Entertainment Center: TVs, Stereos, VCRs and DVDs - How to build a flat panel wall mount

Doityourself.com community forum was created to provide answers to all questions related to home improvement and home repair. Doityourself community can help you find information about how-to topics on small fixes to large remodeling projects. With comprehensive how-to content and expertly moderated community forums DoItYourself.com makes it easy to tackle even the most complex home improvement projects.




Slowsoul
11-23-07, 12:33 PM
Has anyone ever attempted to build a flat panel wall mount from scratch?

Does anyone know of any online instructions on how to build one.


HotinOKC
11-23-07, 03:54 PM
Why would you do that when they sell the mounts that directly bolt to your TV?

That would be time consuming and a hassle to build something like this that doesn't get seen.

Slowsoul
11-23-07, 04:04 PM
Because I think that they are over priced...


HotinOKC
11-23-07, 04:38 PM
Well, everything is overpriced, specially the flat panel that you have to put on the mount. It comes along with owning a flat panel.

Only thing you can try and do is purchase a mount and reverse engineer it.

BobF
11-23-07, 04:44 PM
Over-priced? You really don't appreciate the weight they have to support. You're not going to construct one out of wood that would be strong enough. Ya gotta use steel.

So - go to Circuit City or Best Buy and look at one of the mounts. Make sure its one that is for the size of your TV. Take some measurements. Then go price the steel. I think you'll find that the mfg and store are making a fair profit, not a fat profit.

Rick Johnston
11-23-07, 05:56 PM
Wood can hold a surprising amount of weight, but so can plastic. And aluminum. I've never seen any TV mounts made out of any of those materials.

Mounts have to be unforgiving at only four or six fly points, and they have to have a very small footprint on the back of the TV.

That ain't easy with anything but heavy-gauge steel, lots of engineering, and rental time on a stamping machine.

Integrator97
11-23-07, 10:58 PM
Ok, nobody seems to want to help you. Here's what you do. Find out the thread size of the holes in the back of the tv. The ones the mount would go into. Then get some machine thread eye bolts that will thread into them. Then get some lag thread eye bolts. 1/4 in will probably do, 5/16 would be better. Then get some chain. Again 1/4 inch or 5/16 inch.

Of course, this assumes you have a 42 inch or smaller. You would want to move up to 3/8 inch if you had a 50 or 60 inch.

So anyway, use a stud finder to locate the ceiling joists. Thread the lag eye bolts in (did I mention to get 2 1/2 inch long minimum) to the ceiling joist. Attach the chain with a special link. Then use the same kind of link to attach the other end of the chain to the eyebolts in the back of the flat panel display.

Now you have saved, oh, $40 bucks or so. And you have a cool hi-tec flat panel, with an industrial factory mounting style. Use rusty chain if you want that backwoods hi-tec look.

All in fun. :p

Integrator97
11-23-07, 11:34 PM
Ooops. Just saw a Peerless mount on Tiger Direct for 23"-46" for $49.99. Your only gonna save, oh, ten or fifteen bucks. Sorry.

jweb
11-25-07, 10:26 AM
The general consensus is that Monoprice has the best price/selection on line with reasonable shipping, which is a big plus these days.
http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp