New Top for TV Console

[Bob D.]

Just getting started with this. Some quick background info.

We lost our smart TV to a nearby lightning hit 2 weeks ago. After finding out it wasn't cost affective to repair we found a same size screen replacement. Difference is the old TV had a pedestal base in the center and all the new TVs that we found have a pair of legs at each end. There is the problem, those legs are out at the VERY end, like 64 inches apart. The TV console is only 60 inches wide, so not wide enough to support any of the new TVs.

So I said I'll make a new, wider top for the console we have now. The existing is made from steel frame with ~3/8" thick plate glass shelves and top. The top is one piece of glass 24" x 60" and is secured to the frame at each corner with a bolt that goes through a hole drilled in the glass and connects to a post.

My plan is to replace that top glass with a slab of wood with a live edge along the front. The slab with be a slight trapezoid shape, 64" across the back and 72" wide across the front, so a slight angle on each end.

I have a slab of Cedar 2.5" x ~23" x 74".

Well, looks like a serious lightning storm is upon us right now so I'll have to finish this later.

Time to unplug, photos coming.

 

[RKA]

There is another option (which you probably entertained).  Leave the console alone and build a live edge base for the TV that bolts to the back where the wall mounts usually bolt.  [smile]

 

[Bob D.]

Ok, looks like the worst is over for now. Lost one TV to lightning, now I'm gun shy I guess.

Anyway, here's a couple photos, one of the console and one of the slab I want to use for the new top.

I'm thinking live edge on the front and square cut on the sides and back. To secure it to the existing steel frame I plan to make use of the four posts that currently support the glass top. If you look under the glass on the left and right you can see a 3/4" diameter steel posts about 2 inches high. I'm thinking I will bore some holes in the underside and let the slab rest of the frame all around and those four posts will keep the slab from moving. I could even reuse the flat head countersunk machine screws that currently hold secure the glass, but that would mean drilling a hole in the top and I would rather leave the top surface intact.

For finish I'm not sure what to use. I was thinking of some epoxy but never used anything like that on a table top, always used poly but in this case I want to have a heavy, hard surface that will withstand time.

A question I have on epoxy or whatever finish I may end up using is how long would I have to wait to be sure it is fully rock hard cured so that when I place the TV (about 50 pounds distributed over four tiny feet) doesn't leave an impression in the top. Do I wait a month, longer maybe?

Right now this slab is pretty green, the moisture content is at ~18%. Seller said he cut it just a few days ago. I see some small checks in the ends, but in a 2.5 inch thick slab how best to handle these? For now, until it is dry enough to work with, I think I should paint the end grain to slow drying to be closer to the faces of the slab. 2.5" is gonna take a long time to dry, unless there is a way I can speed that up without twisting it all up. I've never had a slab of wood this big to dry, so need some advice on how to handle this, that's my first hurdle.

So any help is welcome thank you.

 

[Bob D.]

Photo showing how glass top mounts to frame.

 

[Koamolly]

Did you consider an articulating wall mount so you wouldn’t need any feet for the TV?  My TV adjusts from a few inches from the wall to maybe 18” straight out, plus to almost perpendicular to the wall, left or right.

 

[Bob D.]

There is another option (which you probably entertained).  Leave the console alone and build a live edge base for the TV that bolts to the back where the wall mounts usually bolt.  [smile]

We did consider doing away with the console table and mounting it on the wall, but no, I did not think about using the VESA mount points and building a stand off of them, that is a good idea that maybe we should consider. Those skinny legs unbolt from the base so they can go away easily. Will have to give this some thought and run it by the boss

TV sits in a corner and I think mounting it to the wall while physically possible might now look so good. To have a 70" display floating out in space wouldn't look right to me.

If I can make her think it's her idea we're good.

Though I would like to take a shot at making this new top. Since it will take some time for this to dry, your idea might be the solution for the short term, in place of the piece of ply I stuck up there so we could have a pllace to put the TV. A 70" TV takes up a lot of space in a room. I know it sounds huge but the viewing distance is over 18 feet away so it's really in the recommended size range for that viewing distance. Viewing distance chart at Crutchfield says 8.75 to 14.6 feet for a 70" TV, so believe it or not the beast is undersize if that's possible. I know the Super Bowl and movies are fun to watch on a 70" screen, especially with the sound piped through the home theater system.

 

[Cheese]

I’d counterbore the bottom of the slab in 4 places and place it over the stancheons that now hold the glass top. With the weight of the slab being probably 50-60# and the LED screen probably 60-70#, that’s not going anywhere.

As far as epoxy cure time goes...I wish I knew. The epoxy work I’ve done (West Systems) takes a long time to cure. A full week after the epoxy work was done, I placed a large fruit bowl with fruit in it on the countertop and it left a very visible bowl ring. A 70# screen on those tiny 4 feet does not bode well for epoxy. I love the epoxy finish but there are some limitations.

 

[Bob D.]

"I’d counterbore the bottom of the slab in 4 places and place it over the stancheons that now hold the glass top. With the weight of the slab being probably 50-60# and the LED screen probably 60-70#, that’s not going anywhere. "

Yes, that is what I was planning on. No fasteners showing on the top.

On the epoxy your experience makes it sound like I should consider something else for a finish.
Since I last posted here I did find that there are pedestal stands available for less than $75 for TVs of this size. They have a large, flat base so the weight would be distributed over a much larger area. If I get one of those then the whole problem goes away, but the wife now likes the idea of the wood slab table top in place of the glass, so may end up building it after all but the new base would let us use the existing glass top like we did with the old TV. It will be some time before the 2.5" thick slab is dry enough to work anyway.

Thanks everyone for your opinions and suggestions.

 

[Cheese]

On the epoxy your experience makes it sound like I should consider something else for a finish.

For my application I needed something that would truly be waterproof. I had a maple butcher block counter top that had 5-6 coats of poly on it, and yet any water that was left standing on it, or even a bottle of olive oil, still managed to pass through the poly and stain the wood.

That's the reason I replaced it with a white oak slab with the top covered completely with 2mm of West epoxy. In the last 6 months nothing has penetrated the epoxy. However I do have the epoxy softness/curing issue.

Here's a shot of the slab, I love the finish...just wish it was harder. [attachimg=1]