New TV, let the games(or headaches) begin!

[FIRE UP]

Thanks Scott, for your detailed and informative reply to my questions. I removed the old ship's ballast yesterday, and as if this project isn't already going to be a pita, the old TV is not a Sony like the one you had; it is an RCA with curved glass picture tube, and of course, the cabinet front is also curved cherry wood, so I will have to completely build a new one. I did cut the old one apart yesterday, and have salvaged the sides. None of the other cherry wood can be re-used, as all of the pieces are too short for the Samsung.

I was just out there in the barn, taking a closer look at how that cage is welded in, and I think I'm going to try to grind off most of the stitch-welds, instead of cutting everything. But that story may change, once I get into it.

Meanwhile, as you can see, I'm committed. But some of the projects I've already done, looked a lot scarier than this one, so here we go.

Bill,
You're making my head hurt seeing what stage you're presently in. Yep, you've got some additional work in creating a totally new face frame for your new TV where as, all I had to do was create new top and bottom rails. Now, those two angled pieces that are standing by themselves in the center of your TV frame, are all that's holding my new TV in place. If yours is like ours, there are two very small screws that hold each of those two angled pieces in place.
Well, as stated way earlier, I drilled those holes out and installed "T" nuts on the back side, knowing that those two pieces will do all the work of holding that massive, 8.5 lb. TV up. Heck, with that small amount of weight, I could have reused the tiny screws for that matter.

As for cutting the cage out, sounds like you've got a good handle on what kind of procedure and type of tools to use. From your pictures, it appears you have more clearance/distance between the cage verticals and, the steel that's to remain. It appears you have maybe 1.5" - 2" or so. All I had was about 1". That's why I could not use a Jig saw or even the little H/F body saw.

The use of a cut off saw, whether it be a tiny 3" like the H/F one or, a 5" one on and angle grinder is to me, a last resort. If one could actually film the metal/saw blade dust that comes off of those wheels when a cut is made, half the people on the planet would probably stop using them. But, they get the job done. Not only the dust but, there's a ton of heat associated with those cut off wheels too.

Well, you deep into it now, no turning back, unless you'd like to lug that RCA back up in there....he he he he.

Scott

 

[Mr_D]

That tube was rugged. I almost wonder if it isn't a special CRT for RV applications.

A .22 long shot at the screen will usually bounce off. I haven't done it but the long time friend did while watching a show.

 

[Electra 225]

Great work Scott!! That Kregg unit is the "cat's meow". Meaning to get me one of those for a while now.

Great outline of your project, I will use it as a reference for such projects I get into. Thanks for sharing it.

Best regards,
W.D.

 

[CaptBill-WO]

Bill,
You're making my head hurt seeing what stage you're presently in.

Well, you deep into it now, no turning back, unless you'd like to lug that RCA back up in there....he he he he.

Scott

Hey Scott, your headaches are over with; mine are just beginning...

Got to thinking about my grinding the stitch welds off, and you're right; that sprays so much fine black dust everywhere, it will probably be impossible to contain it, so the hacksaw will be the tool of choice. Well, hacksaw with a motor on the other end...

Wanted to get out there today and get started, but have some other duties to attend to, so it will have to wait a little.

I'll probably be back here if with any questions that might come up, but if not, at some point, I may start a thread. We'll see.

Thanks again for your suggestions. They will definitely help.

 

[cbeierl]

I used a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to shorten the saw blade for the sabre (jig) saw I used to cut back the metal housing when I did my TV upgrade. That allowed me to use the sabre saw without hitting the adjoining woodwork.

 

[FIRE UP]

Great work Scott!! That Kregg unit is the "cat's meow". Meaning to get me one of those for a while now.

Great outline of your project, I will use it as a reference for such projects I get into. Thanks for sharing it.

Best regards,
W.D.

W.D.
You are quite welcome Sir. Glad I could be of some assistance here. It's a kind-of a "Pay it forward" type thing. Others posted threads on their same project for quite some time and it helped me. So, to return the favor, is my pleasure.
Scott

P.S. Yep, that "Kregg Jig" is a very need and ultra handy tool. I helped my brother design one for drill presses years and years ago. It worked slick. But, it had its limitations. So, this Kregg unit is waaaaaaaaaay easier to use. Should have bought one decades ago.

Hey Scott, your headaches are over with; mine are just beginning...

Got to thinking about my grinding the stitch welds off, and you're right; that sprays so much fine black dust everywhere, it will probably be impossible to contain it, so the hacksaw will be the tool of choice. Well, hacksaw with a motor on the other end...

Wanted to get out there today and get started, but have some other duties to attend to, so it will have to wait a little.

I'll probably be back here if with any questions that might come up, but if not, at some point, I may start a thread. We'll see.

Thanks again for your suggestions. They will definitely help.

You are certainly welcome Sir. I just happened to be the most recent with this project. Chris and many others were my lead when I took this thing head-on. You know, as discussed, the use of a cut-off wheel has its issues. But, in certain parts of this operation, it may be the tool of choice, even for a short distance of cutting. Cutting with a jig saw normally produces just filings and cutting chips that have at least some weight that will normally just fall. But, the cut off wheel spreads stuff all over the planet. 99.99% of which, can either be vacuumed or, wiped up. It's the intricate stuff like dash gauges, vents in dash for defrosting, and other things like that where that cut off wheel dust can settle in where you can't get at it to clean it up.

Then, some time down the road, when you and the wife are traveling this great country and, develop the need for the defroster, HERE IT ALL COMES OUT AGAIN!!! So, yeah, there very well may be a need for that cut off wheel in certain parts of this operation. You're aware of how to handle the ramifications of it's use. Good luck and keep us posted.

I used a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to shorten the saw blade for the sabre (jig) saw I used to cut back the metal housing when I did my TV upgrade. That allowed me to use the sabre saw without hitting the adjoining woodwork.

Chris,
I remember (imagine that) you posting about shortening your blade with a cut off wheel. I would have done that but, I measured the stroke of my Dewalt jig saw and, cutting that blade off, as short as I needed to, to keep the tip of it from hitting adjacent structural components, would have allowed it travel up inside of the foot of the jig saw. That's not a good thing since the saw will bounce all over hell when that happens. So, that part of this operation could not be used for me.
I had to resort to the use of the drill-bit cut for that.
Scott

 

[FIRE UP]

Well Gang,
I recently finished project #2, the "little brother" to the front TV project. The rear one was not anywhere nearly as complicated as the front one. It presented a tiny bit of a challenge here and there but, all in all, about 1/10th of the overall effort of the front one. Now, the front TV was a Samsung 32" unit. The rear one is a Visio 24" unit. The Samsung had/has 10mm screw mounting socket holes in the back. That's one of the main reasons I purchased was because they (Samsung) supposedly have the largest mounting screw holes.

In mounting the Samsung, the way I did it, it was/is outstandingly solid and didn't/doesn't move at all. But, the Visio, which again, is only a 24", uses 5MM screw holes and, are basically just part of the plastic back of the TV. So, even though I used a wide, full width 1/2" plywood for the mounting, which was attached to the sides of the face frame very close to the opening of the TV, that plastic back of that Visio is WEAK, to say the least. That TV moves around quite a bit, even when securely mounted to a nice, strong secure structure. Not good!!

In both mountings, the Samsung and the Visio, I designed a 3/32" - 1/8" gap all the way around the perimeter, inside the face frame. The Samsung is a rock in its mounting. But, the Visio is not. So, I just happened to have some 1/8" x 3/4" adhesive backed foam laying around. I lined that 1/8" opening with that foam. Then, I simply sort of "Pressed" that Visio inside that face frame. Talk about solid, wow! Waaaaaaaay better. There's zero movement now.

Now, due to the totally re-organized front TV and all the sound system, wiring, new receivers etc. we lost the ability to play a DVD in the front (brand new Blue Ray) player, on the back TV. So, I had to create a shelf, close or under that Visio, to hold a Blue Ray player, dedicated to the rear TV only. That was a tiny bit of a challenge but, it worked out. I even got to use some of the finished wood from the original face frame, to line the face of the shelf, cool!

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the finished rear TV job and, also, a finished underside/back side of the front TV.
Scott

P.S. The first picture shows the old RCA in place. The rest are showing the new Visio and it's accompanying shelf. The last one is of the back/bottom of the front TV job. That Birch plywood covers the gigantic hole that was created when removing all the guts, cage etc. from the original TV.

 

[CaptBill-WO]

Beautiful workmanship

Once again, outstanding work, Scott.