We purchased our second 45-inch flat screen TV. The old one would go into the family room and replace our 26-inch tube TV. However, the TV could not fit into the TV cabinet. It would need to sit on the top of it. The height was too high for viewing purposes, plus it looked weird.
I had the idea to cut down the walls of the cabinet and reinstall the top. The question was, “How high?” Leaving room for the VCR, cable box and receiver, I determined a height of 24 inches. The doors would be removed along with the VCR shelf.
I removed the TV and components. I took out the drawer. I removed the coving, the back and top. I slid out the doors. I then tipped the cabinet on its back. I marked the height on the sides and frame. With my Sears-Craftman® circular saw, I first cut the face frame and moved around and cut the sides. I went outside and cut down the 1/8-inch back to the proper height. The top rail needed to be cut from the stile. I went downstairs and trimmed off the stiles on the table saw.
The TV cabinet was now ready for re-assembly. I stood up the cabinet and glued and clamped the top rail to the newly cut stiles. I re-installed the top and back and waited for the face frame to dry before I reattached the coving. I moved the TV cabinet back into its corner. I stowed components in the opening and hooked them up. I put the drawer back. I place the TV on top of the cabinet and set it up. I tested all the equipment, and everything worked fine.
Except for the pipe clamp across the top of the cabinet and missing coving, the cabinet looked great. I was surprised how easy it was to modify and no screw-ups to contend with.
I removed the pipe clamp later in the day and nailed back the coving. Now, I could step back and admire a job done well. My Zen moment.
