Canary Wood Electronics Shelf

September, 2009—After I finally got the big screen LCD TV hung on the wall, we needed a place for the electronics. My wife challenged me to make a nice covered shelf that would “float” on the wall without any visible supports. So, here it is. I used some left-over 3/4-inch cabinet grade plywood for the top and bottom, and Canary wood for the sides and front edges. I covered the whole thing in a very light stain, followed by multiple coats of wipe-on poly. I saw something called a “French cleat” in a wood working magazine, so I used it for this project to keep it on the wall. It works great! I enjoyed working with the Canary wood.

The most difficult challenge of this project turned out to be the measurements. I wanted it deep enough for the electronics to fit, but not too deep. So I measured carefully, and still had a problem. You see, the audio/video cables add a couple of inches to the back of the boxes. On top of that, the french cleat eats into space available for wires. Luckily, I found out Radio Shack sells these little compact “L” connectors that are helpful in reducing the space required behind the boxes. It all worked out in the end.

-- Art | Bradenton, Florida