Making A TV Stand
Shopping for home theatre equipment can be a daunting task. There are hundreds of possible configurations of television, DVD player, amplifier and speakers to consider before you even start thinking about brands, or worse yet – setting it all up neatly.
One of the key parts of your home theatre setup is also one that is surprisingly often overlooked, or picked solely on the basis of cost – your TV stand. There are plenty of good models around, that will cater to any system, but one of the more satisfying options for a home handyperson is to make your own stand!
If you do want to try making your own TV stand, there are a few basic tools you will need. A cordless drill with a screwdriver bit will be indispensable, as will a jigsaw if you have one. If you have access to a table saw you will have no problems cutting wood to size, but if not your hardware store may be able to cut most of your wood to size to save some time.
Before you start planning, consider the style of your theater seating and other furniture. If you have fairly traditional or rustic styled seats, a stained wood TV cabinet with beveled edges and ornate trim might fit the bill; for contemporary furniture you may be better off either constructing your TV stand out of laminated particle board, which comes in a range of colors, or using wood and painting with a gloss enamel afterwards. If you are really creative, and handy with your tools, there are even options to use alternative materials like Perspex, or checker plate steel. If you are taking this route, try auto supply stores – many sell a plastic based version of checker plate, used for decoration.
For a simple wooden TV stand, you will need:
- Plywood or particle board for the sides
- Sturdy pine for the legs and rails
- Sturdier wood for the top and shelves (using interlocking floorboards is cheaper than buying one larger board)
- Dowels for joining
The basic design is simple – start by cutting four posts to the height you want your stand to be. Then, cut four rails to fit between these, top and bottom for each. Lay out these pieces on your work surface to make 2 rectangular shapes. Now, start joining these frames together by drilling matching holes for the dowel joints, and fitting the dowels in these holes with some wood glue to secure them. Clamp or put pressure on the joints while they dry. You should end up with two frames, which can now be joined together by the addition of two more rails for the left and right sides to make a cube. Now, it is just a matter of using wood screws to attach the sides and top of the TV stand. For a professional finish, countersink these screws and use some wood putty to fill in the holes afterward. Voila! A professional quality, homemade TV stand is yours – with only a half day work and well under $100 in costs. All that remains is stain and varnish, and enjoy your new stand.
Buying A Plasma TV Stand
Everyone likes to have the latest gadgets and electrical items in their homes, they add a certain sophistication to the house. LCD and Plasma Televisions could be a great accessory to be added to your home. We obviously can't just go and buy a TV on its own, the TV is going to require a complementing TV stand for it to sit on. Something stylish, but something that can also hold your new TV safely.
When it comes to buying a TV stand for you plasma or LCD television, it has to be wide enough and strong enough to take your specific TV so that it won't fall off and cause unneeded damage. The LCD or plasma stand is also a great way to add some style to your room depending on what design you go for, obviously you want to choose something that will compliment the existing room design. These is a huge range of designs and styles to choose from on the market today. Although, before you go out and spend your hard earned money there are some things you might want to take into consideration regarding your LCD or plasma stand.
These days most TVs you buy will be pretty wide and there for will need a wide TV stand. The stands come in many sizes so you need to make sure you are buying an appropriate size. The next thing to consider when buying your new TV furniture is the specifications of the stands available. Make sure you know how much space you have in the room that the plasma stand will be in. As much as you may need a wide stand for you new TV, you don't want to buy something that is far too big for your room.
As I just mentioned you need to take in to consideration the size of the LCD or plasma TV that you have. TV stands for flat screens are designed individually to take specific widths of TV. You don't want to buy a really wide TV stand just because your room can take it, it will leave your smaller TV looking even smaller and out of proportion.
Once you have a clear idea of the size of the screen you have and the space available, think about the design of the wide TV stand that you want. Try and think about the features you want the TV stand to have, Do you want a simple design that is basically a flat surface for your television to sit on. More than likely you will want some storage underneath for your DVD player, games consoles etc, most plasma stands will come with this storage space.
You can also get your new plasma TV stand in a huge number of different materials and colors. Normally though for LCD and plasma stands, metal and glass are the most popular. But, you do have the option to get a wooden TV stand if that would suit your room more.