Suggestions for a simple shelf that doesn't bend?

[snowjim]

Hello,

I am using the following brackets to support a center speaker on the wall (gypsum).



The brackets look like this:



You basically clamp the actual shelf board.

Now after 1 year, the board has bent significantly as seen here:



I understand this can happen considering the bracket's design, but the question is how do I solve it?

The first thought is to buy something like Elfa wall track and cut it into 20 cm pieces to replace the board with these pieces instead. The downside is that it probably won't look very nice and they will be unnecessarily tall.

Another thought is to replace the bracket entirely with something like Elfa, but that probably won't look very nice either.

Do you have any suggestions?

I would like to add that the speaker dimensions are 500 × 185 × 200 mm (WxHxD) and weighs 10 kg plus a cat weighing 6 kg.

 

[Stefan1972]

why don't you make a construction that you have behind the speaker and is not visible? 2mm sheet metal bent 90 degrees and slightly longer than the speaker, then cut strips to weld at an angle on the short sides to support the shelf. That way, you have a shelf that becomes almost invisible when the speaker is there, and you get excellent mounting possibilities behind the speaker.

 

[snowjim]

why don't you make a construction behind the speaker that isn't visible? 2mm metal bent at 90 degrees and slightly longer than the speaker, then you cut strips and weld them at an angle on the short sides to support the shelf.
This way, you have a shelf that is almost invisible when the speaker is placed there, and you get excellent mounting possibilities behind the speaker.

I tried attaching those like these directly to existing brackets:



They are 2mm thick but they flexed quite a bit.

As I understand you, you're suggesting that I weld reinforcements, unfortunately, I don't have a welder and I'm not very skilled in working with metal beyond drilling and sawing it.

 

[13th Marine]

Place reinforcements in the wood, for example by drilling from the back almost all the way to the front, and then driving in threaded rods or something.
You preferably place these exactly where the bracket is located.

 

[snowjim]

Put reinforcements in the wood, for example by drilling from the back almost all the way through, and then drive in threaded rod or something.
You should preferably place these exactly where the console is.

Aha, that might have worked, but the question is whether I can manage to drill straight that far The board is not very thick.

Can I flatten the shelf I already have or do I need to make a new one?

 

[Chris983]

Turn the shelf so it tilts upwards. In a year, you'll have it straight again.

 

[snowjim]

Turn the shelf so it's slanted upwards. In a year, it will be straight again

Or it breaks and 10 kg speakers destroy the TV.

 

[richardtenggren]

Two bent flat irons in the right thickness should solve that brilliantly and at the same time look better than the current solution. I think it might be easier to bend flat iron if you don't have access to any suitable equipment for bending sheet metal. Then, if you increase the thickness, you probably won't need any stays. The downside is that the bend radius increases with thickness, meaning the center will be further out from the wall the thicker sheet metal you choose. May I ask why you have the center above the TV? Most people usually have it below.

 

[dof]

Is it a requirement to have a shelf? I would have used a number of keyhole fittings on the back of the speaker otherwise.

 

[hsd]

Or you can take a couple of door hinges, mount the parts with the pin on the wall and the others on the speaker (on each side), easy to hook on and off.

 

[Repeter]

Consoles of this type maybe?http://m.ikea.com/se/sv/catalog/products/art/80167473/

 

[snowjim]

Is it a requirement to have a shelf? I would have used a number of keyhole brackets on the back of the speaker otherwise.

That's a good idea, but in this case, it won't work since the terminal on the back of the speaker protrudes 3 - 4 cm. The manufacturer recommends a shelf for the speaker.

 

[hsd]

The easiest way is to turn your shelf upside down

 

[snowjim]

Consoles of this type maybe?[link]

Yes, there are many consoles to choose from, but we want the center quite close to the TV, which makes some consoles with support rods not suitable.

But I agree that there are quite a few options, though for us it often comes down to design.

I still think I'll go with Elfa, it's likely to be a bit more discreet than what we have today anyway.

Otherwise, I thought that tempered glass should work, but the problem is that just the glass is likely to weigh a few kilograms. And a solid metal piece 1 cm thick will also weigh far too much.

Wooden rods would have been a nice and discreet solution, but for some reason, it's holding me back from doing this, probably because I would have to get a new board, treat it, and manage to drill fairly deep and straight by hand (I don't have a pillar drill).

 

[snowjim]

Two bent flat irons in the right thickness should solve that perfectly and simultaneously look better than the current solution.
I think it might be easier to bend flat irons if you don't have access to any suitable equipment for bending sheets. Also, if you go up in thickness, you probably don't need any struts. The downside is that the bending radius increases with the thickness, meaning the center will be further away from the wall the thicker the sheet you choose.
May I ask why you have the center above the TV? Most people usually have it below.

Regular 2mm flat irons don't work, so you'll have to go quite a bit up in thickness, no idea where to buy that. Probably 5-6 mm could work, but it certainly wouldn't be easy to bend that by hand

Regarding the position, there are many opinions and none are really wrong. In our case, we chose above for the following reasons:

1. We have a 65" TV which, because of its size, is positioned quite low. It's calculated that the eyes should be about 1/3 down the TV when sitting on the couch, so the TV is about 40 cm from the floor. In this case, we have a media stand with an amplifier, consoles, and a lot more, which means the center doesn't fit under the TV.

2. We have tested having the center under the TV but find that the sound image doesn't quite feel right when they talk since faces are often in the upper part of the TV rather than the lower part.