5. Cabinet assembly:
- Mark brushed wood glue into the top groove and then slid the top of the cabinet into place.
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- Earlier, Ron had used the jigsaw to cut a large hole in the top section of the cabinet. The hole was designed to create ventilation for the television components. They would add a grate to the cut-out section later on.
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- After Mark glued the top section of the cabinet into place, Ron drove a couple screws to secure the attachment.
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- They used the same combination of glue and screws to install the shelves and the bottom section of the cabinet.
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- They lifted the partially assembled cabinet up on its side with the shelves sticking up in the air to get ready to attach the remaining side panel.
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- To attach the last side of the cabinet, Mark and his friend Norca brushed glue into all of the dados at once. They were using fairly fast drying glue so they had to work quickly.
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- The trick was to attach everything at the same time. This meant that they had to do some very quick aligning to get all the pieces to fit perfectly before the glue dried.
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- The shelves were not as deep from front to back as the cabinet top and bottom were. The cabinet was designed this way to allow space for running cables and wires from one shelf to the next in the back of the unit.
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- Norca used a countersink drill bit to create pilot holes, while Mark followed along behind driving in screws.
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- They applied glue to the front edges of the cabinet and set the front panel in place and then also attached it with screws.
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- They hid the screw heads by filling the holes with auto body filler, which became firm in a matter of minutes.
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- They attached four casters that were concealed on the bottom of the entertainment center. These would allow the cabinet to be rolled away from the wall for easy access to the equipment and the wiring.
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6. Texture and paint:
- Ron used a paint roller to apply a diluted joint compound and paint mixture that he hoped would create a semi-rough texture. As it turned out, it wasn't a bad starter texture but it was not enough to match the walls in Mark's living room as Ron had hoped it would.
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- Next Ron tried adding a splatter texture over the first mixture. This texture came in a spray can and was purchased at a local home improvement center. Ron thought that it might work well for the fairly small area they were working with. Ron held the can about 18" from the surface and moved it in a circular pattern.
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- After the material set for a few minutes, Ron used a drywall knife to knock down the high spots. The hope was to try to match the existing wall texture as closely as possible. After the texture dried, they applied a coat of paint and were pleased with the match. They were finally able to move the new cabinet inside.
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- Ron attached a grate to the top of the cabinet covering the hole he had cut out earlier. The grate would prevent objects from falling down into the cabinet from the top. After securing the grate in place with screws, they finally inserted the television and components through the back of the cabinet.
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- The final touch was to add the picture frame look that Mark had wanted by attaching a wood trim around the TV opening. The entertainment center was finally complete.
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RESULTS:
Just as Mark was hoping, the new entertainment center really looked like part of the room. It no longer appeared to intrude into the room the way the old cabinet had. After a long day of hard work, Ron and Mark sat down to enjoy some good home improvement TV! You'll never guess what they watched!
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