on 6 April 2003 : 20:31, Blaine sez:
Sounds like an interesting project! I would suggest checking out the Rockler site and see all of the hardware they have. Going to a large home store and just looking can give you a ton of ideas too. One thing that may be better for you then wheels is those movers that they sell on TV (and in the stores too).
Another thing to think about is how will you move all of the cables? Perhaps if you could stuff everything into some split-tubing and have extra stuffed in the floor/wall and then when you move it all the cable can easily move back and forth too.
on 6 April 2003 : 20:53, Justin sez:
Blaine - thanks for the Rockler tip, that looks like a good site.
Magic Movers? I've never seen them before! I'm not sure I understand how they work. There's a certain mystery to "sold on TV goods" since they claim such miraculous effects but you can't actually handle the goods. Either way, I'll see if these would make for better short cart trips. Thanks!
on 6 April 2003 : 20:54, Rudy sez:
Depending on how thick your sides are, you might consider some form of triangulation bracing. This is to cut down on the stress on the sides since most of your force will end up there when pushing. Again depending on how thick your boards are you might experience some sagging down the line with the top, since the center isn't supported.
Most craft stores these days will cut the boards to your spec. Then all you should need to do is drill your holes, put in screws, and be done unless you're planning on more involved finishing.
You should be able to find casters that will support far in excess of 200 lbs individually, so with the weight div/4 you should be more than fine.
on 6 April 2003 : 22:11, MarkPaul sez:
The tubing for the cable is a great idea. You can pass on the "magic movers" idea though. I bought some of those awhile back when I was concepting a documentary idea on "Innovations That Suck." I tried them with a variety of furniture, an empty crate, a cardboard box filled with a bunch of old papers of limited sentimental and monetary value that I had lying around, and a cat that was a non-paying roommate of mine at the time [don't worry, the animal was not harmed or mistreated in any way nor did any of the animal testing lead to any discomfort to the non-paying roommate, he was paid for his services, and he was a "genuine" volunteer]. Neither the furniture, the crate, the box, nor the cat "glided" across the floor. There was nothing magic about them and I still have a package of them lying around; I can send them to you if you want. But, they won't work. They just won't and you will waste a bunch of time trying to figure out how they could possibly work.
This reminds me of the time you wrote about your designs that you somehow painted onto your PDA and offered to do the same for a fee to readers of your website. I don't know if you made any money on that venture, but if this cart idea works out, you could manufacture a limited supply or sell the schematics for people to build their own. We could all share in the bounty.
on 6 April 2003 : 22:47, olivia sez:
it's so easy to build things like this. your drawing is a great start. measure up how tall, wide and long it's going to be and figure out your materials. you should be able to get everything you need, cut to size, from home depot or similar. perhaps the only tool you'll need is a drill.
so i assume you'll have to make two rectangles of 2 x 4's, to make the top and bottom support, with 4 more 2 x 4's as the posts, and have some fairly thick particle board to be the top and the bottom shelf, and then you'll need some fairly large castors (wheels). they should be rated for weight, so check the packaging.
anyway, good luck!
on 7 April 2003 : 01:50, Ted sez:
If your going to put such a heavy teev on top then you will either need to use 3inch planks on top or add a suport in the middle otherwise the top will sag over time.
I'd personally keep your basic design and make it out of big chunky timber, then add some industrial castors with a rubber tread to protect the floor.
Whatever you decide, have fun and watch out for the sharp tools.
on 7 April 2003 : 02:30, Riku sez:
on 7 April 2003 : 07:31, Cory Doctorow sez:
on 7 April 2003 : 08:08, Justin sez:
Wonderful! This is great stimulation and feedback on the idea. Thanks all! I'll proceed with this construction and post pictures/results here afterwards.
on 7 April 2003 : 10:07, sarah sez:
my favorite cheat for home construction projects is to start with those pine utility shelves that every hardware store has (e.g.). they generally hold about 200 lbs per shelf, and you can get a four shelf version for around $40. cut the supports down to size, add wheels, and decorate as desired. the hardware store may even cut it for you. best of luck!
on 7 April 2003 : 21:16, calvin sez:
How easy do you want this? I recommend the thrift store option. go find a cool coffee table that would support your weight. buy it and take it home.
measure it. go to Home Depot and get some wood cut to the same size. They have large 3/4" joined pine boards in 24" and 32" widths 4 and 6 feet long. screw that into the bottom of your wacky table. Get some casters while you are there (they have weight ratings on them) screw those into the board...or better yet through the board into the table.
If you need extra support screw a 2x2 or a 2x3 under your board...you would do this if you built the table top with similar wood to suppor the weight. on on the ends and one in the middle. The middle one ...oh fiddles.
why not just look here:
good luck!
on 8 April 2003 : 00:38, PaulT sez:
I can't believe that living in the boondocks as I do, I have to call attention to the fact that you've drawn a picture of an Ikea "Ligonsdork" TV cart. Industrial pine & magic... north of Berkeley, on the Interstate, Big blue & yellow box, you can't miss it. I know you've been out of the country for awhile, but...
on 8 April 2003 : 09:56, Justin sez:
Let me just say Calvin went beyond the call of duty in web page comments, by doing a drawing himself. With more detail and expertise! Thank you for that.
on 8 April 2003 : 12:53, Donald Melanson sez:
Here I was, all ready to impart my carpentry wisdom, but the other fine links.net readers have said more than I could of.
As others have said, unless the boards are really thick, you'll want to add some bracing. If you wanted to make it a little taller and add a shelf in the middle, that would also add some support.
on 9 April 2003 : 01:36, boblet sez:
If you weren't poor, Muji has a pretty nice TV table. It's 18,000yen tho (ouch).
Ironically I've been thinking about building a TV table recently too, and am also planning to go down the construction road (a little differently though - bamboo and scaffolding, could be .. interesting). Please post about your experiences when you make the table - it'll be interesting to see how it goes.
on 9 April 2003 : 05:27, substrate sez:
Ikea has something fairly close to what you drew for about 50 bucks. It'll hold a 32" television of up to 132 pounds. If you do decide to build one yourself make note of the this one anyway. Notice that it divides the long shelves into two sections. That center supporting plank provides a whole lot of extra carrying capacity and rigidity. If that was even a couple sheets of 3/4" particle board try to imagine the force required to crush it vertically.
If I'm building stuff I usually use either solid woods or veneered plywood as opposed to particle board.
on 9 April 2003 : 09:27, jane sez:
ah, IKEA. the problem with all the IKEA products we've seen is that they are rated only to hold 132 lbs - our TV is a whopping 165 lbs. in fact we haven't found many attractive options to hold that much weight - plus our consoles and components. (we're thinking of having an ancillary TV cart to hold all that stuff).
at least we're down to two tvs in the the livingroom now (the third in justin's office - tempting him to play his favorite scuba diving game).
on 9 April 2003 : 09:59, Damanda sez:
Why don't you try bartering for a tv cart? Why don't ask a handy artist to construct your tv cart and offer them something in exchange? Help with a website? Videogames? Ask them to make it KEWL looking and paint it in an extraordinary way. I'm ALL about trading services for art.
on 9 April 2003 : 15:26, Anil sez:
Oh! I wish I had seen this earlier, we built a cart almost like what you described, but use it for a coffee table and to store CDs. I can tell you exactly how to do it if you want, ours has made us superly happy. Too bad you're not closer, or you could borrow my extensive collection of power tools.
on 11 April 2003 : 13:41, g sez:
someone mentioned it, but besure you put some cross bracing on the back. If you use plywood for the top and bottom, it will sag after a while, to prevent this you can either overbuild it (like, with 2x4s), try a hardwood strip at the front of the shelves (might look nice) - or have a post in the middle. Personally I would go with 2x4s, with maybe a top and bottom shelf of mdf (sitting on top of the 2x4 rectangle so it doesn;t bend). put it together w/ wood screws and wood glue, counter sink the holes a little, fill with drywall putty, and then paint it a cool color.
on 17 April 2003 : 00:04, Babilou sez:
on 22 August 2003 : 18:37, whois sez:
on 14 January 2005 : 23:38, john sez:
Did you end up building this? How about buying a furniture dolly and putting your box on top of that!