How to Build Entertainment Center Walls

Well-built entertainment centers are adaptable and organized. And now that oversized televisions are a thing of the past, they need not be bulky, either.
In addition, they can be used to define an alcove, turning it into a mini sound and video studio. Just mount a video camera at eye height to record your Guitar Hero and Rock Band sessions, then invite friends over and play your recording sessions back on your plasma-screen television.

Windowless alcove with electrical outlets on all three walls.
Plasma-television screen that fits across the width of the alcove.
Wall-mount kit for plasma screen.
Three 12-inch-by-1-inch plywood shelves, the width of the alcove.
Four 6-foot long, 12-inch wide, 1-inch thick side rails.
Two 3-foot long, 12-inch wide, 1-inch thick side rails.
Rabbet and dado jig table saw.
Nine 4-inch by 4-inch by 12-inch posts for shelf feet.
Power drill with one-eighth-inch-diameter bit.
Countersink bit.
One-quarter-inch-diameter bit.
Eight 12-inch-by-1-inch shelves the length of the alcove's depth.
18 L-shaped wall mounts.
Six one-quarter-inch-diameter molly bolts.
Belt sander.
Coarse, medium, fine and extra-fine sanding belts.
Clear acrylic wood treatment.

Instructions

- 1
  Pull your favorite seating up to the alcove and check the lines of sight from each side while seated, then while standing and lying down. Choose the ideal height to mount your plasma screen based on your lines of sight.
- 2
  Sand all wood using coarse, medium, fine and extra-fine belts, in that order. Cut one-half-inch-deep dadoes six inches from each end of the four 6-foot-long, 12-inch-wide, 1-inch-thick side rails, and every 18 inches between the first two dadoes. Make matching one-half-inch-deep rabbet cuts on the ends of the eight side shelves. "The dado is a groove cut across the width of one board to accept the end of another," says woodworker Mario Rodriguez of finewoodworking.com. "It can be employed horizontally to support shelves on a bookcase or vertically to hold partitions." Rabbet cuts remove a portion of the board so that it will fit into a dado.
- 3
  Cut one-half-inch-deep dadoes at the ends of the 3-foot-tall side rails and matching one-half-inch rabbet cuts on each end of the shelves. Apply carpenter's glue in all the dado cuts of the side rails that will fit underneath the plasma screen. Slide the rabbeted shelves into the dadoes and wipe away any excess glue. Allow the glue to dry.
- 4
  
  Place three of the shelf feet on the floor, one at the center point between the two alcove walls and one at each end, six inches from the wall. Place the alcove shelf unit on the feet. Make sure they are square with the corners and flush with the front edge of the unit. Drill through the shelf and into the feet using a one-eighth-inch diameter bit. Countersink the holes. Secure with 2-inch-diameter wood screws. Repeat feet attachment for the other two shelf units.
- 5
  Drill one-quarter-inch-diameter holes into the walls at each end of the top of each shelf unit. Attach shelf units permanently to the wall using one-quarter-inch-diameter molly bolts. Apply several coats of clear acrylic wood treatment to the three shelf units of your entertainment center walls. Allow the acrylic to dry between coats.

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