Wall TV mounting bracket

[Jay]

Hi, looking for some ideas from the NG.

I have a wall mounted TV bracket whose 'footprint' doesn't line up with my TV. All fit well with the last TV I had on it but a new TV presents the following problem:

The shelf portion where the TV sits is basically a rectangle but the 'feet' (those little black rubber buttons) on my TV are arranged in a tri-angle (two in front, one in back) the back one being too far back to fit on the shelf. It's of the same screen size and weight range as the old so I know the bracket will carry it but the feet are just arranged differently.

I figure I will just cut a larger sized rectangle of something and bolt it to the shelf. There are already holes in the shelf so that's not a problem. What I'm looking for is suggestions on material. The bracket is made of metal, color grey, and I don't want to use particle board or plywood which I would then have to band and paint or glue up boards which would also have to be painted so I was thinking of something plastic, maybe 1/2 inch thick that I could just take the belt sander to the edges and the corners. Sort of like a Plexiglas sheet but not clear; white or gray, or any color that would blend in with the rest of the bracket. I don't want to have to take plexi and rough it up to try to spray paint it as I don't have a sprayer and I can never seem to get the spraycans to do a good job on things like this. If it was just going into my shop or the garage it would already be done with plywood but this is going into the Master Bedroom and I have already been 'briefed' by SWMBO.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[ameijers]

Don't make a bigger shelf, just make an outrigger to catch that rear foot on the new TV. Look around at the hardware store, or better yet the iron-mongery aisle at the nearest farm supply store. If you have access to a metal brake, you can even bend one up to suit. Use stock wide enough to make a shallow hole big enough to capture the foot, if you have bits that big. Galvanized or plated takes paint ok if you degrease it and maybe etch it slightly. Bolt it to the bottom, and nobody will even notice it isn't a factory part. If the TV has solid plates on the bottom, hard-mounting the TV is a good idea, rather than the typical clips or straps. If the feet are screwed on, sometimes you can just replace those screws with longer ones, and use the pads as cushions.

Have you tried the web page for whoever made the bracket? Some of those companies sell accessories.

aem sends...

[gfretwell]

The back of the TV is probably not that heavy. 1/4" lexan might work. Metal is better but you don't sound like you have the tools to deal with it. If there is a metal fab shop h a friendly boss you might be able to get something punched out of aluminum.

[Jay]

AEM:

It's a 'no name' brand from one of the box stores.

I hear you on the 'bump out' idea. I was going to use one of those metal strips that you nail over where a wire goes through a stud so you can't nail into the wires after sheetrock is up but that plan was nixed by the 'Construction Supertendant'. Besides I may, sometime in the future, want to put another TV up there and with my luck it's feet would be in a different location and I would get to do this nut drill all over again. I'm already wasting enough time on this dog, once is more than enough. All I need a piece 13" x 20".

Jay

[mm]

I've had this several times, just trying to put a tv on a tv cart, the metal ones with wheels.

When the rear legs are too far back, I just put a book or a couple, 3, readers digests in the middle from side to side, as far back as the shelf goes.

Balancing has never been a problem. Nor is overheating a problem in the transistor era.

It's exciting when maybe 10 years later, the tv has to be moved and we find the old Readers's Digests.

[sylvan butler]

I'd pick up some high-density polyethylene (HDPE). If you don't see a handy supplier listed in the yellow pages, look for an appropriately sized cutting board in the local *Mart or Linen's & Things, etc.

Or perhaps a scrap of synthetic countertop material (e.g. corian sink cutout) (which are also often sold as cutting boards) from a countertop installer.

sdb

[Jay]

Sylvan:

That's a great idea on the cutting board and the countertop scrap! Thanks to everyone who contributed.

Jay