- tapemeasures and rulers basic measuring stuff
- sanding block and sandpaper
And are looking at buying
- Jigsaw (to cut the MDF?)
- Chisels (to do some sort of joinery)
- Right angle (know I will need it)
- Spirit level (again I am pretty sure this would be handy to level the shelves)
- Clamps (to hold stuff, mainly while drilling pilot holes for my screws if I go that way)
- A sander (not sure which one to go with prob a handheld jobbie)
- some sort of saw to cut the pine ? (not sure where to go? power tools or hand tools on this one and what should I be looking at?)
What extra tool's would you suggest that I would need or find handy to complete this job?
The end result I am going for is something that is 1600 long x 600 high x 500 thick with 4 doors on the front so it will hide all my stuff and look good but can be opened up for access to the centre speaker when watching movies/tv.
and the finish would be kind of like this http://www.amode.co.uk/acatalog/Uno_Gloss_TV_Sideboard.html (http://www.amode.co.uk/acatalog/Uno_Gloss_TV_Sideboard.html) but without that ugly big circle, Thinking 2 plain white base coats then 2 gloss white layers and a gloss varnish at the end. open to ideas on how to get a nice glossy finish.
Budget I am looking at is under $1000 even with buying some new tools, basically I don't want to spend more then what I could have paid for a similar unit in a shop or to get one customly made for me. Depending on how much fun I have with this first project I would look at making my own coffee table and a side table for the lounge all to match so spending some $ on tools isn't going to worry me too much if I can get a couple of uses out of them.