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Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo heavy

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Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo heavy

Postby RogerM » 05 Aug 2017, 18:51

About a year ago we retired our old 32" TV and bought a new 50" Panasonic smart TV after I convinced the LoML that I could adapt our existing TV stand to take it. I was as good as my word, and this is what I came up with.

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Smart piece of chipboard (floor grade of course) with a piece of beech to resist bending, plus those James Micheners that I haven't read for years, but which I might want someday, under the feet to get the viewing height right. What's not to like? Quite a bit according to the boss. Not my best work, nor what she had in mind at all, so thinking cap back on.

A few years back, our very own "Woodbloke" did a WIP of a media unit inspired by Alan Peters, which I greatly admired at the time, although I think the original thread was lost in WH1. However, here's a link to Rob's Blog which shows the finished article. This will have to be modified to fit in a corner, provide additional storage, and for the TV to be "grandchild proof" by being attached using a wall mounting bracket on a post up the back of the unit, and with all cabling being hidden within the post . I particularly wanted to avoid the "flat pack" look, and also wanted to try the swordtip tenons used by Rob on his original piece. Whilst we have no plans to move house, the piece shouldn't be "too bespoke" to fit elsewhere, and for that reason I have made it in 3 separate stand alone parts. Time being short, I have cut a few corners here, so if you're reading this Rob, you might want to take a stiff drink and observe from behind the sofa. :lol:

I am cutting my own veneers in English Oak, but to reduce the amount of work involved, and to preserve my supply of oak, this will be limited to the tops and end panels. The rest will be Oak veneered 18mm ply, and I'm hoping that the visual difference will be minimal. The tops and sides are 2 layers of 18mm ply glued together to make a 36mm thick substrate on to which I will glue 2mm veneers cut with my bandsaw, and thicknessed with my newly acquired Jet 16-32 plus drum sander. In view of the thickness and rigidity of the substrate (36mm of ply) I am only going to veneer one side. The other side will be left as the original oak veneer.

Here are some of the main components, glued up and slightly over sized ready for trimming.

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Veneers get final thicknessing in the drum sander.

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The veneer edges are "shot" on a home made Steve Maskery veneer shooting board.

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... and then glued to the substrate using cascamite spread with a foam mini-roller before going in the vacuum bag. I pressed 2 ends at a time, or one top. The pump was left running for about 6 hours and didn't seem to complain, although one day I will get around to building one of Robert's vacuum control gizmos.

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Time to think about the lipping, and the sword tip tenons. I made up a test piece and tried cutting one manually. Not only was it very time consuming, the end result was not good. :eusa-think: And there will need to be nine of these in the final ensemble. Time to think "quick and dirty". Rob - if you're still with me, time to look away!

The tops and sides are 38mm thick ( 2 x 18mm ply + 2mm veneer). I have therefore cut lipping stock in English Oak 42mm x 22mm. This will allow for 2mm overhang top and bottom, and for a 3mm "flat" when rounding the edge. The sides, top and base are assembled using two rows of 6mm dominoes, with a single row for the 18mm dividers, which I have already lipped. The lipping will be attached to the top and bottom with a single row of dominoes, but the lipping on the sides will just be a glued fit as I wanted some unconstrained "wiggle room" when final fitting the sword tip tenons.

Here's the initial dry assembly. The base and sides have been cut to final size to enable fitting, but the ends of the top have been left to protect them for the time being.

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I am starting with the unit that will go into the corner of the room as this will be more or less unseen, so a good place for the first joint whilst I am still learning! The front lipping is attached as described with dominoes as a dry fit. The side lipping is attached with clamps, and the whole thing held square with a piece of ply clamped in place.

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Then the joint is carefully marked out on the top lipping (confusingly at the bottom of the photo). The most important part of this is the centre line which marks the tip of the "V" and the extended centre line from the side.

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The "V"'s are cut first on the router table using a 39mm 90 deg V cutter. Initially set the tip of the cutter flush with the table top so that the tip can be aligned with the centre line of the marked up top. Using a backing piece to prevent breakout, make multiple passes, raising the cutter a few mm at a time until the tip of the "V" reaches the horizontal centre line. The whole thing is held in a simple jig which slides in the T track on my router table.

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Use the same cutter to cut the tenons. The side lipping is held vertically against the fence as shown, again with a piece of sacrificial scrap behind to prevent break out. As with the V mortises, make multiple passes, rotating the piece through 180 deg each time so that you are making an identical cut from each side. Stop when you reach the centre line!

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All being well, you have now cut your first sword tip tenon!

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Now just repeat 9 times! :lol: Remember to cut the V mortice first as that cannot be tweaked. Then cut the V tenon, which can be.

Now for another dry assembly of the unit so that the lipping can be glued in place. Once the lipping has been glued, dis-assemble, taking great care now how you store them as the V tenons are easily damaged.

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The assembly process is repeated for the TV unit itself, and here I've used the offcuts from the back to provide the clamping support for both front and rear lipping. The offcuts are screwed to that piece of 3x2.

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Time to round over the lipping. I believe Rob did his lovingly by hand. Not me - back to the router table! First trim the 2mm overhang each side using a flush cutter. I also like to use a fence as "belt and braces" as by now I have invested a lot of time in the components. Finally, I cut the tops to their final length and added an end lipping of American Black Walnut.

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Final flush cutting was finished off with a cabinet scraper. Then round the lipping over with a 19mm rounding over bit, again on the router table.

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The backs are 9mm oak faced ply, so next job was to cut the groove to take these in the top, base and sides. Most were done with a groove cutter on the router table, but the back of the TV unit required using a hand held router against a fence.

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Now time for the glue up. I remember Rob saying that he had some assistance for this, but not having that luxury, I had to work out a sequence that would work single handed. First, a final dry assembly to make sure everything fits.

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Start the glue up by supporting the base at the right height for the sides, then attach the sides.

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.... and the dividers, and drop in the 9mm ply backs.

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..... and finally add the top, and clamp in position, all the time checking with a square to ensure there is no racking. With the drop in backs, the risk of this was minimal anyway.

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A post was added up the back with a U shaped x section so that cabling could be hidden from view within it, and an 18mm plywood plate added to which was attached the wall hanging bracket. The finish is 2 coats of Osmo PolyX Oil, initially applied with a brush and then wiped over with a cloth dampened with white spirit to remove any excess and also brush marks. Then denibbed with some well worn 320 grit Abranet, and 3 coats of Chestnut Microcrystalline wax.

Just need to add the drawers now. Time to get to grips with the Wood Rat and after 2 sessions, I had a pile of 8 drawers.

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The drawers in Rob's piece are a beautiful traditional piston fit. Me - I place an order with Ironmongery direct and get a package the next morning. Job done - quick and dirty! :lol:

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The solid drawer fronts are fitted with a 1.25mm spacer all round .........

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Knobs are also in ABW and as I don't have a lathe were bought over the net. Drawer fronts are attached initially with a single screw through the central hole where the knob will go. Then screw through from inside the drawer into the front, remove the central screw and replace with a knob in the same position using the same hole. Job done!

Here are the finished units.

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It is designed this way so that the unit on the right and the TV unit can be used as stand alone pieces if required. The unit that goes in to the corner is simply a veneered top, with an end piece like the main unit, a leg at the back right with an oak faced mdf panel set in to the back, and resting on a block screwed to the underside of the main unit to ensure the front edge is flush.

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Time to settle in my favourite chair with a beer and watch the Athletics! :obscene-drinkingcheers:

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If you're still there Rob, many thanks for providing the inspiration, and for advice given. Hope I haven't butchered your original concept too much! :lol:
Last edited by RogerM on 08 Aug 2017, 12:52, edited 3 times in total.
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Malc2098 » 05 Aug 2017, 18:57

:text-goodpost: :eusa-clap:

And athletics, too!
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Andyp » 05 Aug 2017, 19:35

Excellent Roger and a great WIP too.

Oak and walnut are very popular at the moment.
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cheers
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Woodbloke » 05 Aug 2017, 20:16

I think you've done a cracking job on that. I found on my original...

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...I didn't leave enough of an 'ole at the rear for the cabling and I should have made it much bigger. It works...just :D With ref to our telephonic communications recently about loadings for the Jet 16-32, I went for Ax 310394 in the end (100g) but I'm going to also get a couple of 60g's to rough thickness some oddments of walnut veneer for the current job. I suspect 'er indoors was distinctly unchuffed with your first set up :lol: :lol: - Rob
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby MattS » 05 Aug 2017, 21:17

Good job :text-bravo:

I like the way it is 3 separate units looks much better for it in my opinion, sits nicely in the room.

The single screw for the draw fronts is a good idea!
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Robert » 05 Aug 2017, 23:28

Very nice :)

Guess the TV is on a wall arm now from that post seeing as the stand is gone.

Since having a Logitech Harmony ultimate remote to control everything I've regretted having an open front on our TV unit in the front room. The harmony has a hub that repeats the IR commands so all the kit can be behind closed doors + you can also do it all with your phone or use the remote.

So great looking furniture but I'd hide the kit behind closed doors now and vent the back.
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby RogerM » 05 Aug 2017, 23:35

Robert wrote:Very nice :)

Guess the TV is on a wall arm now from that post seeing as the stand is gone.

Since having a Logitech Harmony ultimate remote to control everything I've regretted having an open front on our TV unit in the front room. The harmony has a hub that repeats the IR commands so all the kit can be behind closed doors + you can also do it all with your phone or use the remote.

So great looking furniture but I'd hide the kit behind closed doors now and vent the back.


Now he tells me! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Yep - TV attached to a wall mount screwed to a plywood plate which is attached to the post. Needed something that is grandchild proof, and which also hides the cables which was always a big issue with the LoML.
Last edited by RogerM on 18 Sep 2017, 14:22, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby RogerM » 06 Aug 2017, 11:37

Thanks for your seal of approval Rob.
Woodbloke wrote:...I didn't leave enough of an 'ole at the rear for the cabling and I should have made it much bigger. It works...just :D With ref to our telephonic communications recently about loadings for the Jet 16-32, I went for Ax 310394 in the end (100g) but I'm going to also get a couple of 60g's to rough thickness some oddments of walnut veneer for the current job. I suspect 'er indoors was distinctly unchuffed with your first set up :lol: :lol: - Rob


Haha! Snap! I built an 'ole that looked plenty big enough, and then went and covered it over with the post on the outside, and with the central shelf on the inside. :eusa-doh: Fortunately there was still just enough room to feed cables through with a bit of gentle persuasion, but nowhere near as much as I had anticipated.

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I'll be interested to learn how you get on with the 60g. Sounds a bit fierce! Can't understand why the LoML rejected my first creation - tastefully rustic I thought, and the distressed chipboard look is very "in" at the moment, and the fact that we both enjoy a Michener should have been a bonus. I invested 30 mins of my time into it too. :lol:
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Woodbloke » 06 Aug 2017, 18:20

RogerM wrote:
I'll be interested to learn how you get on with the 60g. Sounds a bit fierce!


After our natterings on the 'phone, I spent quite some time looking at the options and mixed comments about the Mirka stuff, hence the reason for going with the 100g stuff I mentioned. Surprisingly, there isn't an 80g loading in that range, which would have been ideal.

I have several large pieces of walnut leftover from the 14 drawer chest of drawers build which are far too good to be wasted, but they're in the region of 4-5mm thick, which is getting iffy to put through the p/t. It's needed to be a balancing veneer on the inside of the 'Wishbone' Desk drawer.

The plan is to use 60g to to bring them rapidly down to a uniform 2mm (say) and then swap over the loading to 100g to finish at about 1.5mm. If I tried to take a huge amount off with the 100g it would take till next Christmas I guess, hence the reasoning for buying a couple of rolls of 60g - Rob
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Phil » 07 Aug 2017, 07:33

Roger, very nice cabinets :eusa-clap:

Your first solution reminds me of bachelor days where a bookshelf was 2 planks and a couple of bricks.
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Pinch » 07 Aug 2017, 08:00

Hey Roger, you were keeping that one quiet. Superbly done matey - looks an absolute treat! :eusa-clap:

Hope you're enjoying the games. 8-)
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby Tusses » 07 Aug 2017, 13:02

nice tidy result there Roger 8-)

Our TV is on an old pump organ, as a stand .. it suits us well ! lol
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Re: Media Unit (after Woodbloke(after Alan Peters)) Photo h

Postby RogerM » 08 Aug 2017, 14:59

Woodbloke wrote:
RogerM wrote:
I'll be interested to learn how you get on with the 60g. Sounds a bit fierce!


After our natterings on the 'phone, I spent quite some time looking at the options and mixed comments about the Mirka stuff, hence the reason for going with the 100g stuff I mentioned. Surprisingly, there isn't an 80g loading in that range, which would have been ideal.

I have several large pieces of walnut leftover from the 14 drawer chest of drawers build which are far too good to be wasted, but they're in the region of 4-5mm thick, which is getting iffy to put through the p/t. It's needed to be a balancing veneer on the inside of the 'Wishbone' Desk drawer.

The plan is to use 60g to to bring them rapidly down to a uniform 2mm (say) and then swap over the loading to 100g to finish at about 1.5mm. If I tried to take a huge amount off with the 100g it would take till next Christmas I guess, hence the reasoning for buying a couple of rolls of 60g - Rob


Sounds like a good plan. I've not made a decision on which way I'll go for new loadings yet. Will be interested in any feedback on the stuff you mentioned above - i.e. the AX 310394. The reviews suggest that it doesn't clog as easily as the Jet stuff supplied.

Pinch wrote:Hey Roger, you were keeping that one quiet. Superbly done matey - looks an absolute treat! :eusa-clap:

Hope you're enjoying the games. 8-)


"Thanks", and "Yes" respectively! I had intended doing a write up as I went, but hols and the arrival of a new grandchild got in the way! And then I was working to a self imposed deadline, so it went to the back burner.

Tusses wrote:nice tidy result there Roger 8-)

Our TV is on an old pump organ, as a stand .. it suits us well ! lol


Thanks, I'm pleased you think so. And as for your solution, there ain't no rules, and creativity is not just about building from scratch!
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