Carpentry Help - TV Stand

[slcskihorn2]

Hey,ya'll...I've got a new armoire that is really badass. Problem is, there is no shelf to put my DVD player, DirectTV box, etc.

So, I'm going to build a "stand" that is basically a 3-sided box for the TV to sit on. I'm going to use southern yellow pine, since the armoire is made of that same lumber. Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of??

The dimensions will be 16"x32". I just plan on getting a 1x16 piece of lumber for the top, and screwing 1x6 pieces to it. Maybe put some diagonal pieces for corner support underneath. Sand lightly and stain. Any tips would be appreciated...

 

[EEE]

make it 4 sided, with a back. it will be much stronger.

 

[MilkmanDan]

The downside of building a back is that running cables is much tougher, even if you drill holes.

I had to do the same thing. I ran a third support more or less down the center of it and put two small supports in back, joining the top to the side legs. They were about 4" wide or so. The center support is stabilized by my center channel speaker and receiver. My tolerances were pretty tight.

 

[slcskihorn2]

Yeah, 4 sides was what I was shooting for, then drilling a hole in the back to run the cables out. I think 3 sides would work, since the top board would be 1" thick...that would be pretty strong. To support the two sides, I would probably run some supports along side of them.

The kicker is I need 6" of clearance and any additional supports may get in the way of the DVD player.

Thanks for the tips...keep em coming!

 

[BigWill]

put gussets on the back. It will be fine. Use glue and screws, and pre-drill and countersink.

 

[slcskihorn2]

put gussets on the back. It will be fine. Use glue and screws, and pre-drill and countersink.

Okay, I don't know what gussets are. And I don't know what countersink means.

Explanation??

 

[EEE]

gussets are just small blocks that add support where two boards intersect. instead of adding a full back piece, you could just put some smaller pieces on the inside corners. countersink means that after you drill the pilot hole (the hole for the screw), you drill another, larger diameter hole just deep enough so that the screw will be slightly below the surface.