Building a Custom TV Stand: What You Should Know
So you finally have your brand new flat screen sitting eagerly in your living room, waiting for an occasion to display its color depth and image quality. Your wife says you can’t leave it sitting on the floor like that. What to do? You could buy a stand for it - nope, you’ve already spent enough money on that thing as is. You could mount it on the wall - nah, you’re wife is 8-months pregnant and all of your buddies are out of town this weekend, who would help you get it up there? Well, I guess you could always build one - I mean, you are pretty handy right?
Before you get out that circular saw and duct tape, here are a few things to consider when building your own TV stand.
1. Start with a Guide
Often the instinct is to start measuring and create a design from the measurements. This is problematic in many ways, but suffice it to say that you would be better off starting with a some sort of template or guide. If you have schematics for the TV stand you want to build, perfect. If not, find a set of plans that are close to what you want to build. Then measure and make modifications to those plans based on the measurements of your specific media system. Sites like buildeasy.com and diynetwork.com have free plans of commonly built items, as well as tips on how best to approach the project.
2. Purchase, Rent, or Borrow the Correct Equipment
Having the right equipment can make a project easy or extremely difficult. Consider trying to tighten your bicycle wheels without a torque wrench - it may well be impossible depending on the type of bike you have. For instance, trying to cut wood planks evenly with a hand saw is much more difficult than when using a circular table saw. And trying to paint without using an appropriate grade of sand paper first will leave you with less than stellar results. Do a bit of research online or at your local hardware store to find out what tools are needed for your project. If you cannot purchase them outright, inquire about renting them or ask your brother-in-law to borrow his. Attempting to build a custom TV stand with just a hammer, nails, and few two-by-fours could leave you frustrated and less a few hours of your life.
3. Ask for Help
Don’t be a hero. In projects like this, where something of value is being built that will be a visible element of the family home, pride is always involved. Often the builder hopes to work in secret, under cover of night, to construct a masterpiece to be unveiled at a ceremonial time of his choosing. Well, you can certainly do that, but you risk much. Especially if this is one of your first construction projects, seeking advice or assistance from others more experienced at this type of work could pay off significantly. Another hand for steadying a wood beam - another eye for ensuring a proper cut - these are indispensable in emerging with piece of furniture you can be proud of. And even with the help, people will still know who thought of it 