Raising the Titanic: The CRT Takes a Stand

Remember when I bought that giant, hi-def tube TV? You know, the one that weighs slightly less than the hot, nougaty center of a black hole?

Step 1: Acquire stand

As if tracking that thing down and hauling it into the basement wasn't difficult enough, I was still left with the problem of finding a place to put the 145 lb. boat anchor. Unlike a modern TV, it's not like I could just hang it on the wall. (Note to self: hang a boat anchor on the wall. Awesome.)

The obvious answer, getting an old TV stand, turned out to be its own unique flavor of pain and torment.



Step 2: Shoot in crack



After three weeks of searching Craigslist, and my standards crashing to an all-time low (Craigslist has a knack of doing that), I was reserved to the fact that I'd have to get a bit crafty.

 

Eventually, I settled on a stand made of wood that was roughly TV shaped. This particular example came with a complementary knob, some doors, and  a bunch of gouges that I can only assume the previous owner added to spice up the otherwise handsome gray over gray motif. (Talk about gilding the lily, right?)



Step 3: Add white

As nice as it was in its current state, I took it up myself to make a few updates: First, I filled the gouges with a dab of crack spackle (probably not the right product to use, but it's what I had on hand, and I'm cheap), then I sanded the whole thing down, added a layer of primer, then about three cans of gloss white to match the existing basement furniture. Finally, I swapped out the existing door pull for a pair of matching ones and called it a day.

I could have scored a few extra points had I not been bound and determined to poke at the finish in between each and ever coat, and I probably could have been a little less heavy-handed with the rattle cans, but overall I'm satisfied with the results.



Step 4: Daaaaaaytoooonaaaa!

Most importantly, the CRT looks stone-cold ballin' next to the LCD. I imagine that this is how P. Diddy plays Farmville. Now I'm trying to figure out how I can simultaneously point the furniture at both screens.

Maybe I should give Puffy a call?