On Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:59:59 -0700 (PDT), busbus
wrote:

My son is starting his first year of college next week and he and his
roommate have discovered the joys of Craig's List. They just HAD to
have a TV but neither set of parents were willing to buy them the $400
flat screen they were lobbying for, so they went scrounging.

Now, I love the fact that they decided to go this way and they found
exactly what they wanted: an old, 32-inch, flat-screen tube TV. Don't
ask me how the heck they are going to fit it into their dorm room at
school and I don't care if one of them has to sleep on the floor.

g


But I am going to try to slap together a quick stand for it and here
is the rub: it is 32" wide (because the speakers are on either side)
and 23" deep and has to weigh well over 150 pounds. They don't have
much room, obviously, and the stands we see in the stores either do
not support the sheer wight of this monster or they are way too wide.

You will definitely need either to put a support directly under the
center of the top, or double up the top's thickness, or install 1x2"
center and front reinforcement strips under the top shelf. I forgot
what those are called.


So I was thinking about slapping one together myself using 2x4s and
either 3/4" MDF or plywood. Needless to say, I want this thing to be
as cheap as possible! I was thinking about gluing two 18" 2x4s
together to make an ELL for each of four legs and then lay a piece of
3/4" plywood or MDF on top. Maybe use a 1" board to connect all four
legs together at the top and then another set of 1" boards halfway
down to put a shelf in plus it should help it stay together.

No legs. Make a box (with a back) of termite barf or plywood. Glue 'n
screw it together so it will withstand the rigors of dorm life. (Think
BRICK ****HOUSE.) Paint it white and send it over.


Does this sound like a plan? Of course, I originally thought of a
couple 2x12s and some 12" concrete blocks but the moms puked. Ain't
nothing going to be cheaper than that!

Wimmenfolk. sigh