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Wood meets Steel

DENNYDOG

DENNYDOG

Addicted Member
I've got a very good start to my latest project. A tv stand slash audio rack.

Ever since I got the vintage audio bug I have wanted a decent rack to put all my gear in. I have never really found one that I liked and was big enough for my living room setup. One other thing most of the racks I have looked at weren't enclosed. This was one of the things I wanted but could never find.

Well now that I got rid of my projection tv and bought a new plasma I thought it was time to do something about it. I checked with our local cabinet maker about making something for me. He was in between project right now and could have easily done it but the price was way more than I wanted to spend. I'm sure it would have been nice.

I would have loved to make one completely out of wood but I am no carpenter by any means. I had this idea floating around in my head about making it both wood and steel. I sat down and did some figuring and decided what I wanted it to look like and what the dimensions would be. That was probably the hardest part. I didn't want to make it too small but I didn't want to make it a huge beast either.

I came up with the design of using 1"X2" 14ga steel tubing for the frame. Total cost for 2 24' sticks including tax ended up being about $60. I decided that I wanted two spots for equipment and decided they would be 19 1/2" wide x 23" high and 20 1/2" deep. Plenty wide for most equipment out there. The finished stand will measure 43 1/2" wide x 22" deep x 28" tall.

I decided I would fill in the frame with veneered plywood and secure the pieces from the back side to hide the screws. I plan on having the cabinet shop do this for me as I don't have a good enough table saw to make a really nice cut like I want. He will also make the two doors that will go on the front. They will also have glass inserts.

I will also have him cut 4 legs for the stand along with an arched board connecting the two. I am going for a Mission style look.

I will also add a bar on the back side of the stand for a tv mount. Parts Express has a very nice mount for only about $50 that I plan on getting. This will enable me to lift the tv enough so I can set a receiver on the top of the stand if I ever want to. The shelf's aren't quite wide enough to accommodate most receivers. I didn't want to make it that big. The tv mount will also help give the stand a cleaner look.

This is where I am at so far. I will be dropping it off next week to have it powder coated with probably a semi glass black. That or possibly a gloss black to go with my new M90 and other Elite gear.

I am very happy so far with how its turning out. I will update with new pics as the project progresses.

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Damn, Denny - that's a beefy piece of furniture! :drool: I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.
 
Nice welds... How many shelfs and are you going to put any glass on it? The top would look cool with a granite top.
 
The only glass will be in the doors. The rest of the inserts will be walnut veneered plywood.

I'm hoping to finish it by the end of next week. It all depends and when the guy that has the cabinet shop can find time to cut the pieces for me and make the two front doors.

I would cut the wood myself but don't know if I will be happy with the quality of cuts from a circular saw.
 
Yes, those welds look very professional. Did you do them? That looks like it is going to be one monster of a rack. Looking forward to see it develop!
 
hhhmmm.. almost look more like TIG welds.. If those are MIG, come on over and give me a couple pointers.. I can get some nice welds, but nothing with that little of buildup..

Sweet idea for sure.. Can't wait to see it finished..
 
If I remember right.. isn't Denny a metal worker or welder by trade?

BTW Denny.. I used to have friends that had a John Deere dealership, and all of their lawn and garden tractors came in open crates made with this 1x2" steel.. I would make a trip every few weeks and pick some up. All my shop tables, welding carts and stuff like that were made like your table here.. You can't help but really enjoy working with this size and shape steel.. Just so much you can do with it..
 
No kidding soundmotor.. what makes me think TIG though is because the fills are concave.. damn near impossible to do on that small of a weld with MIG..
 
Thanks for the nice comments guys. Yes they are tig welds. I did everything at my place of work. I do mostly mig welding and have done some but not a lot of tig welding. I am still learning as it takes a very steady hand/hands to lay a nice bead.

I could probably have come very close to getting just as nice a weld mig welding the frame but I wanted to keep the welds as small as possible. Another nice thing with tig welding is there is no spatter whatsoever. You are guaranteed to get at least a little bit of spatter (usually during the start) with mig welding no matter how good you are.

Like James said this type of tube is very strong for the size and weight. The stand looks much heavier that it actually is. I estimate that it weighs around 50lbs right now. I figure it will add another 35 to 40 lbs once I install the doors, legs and wood inserts.

I have a busy Christmas weekend so hopefully I can finish it up next week.

And Jay I got the Bozaks from MJarve right after your fest. It was about an 11 hour round trip to get them but was well worth it. From what Mike said the crossovers are stock but they do have the good aluminum mids and tweeters. I wonder what a little tweaking might do?
 
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