I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover mahogany-faced
plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's useless now. Three feet of
LP storage space and a bay large enough to accommodate a turntable with a
hinged plastic cover. Definitely not sized for today's stuff. (-"

The big consideration for this unit is wire concealment and access to the
back of each piece of equipment. I want to be able to easily reach and
reconfigure the wiring so I was thinking of mounting the cabinet on casters.
However I think a hinged, swing-away design that swung along a fixed path
would keep the wires from getting pulled out inadvertently the way they
might with a free-wheeling caster unit.

I thought of using a $10 steel jackpost as a "hinge pin" and routing cables
through the many holes in the column and down through the floor into the
basement where most of the AV cables go but there are a number of problems
with that sort of design that concern gravity and material fatigue.

To swing out from a center hinge pole requires very strong shelves. I've
seen hardware for circular staircases that looks sturdy enough to support
cantilevered shelves but it's frightfully expensive. I could make my own
out of various pipe brackets but the A/V equipment is heavy and it would
take some serious bracing to keep the shelves from drooping on the
unsupported side.

So after considering all that, I decided what I need is a traditional box
shelving unit design but with a pivot point on one corner and casters on the
other three so that it always swings out on a predictable path. That
probably means drilling a screw through the carpet into the underlayment but
that's OK to secure the pivot point - something like a closet pole hanger.

I also intend to design false shelf bottoms of about 6" on each shelf to
accommodate power strips, surge protectors, X10 modules, wall wart power
transformers and misc. wiring. The false bottoms will be open in the back
and will probably be ventilated by a series of 90cm PC ventilation fans -
they're pretty quiet. Not sure if the front of the false bottoms will be a
strip of plywood or some sort of cloth grille to aid in ventilation.

The same is true for the back of the unit, which will have a false back
that's about 6 to 8" from the wall it's pushed against, again for concealing
wiring between the shelves. The shelves themselves will end about an inch
before the false back so that wires can drop behind the shelf and into the
false bottoms or false back.

I'd post a sketch but as powerful as modern PC's are, I've yet to find
something that can take my arthritically challenged freehand drawing and
clean them up the way Word can do for writing. (-;

Comments, suggestions, improvements and critiques welcome.

--
Bobby G.

In article ,
"Robert Green" wrote:

I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover mahogany-faced
plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's useless now. Three feet of
LP storage space and a bay large enough to accommodate a turntable with a
hinged plastic cover. Definitely not sized for today's stuff. (-"

Unless you actually like music. No way am I ever parting with my vinyl
collection, humble though it may be.

If I ever do build my custom equipment rack, the wall behind it will
open up to provide ready access to wiring.

On 2/2/13 1:17 AM, Robert Green wrote:
I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover mahogany-faced
plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's useless now. Three feet of
LP storage space and a bay large enough to accommodate a turntable with a
hinged plastic cover. Definitely not sized for today's stuff. (-"

The big consideration for this unit is wire concealment and access to the
back of each piece of equipment. I want to be able to easily reach and
reconfigure the wiring so I was thinking of mounting the cabinet on casters.
However I think a hinged, swing-away design that swung along a fixed path
would keep the wires from getting pulled out inadvertently the way they
might with a free-wheeling caster unit.

A picture here of a farm gate.
http://tinyurl.com/bj5ax4q
The pivot point on the left supports the weight of the gate.

Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
"Robert Green" wrote:

I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover
mahogany-faced plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's
useless now. Three feet of LP storage space and a bay large enough
to accommodate a turntable with a hinged plastic cover. Definitely
not sized for today's stuff. (-"

Unless you actually like music. No way am I ever parting with my vinyl
collection, humble though it may be.

If I ever do build my custom equipment rack, the wall behind it will
open up to provide ready access to wiring.

That's what my wife's former step father did when he built a house. One end
of his "media room" backed up to a closet in an adjoining bedroom. His
intent was to have an access door from the bedroom closet into the area
behind the A-V components in the media room with sufficient space behind the
components for him to move around.

The actuality turned out differently. He did build an access door in the
wall between the two rooms but it isn't much use because he then hung
clothes rods in a manner that prevents the opening of the door. Even if he
could open it it wouldn't be much use; he left 60" of space of depth in the
bifold door closet but only 24" for his A-V components.

Did I mention he was a dumb ass?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

"Dean Hoffman" " wrote in message
...
On 2/2/13 1:17 AM, Robert Green wrote:
I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover mahogany-faced
plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's useless now. Three feet
of
LP storage space and a bay large enough to accommodate a turntable with
a
hinged plastic cover. Definitely not sized for today's stuff. (-"

The big consideration for this unit is wire concealment and access to
the
back of each piece of equipment. I want to be able to easily reach and
reconfigure the wiring so I was thinking of mounting the cabinet on
casters.
However I think a hinged, swing-away design that swung along a fixed
path
would keep the wires from getting pulled out inadvertently the way they
might with a free-wheeling caster unit.

A picture here of a farm gate.
http://tinyurl.com/bj5ax4q
The pivot point on the left supports the weight of the gate.

http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.46342...152&c=7&r s=1

Uses an interesting triangular brace that extends higher up on the hinge
pole. It's been a long time since I've worked with such gates, but I recall
they always sag and many had wire tensioners with turnbuckles to raise them
back to square once the started sagging. That might be hard to accomplish
in a stereo cabinet so I think I am going to use three 4" hidden casters and
one fixed pivot point. I recall some gates had support rollers if ground
under them was level and that's when I thought the massive jack column hinge
idea had some limitations. (-: .

I didn't realize Bing was such a useful resource. I'll certainly check it
when I am looking for how things are designed. Many of the fences were four
or six-slat panels with simple X bracing. Some had interesting decorative
arch tops that ride high on the hingepole to provide extra rigid support.

Now I have to decide where to place the pivot point under the cabinet so
that it swings outward with the least amount of unwanted excursion into the
space surrounding the cabinet. I think that will be in the front left
corner but I'll probably print out a few templates of various design sizes
and test how they'll fit and swing using a push-pin.

With a pivot point at the left rear, there would be little or no pull on the
wires exiting the unit. Putting the pivot up front means I'll have to leave
a substantial slack loop on each incoming/outgoing cable.

Thanks for your input!

--
Bobby G.

"Smitty Two" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"Robert Green" wrote:

I am about to build a new AV cabinet out of some leftover mahogany-faced
plywood. The old one has a lot of space that's useless now. Three feet
of
LP storage space and a bay large enough to accommodate a turntable with
a
hinged plastic cover. Definitely not sized for today's stuff. (-"

Unless you actually like music. No way am I ever parting with my vinyl
collection, humble though it may be.

Eventually your hearing will decay until you can't hear any difference
between vinyl, CDs or a cheap Chinese clock radio. DAMHIKT )-:

As much as I like my old vinyl (especially records never reissued on CD) it
takes clean room precision to keep vinyl pristine. I digitized all the ones
that have any collectible value so they're safe from dust, needle wear, etc.
(-:

I used to be able to balance a 33RPM record on my index finger by the
spindle hole to slide it into the dust jacket. Those days disappeared with
my hair. LPs are just too vulnerable for my taste and as I age, the payoff
of pushbutton convenient access to all of my music on PC from any room in
the house outweighs the "presence" of vinyl I can no longer really hear.

If I ever do build my custom equipment rack, the wall behind it will
open up to provide ready access to wiring.

The wall of the house or the back of the cabinet. Gutting a wall seems
extreme, especially if you route most of the necessary cables through a hole
or so through the floor or wall. Right now each large piece of gear is
mounted on a ball-bearing raceway so I can swing them around fairly easily
but that still doesn't give me the kind of access I need.

--
Bobby G.

On 2/2/13 3:05 PM, Robert Green wrote:


Uses an interesting triangular brace that extends higher up on the hinge
pole. It's been a long time since I've worked with such gates, but I recall
they always sag and many had wire tensioners with turnbuckles to raise them
back to square once the started sagging. That might be hard to accomplish
in a stereo cabinet so I think I am going to use three 4" hidden casters and
one fixed pivot point. I recall some gates had support rollers if ground
under them was level and that's when I thought the massive jack column hinge
idea had some limitations. (-: .

The support posts would tend to give with the weight over time
unless they were securely anchored. There aren't many farmers in my
area (south central Nebraska) raising cattle anymore. The feed lots are
big operations anymore. The operators aren't shy about using concrete
to anchor things.
I've seen gates with wheels on the outer ends as you mentioned.

With a pivot point at the left rear, there would be little or no pull on the
wires exiting the unit. Putting the pivot up front means I'll have to leave
a substantial slack loop on each incoming/outgoing cable.


Lazy Susan type thing in the middle of the end?

"Dean Hoffman" " wrote in message
...
On 2/2/13 3:05 PM, Robert Green wrote:


Uses an interesting triangular brace that extends higher up on the hinge
pole. It's been a long time since I've worked with such gates, but I
recall
they always sag and many had wire tensioners with turnbuckles to raise
them
back to square once the started sagging. That might be hard to
accomplish
in a stereo cabinet so I think I am going to use three 4" hidden casters
and
one fixed pivot point. I recall some gates had support rollers if
ground
under them was level and that's when I thought the massive jack column
hinge
idea had some limitations. (-: .

The support posts would tend to give with the weight over time
unless they were securely anchored. There aren't many farmers in my
area (south central Nebraska) raising cattle anymore. The feed lots are
big operations anymore. The operators aren't shy about using concrete
to anchor things.
I've seen gates with wheels on the outer ends as you mentioned.

Yep. As you note, the gate posts tend to give way after time as material
fatigue sets it. While the plywood I'd use is pretty dimensionally stable
and would be resistant to sagging, it would still do so over time,
especially if there was a heavy load towards the end of the shelf. A
support wheel is the way to go to distribute the weight evenly. A single
hinge pole design would have put enormous stress on the floor below it.
Since I once saw a floor jack punch through the concrete it was sitting on,
I am less inclined to use that design.

With a pivot point at the left rear, there would be little or no pull on
the
wires exiting the unit. Putting the pivot up front means I'll have to
leave
a substantial slack loop on each incoming/outgoing cable.


Lazy Susan type thing in the middle of the end?

Yes, something like the ball bearing mounts heavy duty casters use but
without the wheel attached and something like a pipe flange mount screwed
into the floor under the carpet. I am definitely going to use push pins and
cardboard cutouts made to scale to determine where to swing it from. I
could even finally decide not to pivot at all, but to use casters on all
four sides and pull the unit away from the wall when I needed access.

Thanks for your input!

--
Bobby G.