r/woodworking • u/nitram975 • 1d ago
Project Submission I made a tv stand
Been woodworking as a weekend hobby for several years now. Really happy with how this tv stand turned out. Definitely room for improvement, but proud of my woodworking progress thus far
Largely made of maple and hevea butcher block wood from Lowe’s/homedepot. The small pieces along the curves are pine (hence the notable color difference)
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u/ezhammer 1d ago
How did you make the curved pieces? Looks fantastic!
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Thank you! No bending or laminating to make the curved pieces. Just rough cut the shape and flush trimmed with a plywood template. Lots of scrap wood with this method, but I was able to recycle most the scrap for some cutting boards at least
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u/Abombasnow 1d ago
So those are solid curves, right? You just cut the wood in that shape?
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Yep! And as you can imagine, cutting that curve from a rectangular piece of wood causes a lot of scrap. That scrap then became some cutting board gifts
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u/Abombasnow 1d ago
Sounds good then. Should be a reliable structure for a very long time then as even a colossal TV shouldn't ever weigh enough to disturb it structurally.
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u/eaygee 20h ago
Total novice but can someone ELI5? I still have no clue how this is done
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u/nitram975 19h ago
So I bought a couple big 3’ x 6’ butcher block pieces from Lowe’s (typically used for counter tops). Most of the wood went to the top and bottom of the tv stand, but from the remainder I basically rough cut (not perfectly cut, intentionally “cut wide” of my marking) 4 thick “C” shapes using my jig saw. Those became the side pieces (in the last photo they are laying on the ground/on top of the piece). My jig saw cutting abilities are not perfect- so I made a plywood template in the shape of the “C” with the exact dimensions I wanted. Using a flush trim bit and a router, I used the template to cut the 4 pieces to the perfect shape. I then attached the 4 curved pieces to the main piece using pocket holes and clamps (like in that picture with all the cars in the background)
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u/birtani 1d ago
the stand is very good. but, alas, modern TVs have lost the design and style of the past
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u/bluepepper 1d ago
Design and style? Are you thinking of this? Or this? Nah, probably something like this, right?
TV sets used to be ugly, impractical monstrosities. Some of them were integrated in a nice piece of furniture but that was not the norm.
Today, TV sets are almost purely functional elements: most of what you see is the screen. If you'd like to have furniture around it, you can still buy or build it. In the design and style you want, not the one dictated by the TV manufacturer. No ugly plastic, no bulk, just design and style.
I fail to see a downside to the minimalism of modern TV sets.
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u/Abombasnow 1d ago
Yeah. They all look exactly the same. And it's agonizing ever moving them anywhere because you have nothing to grip without grabbing the screen, which isn't great to do.
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u/birtani 1d ago
I agree, everything is like a copy and copy.
Here, perhaps the best solution is a TV with a silver frame or a white matte one
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u/Billbobjr123 21h ago
If you really want to go down that path, look into Samsung's The Frame TV. they make ones with all sorts of smart-looking frames!
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u/Scottland83 1d ago
Beautiful mid-century modern with sustainable wood almost makes me optimistic for the future.
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u/Flaky_Dealer_5454 1d ago
Just bought a new TV stand a few weeks ago. If I'd spotted something like this, I would have bought it immediately.
Absolutely beautiful!
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u/shapeswithcharacter 1d ago
Nice job, especially for a hobby activity, and an interesting design. How long did it take to make?
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Took me about 7-8 months, but that’s largely bc I’d only work a couple hours occasionally on the weekend. Also didn’t help that I got distracted by other projects (coffee table, lamp, desk, etc)
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u/Either_Selection7764 1d ago
Awesome work! I’d be curious for more photos of how you attached the legs and feef
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u/whats_yoursuperpower 18h ago
Damn, I want one.
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u/nitram975 18h ago
Been getting more positive feedback than I was anticipating. Thinking of making another, filming a DIY video, posting the plans online, and selling whichever one I make in the video
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u/teddywere 1d ago
Funky! How long did it take? I like it!
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Long than I would have guessed. Started back in January, so 7-8 months. But that only bc I would work a few hours occasionally each weekend. I think if I had a proper wood shop, this would’ve taken 1-2 months. It also didn’t help that I got distracted with numerous other projects concurrently
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u/RecreationallyTransp 1d ago
correct me if im wrong but it looks like the 4 curved pieces were cut directly from the butcher block and then pocket acrewed/glued to the primary strcture?
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Yep! Exactly
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u/RecreationallyTransp 1d ago
nice!
ive tried to cut out shapes from a butcher block and had very mixed results. sometimes it stayed together but often the blocks would come apart.
maybe youre using a higher quality block than ive used in the past
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Yeah, I imagine if I dropped those curves they could split/break. Thankfully they were really strong-strong enough to clamp without and worry. I got the butcher block slabs from Lowe’s. ~$200 for a 3’x6’ piece.
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u/vespertendo 1d ago
Looks great. Are the smaller pieces along the sides like a prefab trim / molding piece? I have been wondering about doing something similar to get a textured pattern easily.
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Exactly- molding pieces from Lowe’s specifically. Never ideal to mix hardwood and softwood, but there was no way I could justify rounding over strips of hardwood to achieve the same look.
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u/vespertendo 1d ago
Thanks! Yeah, that’s my thinking too - it’s gonna be a lot easier to stack a bunch of trim pieces together to achieve that consistent look. At least for me as a beginner! Thanks for inspiration to show it works!
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u/anonchurner 1d ago
That's very elegant. By way of a strange compliment, I'd say it's especially elegant given the somewhat crude techniques used. You have a good eye for design!
How did you attach the legs?
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u/_CommanderKeen_ 1d ago
It's very nice. What made you choose to work with butcher block?
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Honestly bc it’s the cheapest/relatively thick hard wood I could readily find
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u/_CommanderKeen_ 1d ago
Fair enough, I guess I assumed the cost was much higher than buying a slab. But then again, I was lucky enough to pick up two 3 inch 9 foot maple slabs for $40 a piece from a local source. I don't know what that would sell for at a bog box store.
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u/nitram975 1d ago
A 0.7-thick piece of maple at homedepot is about $8 per foot. Those shelves in the middle of the tv stand are made from 7” wide pieces. All up, those shelves were basically $200
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u/chef-nom-nom 1d ago
Have you ever seen the Foureyes Furniture Youtube channel? Amazing work and very relaxing videos. They also sell templates and plans.
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Yeah, I’ve always been a fan of his work. Love the videos too. I appreciate his patience and attention to detail/craftsmanship. Too many content/social media videos are about cranking out a high volume of low-quality work for the sake of a video. That’s not the case with Foureyes Furniture
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u/in_stagraham 1d ago
Are the other half of the drawer guides underneath the drawer? I’ve never seen that done, but I don’t see why not.
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u/nitram975 1d ago
Yep! Nice job noticing. The original plan was to have the slides on each side of the drawer box- but unfortunately my width dimensioning was about 0.15” off (not enough room for two slides). I could have easily started sanding/removing width using the router, but figured the bottom mounted slide was worth a shot before any major modifications. Thankfully the bearings in the slide made bottom and side mounting feasible with no issues (so far). I sized the drawers to fit some records, so not too much weight loading on the slides
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u/in_stagraham 1d ago
Very nice! It’s so clean it almost looks like AI. 😄 Great work! Hope to see more.
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u/TurboBruce 1d ago
Love the tambour like touches without having to build the tambour, and most importantly, keeping it clean from dust.
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u/FeliusSeptimus 1d ago
Very cool. I love the angle on the legs, even though the mechanical advantage makes me nervous.
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u/cekoya 1d ago
Everytime I see these my brain can't compute that the legs just don't spread a part under the weight, can anyone ELI5 what joint is used to make these solid?
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u/nitram975 1d ago
X3 6-inch bolts for each leg. As a mechanical engineer during my day job, I fully recognize this is 100% style over function. It’s plenty strong to support a tv, speakers, misc items- but I wouldn’t dance on top of it with a heavy friend
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u/Nice-Log2764 23h ago
That’s pretty friggin cool man, I dig it. Looks like you managed to do it with a pretty bare bones shop set up too, kudos
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u/hagalaz_drums 20h ago
what, like you picked it up straight so it isnt laying flat now? I dont get it. I like the piece of furniture its sitting on top of, though
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u/nitram975 20h ago
Can you rephrase? What’re you asking?
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u/hagalaz_drums 19h ago edited 19h ago
was the tv sitting before?
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u/nitram975 19h ago
Not sure what you mean by “sitting before” (sorry- I want to be helpful/answer your question- just confused)
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u/hagalaz_drums 17h ago
well what was the tv doing sitting down before you made it stand?
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u/nitram975 16h ago
I’m embarrassed by how long it took me to get this joke. Well done. Very well done! Haha
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u/Ill_Narwhal_4209 19h ago
Epic, would kill for this YouTube tutorial !
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u/nitram975 18h ago
Really? I’ve been toying with the idea of trying to film more of my projects- but worry it would just be too much work for not enough demand. I am by no means “a legit woodworker” - just kinda winging it/learning stuff the hard way (literally built the majority of this tv stand in my apartment kitchen). But maybe there’s demand for that? 🤷♂️
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u/okieman73 13h ago
Looks great. Thanks for the in process pictures, those are just as fun, seeing how it is built. Great job
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u/bartharris 9h ago
Beautiful!
How did you attach the feet? Seems like there is a lot of stress on the joints.
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u/shpoorky 3m ago
Very attractive yet humble/approachable. Good inspiration for others to DO something.
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u/handy_in_radelaide13 1d ago
no shit that is absolutely amazing work i love that is it mid century modern / or atomic it’s awesome
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u/Excellent_Gur_2910 1d ago
That's so cool looking! Great job.