Topic: AV Component "Furniture" (Wood)

[taylorc]

I've been taking the DIY route throughout the years, but I think it's time to find something that's a bit more aesthetically pleasing.  My woodworking skills aren't bad.   I just need something that fits into more of the "decor" of a living room.

Any recommendations?

www.boltz.com isn't hard to find and has some nice pieces, but steel isn't preferred.

[taylorc]

Considering the minimal length of cables, components' proximity from a television and the need for a symmetrical layout, options become even more limited.  Throw in a turntable and two amps that need to be on top ("around" the television)...

Ideas are welcomed...

[Brian Skalinder]

Considering the minimal length of cables, components' proximity from a television and the need for a symmetrical layout, options become even more limited.  Throw in a turntable and two amps that need to be on top ("around" the television)...

A few things to consider and/or questions:

[1]  Get / make longer cables which will in turn...
[2]  ...Provide more flexibility as far as proximity to TV
[3]  Is a symmetrical layout really a need, or simply a desire?  And how symmetrical does it "need" to be?
[4]  Why do the amps need to be on top ("around" the TV)?

Edit to add:  reason I bring up these points / questions is I'm going through a similar experience myself, trying to sort out how to arrange all my playback gear in a new apt.  And I rapidly realized I could [1] make longer cables, [2] keep the audio gear away from the TV easily enough, [3] not necessarily have the solution symmetrical, and [4] arrange my gear in different ways without really impacting what I was trying to accomplish.  'Course, I haven't decided on a solution yet, but...I just realized I didn't need to be so rigid in my thinking about how to arrange my gear.

[taylorc]

[1]  Get / make longer cables which will in turn...
[2]  ...Provide more flexibility as far as proximity to TV

Simply due to the fact that longer cables = a lot more $

[3]  Is a symmetrical layout really a need, or simply a desire?  And how symmetrical does it "need" to be?

Not so much as a need to be "symmetrical", but organized.  Avoiding an av stand sitting beside the television stand.
Right now my system almost sits higher than the television (on one side), so it's out of proportion.  Would prefer the other shelf/stand tops to be level with or below the base of the television.

[4]  Why do the amps need to be on top ("around" the TV)?

Tube amps...so I would prefer them not to sit inside a shelf.

[jpschust]

can i see a pic or get a description of your living room?  will give me a better idea of where to point you.  Also, what components are you housing.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

If you want to build a custom rack, I can put down the instructions to build a rack like the one in this picture:

http://www.taperssection.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=22814.msg294952#msg294952

It's not a lot of work and you can finish the wood to match whatever decor you have going.  The design/construction is straight forward and the rack is solid as hell.  If you wanted to make it wider than tall, that would be an easy change to the plans.  The way the supports are constructed, you can easily modify it later to change shelf spacing.

The only tools I used were a table saw (because I have no skill with a hand saw), a drill, and a jig saw.  You could build this in an afternoon less the finishing work. 

[taylorc]

Bracey,
The living room I'm planning for isn't my current one, but it will have a 15-20 foot wall for laying out the television, components, speakers, etc.  The Processor, DAT, DVD, CD players are easy to accomidate.  With the two amps & turntable, it may be simplest to have a "largely open" open shelf for the turntable.

Maynard,
Thanks for the heads-up, but I'm looking for something that will sort of centralize everything.  Having the processor on one side and a few of the components on the other would make for too much cable reach.  Putting them all on one side ends up with an odd arrangement.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any online woodworkers that specialized in this sort of stuff.


Here's a rough sketch of something I have in mind...it's fairly to scale...
40" x 60" main section, 25" x 30" sides
(I've always used cheaper woods.  Any suggestions for where to find better woods?)

[Brian Skalinder]

(I've always used cheaper woods.  Any suggestions for where to find better woods?)

Shoot, sounds like you have the skills and tools to do it yourself.  Just invest in some quality wood and be done with it.  I'm sure your high-end local lumber yard can get you the top-notch wood you want.

As for paying others...there are gobs of custom-woodwork shops online - I've been looking around for media storage and all the custom woodworking shop rates I've found are about the same (i.e. extremely high).

I know, not much help, but...felt like blathering a bit more...

[scervin]

You can check out Salamander Designs, they make some nice racks.  $$$$

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

From your drawing, it looks like you need two racks half the height of what I built and one rack twice the width.   That would be pretty easy to build, wide open for ventilation and reconfigurable.  I was showing mine more for the general design than that specific configuration.

The wood I used was birch plywood from home depot.  Lowes has the same stuff.  You just have to look for the piece with the grain that you like if you are using a light stain.  There are highend lumber yards that have really beautiful plywoods, but the HD stuff is decent and I think I paid only $65 for an 8'x10'x1/2" sheet at the time I built my rack so not expensive.  All said and done, maybe $170 total in supplies.  Also you can have HD cut the plywood on their large saw, so all you have to do is cut the uprights and corners.

I'm with Brian on the DIY.  You can pay alot of money to a cabinet maker but be sure that you want the piece as furniture for a long time.  I was solicited bids for a couple of pieces and what I wanted was going to be about $800.  So well worth the time I spent.

Good luck.

[MattD]

I wouldn't have HD cut anything ... I got some pine boards for a rack and had HD cut them in half and they used a shitty saw and tore through it. I had to spend a lot of time sanding those ends and even now the'yre still not wonderful. If you have the tools, make all the cuts yourself.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I wouldn't have HD cut anything ... I got some pine boards for a rack and had HD cut them in half and they used a shitty saw and tore through it. I had to spend a lot of time sanding those ends and even now the'yre still not wonderful. If you have the tools, make all the cuts yourself.

Yeah, well the deal with that is you have to stand over them like a parent and if they cut the thing improperly, be ready to walk out without the wood. 

In my case I didn't have any way to get an 8x4 sheet home without damage.  I had them rip the sheet so I could load it into my car.

[taylorc]

Any opinions/suggestions for feet (on hardwood and/or a rug)?  Also, I've considered a glass shelf for the center channel.  Any pros/cons for wood or glass in terms of avoiding any hindrance to the sound of the center speaker?

Thanks for all the comments...

[jpschust]

Any opinions/suggestions for feet (on hardwood and/or a rug)?  Also, I've considered a glass shelf for the center channel.  Any pros/cons for wood or glass in terms of avoiding any hindrance to the sound of the center speaker?

Thanks for all the comments...

i just might be worried about the vibrations in glass if that center channel has any bass to it whatsoever.