Fitting pegboard to back of TV cabinet

[sentur]

I have a 70s sideboard that I want to use a TV cabinet.

The back is currently plywood, but I'm thinking if I take the staples out holding it in place, I could then replace the back with pegboard and hide of the cables and guff at the back in a flexible modular way.

I need to add a bit of depth to the cabinet (currently it's 380mm deep) in order to fit a media computer in there which is 390mm deep. So I'm thinking of fitting the pegboard to the back with some sort of brackets attached to the inside of the unit. Then I'd have some extra clearence and additional airflow.

I've never really done any wood or furniture projects like this in the past. Are there any better ideas

 

[big-all]

are you allowing for cables/fittings hanging out the back ??
when i make tv units i have a 6 way socket under the back off the top this help stop the cables getting tangled at the bottom
the back is mostly open to allow airflow and the top extends between 30-50mm from the back face to allow ventilation round the back

 

[sentur]

are you allowing for cables/fittings hanging out the back ??
when i make tv units i have a 6 way socket under the back off the top this help stop the cables getting tangled at the bottom
the back is mostly open to allow airflow and the top extends between 30-50mm from the back face to allow ventilation round the back

Yes I want to allow the cables/fittings to hang off the pegboard at the back of the unit. I'll be attaching them with cable tiles to the pre-drilled holes in the pegboard.

Do you mean you add an additional top to the cabinet? And any recommendation on what sort of brackets to attach the pegboard?

 

[foxhole]

Simpler to remove back and add a few vertical 100mm wide sections of mdf , drilled with holes to poke cable in , will leave the majority of the back open and still keep integrity of cupboard.[Removing the back will weaken the structure.]

 

[big-all]

yes definitely need more open than shut peg boards about 10% open
why not go for a separate top overhanging about 20-25mm front and side and 35-50 at the back
whilst peg boards and cable ties sounds good in theory how will it work in practice ??
assuming you access it from the front you will need to lay the box on the floor or at the front off the shelve to connect all the wires then clip the loose cables
you then have to push the box back with about 18=20" off loose cable in the way

are you putting doors on the front

 

[sentur]

The unit is an existing piece. Picture attached showing the front which might help explain things better.

So really I can't add a new top to the unit. I can easily get to the back of the unit and don't plan on recabling it once it's finished. I plan to clip all the loose cables to the back. And anything big will go in the cupboards at the ends of the unit. Ie. Virgin Box, computer, Xbox.

What would be the best method to attach some metal brackets to the pegboard and the inside top / side panels of the cabinet?

Would these be suitable to hold a sheet of pegboard 360 x 450mm? Am I fine to just screw directly into the pegboard? And ok to screw into the top / side of the cabinet. I think the cabinet is made of a chipboard like material with a top veneer... So should I pre-drill the acre holes first?

Based upon what foxhole said earlier, what I propose to do is remove the back panel completely and cut it down to just cover the back section where the draws are. This is to add some strength to the cabinet as a hole. And then have the pegboard at the back of the two cupboard sections. I've made a sketch to help illustrate, the green bits are where I plan to fit pegboard on the back of the unit, leaving a solid section of the existing back in the centre of the unit--laying flush with the surface of the top, bottom and sides. Is this a good ideas?

 

[big-all]

pegboard is only 3.2mm 1/8" thick so you need a frame to screw it to

you may get away with several brackets and cable ties or nuts and bolts but think you are over complicating the issue

 

[sentur]

pegboard is only 3.2mm 1/8" thick so you need a frame to screw it to

you may get away with several brackets and cable ties or nuts and bolts but think you are over complicating the issue

Thanks big-all.

Can you suggest a better material? Bearing in mind, that I can't attach a new top to the unit as we'd original discussed?

 

[big-all]

are you prepared to have it say 25mm from the wall at the back ??

what exactly are you trying to avoid?? i assume the cable tangle
you can clip them as a loom where visible and cup hooks at the very top out off sight at the side back a few inches and 1mm square elastic bands looped together to take up the slack as you push a box back
but as i say placing the plug socket under the top will virtually remove all the power cord tangle as the cable loops down and back up

 

[sentur]

Yep, I'm trying to avoid the nest of tangled cables already under the cabinet (see attached photo).

The cabinet is already 40mm away from the wall so no issues there.

you can clip them as a loom where visible and cup hooks at the very top out off sight at the side back a few inches and 1mm square elastic bands looped together to take up the slack as you push a box back
but as i say placing the plug socket under the top will virtually remove all the power cord tangle as the cable loops down and back up

I'm finding it difficult imaging how this would work/look. Do you have an example of photo of something you might have done similar?

 

[big-all]

well as i say if you have the sockets at the top the mains lead will be mostly off the floor as it loops down then up
if you have say 6 cup hooks along the back you could loop the cable through as many as you need to lift individual cables or in groups with cable ties or elastic bands
cant do pictures or drawings i am afraid

 

[sentur]

I guess I could just hang a whole sheet of pegboard off the back of the unit?

Can anyone recommend what sort of fixture / hooks would be best to take the weight of the pegboard and the plugs.

 

[big-all]

the trouble with pegboard is it takes up space gets in the way and stops free flow off cable
in your mind neat clear tidy cable
in reality you need sufficient cable loose to connect all cables to the boxes then push back into the space they occupy [around 20" unimpeded cable]
i am thinking you are nearing ocd or on the autistic scale as i deal with both on a frequent basis
thus causing your need for perfection stopping you seeing the fact it will not work in practice
you need to see beyond the thoughts in your head and listen to what i have said
if i am wrong in my thoughts i apologize but you are overthinking in the wrong areas

 

[sentur]

the trouble with pegboard is it takes up space gets in the way and stops free flow off cable
in your mind neat clear tidy cable
in reality you need sufficient cable loose to connect all cables to the boxes then push back into the space they occupy [around 20" unimpeded cable]
i am thinking you are nearing ocd or on the autistic scale as i deal with both on a frequent basis
thus causing your need for perfection stopping you seeing the fact it will not work in practice
you need to see beyond the thoughts in your head and listen to what i have said
if i am wrong in my thoughts i apologize but you are overthinking in the wrong areas

Maybe bordering on OCD but I'm not autistic.

I've seen pegboard use for this sort of situation before and seemed to be quite effective. Just not sure how best to attach it to the cabinet once I've got the thin veneered plywood back off. Couple of links to images I found through Lifehacker.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/25376515@N03/sets/72157605651513410/

 

[big-all]

i assume you are only using the central section off the unit ??
if so just remove the back from that section and drill 4x10mm holes in a row top off the peg board[enlarge 4 holes]4mm x 30mm screws through these holes but sticking out 10mm and the board will hang on the heads to allow removal for access