Whoohoo time to take your living room to the next level! With this build, your media console can stand out! To make this console cost around $60 dollars and the only tools you need to do it are a screw gun, a hand planer, and a circular saw. Get after it!

Step 1: Cut Metal

I made the legs out of 1" x 2" rectangle steel tube. If you don't weld you could make these legs up using 2" x 3" wood from your local hardware store.

Cut 4 straight-cut pieces at 18"
Cut 4 straight-cut pieces at 6"

You could cut these at 45-degree angles if your feeling fancy. I decided to just keep it simple since it makes everything quicker and easier to weld (for me).

Step 2: Weld the Legs

We are going to weld the pieces together so it looks like a rectangle. The 6" pieces will run vertically to keep the front of the console looking clean without any weld lines. The 18" pieces will run horizontally between the two 6" pieces

Square up the metal before welding
Tack weld all joints while making sure its square
Finish welding with some nice bead welds
Repeat steps so you have two rectangles that measure 6" x 20"

Step 3: Prepare Wood

Now we need to cut all of our wood up. All our cuts for the main console structure will be made at 45 degrees. To make this I bought two 2" x 12" pieces at 16 feet from my hardware store. I had an employee cut the pieces in half for easier transport.

Cut four pieces at 60" with 45-degree cuts on both ends
Cut four pieces at 20" with 45-degree cuts on both ends
Lay your pieces down to see how you'd like your surfaces to look
plane your inner edges to prepare for glue-up

Step 4: Glue Top/bottom Pieces

I decided to join them using dowels, and glue. You could easily do this with pocket holes, biscuit joints, or something else that works. I used 1/4" wooden doweling cut to 2". First glue up your 60" pieces together.

Measure out your doweling holes every 8" inches or so
Make sure the same measurements are mirrored to opposite piece to match up doweling
Apply glue to doweling, holes, and surface
Glue up and clamp up
Repeat steps so you have your bottom & top pieces for the console

Step 5: Glue Side Pieces

Grab your 20" pieces now for gluing. Repeat the same steps you just did for your top & bottom console pieces.

Measure out your doweling holes every 8" inches or so
Make sure the same measurements are mirrored to opposite piece to match up doweling
Apply glue to doweling, holes, and surface
Glue up and clamp up
Repeat steps so you have two side pieces for console

Step 6: Assemble Bottom and Sides

Now let's assemble the bottom and side pieces of the console. Choose your pieces wisely since the top piece will show, as well as the top surface of the bottom piece. To attach all my pieces, I used screws and doweling. Technically you could do one or the other but for whatever reason, I decided to try both. Before we do the assembly, lets plane everything down so it's nice and even and smooth.

Plane the flat surfaces down so there's no ridge where you attached them
Find a flat surface to assemble the pieces
Glue your joints prior to screwing or doweling
Use screws or doweling to attach the sides to the bottom piece
Look at the photos for reference to help you attach everything together
Lie your pieces on the floor or table to hold them up and help keep it square

NOTE: This is a lot easier if you have a second set of hands. It's very important that everything is assembled squarely! I struggled to do this by myself...

Step 7: Add Additional Anchors If Needed

You should now have a big rectangle mostly together. I decided I wanted to add extra support so I added doweling to both sides anchoring them into the top and bottom pieces. This is not necessary but I thought it looked nice and wanted it to be very strong.

Step 8: Trim Your Console

I decided to trim the console after it was put together already because I like to live life on the edge. I also like the texture the circular saw leaves on the edges of the wood. I also wanted to show you how to do this with minimal tools (no table saw required).

Trim your console piece so its 20" wide on top, bottom, and the sides
Use a circular saw/skill saw to trim it
Use a straight edge and square to make sure its as close to perfect as possible
Don't worry if it's not perfect because this baby will look good no matter what

Step 9: Assemble Shelf

Ok, now we need to build the cool little shelf that makes this piece stand out.

Cut two pieces of 2" x 12" at 18.75" making sure one cut is 45 degrees and the other is regular (90 degrees)
Cut two pieces of 2" x 12" at 7.5" making sure one cut is 45 degrees and the other is regular (90 degrees)
Cut one piece of 2" x 12" at 22.5" making sure both ends are at 45 degrees
Attach all the pieces together so your 22.5" piece attaches to the 7.5" pieces which are connected to the 18.5" pieces
Look at the photo for reference if confused!

Step 10: Sand and Mount Shelf

Give the inside of your console a sand before mounting the shelf to make it easier
Sand your shelf before mounting it as well so your sander can fit in all the nooks and crannys
Mount your shelf by screwing two - 3" screws from the outside of the sides into the ends of the shelf
Pre-drill your holes and make sure your shelf is level and is the same height on both sides
I anchored my shelf about 7" from the top
To make things easy just place two cans of stain below and rest the shelf on the cans while mounting
Use wood filler or wood plugs to cover up the screws
After mounting, sand everything down with 150 grit sand-paper (or 220 etc)

Step 11: Stain & Oil

Stain the interior with a darker color (I used Minwax Ebony)
Stain the exterior with a slightly lighter color (I used Minwax Dark Walnut)
Apply a finish to the console (I used Danish Oil)
Apply two coats on the surfaces that will see most use (top and sides)

Step 12: Paint Legs

Clean your metal legs with mineral spirits
Use gloves in a well-ventilated area
Spray paint them matte black (or a color of your choice)

Step 13: Mount Legs

Pre-drill 4 holes equally spaced out on one side of each of the legs
Use 2" inch screws to mount them to the console
Use a ratchet with a screw head so you can access the screws
Mount the legs 3" from the edges of the console

Step 14: Enjoy!

Now that this bad boy is complete, set it up! Put your TV on it and some speakers or set it up for an ultimate gaming console. Do whatever you'd like!

Introduction: Modern Media Console