My grandma had this tv since the 60s. When the tube died she took out the electronics and used it as a kind of bookshelf. The unit is still in good shape and sturdy so I want to put in an LCD screen for fun. My question is, if it doesn't fit exactly ( which it probably won't) what's a good "mat" material to put over the gap? Should it be something like shiny black plastic to match the TV material? Or a stained piece of wood to match the console material
I'd say wood to match. Trimmin shit with wood is classic.
Trying to match the veneer will be tough for a newb and your picture doesn't help. Some hardware stores or wood working or furniture stores will have wood chips with stain/varnish combinations on them you could use like paint chips to match. It's complicated because the wood is very important, the stain is important, the finish is important, and so is the technique. They can all significantly change the look. where as paint just looks like paint unless your primer is shit tier..
>>917236
Sorry I don't have a good picture of it but I'll get one next time I'm there. It's one of those pressboard types with either veneer or printed wood grain adhesive, so my custom piece will probably stand out a bit
I have the exact situation with a 60's cabinet. Was originally intending to put in an LCD, but also toyed with the thought of a lighted fish tank, but ultimately it is a bookshelf
>>917279
Here's how it exists now
>>917748
And the faux wood
>>917765
Sorry, I don't have the expertise to tell you exactly what that is. I meant you should take it to a physical store nearby and look at their chips to try to match it to your phone, then do a test piece and see if you can get close enough.
If you can't get close enough to be happy, which might be impossible, then you can go for a contrast. Like cover it in felt maybe, or some other way to frame it.... It's really tough to give suggestions on something so unique and personal.
Also put a HTPC behind the monitor in all that dead space.
>>917774
An HTPC is a great idea! I never even thought of that
>>918960
I assume since most people realized that the cabinet was pretty nice by itself, it was worth it to hold onto it even when the TV itself was gone.
To a lesser degree I've even seen people with huge 90s rear projection TVs take out the tube and reuse the frame!
Just measure the frame, find a screen with that sizing, make a bracket to go behind it that is reasonably shallow that the back of the screen can mount onto and if the screen is too shallow, just fill in the top and bottom with a pretty rubber or foam.
Just make sure your grandma can still use it for storage. Old people hate stuff being changed.
>>919653
>Old people hate stuff being changed.
As I've spent these past months trying to encourage my grandma to update her house (or at the very least, basic /diy/-tier fixes), I can attest to this.
>>917748
Is that cabinet wide enough for a 19" DIN rack? You could mount some rails in it and put stereo/server blade equipment in it.
Opening dimensions are
27" L
18.25" W
Just missed the 19" mark..
>>921818
Shave 3/4 of an inch off of the cabinet.
>>920578
>encourage my grandma to update her house
The world has enough beige/granite/travertine abominations as it is. Leave grammy's house alone.
The opposite. She has a mid-century modern house with original hardware that just needs to be cleaned up, oiled, repainted etc. Up until 2011, she had the original 1957 stove that she bought when they moved there.
Someone convinced her at some point that painting over beautiful gloss metal cabinets with flat thin walmart paint was a good idea.
Your grandma is a fucking whore.
>>921867
Props to grandma for keeping her kitchen pristine. Had to gut a 40s kitchen recently that looked like that, except strung out on crack and covered in shit.
>>921917
Shes the last living person on her block that was there when her and my grandpa moved in. Her house was the last house to also have the original aluminum single pane windows from the original build. I fight her on every turn to keep the original stuff in the house. Its lasted almost 70 years, dont change it now. It's pretty hard to source replaces for things she throws out because she doesnt know any better
her house is a /diy/ paradise for me
>>922056
Be nice anon
>>921974
on an unrelated note, could perhaps someone kindly explain me what are these porcelain swans for and what's their cultural background?
>inb4 >>/fa/
>>923571
Not sure, I can ask next time I'm there. My grandmother has ALOT of stuff from the 50s when she immigrated here. For some reason I guess Japan made a ton figurines like this until the 60s-70s? That swan as well as other things are all from that same time period.