Bracket for 50" Plasma

[Phisherman]

Anyone have ideas for building a wooden bracket to hold a 50" plasma in the corner of a room? I don't want to spend $595 for a bracket! Looking for ideas and/or plans. TIA

[RayV]

Tough design problem. Could be as simple as screwing a 2x4 across the corner and hanging the screen on. Not elegant, but the screen would hide the lumber. A little more refined could be an appropriately sized corner shelf reinforced with 1x2 material on the outside edge with plywood hanging down to attach the screen to. The top of the screen could be just below level of the shelf. Custom built corner cabinet with shelving for the receiver/DVD/cable box and storage for all your CDs and DVDs, then the screen mounted where the glass doors normally go.

Let us know what you decide to do.

[Owamanga]

I hear you.

But, I certainly wouldn't be able to sleep at night worrying that a DIY bracket wouldn't suddenly fail and splash $2,000 all over the floor.

[jaimesummer]

Not sure if this will help but... On the bottom of my 42" plasma are two holes. I mounted a rod into a piece of walnut burl with epoxy (about 10 by 20 by 3 thick) and did this two times. Placed the two matched burl pieces on my floor standing shelf unit made with black oak slats (24 by 48 by 30 tall, holds my power amps, power supplies and crossover). The monitor is held up without any obstructions, clamps or wall brackets (and there is no plastic!). You could mount a wood shelf to the corner of the room and insert two rods into the shelf to support the monitor. Maybe a corner torsion box? Make sure there is wood all the way through where the two rods are inserted.

jaime

Phisherman wrote:

[Mike Coonrod]

Drive by for those that can't id it. I figure if you can afford the 50" plasma...you can afford the 6 Franklins.

I have a 42" and I figure on making one with some angle iron, fixed position bracket attached to the middle of a wall. Things that move out and in, up and down cost a lot.

mwc

Phisherman wrote:

[Teamcasa]

Its really a job for aluminum or steel. Unless you made some laminated arm with a sturdy shelve and top mount that you could drill and mount using the TV's mounting holes. Mine has threaded holes in the bottom and back for this sort of attachment. I just made one from aluminum tubing and angle. But then again, I can weld aluminum.

Dave

[J. Clarke]

Well, looking at the Best Buy site it looks like they weigh around 70 pounds, so set 210 as a design objective and you've got a good safety margin. That's not a huge load. Over a 5 foot or so span a 2x4 should handle it fine, if you want to overkill it then use 2x6.

The set should have holes on the back for a mounting bracket.

Get four 2x4s of appropriate length and four joist hangers. Rip one edge of each 2x4 at an angle, use four appropriate Strong-Ties to fasten two of the

2x4s to studs, fasten the other two to the back of the set using the mounting holes, set it down so that the angled edges lock, and you're done. If you don't trust 2x4s for the part mounted to the wall then use 2x6 or 2x8. Once they're in place and before you mount the set, stand on the bottom one and bounce a few times. If it doesn't come down then you're set.

Alternatively, you can run some studs up to the ceiling and fasten them to the floor and ceiling joists, then fasten crosspieces to them and proceed as before.

Now, if you want _pretty_ . . .

[Robatoy]

Teamcasa wrote: [snip]

I find aluminum an exellent material for most of my jig- and pattern needs in my solid surface fabrication. Between aluminum and Baltic Birch, one has the abilty to create fabulous looking furniture. A bit of leather and cherry for a touch of class...and all is well with the world.

Knowing what you know about welding aluminum, what would your suggestion be for a newbie? That ONE piece of advice? Is it possible to do a decent job without breaking the bank for equipment? Most of my raw materials would be no thicker than 1/4" wall. Mostly angle, flat and box tubing.

I realize that there may be more than ONE piece of advice, Dave. *G*

I don't know my MIG from my TIG or a FIG, TIFF, JPEG...you get the picture?

Maybe a link to an informative forum?

Thank you, sir.

r

[Upscale]

I too would be very interested in any information about welding aluminum. I'm presently in the design stage for something that I want to build and market that would primarily be constructed out of aluminum.

Thanks

[Teamcasa]

Welding aluminum is not as tricky as those who weld it would have you believe. The benefits to a woodworker are many, build jigs and fixtures are just a few. Two choices are available to us, TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) or MIG (Metal Inert Gas). The site below spells it out in simple detail.

my perspective, MIG welding aluminum is the simplest and strong but not that pretty. TIG is the most versatile, makes very nice looking welds but require good skills and equipment.

I have a MIG welder at home and access to a TIG at work. Nine out of ten time I'll just weld it with the MIG.

You might check in at sci.engr.joining.welding they are helpful to new welders. Good place to lurk.

Dave

[Upscale]

recommend?

[Teamcasa]

Welder's Handbook by Richard Finch will get most anybody started.

PS: Buying a welder - Is an important decision for a beginner. Buy too small or inadequate welder will only frustrate you. Not unlike buying a 8" tablesaw and trying to rip some 6/4 purpleheart. The BORG's sell a small MIG (wire feed) welder that is OK for 1/8" steel. They work fine for fixing bicycles, yard fences or body work but little else. However, a stick welder, like a Lincoln "Tombstone" or "Buzz box" is a good machine for most any steel work. If Aluminum is in your future, move up to the Miller MIG with the spoolgun.

Dave

[Robatoy]

Teamcasa wrote: [snipped for brevity]

Aluminum is the only metal I am interested in for all the reasons which have already been mentioned. I now have some starting points to investigate further. Thanks kindly for those.

Rob

r