Weblog
09/28/06: It's done. My TV has a home.
I finally finished the TV stand for the new 32" LCD TV. Here's a picture of the final product. I figure in a furniture store it would probably have cost me around $800, but materials to build it myself to my specifications were only around $350 or so. You can see the under-constructions photos here.
09/25/06: ET stain home
I finished the top, doors and drawer of the entertainment center so I stayed out until 11 PM staining it so that I can hopefully put the poly on tomorrow:
You can see the craftsman style to it, and I chose a stain that matched the period as well.
The lighting makes it look more splotchy than it is, but I probably still should have used a wood conditioner prior to staining since it's not all hardwood.
You can see the craftsman style to it, and I chose a stain that matched the period as well.
The lighting makes it look more splotchy than it is, but I probably still should have used a wood conditioner prior to staining since it's not all hardwood.
09/24/06: Ah, things never go in the order planned...
Our TV died - well mostly. The green gun went out, so the picture is excessively red. When we bought that one I swore the next TV I bought would be a "plasma". Well I was wrong, but not by much. I went out and picked up the Samsung 32" LCD from WorstBuy. Well I call it WorstBuy because everyone else does, and the service when Carla picked this TV up was horrible.Anyway, that left me with an entertainment center that didn't work anymore, not to mention it's well past it's Sauder lifespan:
I've been looking for some time for a smaller piece that was the style I wanted, but there wasn't anything exactly like I wanted so I got a wild hair and decided to make it. I'm about 2/3 of the way finished:
It's mostly poplar, which isn't the best for furniture because it's pretty soft, but it is easy to work with, cheap and looks good. Considering the only other thing I've made was a blanket chest that was put together wrong, I'm pretty darn proud of it. Originally I wasn't going to put the DVD drawer in the bottom but decided what the heck. Total cost for materials: about $350. I also had to buy a biscuit joiner because I'm making a top from poplar boards.
One unique thing about this stand is that it's 3' tall. This keeps little hands from touching the LCD, and is really a good watching height for a large room as well. I've also got the DVD drawer which exactly fits two rows of DVD's, and a top shelf designed for a center channel speaker or DVD player. The center section will have doors on the front, and I designed airflow up from the floor along the side panels for equipment stored inside such as my homebrew DVR.
