Materials: Expedit (Large - 185x185 cm), Dioder (Multicolor)
Description: Recently, I finally got a new turntable, amp, and speakers to listen to my collection of LPs. I wanted a functional yet attractive place to store my LPs as well as house my turntable, amp, & speakers without having to throw off the symmetry of the room by placing the speakers outside of the unit. I went back and forth between maybe getting the smaller, bookcase style (79x149 cm) Expedit unit and putting the turntable & amp on top, with the speakers on the sides, but once I saw the larger Expedit and thought of a way to do what you see in the picture, I had to go with it.
Here's what I did...
1) Unbox Expedit & make sure all the parts are there. (I laid a large blanket out on the floor to avoid scratching it any more than it already is).
2) In order to allow enough space for the speakers & turntable/amp, I had to cut* the top and bottom long shelves to make room. The thing to be sure of is that the cut pieces will overlap the edges of the vertical supports so that you can properly fit the dowels through. The top cut measurements are approximately 35.5 cm, and the bottom is approximately 108 cm.
3) Next, I planed and sanded down the rough from the cut. Depending on the type of saw and blade you may have a smoother cut, but it is particle board inside so you'll want to sand it down a little bit.
4) Depending on the color of Expedit you choose, get some decent wood stain and lightly stain the bare edges. Be sure to have a rag handy during this part to wipe down any runs or bubbles.
5) Now came the fun part, putting it together.
5.1) I began from the bottom up, and fastened the bottom to the right side. Then I put the dowels in for the bottom vertical supports. I used a dab of wood glue to add some stability to each dowel, but it's optional. I continued doing this until I got to the fourth level shelf (second full length shelf, where the turntable & amp are sitting).
5.2) For that shelf, I had to cut the four center dowels to allow for support, but so that they wouldn't stick out through the top. You could use some wood filler to fill the small holes left, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.
5.3) Once I had all the shelves in place, it was time to fasten the other side, then the top. It was a bit tricky getting the dowels to fit, but just take it easy and you'll get it. Then fasten the top using the screws and make sure to tighten all the screws one last time (I used a drill with different torque settings, which I would recommend. This is a large unit without all of the pieces, so I wouldn't trust hand tightening alone.)
6) At this point, I put the adhesive-backed felt "feet" on the bottom and stood the unit up (have a friend help you, it's pretty heavy). It's possible to slide on a smooth surface, even when loaded with the equipment, but for carpeting you may want to consider some other kind of footing, and definitely fasten it to the wall.
7) I opened & tested the Dioder light kit, then ran them end to end rather than separately along the back, using the adhesive strips to fasten them to the top.
That's pretty much it. As you can see, I still have to work out the cable management in the back, I was just too tired after putting it all together to worry about that (I had also just painted the room). It's definitely easy enough to use some cable fasteners and run them in line with the shelves, just plan the routes out before running your speaker wire to make sure you have enough slack. For power I fastened a power strip to inside of the bottom left cubby hole, where the speaker is sitting (you can see the light in the picture) since that is the spot where it was going to work best for me. Of course adjust it as you see fit.
I'll update the pictures once I get the cable management situation settled, but I'm very happy with it. The turntable is at the perfect height for a 6' (183cm) person, but not too tall for someone a bit shorter. Also, you can see that I've got plenty of room for my LPs, they're organized alphabetically and above the right speaker I'm storing my extra outer & inner sleeves, as well as cleaning supplies & anti-static brushes. This way I have room for overflow when my collection outgrows the space allotted in the other cubby holes.
There you have it, I hope it comes in handy for someone else. I love it :)
* - I used a rented mitre saw for this, but a table saw would have worked much better since I would not have had to flip the shelves over to make the full cut. But hey, it IS a hack...
~ Brandon Wolfgang, United States
