How can I make this?
March 8, 2024 7:22 PM Subscribe
I saw this TV frame in a layout of the Mid-Century modern rooms at the Howard Johnson Anaheim. I really like it, but can't seen to find anything like it for sale. Maybe I could make one?
I'm planing on getting a new television, and wall mounting it. I'd love to have a frame like this one.
But building one seems daunting. 1/2" plywood for the back is easy, and I was thinking 2x8 Azek PVC boards for the frame.
The sides look like they are angled at about 30 degrees, as well as arched. And curved, compound joints look tricky. I've seen videos where these boards can be heated and bent. But since I'm looking at a 70" TV (62"x35") the long sides would be at least 75" long, I'm not sure how I'd heat something this long.
I'm sure the pros with unlimited funds could make a hot box eight feet long. I'm not them.
I'm also confuse on computing the corner cuts. Clearly, a regular 45 degree cut wouldn't work, but combining that with a 30 degree tilt and whatever angle the arc curvature is... messy.
I could probably draw it in a CAD program, but I'm guessing the cost of having this 3d printed would be prohibitive.
Maybe make it out of some other material?
I'm planing on getting a new television, and wall mounting it. I'd love to have a frame like this one.
But building one seems daunting. 1/2" plywood for the back is easy, and I was thinking 2x8 Azek PVC boards for the frame.
The sides look like they are angled at about 30 degrees, as well as arched. And curved, compound joints look tricky. I've seen videos where these boards can be heated and bent. But since I'm looking at a 70" TV (62"x35") the long sides would be at least 75" long, I'm not sure how I'd heat something this long.
I'm sure the pros with unlimited funds could make a hot box eight feet long. I'm not them.
I'm also confuse on computing the corner cuts. Clearly, a regular 45 degree cut wouldn't work, but combining that with a 30 degree tilt and whatever angle the arc curvature is... messy.
I could probably draw it in a CAD program, but I'm guessing the cost of having this 3d printed would be prohibitive.
Maybe make it out of some other material?
There's a bunch of exterior vinyl/PVC moulding that may be the ticket for the frame. Can't be sure but it may be flexible enough to bend with a simple hair dryer. Bend first then mitre the corners. Here's one example.
posted by Zedcaster at 10:24 PM on March 8, 2024
posted by Zedcaster at 10:24 PM on March 8, 2024
Best answer: If it helps with proportions, The Sun's 2022 article about the Howard Johnson's "House of the Retro Future Suite" renovation has, "A modern flat-screen television mounted to the wall [...] mimics the curved frame of a 1950s cathode ray TV. Midcentury-style seating by Modernica and Herman Miller, decorative panels by Modular Arts and period lighting by Restoration Hardware complete the Space Age look."
Modular Arts uses "natural gypsum components" in its lines, and "repeating modules (PANELS, TILES, and BLOCKS) accommodate areas of any size and can be easily trimmed on-site." In a Spectrum article (which names design consultant Caroline McLean), photos show MA's Apollo Block sculptural screen wall partition by the dining area, and the "Ohm" block screen in the bedroom, above the headboards. I wonder if the TV frame was assembled with elements from the MA product line.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:44 PM on March 8, 2024 [4 favorites]
Modular Arts uses "natural gypsum components" in its lines, and "repeating modules (PANELS, TILES, and BLOCKS) accommodate areas of any size and can be easily trimmed on-site." In a Spectrum article (which names design consultant Caroline McLean), photos show MA's Apollo Block sculptural screen wall partition by the dining area, and the "Ohm" block screen in the bedroom, above the headboards. I wonder if the TV frame was assembled with elements from the MA product line.
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:44 PM on March 8, 2024 [4 favorites]
You’d want to miter the corners the way they do crown molding— make a jig to hold it at an angle instead of perfectly vertically and then miter. cut the corners at slightly less than 45, glue the first three, and carefully bring the last corner together and you should get some curve to it. Plastic molding of some sort is going to be most flexible but i don’t know if it’ll bend enough at that compound angle.
posted by supercres at 12:33 AM on March 9, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by supercres at 12:33 AM on March 9, 2024 [1 favorite]
and I was thinking 2x8 Azek PVC boards for the frame.
I would build the frame from several layers of 3mm (1/8") plywood. Bending the first one would be easy enough in a simple jig: two pieces of thicker plywood with spacers between them, cut with the right curvature. Then glueing the next layers to the outside of that, let it cure, miter the corners and assemble the lot.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:16 AM on March 9, 2024 [1 favorite]
I would build the frame from several layers of 3mm (1/8") plywood. Bending the first one would be easy enough in a simple jig: two pieces of thicker plywood with spacers between them, cut with the right curvature. Then glueing the next layers to the outside of that, let it cure, miter the corners and assemble the lot.
posted by Stoneshop at 2:16 AM on March 9, 2024 [1 favorite]
Note that a single box profile, PVC or similar, won't bend in in two dimensions the way you would need it for the outer frame, so you really need to build it up using several layers and then fill out the stepped edges. This also applies to thin plywood strips, but the multi-layer result is easier to finish into the right shape.
posted by Stoneshop at 3:43 AM on March 9, 2024 [2 favorites]
posted by Stoneshop at 3:43 AM on March 9, 2024 [2 favorites]
The original is a complicated shape that was probably CNC carved into a mould for the two different lengths, then had material poured or pressed or sprayed into it, then assembled at the corners. That is how one would rapidly and affordably manufacture multiple objects with a complex 3D structure like that.
If you wanted to get very close, you could carve styrofoam pieces into the shape (either by hand or with a CNC machine), then lay fibreglass on top. Or, since this piece is decorative and not structural, just paint over it.
For an easier but somewhat less accurate reproduction, get moulding with a somewhat triangular shape, force it into the curve you want by gluing/screwing it to your backer board and join it at the edges with simple mitre cuts. If you put another triangle back-to-back on this one, you can approximate the "leaning out" of the original form.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:43 AM on March 9, 2024
If you wanted to get very close, you could carve styrofoam pieces into the shape (either by hand or with a CNC machine), then lay fibreglass on top. Or, since this piece is decorative and not structural, just paint over it.
For an easier but somewhat less accurate reproduction, get moulding with a somewhat triangular shape, force it into the curve you want by gluing/screwing it to your backer board and join it at the edges with simple mitre cuts. If you put another triangle back-to-back on this one, you can approximate the "leaning out" of the original form.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:43 AM on March 9, 2024
Best answer: Maybe just paint the iconic shape on the wall, instead of making it 3D? Despite the simplicity of the form, this is a challenging thing to make. I doubt it’s steam-bent, but if you’re not up for building an 8’ hot box, then I can virtually guarantee that this project is more than you’ll want to bite off.
posted by jon1270 at 6:39 AM on March 9, 2024 [5 favorites]
posted by jon1270 at 6:39 AM on March 9, 2024 [5 favorites]
TBH I would probably just grab my local 3d printing kid, give them a few bucks and a few rolls of filament, say 100 dollars in all, and have them print the shell, very thin in numerous parts over the space of a week of print time probably, and then I would spackel over it and sand the spackle. Should be light and easy to mount if you do a few tabs to the inside.
posted by Iteki at 8:44 AM on March 9, 2024
posted by Iteki at 8:44 AM on March 9, 2024
Flexible channeled cord covers (8-ft, 10-ft examples) -- thread onto wire to shape, miter corners, seal, and attach perpendicular to wall for depth? Fiddlier: heat-shrink tubing, with minimum heating to seal corners.
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:10 AM on March 9, 2024
posted by Iris Gambol at 10:10 AM on March 9, 2024
Response by poster: I'm thinking the base answer may be faux painting the frame. It won't pop as well at a real object, but it is a simple and good looking solution.
Or design it in CAD, then cut it into 6" sections and 3d print them at my library. Glue them together and to the backer board, filler, sand, paint.
posted by Marky at 3:27 PM on March 9, 2024 [2 favorites]
Or design it in CAD, then cut it into 6" sections and 3d print them at my library. Glue them together and to the backer board, filler, sand, paint.
posted by Marky at 3:27 PM on March 9, 2024 [2 favorites]
Best answer: Modular Arts uses "natural gypsum components"
Fancier plasterwork by far used to be done mostly by a practiced hand. Plywood with some bevels but no curves for strength, plaster shaped over it with a profile and a guide?
posted by clew at 4:37 PM on March 9, 2024
Fancier plasterwork by far used to be done mostly by a practiced hand. Plywood with some bevels but no curves for strength, plaster shaped over it with a profile and a guide?
posted by clew at 4:37 PM on March 9, 2024
Another way to add a MidCentury look to a TV could be to take a plywood sheet, cut the outer contour similar to the frame in the picture ("bulging rectangle"), then cut out a rectangle in the center for the TV with a slight gap. Mount the sheet on stand-offs so that it is close to flush with the front of the TV; optionally add some subdued lighting between the sheet and the wall.
Experiment with cardboard to find an agreeable size of the spacing around the TV and for the offset between the front of the TV and the plywood.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:37 AM on March 10, 2024
Experiment with cardboard to find an agreeable size of the spacing around the TV and for the offset between the front of the TV and the plywood.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:37 AM on March 10, 2024
If you do go the 3D route, you should absolutely look into "vase mode" which is just one nozzle-thickness, and do it on-edge, so just a V with the widest end down. Feel free to hit me up if that' unclear..
posted by Iteki at 7:40 AM on March 10, 2024
posted by Iteki at 7:40 AM on March 10, 2024
Prototype it with card stock. Tape the 4 sides together at the curve and angle you want, and at the places where it doesn't touch the ground, cut out that shape and add it.
posted by at at 10:20 AM on March 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
posted by at at 10:20 AM on March 12, 2024 [1 favorite]
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posted by KayQuestions at 7:28 PM on March 8, 2024 [7 favorites]