Custom Cabinet

[cyisone01]

I am looking for some ideas! Going to build a custom cabinet so I can proudly display my equipment. I have a 65 inch TV on the wall and am going to build a cabinet which will sit on the floor to place all my equipment and maybe some cabinets which go up and over the sides of the TV.

If you have some photos of your set up it would be awesome. Also trying to figure out the best way to support all the equipment and gain some ideas on doors and ventilation!

[GaryProtein]

I built a simple cabinet for my 65" Samsung in the TV room out of solid oak that I stained, polyurethaned and finished. It is 61.5" wide x 17.5" tall x 15" deep and it sits on four 3" casters so it is easily moved. It isn't super sized because it holds only my TV related stuff and I am not TV freak. The TV is mounted on the wall with an articulating mount, not on the cabinet. I made three main internal compartments with adjustable shelves, each 19.5" wide so 19" rack width components would fit inside with space to spare and I could place rails for rack mounting later if I wanted that. The 15" depth is enough for my cable box, pre-pro processor, my symmetrix volume leveler and a bit of other "junk". The cabinet sits about 1.5" from the wall.

You will need your cabinet to be at least as deep as your deepest component PLUS at least four more inches for cable bends behind the components. If your cabinet has no back, it may not have to be quite as deep. but measure before you build. You may want solid feet instead of casters. For ventilation and ease of cable management, an open back is preferred.

Make certain the components on the bottom shelf are "vacuum cleaner proof" i.e. high enough not to get hit or recessed on a deep shelf. You don't want knobs or faceplates getting smashed when the floor is cleaned.

[vegaracer1]

Lurk

[For The Love of Music]

Originally Posted by cyisone01

I am looking for some ideas! Going to build a custom cabinet so I can proudly display my equipment. I have a 65 inch TV on the wall and am going to build a cabinet which will sit on the floor to place all my equipment and maybe some cabinets which go up and over the sides of the TV.



If you have some photos of your set up it would be awesome. Also trying to figure out the best way to support all the equipment and gain some ideas on doors and ventilation!

The wider distance between the frame the better, no less then 17.75”. Most gear that I have come across is 17”.0 - 17.5”, this gives you a 1/4” room on both side to slide in a 17” piece of gear. Inside the cabinet you will want at minimum 20”.

Address power cable runs with 2.5” holes with grommets on vertical walls and shelves.

Fans are a must and need to be incorporated on each level for heat producing items.

Use high quality shelf mounts that provide maximum strength, good ones will support 25 lbs each, and use 6 depending on you gears weight and location.

As Gary indicated allow room for cables. 24” deep seem to work well that allow for fans and excess cable.

I love the look of cabinets but if you don’t have rear access, it’s a lot of work pulling gear for new runs, component upgrades etc. literally double, triple, quadruple the time it takes.

Also you will need longer cables to plug into the equipment if you do not have rear access, 2M should do it and plan what will go where, so you will know and don’t forget about main power, ideally on a dedicated circuit with proper receptacles that you can score from Ivan here on AA.

Hope this helps!

[GaryProtein]

One thing I should have added in my earlier post: DON'T USE DOORS, especially if your cabinet has a closed back.

They keep heat in and your remotes probably won't work unless you have glass doors.

Extra space on the sides of your components will greatly aid ventilation.

[MisterBritt]

I like the looks of these ideas. He sells on Etsy and has excellent feedback.

http://monkehaus.com/shop/

[edkoz]

Originally Posted by cyisone01

I am looking for some ideas! Going to build a custom cabinet so I can proudly display my equipment. I have a 65 inch TV on the wall and am going to build a cabinet which will sit on the floor to place all my equipment and maybe some cabinets which go up and over the sides of the TV.

If you have some photos of your set up it would be awesome. Also trying to figure out the best way to support all the equipment and gain some ideas on doors and ventilation!

I made mine a few years ago and has worked out very well. The TV above the cabinet is a 65".
Ed

[GaryProtein]

Originally Posted by edkoz

i made mine a few years ago and has worked out very well. The tv above the cabinet is a 65".
Ed

very nice!

[edkoz]

Thanks Gary

[SL1800]

I built this equipment rack a few years back. I used extruded aluminum as the vertical supports and solid cherry for the shelves and drawer assembly on the bottom. It's an all open design for good ventilation and easy access to wiring. The two drawers on bottom are handy to have for favorite disc or accessories. My two regrets are not making it 19 plus inches wide for each side and the shelves on the right and left are not independent of each other. If you want to move the left top shelf up then the right goes up as well.