A Subtle Coffee Table Cabinet

[wonger]

Just thought I'd share this project I just finished. The basic rules for this build were:
- The table had to blend into the decor of the room
- I was asked not to cut up the existing coffee table in the room

That's about it. So I went to work building a new coffee table from scratch.

Parts:
- Glass from an old coffee table
- 3/4" pine (boards and a few panels)
- Logitech 2.1 speakers bought cheap (refurbished)
- HP LP2065 flat screen LCD
- An old Pentium 4 I had laying around
- 2 Ultrastik 360's w/ 16 buttons

Tools:
- Mitre saw
- Table saw
- Kreg Pocket Screw jig
- Corded and cordless drills
- Clamps and other misc shop tools

I started laying out the new top on the original table that would be replaced:


Attached the corners of the top using glue and pocket screws:


Here's the top laid out in the garage with the glass in place.  It fits!


After that I built the base.  It's basically 4 legs and 3 sides of a box pocket screwed together, then mounted to the top (again with pocket screws - I think I'm addicted to them!)

Next step was to figure out how to mount the screen. Here's what I came up with in the cabinet:



And here's the part that attaches to the monitor. It's got 4 bolts, with 3 nuts each, so each corner's height can be adjusted:



So now it's a coffee table that can hold an LCD screen:


Up next, I added basically 2 drawers. The botom one's just a standard drawer to hold a keyboard and remotes for the TV in the room. The top is the control panel.

Here they are closed:


And here's the control panel pulled out. The tape's to help locate the controls.


Next, drilled out the holes for the joysticks and buttons. Nothing fancy, but this layout should work for a lot of games


The speakers will be mounted to the front of the sliding control panel.  I made a quick jig to drill holes for the sound to come out:


And here's the result:


With the drilled out panel installed:


After lots of sanding, I stained and polyed the whole thing with Minwax Polyshades Classic Black w/ satin finish. Then mounted the joysticks, buttons, speakers, CPU parts and monitor. I was getting too excited to remember to take photos, so here's what it looked like:


Almost done!


Just needed to tint the glass around the monitor. I found a roll of privacy window film at Home Depot for only $15 that did the trick. Simply cut it out and applied it to the back of the glass. I almost didn't get around to doing this step, since the table was already functional without it, and I was having too much fin with it

And here's the finished results!

From the back:


From the front:






Side view:


Keyboard drawer:


All closed up:


Ready to rock!


All said, the project took about a week and a half. Probably could have been faster if I had a plan before I started

This was a fun build! But even better, I finished it just before we hosted an 80's themed party! This thing really helped set the mood

Let me know if you have any questions or comments. I'm sure I've glossed over some of the steps. Also, sorry about the quality of the photos, I only had my phone around to take them.

Cheers!

[XeviouS]

That is excellent work, very well executed !

[Le Chuck]

Fun project!  Looks like it came together very well.  How comfortable is it to play from sitting?  From the knees?  I notice a lot of these low cocktails and have wondered how they feel in the long run. 

I think your solution with the tint bezel is good but I'm wondering about the feasibility of doing an automated rolling cover as well - above a tinted bezel but below the top glass.  That way when off the monitor is completely concealed and when in use is visible.  Motorized shades could be a fun place to start. 

Thanks for posting and enjoy your build!     

[rockyrocket]

Looks really pro, you should be proud - well done!.

[ron310]

 Looks good. Just an idea, but you could do dual monitors with the extra room in there.

[Unstupid]

I like your solution to adjust the height of the monitor..  Very cool... I may have to steal that for one of my upcoming projects!  Looks cool...  One suggestion...  Id retint the entire glass with 30% so that it looks invisible when not in use.  At the same time I'd take the monitor and mask of the LCD screen and spray paint the frame a nice flat black.

[Seith]

Seconding what Unstupid said, but otherwise, a great build!  I especially like the paintjob - good to see the grain come through on the black, really gives it a classy refined look.

[jmike]

 
         Really nice coffee table. How is the viewing angle? How much of a glare if any do you get?


 

[TPA5]

That's a sweet cocktail cab! I like the pullout drawer idea for the CP, it's the first time I've seen something like that.

[Azure]

Pretty cool build. Really looks like a piece of furniture:) How long did it take to build and set-up? Also any more plans for it, or are you finished?

[wonger]

Fun project!  Looks like it came together very well.  How comfortable is it to play from sitting?  From the knees?  I notice a lot of these low cocktails and have wondered how they feel in the long run. 

I think your solution with the tint bezel is good but I'm wondering about the feasibility of doing an automated rolling cover as well - above a tinted bezel but below the top glass.  That way when off the monitor is completely concealed and when in use is visible.  Motorized shades could be a fun place to start. 

Thanks for posting and enjoy your build!   

It's actually not uncomfortable to play sitting on the couch and leaning forward for the controls. The control panel's around the same height as the old coffee table, so I've generally been playing with my elbows resting on my knees and haven't felt any fatigue yet I haven't tried it from my knees yet because my butt's too big to fit between the table and the couch

Motorized shades do sound fun, but I think dealing with moving parts is terrifying!

[wonger]

Looks good. Just an idea, but you could do dual monitors with the extra room in there.

I actually considered it, but it turns out I'm too cheap to buy another monitor

[wonger]

One suggestion...  Id retint the entire glass with 30% so that it looks invisible when not in use.  At the same time I'd take the monitor and mask of the LCD screen and spray paint the frame a nice flat black.

Good ideas! I think I'll give them a try when I get some time. I'm guessing you know from experience that he screen image will be clear enough through 30% tint? Is that the magic number?

Thanks!

[wonger]

         Really nice coffee table. How is the viewing angle? How much of a glare if any do you get?

The monitor claims to have a 178 degree view angle, and I haven't noticed any problems when playing. No glare either, but that might just be because it's positioned away from any windows in the room

[wonger]

Pretty cool build. Really looks like a piece of furniture:) How long did it take to build and set-up? Also any more plans for it, or are you finished?

It took about 1.5 weeks total to do. The first weekend I probably spent about 12 hours on it, then abou 1-2 hours a night for a week after the kids went to bed. The final sanding and 2 coats of stain/poly took a about 5 hours total over the second weekend with lots of waiting in between for thin to dry. Then 3 more days of 1-2 hours for installing the components and wiring.

I think I'll follow Unstupid's advice on retinting the glass, but other than that it pretty much done (unless I notice something else that needs tweaking )

[wp34]

Nice work.   Looks like a great piece of furniture to boot. 

I need a new coffee table in the basement.     Hmmm.....

[Woodshop Flunky]

Looks great!  I really like the monitor height adjustment.