Introduction: Sliding Ceiling TV Mount


I wanted a TV mount that I could attach to the upper portion of my entertainment center, but could not find one that would fit without modification, so I do what everyone here does - make my own.  I'll show you how I made mine and hopefully give you some ideas on how to modify mine to fit your needs.  I'll also try to point out things I would do differently and my learning opportunities (mistakes).

Step 1: Get Your Stuff


Please review the entire instructable to see how things go together and see how you will need to modify my qty's and dimensions to match your needs.  Now lets talk stuff you need.

Knowledge Stuff:
+First you need to know the mounting hole pattern on the back of the TV you plan to hang.  These should be in the instruction/owner manual (aka trash) or you might be able to look it up on line, or just measure it.  They should be something like 75x75mm, 100x100mm, 100x200mm or 200x200mm.  My TV is 200x200mm.
+Dimension from top hole, to top of TV, mine was about 8"
+Where you are going to mount it and hardware required

Pieces and parts :
+3/4" black pipe (mine is 12")
+3/4x1/2NPT street elbow (see recommendations at the end)
+1/2NPT T fitting
+1/2x1/4NPT black bushing
+1x1x1/8 angle iron (length as needed mine was 8')
+Qty 2 - 5/8" bolt
+3/4"NPT pipe floor mount
+cheap PFTE cutting board (get at the dollar store), these are the white plastic type boards, very slippery
+Qty 4 - screws for your TV - some sets come with them (my old Visio), some don't (my new LG)
+Qty 4 - lock washers for the diameter of the screws above
+Qty 4 - flat washers for the diameter of screws above
+Qty 10 - #10x1/2 flat head, metal screws with nuts
+Qty 4 - 1/4-20x3/4 pan head, metal screws with nuts
+Qty 10 - #10x3/4" flat head, wood screws



Step 2: The Frame


The first thing I did was make the frame that would attach to the back of the TV.  Again, my TV holes are 200x200mm, so I made the frame just a touch over this to give me some play, about 220mm.  I cut the vertical pieces to be right at 200mm thinking I could move them up and down as needed, turned out that with the thickness of the material and positions of the holes, I didn't need to move them at all. I marked my holes on the horizontal angle 200mm apart (had to actually buy a metric ruler just for this).  I then put together the T fitting with the bushings to determine the distance between the vertical supports.  I clamped the T-fittings to the verticals and then made sure the distance between the horizontal holes was 200mm also, I then clamped the vertical pieces in place and drilled the holes for the 1/4" screws.

The first photo shows the vertical piece with two large holes in the middle.  The first hole was drilled in the very middle of the angle.  This didn't work as the 5/8" bolt head fit just perfectly against the other side of the "L", which means I wouldn't have been able to turn it.  This was also a good thing because it forced me to rethink the hole position and weight distribution.  I then moved the hole "up" the frame so that the T fitting would be closer to the top of the TV and I also moved it off center to allow for the bolt to turn.  I hoped this would bring the center of gravity below my T fitting pivot point, but it didn't. 

Second photo shows my pieces cut, drilled and ready for a test fit.

The third and forth photos show my test fit as well as my quick drilling jig.

Step 3: Slide Frame

Next I made the slid portion of the mount.  This is basically 2 - 21 inch lengths of angle that will be attached to the entertainment center and allow the pipe to slide forward and back.  In order to mount it to the e-center I needed some brackets.  So out comes the hack saw and I cut several 1" pieces of angle.  The two longer pieces actually came about because I thought that where the TV would be sitting most of the time (toward the front of the e-center) I wanted a bit more support, so I cut the remainder piece in half and put two holes in each piece.  I was also getting pretty tired of cutting angle at this point.  I metal saw would have been handy.

OK, the next thing to note is my drill jig.  This made making holes pretty easy as I could set it up for the type of hole and just clamp and drill.  All my holes were in the middle of the angle, except for the ones for the T-fitting as mentioned earlier.  The jig was made of scrap wood and clamped to my drill press table, which was made during this project (scrap shelf and 4 bolts thank you).  In the second photo you can see that I have clamped one of the short angle pieces in and drilled in the middle.

The third photo is just spinning the jig for countersinking.  Countersinking?  Why's that?  Next step please...

Step 4: Countersinking


The piece of PFTE needs to slide in the angle and the screws might hit it, so we need to countersink the screws.

I think the photos tell what needs to be done here... clamp the piece and countersink the holes.  Drill size was determined by the #10 screw head size.  I used the drill press stop to make sure I didn't accidentally drill clear through the pieces.

Step 5: Pipe Support and Slide


The last thing we need is the pipe support and slide.  The first photo shows the pipe in the floor mount. This will be mounted hanging down to support the TV.

The second photo shows the piece I cut out of the cutting board.  Sorry, didn't take a picture of the process, but I just marked a 3-1/8" square with a nail and pencil (scratch then trace with pencil to see the mark).  I then used a hole saw to cut the 1-1/4" hole for the support to fit in.

I also had to grind down the top of the pipe support because the raised letters on it did not allow the slider to fit flush.

Third photo is them together.  The holes in the slider were because I thought I might screw it to the fitting, but then that wouldn't let  the pipe turn, duh, glad I realized that before I mounted the TV.

Step 6: Paint - Optional


I next hung all my pieces to be painted.  Just hung it from the garage door track with some twine and painted with some black, metal paint.

Step 7: Let's Put It Together


Put it all together and mount the TV.

First two photos are the TV frame together.  The TV sized screws go though the frame, then on goes the lock washer and then the flat (fender) washer.  I held them on with a piece of scrap plastic (the bag the screws came in actually) with a slit in it.  I then slide the plastic over the screw to hold it all together and doesn't fall off when trying to put it on the TV.  In the third photo is the frame on the TV.

Step 8: Mount the Slide

I next mounted the slide to the e-center.  I screwed it to the center with the 3/4" wood screws and spaced the angle apart by using the slider as a spacer.  It worked pretty good but I didn't get it quite centered.

I then took the pipe and floor mount, slid on the slider and screwed the pipe to the frame.  I then lifted the TV into place and slid the TV forward and then.... CRAP!... third photo.  I didn't count on the floor mount and pipe tilting.  Oh well, a little adjusting to make it level and ... forth photo.. we are level again. We have finished product, now just have to clean of the wiring (last photo).

Now, what would I do different now?  Next step please.

Step 9: Recommendations


OK, what would I do different or change in the future?

I think would would replace the street elbow with a T fitting and short piece of pipe.  I would then drill through both pieces of pipe and put a long screw toward the TV.  This would allow me to adjust the tilt easier.

I would add another piece of the cutting board (slider_2)between the floor mount and the wood, to take up the space and hopefully keep the pipe level.  This would require screwing slider_2 to the floor mount, which would mean countersinking into slider_2 and tapping the floormount.  If the space is still too much I would add some flat washers between slider_2 and the mount until it is snug against the wood.

Lastly, I would thread lock the pipe pieces.  This is because now the TV can actually tilt side to side which is not desired.

OK, end of my first instructable.  Let me know if I missed something.