New cabinet.

[Don C]

Since my new LSR 32 center channel speaker was delivered, I have not been able to hear it, simply due to lack of space to install it. I should have checked the dimensions before ordering it. I've been working on a solution though. So I thought I'd share my design for a new entertainment cabinet. My design is a direct ripoff from the Salamander Designs cabinets. Link (http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/)
These cabinets have always impressed me, but they are very expensive. I've never been able to afford one, especially not in the size that I'd need. The vertical supports are 1.5 inch square aluminum extrusions, from 8020. Link (http://www.8020.net/)
and
eBay store link (http://stores.ebay.com/8020-Inc-Garage-Sale)
I've been fooling around with different designs in Visio, I like to think of this as the poor guy's substitute for autocad. Every time I changed something on the design the rack seemed to get bigger, until I topped out at 96 inches wide. I had to stop there so that I could still make the top and shelves from a ripped section of plywood. The cabinet will be going right in front of our fireplace, since that never gets used anyway. The height of the TV is set so that the back will extend into the fire-box, minimizing the depth needed. I've made the cabinet 20 inches deep.
Comments are welcome, but it's too late for me to actually change much as I have already started cutting. I'll post a pic or two when there is more progress.

[Don C]

It looks kind of spindly without the doors, but there is more metal under the TV that is not illustrated here. Also, there will be a back panel to stiffen it up.

[johnaec]

Nice, Don. I may try something similar somewhere down the line, when high-def prices come down to my desires/needs... 'Doesn't make much sense for me to do it now. Will those be smoked glass doors?

John

[Fred Sanford]

Nice work- I'm designing something myself (pencil sketches only so far), we'll see how it comes out.

I'm curious what you're doing for doors as well, especially since my cabinet will house the L/C/R speakers, sub and some heat-producing amplifiers. I may have to make it all pretty enough to leave it open, or find some sort of cane/mesh grille that I can use most times but remove when I'm looking for best sound/most ventilation.

Speaking of ventilation, if you are doing glass doors, are you prepping for ventilation for heat-producing components?

Good luck, thanks for sharing-

je

[Rolf]

I built a similar construction a couple of years ago. We had to remove it, as it was to overwhelming in the room. :(

I do not know what kind of TV you are using, but remember that the power supply in the amps ruins the picture on a normal TV.

[Don C]

I'm thinking of using perforated metal for the center of the doors. I haven't found a source yet. I haden't sonsidered the effect of the amplifiers on the TV. If it causes a problem, I guess I'll have to re-arrange it with the amps up on top.

[duaneage]

Perforated metal might vibrate and make noise, glass is a better choice I think and allows visuals. I have to doa built in one of these days but I have to remodel the bathroom first, and then I will be broke.

[Don C]

It's really too cold for wood finishing, the stain doesn't want to dry. As you can see, I'm using some oak veneer plywood with red stain. I didn't want to mess with trying to cut it, I bought it at the home improivement store and had them cut it up before bringing it home. They do a pretty good job with the big panel saw, but you have to ask them to flip the wood over between cuts, so as to keep the factory edge on one side of each shelf. I've applied a plain molding to hide the plywood edge.

[Don Mascali]

Check this link for perforated and expanded metal.

http://www.mcmaster.com/

Looks like a nice design so far.:D

[Titanium Dome]

It's really too cold for wood finishing, the stain doesn't want to dry. As you can see, I'm using some oak veneer plywood with red stain. I didn't want to mess with trying to cut it, I bought it at the home improivement store and had them cut it up before bringing it home. They do a pretty good job with the big panel saw, but you have to ask them to flip the wood over between cuts, so as to keep the factory edge on one side of each shelf. I've applied a plain molding to hide the plywood edge.

Ah, I remember the days of cold, sticky stain that wouldn't dry. When I lived in MI and worked as a painter/stainer/paperhanger while going to grad school, my bosses were mindless of weather conditions or temperature.

Many times we'd work in unheated, new construction at 25-30 degrees staining doors and trim. "The stain won't freeze," they'd say. No, it just turned to sludge. Days later it would still be sticky.

One infamous project had us doing exterior staining on rails and spindles after a major ice storm. "Just chip off the ice with your Hyde Tool, then stain it," was the helpful, professional instruction we got.

I was so glad when I graduated and could find a different job.

Your project looks much cleaner by comparison. Are you using 5/8 or 3/4 plywood?

[Robh3606]

It looks really nice. My concern would be ventilation the way all the gear is stacked. If you close off the gear on 3 sides and only have the backs open you may need a fan or 2. I know I did on mine. Can you do perferated shelves to help circulate the air around the components??

Rob:)

[Don C]

The side of the equipment end of the cabinet is going to be hard to see from inside the room. So one idea was that I'd just leave the side panels off over there. The idea of using perforated metal for the centers of the cabinet doors is swiped, along with most of the design, from Salamander. This material provides ventilation, and also allows remote controls to work with the door closed. They also use the perforated metal for the sides, they put a rubber molding around the edges and insert it in the slots of the extrusion.
I'm currently looking at these guys as a source for the metal.
http://www.reliablehardware.com/
I had thought that I was buying 3/4 plywood, that's what I asked for, and that's how it was labeled. But it's actually 5/8. The original design uses 1 inch MDF, but that is not readily avaliable around here. I'm starting to think that I should have ordered the 1 inch MDF and waited. I was pretty dissapointed when the 3/4 molding didn't fit the edges of this plywood. I tried sanding off the extra 1/8 of molding, but I soon realized that it was going to take many hours to do that, as the molding is solid oak. I ended up using a flush cutting router bit to trim off the edge, and a round off bit to restore the profile. That was $30. for router bits that I hadn't planned on spending.

[Don C]

I've made some progress. It's coming along pretty well. This is just a mockup, I'll disassemble it again soon. I'm going to make something to tie all of the bottom legs together at the floor, then I'll start on the back and the front doors.

[Titanium Dome]

Looks like it's coming together! It's big.

[Mr. Widget]

Looking good, Don... how heavy is your TV/display?
You may need to hide a support of some kind under it...

(edit: I just read your post above and see you've addressed that... keep us posted.)


Widget

[Don C]

Continuing the work on the cabinet. I was worried that moving the cabinet around might bend or break off the legs. So I've added a long board across the back of the lowest level, and a rail to tie together the bottom of the legs.

[Don C]

The end panels are just 1/4 inch oak veneer plywood. You can see the assembly method, all of the aluminum rails are tapped in each end. I cut up 16 pieces of all thread to make studs. They are 5/16-18, three inches long. The plastic squares under each upright are needed to prevent the upright fron scratching up the shelf as you rotate it to tighten. The front of each upright is decorated with a section of half inch quarter round molding. There is a hole in each rail for tightening up the screw, wherever there is a cross member. This hides that hole, and improves the appearance.

[Don C]

I decided that I should also put a reinforcing rail under the center channel speaker, to prevent that shelf from ever sagging. It's too easy to see right now, so I'll probably remove it again and paint it flat black.

[Don C]

I decided not to cover the whole back, this will aid cooling and make it easy to get at the wires. It's more than strong enough with just the center section covered. Next up, shelves and doors.

[Fred Sanford]

Looks great, thanks for posting your progress.

Looking forward to seeing it in place, and loaded.

je

[Earl K]

Fabulous Don !

Well Done !

I love good looking , modular shelving .

:)

[Robh3606]

Nice work!!!

Where did you get the metal frame. I looks like it can be cut to size or is available in different sizes??

Rob:)

[Don C]

Follow the links in the first post. The aluminum T-slot extrusion is pretty expensive if you get it new direct from 8020 or from McMaster, but it's about half off in the eBay store. The best bet is to look for some that is new but QC rejected. I have some that is secondhand from them and it has to be placed in the back, or rotated just right to hide the flaws. But there were some new pieces that were just rejected for having the center hole out of tolerance, too small. They said that it might be difficult to tap this, but I had no trouble.
Be prepared, there is a lot of metal work to be done. There are 35 peices of aluminum in this one. Try tapping 70 holes at one time, you'll end up with sore hands.
The 8020 store will be happy to cut the parts to length and tap the ends for you and even drill the access holes, but the cost adds up quickly. It's about two bucks per operation. So I did all of that myself. For a smaller project, you could order all of the metal ready to assemble.
I borrowed a 100 tooth 10 inch carbide saw blade, and I've ben cutting the aluminum in my garage on my cheap Craftsman table saw. It cuts like butter, no problem. This allows me to buy long pieces of the extrusion, it's cheaper that way.

[Don C]

I removed the old TV cabinet and set up the TV in the new one. The speakers are now the same distance from the front and back wall, instead of being offset like before. It's exaggerated the effect of the room on the sound. I'll keep working on it.

[Mr. Widget]

Congratulations! That looks really nice.


Widget

[Titanium Dome]

Nice job. :yes:

[briang]

Very nicely done.:cheers: