09-15-2015, 11:52 AM
Hi,
After six months of work the new entertainment center made it into the house. This is replacing a three-cabinet entertainment center I built 15 years ago. The old one was not only enormous and dark, it also could not fit a TV larger than 32", puny by todays standards.
Wood is ash ply for the cabinet, with solid ash for the top, base, drawer boxes and drawer fronts. The dark top and base are a combination of Transtint and a gel glaze. You can read about the drama I went through coloring the wood here. This project reminded me why I stopped coloring wood a decade ago.
Everything is top coated with Arm-R-Seal applied with a foam brush. First time using it and it was a pleasure to use.
A larger TV is obviously due, and the top left shelf opening is slated to fit a new A/V receiver.
I adapted plans from Woodsmith. Rather than building a door with a shelf behind on the left and right sides like the plans suggested I opted for three drawers on each side. They are sized to fit DVD's, plus there is finally a place for my son to put his Xbox controllers, headsets, etc. other than the floor. Far more useful than a shelf. Drawer pulls are from Lee Valley.
The previous entertainment center stood about 5" from the wall due to the cords and power strip that were behind it. It looked messy and was a dust collector. This time I made space for the power strip to fit inside the bottom of the cabinet. The large center drawer is notched to fit around the power strip. The shelves are slotted in the back so cables are routed inside the cabinet to different components.
Lastly, rather than have the top be flush with the back of the cabinet I extended it about 3/4" so it would reach the wall and avoid a large gap between the cabinet and the wall. I put three notches, one center and one left and right, in the back of the top for cables to fit through.
Despite being my own worst critic I am happy with the final product, although after wrestling with this for six months I am ready to make some pencil boxes
Thanks for looking....Mike
After six months of work the new entertainment center made it into the house. This is replacing a three-cabinet entertainment center I built 15 years ago. The old one was not only enormous and dark, it also could not fit a TV larger than 32", puny by todays standards.
Wood is ash ply for the cabinet, with solid ash for the top, base, drawer boxes and drawer fronts. The dark top and base are a combination of Transtint and a gel glaze. You can read about the drama I went through coloring the wood here. This project reminded me why I stopped coloring wood a decade ago.
Everything is top coated with Arm-R-Seal applied with a foam brush. First time using it and it was a pleasure to use.
A larger TV is obviously due, and the top left shelf opening is slated to fit a new A/V receiver.
I adapted plans from Woodsmith. Rather than building a door with a shelf behind on the left and right sides like the plans suggested I opted for three drawers on each side. They are sized to fit DVD's, plus there is finally a place for my son to put his Xbox controllers, headsets, etc. other than the floor. Far more useful than a shelf. Drawer pulls are from Lee Valley.
The previous entertainment center stood about 5" from the wall due to the cords and power strip that were behind it. It looked messy and was a dust collector. This time I made space for the power strip to fit inside the bottom of the cabinet. The large center drawer is notched to fit around the power strip. The shelves are slotted in the back so cables are routed inside the cabinet to different components.
Lastly, rather than have the top be flush with the back of the cabinet I extended it about 3/4" so it would reach the wall and avoid a large gap between the cabinet and the wall. I put three notches, one center and one left and right, in the back of the top for cables to fit through.
Despite being my own worst critic I am happy with the final product, although after wrestling with this for six months I am ready to make some pencil boxes
Thanks for looking....Mike
