Sometimes I am cheap- but this time it was ok!

[Grant Lamontagne]

Lately I have been thinking of putting a TV in the bedroom, but as usual, I ended up being a bit on the cheap side.

Since I hadn't planned to spend actual money on a good TV (it is just something to watch while I fall asleep) I figured I would watch the classifieds pretty close and see what came up.  A few days ago I spotted what was listed as a 29 inch TV for $25, and I jumped on it.

Of course, there was one catch- it didn't have a stand.  The seller had it wall mounted, probably threw out the stand when he bought it, then, when he recently replaced it with a different TV he kept the wall mount, so whoever got this one had no way to put it up.



Yeah, it kind of stands on it's own, but I have big dogs and they bump into things, and that wouldn't do either dogs or the TV any good, so I figured I could do better.  Initially I looked around for a cheap wall mount or something, but the cheapest ones I found were $25, and I had already spent that on the TV- I didn't need to double my investment!



So I started looking around and found some old 1" square channel aluminum and some 1 inch aluminum L channel, and I decided to make my own stand.  I started by digging around and seeing if I had any mounting screws that would fit the TV.

 

I save screws from everything, and had some screws from an old TV stand that I had years ago.  I managed to find some that fit... almost.



I had three long ones that fit and three short ones that fit.  In the end I decided to use the long ones and one short one that I would feed into the end of the square channel.  It would be a bit of a pint in the butt, but the mounting hole wouldn't be that far in, and I could drill the outer hole a bit larger for access with a screwdriver.    No big deal.



I started with the feet- I had just over 26 inches of L channel, so I cut two 13 inch feet and rounded the corners with my Dremel tool, because aluminum corners can be very unforgiving when you brush up against them inadvertently.  And with my balance issues and having to step over dogs in the middle of the night, it's only a matter of time before inadvertent brushes become fact.



The long screws, as you can see were long enough to go all the way through the square channel, so that was pretty much ideal.



I then measured the back of the TV and found that it was about ten inches from the top screw hole to the bottom of the TV, and I wanted the TV to be a few inches high, so I decided that my vertical supports should be 14 inches high, so I cut two 14 inch lengths of the square channel and drilled holes that matched the screw locations.



The next step was to drill a small pilot hole in the foot and the vertical support, so I lined them up and more of less freehanded them.  I didn't get exactly 90 degree cuts on the square channel, so I wasn't counting on that to ensure it was upright- I just wanted a mechanical fastener for strength.  Yes, a 90 degree cut would have been better, but all I have for cutting metal are a couple of hand saws (hacksaws) and a jigsaw, so they aren't the straightest cuts.  With the pilot hole drilled I then ran a small self tapping screw into each foot and into the square channel.



That worked well enough and held pretty solidly.  I had to keep reminding myself that the TV wasn't that heavy, and that I didn't need something capable of replacing one of the legs on the Eiffel Tower- I have a bad (very bad) habit of overbuilding things.   



I put some weatherstripping along the bottom of the feet to account for slight offsets of the feet, to absorb some of the impact when dogs bump into the dresser, and to keep it from scratching the top of the dresser.




Then I used the edge of my workbench as a T square and filled the uneven ends with hot glue, which would provide more than enough rigidity to hold up the TV.



Then it was time to attach it to the TV- as you can see, I used the small screw inside the square channel because it wouldn't go all the way through.



So how well did it work?





It's not the cleanest build I have ever done, but for an hour's worth of my time and parts/tools I had lying around I didn't think it was too shabby!

If I was doing it again I think I would make the cuts cleaner or square them off a bit better with a belt/disk sander that I have, but is in the garage right now, and therefore was too much effort to get! 

Def

[magentus]

That is a tidy bit of work Boss. And the best bit is you can put your feet up and relax with an hour or two of telly! 

[RF52]

Good job!
Looks like it will support the TV very well for when you are relaxing

Sent fra min FRD-L09 via Tapatalk

[SteveC]

 

[Butch]

 

[ReamerPunch]

That's great!

[ducttapetech]

Nice work Boss! A little redneck chrome (duct tape) would church that up real nice like.

Joking aside, good work.

[AimlessWanderer]

Nice work, feller.   

[Yadda]

Great job!  Primo scrounging effort!

[CallsignBadger]

Nice one!  

I can always appreciate going the cost effective route 

[SirVicaLot]

Good job!  I can relate to overbuilding things. Everything i built seems to evolve until it could hold a tank 

[Douglas]

 
+1

[Aloha]

Not bad at all 

[Grant Lamontagne]

Good job!  I can relate to overbuilding things. Everything i built seems to evolve until it could hold a tank 

It's funny that you should say it like that- I learned to build things from my father, who was a Combat Engineer in the military, and everything he builds is built with supporting a tank in mind!   

I thought about spraying it black so it looked more like a professional job or was less visible, but it doesn't bother me, and no one else is going to be looking at it.  Besides, I like the look of raw aluminum. 

Def

[Gerhard Gerber]

Well done, that's a bargain in every sense of the word!   

BTW, History Channel's Ancient Aliens works better than any sleeping pill for me 

[Grant Lamontagne]

I will give that one a try.

I need something that is interesting enough to keep my mind from wandering into something else, but not so interesting that I start to get into it and start actively thinking about it. I find Family Guy reruns are great for that.  I have seen them all so many times that I know what is coming next, but that alone kind of keeps me interested. 

Def

[SirVicaLot]

Good job!  I can relate to overbuilding things. Everything i built seems to evolve until it could hold a tank 

It's funny that you should say it like that- I learned to build things from my father, who was a Combat Engineer in the military, and everything he builds is built with supporting a tank in mind!   

I thought about spraying it black so it looked more like a professional job or was less visible, but it doesn't bother me, and no one else is going to be looking at it.  Besides, I like the look of raw aluminum. 

Def

  It is just the mechanic coming out. Worked for a few years on tanks, trucks, and other combat vehicles. Guess it messed me up. Now everything needs to be tank–proof 

[Alan K.]

The last TV I installed had a means of attaching a tether (which I had to buy separately) to the back of the TV to connect it to the wall or the furniture it was installed on. The tether will prevent it from tipping over if it is nudged. Your stand looks more stable than the factory feet would have been but I strongly advise you go with the tether as well.

[Whoey]

better over engineered and safe than under engineered and vulnerable to failure.

[glenfiddich1983]

(…)

(Image removed from quote.)

Yeah, it kind of stands on it's own, but I have big dogs am getting older and they I bump into things,

(…)

FTFY 

[glenfiddich1983]

But jokes aside, nicely done!

[Grant Lamontagne]

The last TV I installed had a means of attaching a tether (which I had to buy separately) to the back of the TV to connect it to the wall or the furniture it was installed on. The tether will prevent it from tipping over if it is nudged. Your stand looks more stable than the factory feet would have been but I strongly advise you go with the tether as well.

Excellent idea.  I will look on the back of the TV and see if there's an appropriate mounting spot for a safety cable, and if not I will drill one in the stand.   

better over engineered and safe than under engineered and vulnerable to failure.

Absolutely!

Def

[SirVicaLot]

(…)

(Image removed from quote.)

Yeah, it kind of stands on it's own, but I have big dogs am getting older and they I bump into things,
 
(…)

 

FTFY 

 

[pfrsantos]

Cool! Get some shrink tube to cover the feet and protect the furniture (awlso makes it less prone to slip).

[Grant Lamontagne]

Cool! Get some shrink tube to cover the feet and protect the furniture (awlso makes it less prone to slip).

Already used weatherstripping for that. 

Def

[pfrsantos]

Cool! Get some shrink tube to cover the feet and protect the furniture (awlso makes it less prone to slip).

Already used weatherstripping for that. 

Def

And that's why you're the Boss, Boss.

 

[AlephZero]

Cool! Get some shrink tube to cover the feet and protect the furniture (awlso makes it less prone to slip).

Already used weatherstripping for that. 

Def

And that's why you're the Boss, Boss.

 

  

[ThePeacent]

more than enough rigidity to hold up the TV.
...
So how well did it work?

[ezdog]

Great thinking outside the box!

But take it from a guy who installs TVs every day for money,there is a reason that the original feet for that thing were towards the outer edges of the screen and not where the way too narrow VESA mount is and that is the stance that your feet give it.
I would add a cross tube on the bottom and move those feet to the outside as far as possible to make it a lot more stable overall.

I would look into redoing this so that the feet are where the originals were or it will be little challenge for the dogs to knock over I bet.
I am really not trying to be critical but speaking from experience here only,I have had to build a lot of these for the same reason that you did and you want as wide a stance as possible.

Also I have seen a Mantle fall of like that more than I can count!?

Oh and I love the term "Redneck Chrome" and will need to remember that one if I can too!