DIY cabinets

[thewinelake.]

Just wondering if many people here have made their own HiFi cabinets - or "media centres" as they're sometimes called these days?

I'm in the process of doing so - the idea is that it will hold turntable, amp, cd player, DVD player, Streamer/DAC. Mine is built to fit a space and is about 100 x 50 x 50 (cm) and is made from MDF.

Any tips?!

 

[TomSawyer]

Don't forget about free air movement.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

I think your query is rather vague though some may help. I would use 22mm or even a sandwich of 15mm for shelves and fix to the wall if possible to eliminate vibration particularly for the deck. Finish is everything ofcourse. Formica is easy to work with though more difficult to source. Wood veneer also possible or paint - for a gloss piano type finish you may need a professional. Lots of options.

 

[jonathanRD]

I remember a thread some time back that included advice about various materials, and that plywood was very good in terms of reducing vibration.

 

[jjbomber]

A job for Jeremy Corbyn surely?

 

[thewinelake.]

A job for Jeremy Corbyn surely?

Ha!

Thanks for suggestions so far. I seem to be heading in the right direction. Maybe will post a pic of what I have so far...

 

[jonathanRD]

Just wondering if many people here have made their own HiFi cabinets - or "media centres" as they're sometimes called these days?

I'm in the process of doing so - the idea is that it will hold turntable, amp, cd player, DVD player, Streamer/DAC. Mine is built to fit a space and is about 100 x 50 x 50 (cm) and is made from MDF.

Any tips?!

A picture would be useful, it will help with suggestions on how to construct it, and what materials to use. Also useful will be what other furniture is in the room, what colour the furniture and hifi components are, and whether it has to match any of them.

 

[Benedict_Arnold]

Wood (pardon the pun) have thought that MDF or anything else with a random "grain" wood (oops) be better than that stuff trees are made of. Even plywood wood (whoops) be better than solid wood, at least from a tonal perspective (Steinway pianos are made from plywood you know). As long as it won't vibrate or transmit vibrations it's good. Glass, I wood think (oops again) wood (darn it!) not be good.

A lot of the mid-price hifi racks (and even speaker cabinets) are made from MDF or ply, all be it veneered, covered with some form of industrial sticky-backed-plastic as they used to (still do?) call it on Blue Peter, or such like.

If it were me, I wood (okay, I'll stop now) have shelves upon shelves, i.e. a basic open sided or at least open backed cabinet with shelves forming a fairly sturdy rigid structure, then have individual shelves sitting on halved squash balls, purchased sorbothane feet or spikes, sitting on the main shelves, on top of which I would place my hifi boxes.

I would put any turntable on a much heavier plinth, e.g. a piece of marble or slate procured from your local stonemason / gravestone supplier / kitchen worktop place and mount that on spikes or halved squash balls or whatever on top of the top shelf of the rack.

And I would sit the whole shebang on rubber feet or carpet spikes or carpet spikes with 10p pieces under them, depending in the floor.

I would not fix the thing to the wall unless it was eight feet tall and liable to fall over and crush someone.

Not withstanding that I have all the cabinet making skills of a sledgehammer, if you're up for it, and / or up to it, have a go!

 

[bigboss]

A very useful website with lots of ideas of building products to your requirements with IKEA furniture:

http://www.ikeahackers.net/category/hacks/media-storage/tv-media-furniture

 

[bigboss]

A very useful website with lots of ideas of building products to your requirements with IKEA furniture:

http://www.ikeahackers.net/category/hacks/media-storage/tv-media-furniture

 

[thewinelake.]

A very useful website with lots of ideas of building products to your requirements with IKEA furniture:

http://www.ikeahackers.net/category/hacks/media-storage/tv-media-furniture

Love the idea of hacking Ikea bits. I've done this before myself with bedroom furniture. Some very nice work on that site!

 

[thewinelake.]

Mmmm. Just done a rough mockup and am having second thoughts about the finish.

Thinking that something more woody would be better....

 

[thewinelake.]

Not sure if this is going to work....

The room:

Internals of carcass :

With some external bits on :

Not sure how clear it is, but the top is split - with the left hand half being a bifold door, under which sits the turntable. The right-hand side of the top is fixed.

I will probably paint most of the carcass myself, but have the top and doors professionally sprayed and lacquered.

I'm hoping to mirror, in a minor way, the media unit from our main room - which is here:

(so it would be a bit like the right hand two doors).

This was entirely professionally made. The whole thing (before I wall-mounted the TV) is here:

 

[thewinelake.]

A woodier version:

 

[thewinelake.]

Not far to go....