Antiqued Media Stand from one sheet of plywood by seamster
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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!
 
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Step 1: Break down plywood

tv stand chest 001.JPG
cut layout.jpg
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.
darlajanette says: Dec 5, 2011. 6:04 PM
How, exactly, does one use biscuits?
seamster (author) says: Dec 6, 2011. 9:06 AM
Ah . . . if you're not familiar with woodworking, I imagine that sounds kind of funny!

"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!)
pheenix42 says: Nov 26, 2011. 1:55 PM
When I get the resources to do so, I'm building one of these for my older sister...her TV is getting to the point of needing replacement, and when she does it'll have to be one of the new flat-panel style. This would be ideal for her place!
bigjeff5 says: Nov 8, 2011. 5:41 PM
I'm not much of a fan of that color, but if your wife likes it who am I to judge?

Great instructable, this looks really slick!
parrster says: Nov 4, 2011. 11:51 PM
I was very, very impressed with this! You have a gift.
seamster (author) says: Nov 5, 2011. 3:11 PM
Thanks! This project was a fun venture into cabinetmaking.

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!)
kenbob says: Oct 28, 2011. 10:03 PM
Beautiful work and excellent instructable!! A+ all around and I love the finished product too!
dimmaz88 says: Oct 8, 2011. 5:06 AM
This is an awesome cabinet, I love this rustic style.
You've inspired me, I'll have to make something similar

Great job dude, keep up the good work :)
Parmenion says: Sep 11, 2011. 10:35 PM
Do you work at ikea?
Great job!
seamster (author) says: Sep 12, 2011. 11:44 AM
Thanks!

No, I don't work at ikea... hopefully this thing will last longer than most ikea stuff!
dagarcia76 says: Jun 27, 2011. 11:35 AM
That is a beautiful TV console. I hope to try my hand at that as soon as I get a workbench made. I noticed yours looked like you made it out of 2x4's and plywood. Simple and sturdy, just what I had in mind. Could you post some pictures of your workbench please. It may sound silly, but I am absolutely serious.
sebgonz says: Jun 19, 2011. 7:17 PM
This is great! It's very well done and looks extremely nice. One question I have, that I must have overlooked while reading, is how did you get the seams in the side and top? Are those pieces not one single piece? They look like they have been made of a few sections.
seamster (author) says: Jun 19, 2011. 10:32 PM
Yep, the sides and top are all single pieces. I made shallow cuts with my circular saw in them to simulate separate panel pieces. It adds quite a bit of character I think. I'm glad you liked it!
honorman says: May 8, 2011. 2:28 PM
I am a retired home builder and hobby furniture builder, you did a great job, My shop is small also and has got away from me as i have rent houses and need storage
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
Natalina says: May 7, 2011. 1:51 PM
This is gorgeous.
dgallimore says: Mar 28, 2011. 5:34 AM
That really is a thing of beauty. Great 'ible!
StoryAddict says: Jan 31, 2011. 7:43 PM
Wow, this is exactly what I've been looking for! I've got a flat tube TV (not exactly sure of the weight) rather than a flat plasma. This looks like an extra solid piece though. What kind of weight capacity would you say it could hold?
seamster (author) says: Feb 1, 2011. 8:04 AM
We just got done rearranging our living room, and I sat on it a few times (while the TV was off of it), and didn't think anything of it. I'm about 210, and it didn't make a creak. So, I'd say it's pretty solid!
dcrrcdx2 says: Jan 30, 2011. 7:40 AM
nice work! i love wood, and making something to this standard from plywood is top quality craftmanship(not that you need anyone to tell you!) well done!!
seamster (author) says: Jan 30, 2011. 12:15 PM
Thank you. I appreciate the compliment!
sueman2 says: Jan 25, 2011. 7:08 PM
now if we could only fasten one of those miscellaneous parts into handles.
tchitwood says: Jan 17, 2011. 8:13 PM
Wow! This is amazing! Very great instructable, so well done and the finished piece looks perfect!
kransbox says: Dec 26, 2010. 3:50 PM
wow, just wow.....
BobBagwill says: Dec 24, 2010. 5:04 AM
Great job on the project and the Instructable!
michou94 says: Dec 22, 2010. 4:14 AM
Great job ! Your work is inspiring, especially for someone like me (i'm terrible at woodworking), thanks for your advices and your detailled instructions.
Shades of Grey says: Dec 21, 2010. 7:35 AM
This is an amazing piece of furniture from humble beginnings. I am impressed for sure. I am even more impressed with your neat, tidy and clean workspace (at least the part in the pics!). As far as being OCD, I think you are just a craftsman who is proud of his work and doesn't take shortcuts. This 'ible is very well written also. Thanks for sharing.
seamster (author) says: Dec 21, 2010. 9:43 AM
Thank you, I appreciate your comments!

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!
CrLz says: Dec 21, 2010. 7:23 AM
Excellent build, cool idea, good documentation!
seamster (author) says: Dec 21, 2010. 9:33 AM
Thank you!
rbeforee says: Dec 20, 2010. 12:24 PM
Again, awesome precision and detail. You do beautiful work and I greatly appreciate your extra efforts to share your process. The finished unit looks terrific.
murph38_99 says: Dec 20, 2010. 10:45 AM
Great Ible.

For CementTruck: You need cutlist software http://www.delphiforfun.com/Programs/CutList.htm
CementTruck says: Dec 20, 2010. 7:17 AM
Great job!!!. I particularly like the low waste of this project. It is always a struggle to position the pieces on the cut sheet.
llmadigan says: Dec 20, 2010. 6:38 AM
wow! that's pretty awesome!
coppaj says: Dec 20, 2010. 5:36 AM
Absolutley amazing! This is exceptional work and you should be quite proud. I never would have beleived it was made of plywood! Great job! Please continue to post, and I learned a lot from this.

Thanks.
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