Thread: Joints for new TV/Display unit

Hi Neil,

Looks good. Yes challenging but lots of fun. I like how you've planned the joints. Can't say much more as I haven't really built anything like this or used biscuits before so am going to be very interested to hear how this goes.

Cheers
RufflyRustic

seems like you got a good pack if you can get those lengths out of it

Originally Posted by echnidna

seems like you got a good pack if you can get those lengths out of it

I got a reasonable amount of around the 2m mark and a few real long ones, but most around 1.5m. I have sorted by length and colour, but with faults, not without. I can always join them end to end, using staggered joints, as long as it is not a structural component (eg the back). I also have a T&G bit for those legths that are damaged or without T&G. Hopefully I have enough, but there are always more packs available.

Thanks for the thoughts Ruffly. I'm still not sure about all the biscuits, because the order of putting it all together will be critical, I hope to get some comments from the experts out there. I am sure I am going to have to borrow some clamps though, I'm sure I don't have enough.

Sounds & looks good. You probably don't need biscuits with the rebated shelves, but belt & braces never went astray.

It's like eating an elephant, just chew on a mouthfull at a time.
You would be wise to go shopping & pay attention to the construction methods used.
One thing you will have to be carefull about, is that you will be using solid timber & not "board product" so timber moovement will be an issue.

Lots of the joints will be candidates for knock down hardware of come description. Some of the shelves could be structural. others may be movable

don't neglect ventilation for your gear.

There have been some good articles in FWW over the years about this sort of stuff.
I'd be breaking it into two or three pieces that are structuraly independant.

Krikey jack! :eek: she'll be heavy.
One consideration would be how you are going to finish it. Not just the type of finish but how you will get around the piece with the finishing process.

Better start chewing now its a big meal.

cheers


Chew faster.

Neil
Looks Good, couple of questions , what happens in the corner where the two meet is this just empty space???
As the soundy said will be heavy , will the finally assembly be in-situ
T & G joints how are you going to cut them , have you considered a special Purpose router bit to join them, or biscuits, or dowels. I have had success with dowels and biscuits but its the clamping technique thats important , I am sure there was a thread on joining boards recently in which clamping was discussed.

As to using biscuits and rebates , it would be a lot of messing about , resetting depths etc... to cut the biscuit slot accurately in the bottom of the rebate, plus will you have enough material for the biscuit after cutting the rebate , no to mention the assembly problims in that with shelves you slide in from the back , but biscuits as well , I think you would need to lay the unit on its side and build layer by layer getting all the shelves right for each layer at once , messy and you need large assembly bench/ area.
The rebates and glue will be more than strong enough.

Hope this is of some use

Rgds
Russell

Originally Posted by soundman

It's like eating an elephant, just chew on a mouthfull at a time...Better start chewing now its a big meal.

Thanks Soundman. Yes, big meal and blo_dy heavy.

Breaking down is a good idea, likewise looking at other "solid" units. The carcass pic shows only the fixed shelves, there will be other glass/timber moveable ones.

Finish - I was going use wipe on poly. I will sand all surfaces prior to assembly, and apply the finish as well where I can - what to do think?

Ventilation - I've allowed heaps of room around each component for both ventilation and future upgrading. I was also going to leave a gap between the shelves and the rear wall for cables/ventilation.

I was going to start on the doors today, but I have hit a hurdle on the router bits (Ian Smith has same problem and posted threat on it under Triton). Decided to get my gear ready for fishing trip tomorrow instead. Might do a bit of window showing as you suggest as well.

Thanks

Have you stopped chewing!!!
Think about what sort of telly you will be using.
Consider thet we are in a real time of change. Big crt unit are common & not real expensive, plasma is trendy & getting cheaper but the thing to watch (te he ) is TFT type LCD screens. They are getting bigger and cheaper. I'm building some brackets for some 30" units at the moment and 40" is not an unreasonable expectation.

Visulaise this.
In the middle of the back wall of the unit is a screen obout 80mm thick fixed to the wall with no visible fixings or cables. mmmm

Originally Posted by Ashore

what happens in the corner where the two meet is this just empty space???...will the finally assembly be in-situ...T & G joints how are you going to cut them...biscuit..rebate...assembly problems.. build layer by layer..rebates and glue will be more than strong enough

Thanks Russell.

The corner - orginally I was going to have horizontal revolving shelf into corner, but empty space is looking good since everything else is getting harder.

I am thinking about Soundman's advice of assembling it in segments in the shed, the final assembly insitu, but still chewing on that one.

The timber is 19mm T&G flooring (quite a few members got packs cheap - see thread under announcements). I have a T&G bit to make my own though, for those pieces that are faulty.

I intended to use rebate and biscuits only on the main side panel joints. The rebate was only 5mm and I was worried whether there was enough glue in a 5mm rebate for the lateral restraint. From yours and others' comments, perhaps I can get rid of the biscuits there. In the intermediate vertical member joints, there are no rebates, so the biscuits were to hold them in place.

I still need to figure out a staging plan, and perhaps I will post some sketches to get some more feedback.

Soundman - I already have a 42" plasma, retail theorapy from last year, but the unit is designed for a 52". If I'd planned the same unit 2 years ago, it would have been for a 48cm.

Thanks for the ideas and comments guys, I have a lot to chew on.

Cheers

Very impressive planning going on here, Dai. I've never built anything this big, so I'd be interested to hear updates on progress.

Regarding the biscuited rebates: if you're concerned that glue alone won't hold in the rebates, have you thought of sliding dovetails? Plenty of strength there.

BTW: your son is a genius. Those renderings are great.

Originally Posted by zenwood

have you thought of sliding dovetails

Not sure what they are (I'll have to do a search) but something else to think about. Ok for 19mm timber?

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Not sure what they are (I'll have to do a search) but something else to think about. Ok for 19mm timber?

Absolutely. Can be done using darkside or a router (I've done darkside ones). Very secure way of joining a shelf to a carcase side.

This shows the concept:

You can stop the dovetail if you don't want it visible from the front, and you apply glue to the front couple of inches only, to allow for movement. The groove is very slightly tapered, to allow for ease of sliding the insert home.

I dont think you will be able to biscuit the rebate anyway because biscuit joiners have a flat face on them so its OK on a flat board but you wont have enough depth on the rebate slot.
Unless there is some gizzmo i havent seen.

Cheers Ian