Archive for July, 2009
Sources and Options for Inexpensive TV Stands
It’s a bit of a downer. You just dropped $2K on a super High-Def Plasma TV and you’re siked, only to realize that acquiring a tv stand to go along with it is going to cost your another $200 to $400 dollars. Yeah, tv stands have gone up in price just like everything else, and you could part with a couple Benjamins to get a decent one. Luckily, I have a few options for you. Here are several sources you might consider if you are interested in an inexpensive television stand.
The Goodwill or Salvation Army
I know, I know. They are not the most prestigious of retail outlets. But you want inexpensive, and these are about as inexpensive as they get. The cool thing about these places, besides being cheap, is that you might be able to find some interesting vintage tv stands. Something with character and a little bit of wear might be perfect for your loft or fixer-upper.
Liquidation Sales
The economy is rough, and with a rough economy comes bankruptcies and store closures. That means there will be more and more bright yellow signs highlighting liquidation sales. When Circuit City closed its doors, there were some excellent deals on modern tv stands and accessories. Keep your eyes open for these.
Bulk Resellers
By bulk resellers, I basically mean companies that buy items in lots and thus get a much cheaper price which they can pass on to you. Check out Big Lots or The Dump if there is one in your area. You can pick up some nice stuff for a LOT less.
Online Retailers
Don’t count out the online retailers. Sites like Target, Wal-Mart, Amazon, and Ikea have great deals and even greater deals on special occasions. You just want to avoid furniture and electronics retailers if you want inexpensive.
Craigslist or Freecycle
No list of inexpensive sources for household items would be complete without mentioning Craigslist and Freecycle. People often sell tv stands on Craigslist for next to nothing because they want them out of their house. On Freecycle, people do sell tv stands for nothing because they want them out of their house, or to have another life with a loving family 
Build your Own
If none of those options work for you, you might just want to build your own. You can find plans online for building a basic stand, and add your own enhancements along the way. This will only cost you materials and any equipment you don’t already have. Of course, it might cost your some sweat and maybe some blood and tears if you miss a nail, but it is often worth it. You get a stand for your tv, some room in your budget, and pride knowing you built it yourself.
Designing Building Plans for Custom TV Stands
Designing and constructing your very own tv stand is often preferable to shopping for tv stands in the mall or you local electronics store. But figuring out how to approach the project and organizing you thoughts into logical steps often proves daunting. To help with that, I have put together a few guidelines for drawing up building plans and constructing a custom tv stand of your own design. So, here goes.
Measuring
When building custom tv stands, the first step and most vital is making sure you measure properly. Ideally, you will already know where your stand will reside once finished and you can base your measurements on that location. If you’re not sure were it’s going to go, you best bet would be to base measurements on the size of your TV, adding an additional 30% in width and depth for growing room. Here you are primarily concerned with three dimensions: width, height, and depth. Make sure you add additional depth for wires, and additional height for shelves if you intend to house any media controllers below the TV.
Estimating Materials
Once you have the basic dimensions of your stand, go ahead and draw a sketch of it on paper. This will help you decide on the look of your stand, and features such as shelves. Then, you will need to measure out each piece based on your drawing. You will want to plot these on grid paper or a computer in order to figure out how many board or sheets you will need to purchase on your trip to the hardware store. Don’t forget to account for things like cabinet hardware and trim.
Deciding on Materials
If you are going to commit to a building project such as designing a custom tv stand, you are going to want to use quality materials that will not break down or wear out over years of use. Most quality commercial tv stands are built out of solid hard woods, such as birch or oak. You could use a partical board material, such a melamine, but over time you may end up with sagging shelves or premature wear relegating your hard work to the city dump. If at all possible, buy your wood panels in standard sheets. You can make your shelves out of the scraps from those sheets, and you will save money by cutting it yourself. Lastly, if you intend to paint your tv stand ultimately, it will not matter if you are mixing woods. You might consider going with cheaper woods for the portions that carry less weight.
Cutting
One of the most important steps in the process of building a tv stand is cutting out the pieces. The old carpenters adage of “measure twice, cut once” certainly applies here. I suggest using a table saw for cutting, as it is nearly impossible to get a clean and straight cut otherwise. Pull out the document or computer diagram where you drew out the pieces on the wooden board. Measure and cut the sheet long-ways first. The short cuts will be easier and you will likely have spare board if you mess up on them. But do your best not to mess up the long cuts. A pencil is helpful to mark key cut lines, and it can be erased or painted over later.
Assembly
The key to assembly is glue - wood glue. You can’t nail straight if your pieces aren’t stable and in proper position. Therefore, it is necessary to set every piece with glue first, then use pin nails to secure the boards. A nail gun is more than helpful here. Also, it looks unprofessional if you have any cut edges showing, so you will want to measure and cut trim pieces to cover them up.
Finishing
To make your tv stand look like tv stands you see at the neighborhood furniture store, you need to add a few finishing touches. First, you will want to sand any rough places, specifically edges that are sharp or fresh cut. Sand with a circular motion or use a rotary sander; use fine hand-held sandpaper for hard to reach areas or detailing. Second, doors are a nice touch and I would suggest purchasing pre-crafted doors that fit your stand. The hinges and magnets can be bought at any hardware store. Finally, you will want to either stain or paint your tv stand. Stain will usually look nicer, but know that you will see the wood grain showing through and thus you will need to have built your stand with the same wood type throughout.
With that, I bid you good luck.