Make a simple bedroom TV stand and relax in bed watching your favorite shows.
If you want to make your own TV stand for the bedroom, it doesn't have to be a complex project. With a bit or woodworking experience and savvy with a router, you can make an attractive and very sturdy stand for your TV, with an extra shelf for DVD players or media storage. You can save lots of time by taking the stand measurements with you to the lumber yard and having them size the lumber for you, and by making it yourself you may save some cash as well.
Instructions
1. Stand two planks of 40-inch 2-by-12 lumber lengthwise on a 2-inch edge, pressed together. Measure in 5 inches from each end and mark a line across the exposed 2-inch edge of each plank. Make two more similar marks evenly spaced between the first two.
2. Drill a half-inch-deep and -wide hole centered at each mark you made on the 2-inch edge on both planks of wood. Dip a half-inch-thick by 1-inch-long dowel peg in glue and insert into the holes on one piece of wood. Cover the edge of the plank in glue, lay it flat on the work surface and insert the other ends of the pegs into the holes on the other piece of wood. Press the two pieces together tightly and secure with a band clamp while drying. This will make a plank of wood 2 by 24 by 40 inches.
3. Repeat with another two 2-by-12 planks of 40 inches, as well as six planks of 2-by-12 30-inch lumber. You will end up with two planks of 2-by-24-inch lumber at 40 inches and three planks of 2-by-24-inch lumber at 30 inches.
4. Lay two pieces of 40-inch-long 2-by-24 inch lumber (the TV stand sides) next to one another on the work table. The sides are taller than for a normal lounge-room TV stand, to accommodate for viewing the TV from the bed, which is typically taller than a lounge suite.
5. Measure 2 inches in from the ends of the side planks and make a straight line across both side pieces. Make another line in the middle of the first two.
6. Measure the thickness of the three planks of 24-by-30-inch lumber, which are the top and shelves of the stand. Often the lumber's exact thickness is just under the actual stated thickness. Attach a router bit of the exact thickness of the lumber onto the router.
7. Cut a dado (groove) using the router that is a quarter-inch deep and goes across the side plank on the line marked. Repeat on all the marked lines and on the second side plank.
8. Sand the side planks and the top and shelf planks, then lay one of the side planks on the work surface with the dadoes facing up.
9. Apply a thin line of glue to the dado grooves, then insert the shelves and top planks into the dadoes, using the carpenter's square to ensure they are at right angles to the side. Apply glue to the ends of the shelves and top planks, then fit the other side plank over the ends, with the dado grooves over the ends of the shelves and top pieces. Clamp together and leave to dry for 1 to 2 hours.
10. Put the stand together securely with six 2-inch wood screws driven through the side panels into each end of the shelves and the top panel; countersink them slightly. Fill the indentation above the screws with wood putty and leave to dry, then sand the putty flat. Varnish or paint the stand, allowing the appropriate drying time as indicated on the label of the product before using the stand.
Tags: 2-inch edge, side plank, side planks, 2-by-24-inch lumber, 2-by-24-inch lumber inches, dado grooves, each mark