Tag Archives: Woodworking

Technology

Here’s Why (and How) You Should Hang Your TV From the Ceiling

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Photo: Lindsey Ellefson/Lifehacker

I’m here today to make the case for a unique space-saving technique I have employed in my apartment for two years: Mount your TV to the ceiling. Do it. You don’t need a bulky entertainment center taking up valuable wall space; your TV can simply float above your head, and look cool doing it. (But don’t tell Reddit, which will lambast you for placing your set above eye level. Live for yourself, not for the approval of mean people online.)

What you need to mount your TV from the ceiling

To get that “doctor’s office waiting room” look at home, you will need:

  • A ceiling mount (here’s the one I have, which cost about $28)
  • An under-shelf wire basket like this one
  • A drill
  • Four to six hefty toggle bolts
  • About 10 hole straps
  • A bunch of screws (I’m very technical)

The key to success

Follow the mounting instructions that come with your mount, and make sure you secure it well into a joist. I hired a pro for this step because I wasn’t sure of my ability to nail into a joist as well as I can a wall beam, but if you think you can do it, just make sure you follow the instructions carefully so you don’t end up tearing through your ceiling (and breaking your flatscreen).

“Buy a ceiling mount for your TV and install it” isn’t a hack, though. The hack comes in my storage solution, which is what the wire basket is for. Get the kind that can slide under a shelf, with one open side, and be sure it’s wide enough to hold whatever you need near the TV, like a video game console, streaming box, or DVD player. Remove the wires that would otherwise hold the basket under a shelf with a wire cutter and you’ll be left with a box that is open on one side and at the top.

Position the basket near the television and mark out four to six spots at the corners and in between where you will support it once it is hanging. Hold the hole straps up to the ceiling so they go around the top wires of the basket at your chosen support points and mark on the ceiling where the screws will go. For each hole strap, use one toggle bolt and one regular screw. I recommend putting the toggle bolts on the interior of the basket so it’s held up securely while you screw in the other sides. Your extra hole straps can be used to secure your wires along the ceiling and down the wall. (Here’s a handy guide for hiding wires.) Stuff your gaming console or whatever else you need in the basket and you’re good to go.

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The benefit of this setup is, to me, clear as day: You get your walls back and don’t need a bunch of shelving to hold your TV. The only thing to be wary of is if you have a low ceiling or someone in your household is super tall, but it’s not much more cumbersome than a ceiling fan or hanging light fixture you have to step around.

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Science

What Is a Pocket Hole Jig (and Why Do You Need One)?

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Photo: kasarp studio (Shutterstock)

The challenge of hiding hardware when attaching two pieces of wood can be daunting if you’re new to carpentry. If you’re not practiced in making dovetail joints and you don’t own a dado blade—or even know what those things are—making sturdy wood joints that also look nice is difficult. Enter, the pocket hole jig—a tool made for drilling screws at an angle. It is a simpler and cheaper solution for projects that have a “back” side that doesn’t get seen as much, like the wall side of a frame or the underside of a bench. Better yet, even beginners can use it.

A pocket hole jig works by keeping your drill bit at a shallow angle to the surface you’re drilling into without allowing the bit to slip or move. This lets you drill holes to drive a screw from one piece of wood into an adjoining piece without showing on the opposite surface—and without the head of the screw sticking out on the side you’re driving it into. You can use them to hide screws on the back and under sides of furniture and as a quick way to make a corner that’s stronger than one secured by nails or staples.

(The downside to pocket holes is that they’re not as strong as other types of joints that involve trimming the board to overlap, like a lap joint or a mortise and tenon.)

What you need to operate a pocket hole jig

The tools you’ll need to operate a pocket hole jig are:

  • A drill
  • An extra-long drill bit (with a stopper the right size for the screws you’ll be using)
  • Some clamps
  • Your jig
  • Optional: dowels, a flush cut saw, tape measure, and wood glue

You can also get an adapter kit for regular drill bits if you’ve already got a bit that works. Some jigs come with their own stopper bit, so that’s not always required. There are different types of jigs. Some have clamps built in, and some can be clamped in place on your project. If you want to fill your holes after driving your screws, you will also need some dowels. You can get pre-cut pocket hole dowels, but you can also insert a regular dowel peg and use a flush cut saw to strim them to fit.

Depending on what you’re building, you will also need a tape measure and some wood glue to strengthen your joint.

How to use a pocket hole jig

To use the jig, choose where you would like to join your two pieces and mark where the screws will go on the board. Then, position your jig on the board, setting the depth of the jig so your screw will be long enough to capture both of your pieces of wood without breaking the opposite surface. If you’re not sure of the depth, do a test on a piece of scrap wood.

Once you’ve measured where your screws will go, line up the holes in the jig with your marks, clamp the jig firmly in place, and drill your hole. Then, you can line up your joint, clamp your pieces together, and drive your screws. Using clamps to keep your joint square and flush is important because driving a screw at an angle will cause the wood to shift. You can prevent this by clamping your two boards together to a flat surface. Using an angle clamp is the best way to get a square, secure joint.

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