Needed: Plan review

[revchris]

I've been asked to build a TV stand and a matching pair of speaker stands by a friend of mine.

Here is a PDF of the plan (note: the plan is drawn on 8.5'x11' paper so that I don't have to figure out how to get Coreldraw to scale the distance markers).

The basic plan is a 2x2 oak skeletal frame with 3/4" oak veneer plywood banded with iron-on veneer. The TV stand also has three slide-out component trays, each mounted on two center-mount-style drawer slides. While I was drawing the plans, I also added the diagonal braces on everything, because I decided it would be a shame to have it collapse.

Does anyone see anything that they'd recommend changing? So far, the only thing I think it's missing is a cable port or two (to get wiring up to the TV through the table top). Simple solutions would include punching a standard cord grommet or two through the top, or putting a scallop or two along the back edge.

I need to provide an estimate by Tuesday. As is, I'm looking at $300 for materials, and I haven't decided on labor charges yet.

Comments

[therealattentiv.livejournal.com]

Sorry I missed the Tuesday deadline for comments, but I hope these are still useful. The pdf didn't quite show up completely for me (i.e. no measurements), but I think I get the idea. I'd have to say that the diagonal braces are probably overkill, but I tend toward the engineering overkill too. I like my stuff to hold up to people in lampshades dancing on them... :)

It looks like you have a skirt around the top edge of the legs below the top. I think if that skirt is attached to the legs securely enough that it will provide the stability that you need. One thing I like to do in designs like this is to have the skirt on the back be a little larger than the sides and front (this works especially well if there are solid sides). The slightly larger skirt on the back provides the extra stability you need to keep the carcass from racking. I also often add a skirt at the bottom around the location of the shelf (ASCII art commencing...)

Side view (back is on the left, front (cut away) is on the right):

(key: '*'=shelf, '\'=cutaway, '|'=leg, '='=side skirt, 'x'=back skirts)

*******\
********\
xx=====\
xx======\
xx=======\
xx|||
|||
|||
|||
|||
xx|||
xx|||
xx=======\****\
xx=======\****\
xx========\
|||
|||

The larger lower skirt not only helps prevent racking, but it also helps keep things from sliding off the shelf. If the depth of the legs permit, you can gain additional stability by insetting the skirt into the leg.

[therealattentiv.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, that formatted so nicely... lol

If you can't get the idea from that mess and are interested, let me know and I'll provide a better image...

[revchris.livejournal.com]

That is quite a mess.

There is no skirting planned - everything except the top and the three slide-out trays are full-cut oak 2x2. In quick 3-D drawing form (without the top or component trays), it looks like this.

The top and component trays are 3/4" oak plywood with veneer ironed on over the cut edges (no raised edging) because that's what they want. The plan also requires that the sides to be open everywhere possible because of ventilation concerns.

Finally, the feet are designed more like skis - the ends are bevelled and the sides are rounded over so that there is a chance to actually be able to slide this around on the carpet without having to empty it or carry it to move it. I've got the skis fully below the lower front & back rails, but I'm thinking about notching them about an inch deep so that they only hang below the rails by an inch, and not two inches.

[revchris.livejournal.com]

Dimension-wise, the tv stand frame is 68"w x 22"d x 18"h, and gets topped by a 70"w x 24"d piece of plywood (leaving a 1" overhang), and the speaker stands are 16" cubes with 18" square tops.

The tv stand had three 20"w x 12"h x 24"d component bays, with about 11" of clear space beacuse the tray boards and their drawer sliders work out to be about an inch tall.