3 hacks, 4 RAST’s, and the ultimate A/V Stand

Materials: 4 RAST nightstands, 2 CD stands, 4 casters, 4 clasps, 4 L brackets, 4 metal connecting plates, keyboard pull out hardware, 2 shelves, various screws.

Description: It’s a 3 in 1 hack.

The first part was a few years ago. I simply took 4 of the RAST nightstand and created 2 separate A/V stands. The bottom RAST was flipped upside down, and the 2 were connected by the clasps. I added casters to the bottom of one.

When I moved, I stacked them all together.

I put my turntable on top, and because it was really high I didn’t use it very much. I’d been using a different shelf for just the turntable, but it was taking up space.

So the 2nd hack was to look for a pull out shelf. I found one for keyboards at Home Depot for $32, and installed it upside down on the main shelf of one of the RAST’s. Works perfectly, and I had a perfectly sized shelf just sitting around.

That got my hacking juices flowing, so I decided to create my 3rd hack.

I took two old CD stands and attached them together with 2 metal plates from Home Depot. I then put casters on the bottom, creating a solid base.

The RAST’s were then attached to the base with L brackets, also from Home Depot. I kept the configuration of having the bottom RAST be upside down, but instead of the single stack of 4 I went with 2 stacks of 2.

I used 2 more of the metal plates for 2 of the RAST’s, as the clasps weren’t working correctly anymore. The other side still has the clasps.

I had another shelf from an old bookshelf sitting around, and so it was screwed into the top posts of the 2 top RAST’s to create a TV shelf.

I wanted the base to raise the components off of the ground level, and it also works out as a nice place to display some figures.

The corner where the stand used to be now fits the other shelf unit as a nice spot for cleaning LP’s.

More photos here.

~ Geoffrey Holland, Burnaby, BC, Canada