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This was made as a Christmas gift for my wife. We had traded some things with a brother of mine for a used plasma TV, but needed a nice media stand for it to sit on.
I told my wife to pick any design she liked, and I would do my best to create one like it for a fraction of the cost. She looked at entertainment centers and media stands on some of the popular furniture websites until she found one that she liked and said, "There it is, make that one!"
I came up with a plan that required the purchase of one sheet of 3/4" plywood, along with about 60 feet of 1/4" by 1 - 3/8" lattice (from the trim section). A small amount of additional material was needed that came from my scrap pile. The finished piece appears to be made with inset framed panels, along with solid posts around all the edges. Not so, but you wouldn't be able to tell!
Including paint and hardware, I spent just over $100 on this. I used a lot of glue, nails, and sandpaper, which will add to the cost once they are replaced. This was a fun, challenging project, and my wife is very proud to display the end result in our living room. The finished dimensions are 28" H by 44" W by 20.5" D.
Thanks for looking!
I told my wife to pick any design she liked, and I would do my best to create one like it for a fraction of the cost. She looked at entertainment centers and media stands on some of the popular furniture websites until she found one that she liked and said, "There it is, make that one!"
I came up with a plan that required the purchase of one sheet of 3/4" plywood, along with about 60 feet of 1/4" by 1 - 3/8" lattice (from the trim section). A small amount of additional material was needed that came from my scrap pile. The finished piece appears to be made with inset framed panels, along with solid posts around all the edges. Not so, but you wouldn't be able to tell!
Including paint and hardware, I spent just over $100 on this. I used a lot of glue, nails, and sandpaper, which will add to the cost once they are replaced. This was a fun, challenging project, and my wife is very proud to display the end result in our living room. The finished dimensions are 28" H by 44" W by 20.5" D.
Thanks for looking!
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Signing UpStep 1Break down plywood
I spent a lot of time working out the details and organizing a plan of approach. Looking back it all looks simple and obvious now, but it was a tricky plan to figure out.
I laid out a cut plan for the sheet of plywood (which I've included above), and the plywood was broken down into pieces according to the plan. All longer cuts were done with a circular saw and a straight edge, and shorter cuts were done with a miter saw. Some of these pieces were further trimmed as needed for final installation.
3/4" plywood is generally only 11/16" thick, which is important keep in mind.
I made all the vertical cuts first, beginning with the bigger pieces on the left of the plan and moving toward the right. About 1/8" material is lost with each cut. The last section remaining was for the drawer backs, and was about six inches wide.
The third and fourth photos show what was left over at the end of the project from the wood I had to purchase. Not bad!
I don't include many measurements from here on. If you're willing to tackle this project, this is the starting point. I've tried to condense this down as much as possible, as there are just too many details to cover everything. Please examine the photos throughout the build for more details, and to see some of the tricks I used to make steps easier and more controlled and precise. Please ask questions if anything is not clear.
I laid out a cut plan for the sheet of plywood (which I've included above), and the plywood was broken down into pieces according to the plan. All longer cuts were done with a circular saw and a straight edge, and shorter cuts were done with a miter saw. Some of these pieces were further trimmed as needed for final installation.
3/4" plywood is generally only 11/16" thick, which is important keep in mind.
I made all the vertical cuts first, beginning with the bigger pieces on the left of the plan and moving toward the right. About 1/8" material is lost with each cut. The last section remaining was for the drawer backs, and was about six inches wide.
The third and fourth photos show what was left over at the end of the project from the wood I had to purchase. Not bad!
I don't include many measurements from here on. If you're willing to tackle this project, this is the starting point. I've tried to condense this down as much as possible, as there are just too many details to cover everything. Please examine the photos throughout the build for more details, and to see some of the tricks I used to make steps easier and more controlled and precise. Please ask questions if anything is not clear.
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"Biscuits" in this sense refers to little wooden football-shaped pieces of wood that are glued into the butting edges of two pieces of wood that are to be joined together.
A special tool called a "biscuit joiner" or "biscuit cutter" is used to cut notches into both pieces of wood to be joined, and the biscuit is glued into the notches, thus strengthen the joint. I added a little yellow box to the first photo, pointing out one of the little biscuits.
I hope that clears things up. (I do love me some eating-biscuits though, too!)
Great instructable, this looks really slick!
I showed my kids your clone trooper costume, and much to my disappointment, they were not as impressed as they should have been . . . I guess when they start making their own stuff from scratch they'll understand how cool a well-made project is!
(Thanks for the comments on my other projects. Glad you enjoyed them!)
You've inspired me, I'll have to make something similar
Great job dude, keep up the good work :)
Great job!
No, I don't work at ikea... hopefully this thing will last longer than most ikea stuff!
I have built a lot of cabinets for my new homes and have a nice oak display case under construction now, I have every tool you would need but cannot find some of them in my overloaded shop. again, Great Job, Very nice
I've got a pretty small workspace, so I try to constantly keep it clean and things in their places. Otherwise, it turns into a cluttered mess and I can't find anything!
For CementTruck: You need cutlist software http://www.delphiforfun.com/Programs/CutList.htm
Thanks.