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Floating Media Console[8/4 Wide · 4ft · 5-Pack]
One pack. One build. All 5 boards used. • Makes 1 floating media console
Shop Black Walnut 8/4 Wide · 4ft Pack Shop All Speciesselect 4' Lengths / 6-8"
How it goes together
Black Walnut
Hard Maple
Cherry
White Oak
Red Oak
Ash
Hickory
Ambrosia Maple
Sapele*
Padauk*
Purpleheart*
*Exotic — not available for shipment to US customers.
A solid hardwood media console that hangs on the wall under the TV, with nothing touching the floor. Two boards glue up into the top, two more into the bottom, and board 5 makes the two end panels. A hidden aluminium cleat on a hardwood rail carries it into the studs, and a slot along the back takes the cables.
Quick Build — for experienced woodworkers
| Part | Qty | From | S2S size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top pieces | 2 | Boards 1–2 | 42" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Bottom pieces | 2 | Board 3, and board 4 after the rail is ripped off | 42" × 5½" and 42" × 3⅝" × 1¾" |
| Hanging rail | 1 | Board 4, ripped strip | 38½" × 1¾" × 1¾" |
| End panel pieces | 4 | Board 5 | 11" × 5½" × 1¾" |
| Spacer blank | 1 | Board 1, end | 4" × 5½" × 1¾" |
Top: boards 1 + 2 edge-glued → 42" × 11" × 1¾" (about 10¾" after jointing).
Bottom: board 3 + the wide part of board 4 edge-glued → 42" × about 9", flush at the front; the gap at the back is the cable slot.
End panels: board 5 → four 11" pieces, edge-glued in pairs, grain vertical. Fitted between top and bottom with three ⅜" dowels (glue in the holes only) and 2 counterbored, plugged #10 × 3½" screws per joint.
Hanging: 1¾" square rail glued and screwed under the back of the top; 36" aluminium French cleat (rated 100 lb or more) on the rail, wall half into at least 2 studs; spacer blocks at the bottom back.
Finished size: 42" W × 11" D (about 10¾" after jointing) × 14½" H, with an 11"-tall opening between 1¾" panels. About 45 lb in walnut; load about 40 lb.
Before You Start
Shopping List
- 1 lumber pack — 8/4 Wide · 4ft (6–8" wide, S2S)
- Wood glue (Titebond II or III)
- 1 × 36" aluminium French cleat / Z-cleat set rated 100 lb or more, with screws
- 12 × ⅜" × 2" fluted dowels
- 8 × #10 × 3½" flat-head wood screws (end panels)
- About 10 × #10 × 3" screws (rail, spacers, and structural screws for the wall half if the cleat's are short)
- 8 × ⅜" wood plugs
- Sandpaper 120 / 180 / 220
- Finish: hardwax oil or water-based poly
Tools
- Saw for crosscuts (mitre saw or circular saw with a speed square)
- Saw for rips (table saw, or circular/track saw with a guide)
- Jointer, straight-line rip jig or hand plane
- 6 bar clamps, 24" or longer
- Cauls (straight scrap strips)
- Router sled, hand plane or belt sander
- Dowelling jig, ⅜" brad-point bit, dowel centres
- Drill/driver, countersink bit, pilot bits, ⅜" counterbore bit
- Stud finder, 4ft level
- Random-orbit sander or sanding block
Why S2S only? The 6–8" wide 8/4 boards come S2S: both faces planed, edges rough. Plan on losing about ¼" per edge when you straighten them.
Our sizing assumptions: ⅛" per saw cut · 6–8" wide 8/4 S2S boards trimmed ½" each end and ¼" off each rough edge (5½" clean at the narrowest), planned at 1¾" thick · sizes drawn for the narrowest board in the pack. Wider boards give you a bigger offcut or a wider part — never a shortage.
Step-by-Step
S2S Lumber Pack (6–8" wide)
Surfaced 2 sides — straighten edges first
- 1 Prep the boards. Trim ½" off each end to remove any end checks. Joint one edge straight, then rip the other edge parallel (¼" off each rough edge is our planning allowance).
- 2 Cut the parts. Crosscut boards 1, 2 and 3 at 42", and cut a 4" spacer blank off the end of board 1. Rip a 1¾" strip off board 4 for the hanging rail, then crosscut the wide part at 42". Crosscut board 5 into four 11" end pieces with a stop block so they match.
- 3 Glue up the panels. Edge-glue boards 1 + 2 into the top, 42" × 11" (about 10¾" after jointing the glue edges). Glue board 3 to the wide part of board 4 for the bottom, about 9⅛" deep. Glue the end pieces in pairs into two 11" × 11" panels with the grain running up and down. Every glue line is long grain to long grain.
- 4 Flatten and square. Scrape the glue, flatten the panels and trim the top and bottom square at 42". Trim the end panels to exactly 11" tall and to the same depth as the top.
- 5 Fit the hanging rail. Trim the rail to 38½" so it fits between the end panels. Glue it flat under the top, flush with the back edge and centred side to side — long grain to long grain. Pre-drill and drive #10 × 3" screws up through the rail into the top every 8".
- 6 Drill for dowels. Each end panel joins the top and the bottom with three ⅜" dowels, 1¼" deep in each part. Use a dowelling jig in the end grain of the panels and dowel centres to transfer the holes. Keep the bottom joints inside the bottom's 9⅛" depth, lined up at the front.
- 7 Assemble. Glue goes in the dowel holes only — the end grain of the panels gets no glue line. Tap the box together and clamp. Then drive two counterbored #10 × 3½" screws per joint through the top and the bottom into each end panel, pre-drilled, and glue ⅜" plugs over them. The bottom sits flush at the front, which leaves a 1⅞" slot at the back for cables.
- 8 Sand and finish. Sand 120 → 180 → 220, plane the plugs flush and ease every edge. Finish all faces, inside and out, with hardwax oil or water-based poly so the panels stay flat.
- 9 Fit the cleat and spacers. Screw the console half of a 36" aluminium French cleat (Z-cleat, rated 100 lb or more) to the back face of the hanging rail, hook edge pointing down. Rip two 4"-long spacer blocks from the blank to the same thickness the cleat holds the console off the wall (about ½"–1"). Glue and screw one to the back edge of each end panel at the bottom so the console hangs plumb.
- 10 Hang it. Mark a level line and screw the wall half of the cleat into at least 2 studs with the cleat's screws or #10 × 3" structural screws. With a helper, lift the console (about 45 lb in walnut) and drop it onto the cleat. Check it for level, then feed the cables through the back slot. Keep the load to about 40 lb.
Why a hanging rail? An aluminium cleat needs a flat vertical face to screw to. The rail gives it 1¾" of long-grain wood right at the back of the top, and it stiffens the top so the console doesn't sag between the ends.
Why dowels and screws at the corners? The end panels meet the top and bottom with their end grain, and glue on end grain is weak. Dowels line the parts up and take the shear; the screws pull the joint tight. Both stay strong for years.
Why spacer blocks? The cleat holds the top of the console off the wall. Blocks the same thickness at the bottom keep it hanging plumb instead of tilting back.
Make It Yours
- Drawer look: add a centre divider from offcuts to split the opening into two bays.
- Longer console: a 46" console fits the pack too — cut the top and bottom at 46" and skip the spacer blank (use thin offcuts for the spacers).
- Two-tone: walnut top and bottom with maple end panels.
Safety and Care
- Wear eye and hearing protection. Use a push stick for every rip under 4" wide.
- Pre-drill every screw — hardwoods split without a pilot hole.
- Mount into wall studs (or rated anchors sized for the load). Check for wires and pipes before drilling.
- The console weighs about 45 lb before anything goes in it. Lift and hang it with a helper.
- Load limit about 40 lb — a streaming box, a soundbar and a few books. It is not a seat or a shelf to lean on. Check the cleat screws once a year.
- Wear a dust mask when cutting and sanding, especially exotics (padauk, purpleheart, sapele).
Frequently Asked Questions
The 6–8" wide 8/4 pack comes S2S (faces planed, edges rough). Straighten the edges with a jointer, a table saw and a straight-line jig, a track saw, or a hand plane.
Most people put the bottom 12"–18" off the floor, so the top lands about 26"–32" high, under a wall-mounted TV. Leave room below for a robot vacuum if you have one.
Yes, if it fits the 11"-tall opening and stays within about 40 lb in total. Leave a few inches of air around anything that gets warm, and run its cables through the slot at the back.
A 36" cleat still reaches two studs at 24" centres. Use at least three screws per stud. On plaster or masonry, use anchors rated for the full weight plus the load.
Planned offcuts only: about 5" off the end of boards 2 and 3, a little off board 4 and about 2½" off board 5. The spacer blank on board 1 gives the two spacer blocks with some left for a coaster. All 5 boards go into the console.
No. The 2ft wide pack is too short for a 42" console, and four 11" end pieces won't fit on one 2ft board. For the 2ft pack, try our Bracketed Wall Shelves instead.
