Video Game Holder
Here is an easy to build and smart looking unit. It will store all those messy game boxes lying around the living room, stuffed into various drawers, or scattered on bookshelves.
I used cherry for the uprights and the top, mahogany plywood for the bases, and walnut for the base trim and the separator in the uprights. I own an XBOX, so the measurements that I used are for that size storage box; adjust yours to suit.
A Thick Top Gives Visual Weight
• Mill a piece of 1″ cherry for the top (A). This will give visual weight to the project. If you don’t have 1″ stock you can glue together ¾” and ¼” pieces.
• Cut mortises in the bottom side of the top to accommodate the uprights (B). The mortises are ¼” x ½” x 2 ¼”. You can chop them out by hand, rout them, or use a mortiser.
• Install a 45º chamfer bit in the router table and cut a chamfer fi rst on the ends and then on the sides of the top piece. Any chipping on the end grain will be removed when you rout the sides. I used a 1 37⁄64″ chamfer bit; select any bit that gives a pleasing edge profile.
Laminated Uprights Add Visual Interest
• Mill the four pieces for the uprights (B) and the separator strips (D), making sure to leave enough material for the tenons at either end.
• Mark the location of the slots for the games on the stock. The first slot is 1 ¼” from the bottom so that the bottom game will not hit the base. This allows for a total of 13 slots spaced 7⁄16″ apart. The separator strips will keep the game boxes from pushing each other out the opposite side.
• Install a dado blade on the table saw to cut ⅝” dados on the uprights.
• Set the mitre gauge to 10º and cut the slots for the games to sit in.
• Glue and clamp the uprights and separators together taking care that the slots are aligned.
• Once the glue has dried install a ⅜” round over bit in the router table and round over the outer corners of each upright.
• Cut ¼” x ½” x 2 ¼” tenons on the end of each upright.
A Rotating Base Makes For Easy Access
• Mill two pieces of 3/4″ mahogany plywood for the bases (C).
• Cut ¼” x ½” x 2 ¼” mortises in one of the bases to accommodate the uprights (B). To make the holder look a bit more interesting I cut the mortises on the diagonal.
• Glue the walnut edging (E) to the bases.
• Round over the upper edges using the same round over bit as on the uprights.
Finish Before Assembly
• Sand everything down to 220 grit.
• Apply your chosen finish. I used a water based finish, letting the first coat dry a couple of hours, lightly sanding it, and then applying another coat. I applied three coats in this manner. Take care not to get any finish in the mortises or on the tenons, as this will interfere with the glue-up. You can plug the mortises with a scrap of wood and wrap the tenons with masking tape.
• Apply glue to the mortises and tenons, and then clamp the top, bottom and uprights together. Make sure that the assembly remains square.
• After the glue has dried, mount the lazy susan bearing to the lower base and then to the upper base. Make sure to keep the two bases aligned when attaching the lazy susan so they will be centered when you’re done.
This is a simple project to build, yet it has worked wonders, cleaning up the litter of games around the TV and game console. You might consider using woods that more closely match existing furniture in your TV room or adjusting the height of the uprights for the number of games you own.
