Hippy Jr. is a big fan of anything with flashing LEDs, namely all of my a/v components. To keep him away, we currently park a portable playpen with weights in it in front (which he is learning to shove out of the way!)
I have this Ikea TV stand: Products - IKEA
The middle section is accessible (has no windows). It happens that I have a piece of plexiglas that fits that middle section perfectly. I’d like to be able to secure it to that section, but be able to remove it pretty easily for watching a DVD, playing a PS3 game, etc.
I thought about some kind of latching system on all four corners, where I could open them and slide the plexiglas out. But I have no idea what those little swinging latches are called or who stocks them. Anybody have ideas about how I might secure it?
I also considered velcro on the borders, but I think the noise would be annoying…
Since this is temporary, I’d go with a solution that will look OK after it’s removed, even if it doesn’t look the best while it’s being used. Maybe a couple small hinges attached to the underside of the bottom (or attached to small blocks that are attached to the furniture), and some way of holding it up that’s fastened to the underside of the top surface.
Here’s what I did with your exact problem.
Went to Home Depot and bought some 1x3 pine, 2 hinges and a Lexan panel. Made a door frame out of the 1x3 to fit the open space in the front of the Markor. Routed a recess in the back of the frame and put in the Lexan panel. You can probably surface mount it by drilling holes and gently screwing the panel to the back of the frame. Stained the panel to be pretty close to the Markor finish and put it up with the hinges. Add a genuine Ikea child latch and you’re off and running.
To be honest, it doesn’t exactly match, the wood is a bit thick the hinges don’t match and my joinery sucks ass, but from across the room it doesn’t look half bad* and it does a top notch job keeping my grabby toddler out of there.
- Compared to some of my child proofing efforts, it looks positively gorgeous.
You could just use detachable hinges. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Here’s one example just so you know what to look for:
http://www.misumi-ec.com/ethaen/item/10300524420/mechlist.jpg
Depending on Hippy Jr’s determination and mechanical aptitude, you could put the detachable hinges on one side, then an L shaped plate with some velcro on the other. You could then swing the plexiglass “door” out, or remove it completely.
Another option is to put the detachable hinges on both sides. Then they won’t work like hinges any more, but you can remove the entire sheet of plexiglass simply by lifting it up.
Here’s one possibility:
L-hooks, also called square bend hooks.
Small ones can usually be easily turned by hand. If you put one or two in the wood on either side of the plexi, they will secure the plexi when horizontal and release it when turned vertical.
The bottom of the plexi could be supported in many different ways:
Two more L-hooks.
A piece of wood screwed to the bottom.
An L-shaped length of aluminum screwed to the bottom.
The advantages to this method are:
–Cheap and very easy (although a drill would make things much easier, the pilot holes could be made with a hammer and nail.)
–Minimal damage to the furniture. Just a few tiny holes to fill when the plexi is no longer needed.
Disadvantages:
–Maybe the kid will figure out how to get the plexi off.
–The L-hooks might catch clothes or little fingers (but probably not.)
Great suggestions all. Cheesesteak, that is very impressive. If I had more time I might go for that… it looks great!
engineer_comp_geek, I like this idea, especially the one about using the detachable hinges on both sides, but the problem is that the area is recessed so I couldn’t lift it out. That would be awesome, though.
Baal Houtham - that’s exactly the kind of simple solution I wanted. I definitely think HH Jr. will figure it out eventually, but that should be enough to keep him away for 5 minutes when we leave the room, etc. Off to Lowe’s!
If you rarely plan on removing the Plexiglas then just screw it in to the shelves. It only needs to be attached with 2 screws in the center. If you have a cordless drill it takes 2 seconds to remove it but creates an impenetrable fortress to the peanut butter sandwich looking for a new home.
Sorry, didn’t see the DVD use. I would use a standard glass door pivoting hinge setup and then add a keyed lock used for drawers.