# tv stand WIP



## tombo (4 Jan 2007)

hi all, thought i would share what has been going on in my work shop over the xmas break including all my mistakes. 
I realy want to get a new flatscreen telly, but i want to try to hide the equipment beneath so came up with this.







it will have sliding doors and an open back to make cabling up easy






to make sure that doors are going to work and i can get them in and out i knocked up a quick test piece in pine and mdf. with this i found that a 10mm x10mm groove in the bottom and a 10mm by 20mm in the top works pretty well











Skipping all the stock prep here are all my cabinet parts square and to length






quite pleased i managed to save some stock by glueing up the offcuts to make the internal shelf supports hard to notice except if you look at the end grain






cutting the grooves for the doors, i never seem to be able to cut grooves without a slip so i added extra pieces the router fence to guide from both sides 






No slip up on the grooves but a bit disapointed by the chipout on the groove sides. I' think i will have to sand them somehow






Cutting the tenon shoulders, norm style






first mistake, i was so intent in pressing against the stop block that the piece slid a little as a came off it screwing up that shoulder. I discover that its all about technique. Firlmly against the stop block then hold tight to the mitre guage. Not a major problem i just moved the fence over 2mm and recut






Finally get to use my tenoning jig, cant beleieve it only cost £35 how did i manage without?






Cutting leg taper and second mistake, went over the line on the first piece and it will leave a gap :x lucky i have enough spare cherry for another leg











next mistake is a biggie  routed the groove for the side panel completely wrong put the leg the oppsite way round on the router table and started the cut at my markout line for the taper. i took a break at that point :? 






After some caffeen...
No more spare wood for another leg so I had to fill the groove, offcuts to the rescue 






next day planed down, and its true what all the reviews say the veritas low angle jack is a wonderful tool, the repair will be on the inside of the cabinet so i'm pretty happy











mortices cut testfit and glueup











Shop time is precious to me and i cant get much done outside the weekends, Just gotta stop making mistakes they are such a waste of time


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## PowerTool (4 Jan 2007)

Going well,looking forward to seeing the finished piece  

And thanks for taking the time to take/post all the pictures.

Andrew


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## Shultzy (4 Jan 2007)

Was the "chipout on the groove sides" due to using a 10mm cutter, or did you use a 6mm cutter, in which case I don't know why it happened.


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## RogerM (4 Jan 2007)

Looking good Tombo. I really appreciate you taking the time to post the WIP piccies. There's so much that can be learned from these and how to get around the cockups. I thought I had cornered the market in these so very relieved to see others making them as well. 

This is going to be a nice piece. Looking forward to the next installment.


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## dedee (5 Jan 2007)

Yep the end result will look great so don't dwell on the mistakes - you'll now better next time.
I did a similar thing when routing the groove on the frame and panel door on the chisel cabinet - a year on and even I have to look twice to find the repair.

Andy


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## CYC (5 Jan 2007)

A nice project and excellent WIP pictures, thanks.

Well done on keeping cool and handling your mistakes that well. Fixing groove like you did takes some skill :wink:


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## woodbloke (5 Jan 2007)

Great pics - every one makes cockups on their jobs, IMO there's no such thing as a 'perfect' piece of work. Its what you do to get round the mistakes that's important and then trying to learn by them and make sure that the same type of thing doesn't happen with the next job...with me, it usually does tho'  - Rob


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## Paul Chapman (5 Jan 2007)

Thanks for posting those excellent pictures, Tombo. I like the way you solved the mistake with the groove - it looks really neat.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## spadge (5 Jan 2007)

Great WIP report.
I think reading this sort of report is far more instructional that many books or magazine articles that nearly always show a perfect construction. It's true we learn from mistakes so seeing yours is really helpful and thanks for that. 
It will be great when it's finished but if you are anything like me I bet the main thing you will see is the mistakes you have corrected even though nobody else can!

Thanks Again


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## Corset (5 Jan 2007)

Really like the design, Its good to see how people approach projects and the little difficulties that they encounter. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out.


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## Philly (5 Jan 2007)

Nice one, Tom!
Looks like it is going to be a beauty-don't worry about the mistake. Just think how "experienced" you are becoming? :wink: 
regards
Philly


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## Jez (6 Jan 2007)

looking good so far 

can i ask what programme you used for the design ?


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## Anonymous (6 Jan 2007)

Hi Tombo, just a tip from a professional point of view, I see some pencil marks on your work but not many. When I make free standing furniture I have pencil marks all over the place, ie labeling each face, roughly drawing on grooves / rebates etc, yes its more cleaning up at the end but far fewer mistakes.


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## woodbloke (7 Jan 2007)

Agree here with Senior...all sorts of scribblings and scrawlings on my work as it makes identifying what goes where much easier - Rob


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## lucky9cat (7 Jan 2007)

Nice job Tom. Great pictures showing the warts and all behind what looks to be a very nice piece. It's funny that however careful I am to avoid the mistakes I still make them! I guess in the end it's all about how well you can work around them.

How did you cut your tenon cheeks prior to getting the jig? I also cut the shoulders as per Norm but I then use my router table to take off the cheeks.

Cheers

Ted


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## tombo (8 Jan 2007)

thanks all for the encouragement, and an update on progress. 

but first another mistake to confess to, i took some snaps of what i was doing but the flash card from my camera was still in the reader in my PC . 
Camera did not complain much just a small warning on the top of the review screen. Oh well the next installment will be better documented. 

I finally got into the shop on saturday afternoon thinking i'll get a jump on glueing up the top. Just cross cut, flatten thickness and clamp. 2 Hours max I thought. 

In fact it took me over two hours setting up my planer, its always been a little out of whack but i got by because most boards i have been using were short. 
The in feed table had to come off to be shimmed, what a PIA still a wee bit out but i am finally able to flatten long boards. 
I just want to do woodwork not service machines so it will have to do till i have some more time 

The top is 4 boards 6 inches wide and one had quite a twist, (probably cause the muppets that delivered it let it get wet) so by the time they were all flat and square i had lost more thickness than i wanted about just under 5/8" and i wanted 3/4" :x. But i ain't got no more so that is how it will have to be. I felt the top was too thin for biscuits so just a but joint. 

Sunday final fitting and assembly of the frame went to plan 











Next weekend i'll have a crack at the doors and shelves if i have time. 

Also any suggestions for attaching the top? I was thinking pocket screws Though with the width of the rails i could just screw straight up. 

Shulty - yes 10mm cutter 
Corset - i designed it with google sketchup, this is the first time i have used it. Dead easy and does all i could need including producing the materials list 
Senior - i am with you on that, i have just got to remember not to forget :roll:


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## wrightclan (8 Jan 2007)

Looking good.



tombo":3vpbbfvi said:


> Also any suggestions for attaching the top? I was thinking pocket screws Though with the width of the rails i could just screw straight up.



Whatever method you use, you should allow for wood movement across the grain.

Brad


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## Anonymous (8 Jan 2007)

Tombo- this is the 21st century, 3/4 5/8 what next 31/64, I hope you measure in mm's :lol: :lol:


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## Paul Chapman (8 Jan 2007)

That's coming on well, Tombo. Metal stretcher plates would be a quick and easy way to attach the top and would allow for any movement - if you used pocket screws any movement might cause the top to split.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Shultzy (8 Jan 2007)

tombo - I'm only guessing, but if you had used a 6mm cutter to create the grooves you would not have had the "chip out", but I stand to be corrected.


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## garywayne (9 Jan 2007)

Tombo.

I do like WIP thingies with pics. It's nice to see what people are talking about.

I would fix the top using buttons.

This is just a query. Would it have been better to use dovetails to join the top rails to the legs?

Just one other thing. I noticed that you cut everything to length before you cut the joints. I was taught to cut over size. That way if one makes a mistake, (like slipping whilst cutting a tenon shoulder), you still have spare at the other end to cut your stock to the corect length, (shoulder to shoulder. Which is the critical measurement, not end of tenon to the other end of tenon). I hope this makes sense.

Good luck with the rest of the project.


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## RogerM (9 Jan 2007)

tombo":299udm5q said:


> any suggestions for attaching the top? I was thinking pocket screws Though with the width of the rails i could just screw straight up.



Looking good Tombo. I just love WIP posts - best part of the forum!

I think you need to allow for shrinkage, particularly as the cabinet will contain electrical items that will generate a bit of heat. I'd use toggles that locate either into slots cut into the top rails with a router, or underneath slightly tapered blocks screwed (brass for oak) to the inside of the top rails.

HTH


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## woodbloke (9 Jan 2007)

I would use buttons to fix the top to the frame - Rob


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## tombo (9 Jan 2007)

ok guys, so pocket screws are out any one got links to examples of 

buttons 
toggles 
and stretcher plates 

Tom


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## Paul Chapman (9 Jan 2007)

Stretcher plates http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea/sea ... s&x=8&y=10

You can get them at all the DIY sheds. The slotted bit allows the top to move.

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## Alf (10 Jan 2007)

Buttons explained here and made & fitted halfway down this page and the next.

Cheers, Alf


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## dedee (10 Jan 2007)

It's looking good Tom.

I'd never realised that there was a digital equivalent to taking pictures without having film in the camera :lol: 

Andy


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## JFC (11 Jan 2007)

Looking good mate


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## tombo (15 Jan 2007)

well back in the workshop and the mistakes continue, not really disasterous but just wasted precious time. 
Sliding doors turn out to be more complicated than i thought :?, my test mdf door was just a model of the tenon for the runner and did not have a the shoulder on it. 
Before i ripped into the cherry i made another mock up door in pine (which i should have done at the start) and tried it in the cabinet. Needless to say it would not go in  
I gradually shortened the lower runner till it would fit, once i had the right size i had to fill the lower grooves to get the door to run properly. 







The test door was actually useful in another way i could draw onto it showing the relative size of the styles and rails. I realised at this point my design for the doors was too chunky so i could scale down a bit. 






As the rails and styles will be narrower i did not have to flatten right across the board, so i ripped off the spare at fullish thickness for another project 

if you're squeamish look away now.... out withe the dado :twisted: 






grooving the door parts :roll: 






and tenons, but before any one else says it i'm asking for kickback here i got away with it this time and i will do it differently next time....promise 






festool saw is great but an absolute upgrade for me were these foam insulation blocks to support the cut. No more struggling with saw horses and parts hitting the pavement DAMHIKT :roll: 






final sizing panel on TS sled 






keep saying it, keep saying it 


make the top and bottom wider so you have some material for the runners 

make the top and bottom wider so you have some material for the runners 

make the top and bottom wider so you have some material for the runners 
 
needless to say i forgot...:evil: this is what it should have looked like 






one caffein break later i glue up the doors anyway.. 





Groove doors to take separate runners, just with the saw blade this time. Not the end of the world as it was one of my original design ideas anyway 






fit runners 






and trim ends with test piece as a guide 






To get the thickness i want for the center shelf i had to glueup two pieces. The table saw is the flattest area i have and is just about the right size. 






Finally test fit doors, and despite all the messing around they work really well  






still quite a bit to do but i may get it finished next week 

Tom


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## RogerM (15 Jan 2007)

Looking really nice Tom. Thanks for taking so much trouble to take the WIP photos - definitely worth while, and interesting to see how you resolve the problems that every project raises. Nice creative use for a spirit level too - I must remember that one.


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## Colin C (16 Jan 2007)

Tom

That looks very nice 
Well done to you for the warts and WIP pic's =D> 

One day I may good that brave


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## dedee (16 Jan 2007)

Tom, excellant and thanks for showing the warts and all WIP images. Great stuff.

Can you tell me more about that insulation block? I've been wrestling with how I can cut 8x4 sheets easily on my own in a timber yard car park & I was thinking along similar lines last night. What exactly are they? Where did you get them from? I was concerned that if I use the wrong product that I might get foam stuck all over the saw.

I know John Lucas uses a similar product on his woodshop demos site.

Andy


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## stef (17 Jan 2007)

very nice..
can you publish the link of your google sketch plans ?
i would be interested to see how it works.. (i have used the non-google sketchup in the past)


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## tombo (17 Jan 2007)

dedee

i must admit i did not think too hard about the foam blocks being a problem i just bought them and gave it a shot. Works realy well, i got them from B & Q, expensive for what they are. They come in a pack of 4 for £30, but when you pay £60 for a sheet of veneer mdf and a couple hundred invested in the saw it was a no brainer.

Stef

i drew the plan myself its nothing special if you want a copy send me a PM with your email address.

Tom


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## tombo (15 Feb 2007)

finished my tv stand last week but i have waited till now to get it in the house cause i was waiting for my new telly and it came today woohoo!!  

Did'nt take any pictures of the final steps as there was not a lot else to see c'ept maybe the breadboard edges on the top. I used my sample kit of Miller dowels to get the conrast for the pegs i think they are walnut. I have had them 4 years and this is the only thing i used them for :roll: 

any way here is what i looked like before and after (obligitory woodwork on the screen  extra points if you guess the episode)
















There is a lot of cabling going on satelite, aerial, cat5 power etc so leaving the back completely open has worked out very well.






I am also realy pleased with how well the doors work you have to be extra gentle sliding them as the friction is so low that they can realy slam into the sides :shock: i guess it has a lot to do with the finish which is a first for me just oil and wax over the top. Looks great and was dead easy to do. 

Thanks for looking

Tom


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## bobscarle (16 Feb 2007)

Tombo

What a difference. Lovely cabinet. I like the idea with the sliding doors. Thanks for all the WIP pictures, I, for one, really enjoyed them.

Bob


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## RogerS (16 Feb 2007)

dedee":hxllhk9e said:


> Tom, excellant and thanks for showing the warts and all WIP images. Great stuff.
> 
> Can you tell me more about that insulation block? I've been wrestling with how I can cut 8x4 sheets easily on my own in a timber yard car park & I was thinking along similar lines last night. What exactly are they? Where did you get them from? I was concerned that if I use the wrong product that I might get foam stuck all over the saw.
> 
> ...



Andy

You can also use fibre board...stops all those polystyrene bits flying around but you have to be more careful on cutting depth. I also use a sheet of kingspan insulation in preference to the white polystyrene stuff.


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## Alf (16 Feb 2007)

Gosh, what an improvement. Super, Tom. =D> =D> =D>


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## spadge (16 Feb 2007)

Looks great.
Thanks for the WIP pics and report, it was really instructive. You (and swmbo) must be well chuffed.


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## tim (16 Feb 2007)

Looks great. Looks like you've got some nice figure on the top but i can't see a photo without the TV on.

Well done for stopping when the mistakes pile up. I have a rule that if I make two mistakes in a day I stop for at least half a day because it means my mind's not on the job and the next mistake could be my thumb.

You need to learn design based justification for your decisions eg have separate runners for the doors means that they could be replaced in the unlikely event of excessive wear :wink: 

Cheers

Tim


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## Chris Knight (16 Feb 2007)

Tom,
That is a great result! Thanks very much indeed for the warts and all story - it's nice to know that the boat has some other crew members!


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## Paul Chapman (16 Feb 2007)

That turned out really great, Tom =D> =D> And thanks for taking us through the process - I really enjoyed it  

Cheers :wink: 

Paul


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## dedee (16 Feb 2007)

Tom,
it was looking good in the workshop, in situ is looks even better.

Those sliding doors, devoid of hinges and handles, look very clean and uncluttered. I like the look a lot. 

Andy


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## ByronBlack (16 Feb 2007)

Very smart, good job!! I have a corner TV unit in my ever growing 'to do book' so i'll take some idea's from this - nice work!


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## woodbloke (16 Feb 2007)

Fantastic looking project =D> =D>, lovely finish on the timber.....(your old telly is the same as mine) - Rob


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## jonny boy (17 Feb 2007)

Wonderful cabinetry work Tom. I don't use much Cherry but you have certainly got me thinking!!!

cheers
jon.


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