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Long time reader, first time builder: MAME Slim Cab
ambush:
Status update and plans update....
I spent some time this weekend going over the plans with a friend who is going to help me build the cabinet. He has the tools and woodworking experience. After we came up with a plan, we left to buy wood and ... bummer ... the lumberyard was closed. So, cutting is delayed one more week and should start this next weekend.
This has given me some time to refine the plans based on the feedback from this forum and my friend's ideas. First, some conclusions:
1. No casters. What's the point? I'm not going to move the cabinet much. I will add levelers.
2. I'm going to stick with the width of the cabinet and the 19" monitor. I'm not going to build a rotating motor. This is my first cab so I want to build something I know will look good and be sturdy. To overcome the issue of a bezel that is too big, I'm going to look into some artwork that can be placed on the bezel as a cool effect.
3. I've replaced my spaced out 1"x2" furring strips with full vertical 2"x2" furring strips. This will make it a lot easier to assemble, will help with screwing without splitting, and shouldn't add too much weight.
4. I'm going to build the whole thing out of 3/4" AC sanded plywood. This will be a nice surface to paint. Using all 3/4" will be heavier than optimizing with some 1/2" but will be simpler to cut and build.
5. I like the idea of smoked plexi for the bezel. Going to see how that looks.
6. Added vent holes up and down the back of the cabinet. Will add some mesh to cover the vents.
7. Will make the control panel removable, either with latches or bolts and nuts.
8. I'm going to keep the keyboard tray for now but may lose it later.
Need some links / advice:
1. Levelers?
2. Control panel wiring: I've read doorbell wiring, ethernet cables and other electrical wiring
3. Gotchas in using car audio speakers
4. Wire/metal mesh to cover air vents
5. Primer and paint - what type?
6. Euro hinge link?
7. I need some kind of flexible rubber piece to go between the admin panel and control panel. There is a small gap there and the control panel lid will hinge open.
8. Marquee mount?
9. Other things I'm forgetting?
Still to do:
* Map out the control panel
* Design the artwork
Here are updated design pics.
Base frame (2"x4"s)
Base with plywood top
Left side with furring strips attached
Left side attached to base
Both sides attached to base
Interior (monitor mount, speaker panel and admin panel) attached to sides
Rear view of interior attached to sides
Exterior attached to sides and base, with vent holes
Rear view of exterior. Note the upper panel will be hinged so that I can access the monitor from the back
Keyboard tray attached to sides (non-structural)
Door attached to sides using Euro hinge and magnet lock (non-structural)
Control panel box (top view)
Control panel box (side view)
Control panel with lid (side view)
Control panel attached to cabinet
Monitor attached to cabinet
Bezel attached to monitor mount
TopJimmyCooks:
I would leave a toe kick area at the front. Are you going coin door or making the front open like a door? Also, consider rounding off the back corner of the sides at the bottom, or life will round it off for you.
It is quite nice to be able to access the pc from the front, reduces moving the thing around a lot. I did not follow my own advice on this.
Donkbaca:
I would reconsider the width of the cab. Artwork around the monitor only accentuates teh bezel, IMHO. It makes the whole thing look too busy. I think the solution probably would be to put smoked plexi across the whole front, which will hide the whole thing when its off. Probably will look the best and be the least amount of work.
Make sure your wood is flat! I keep bringing this up because the sheet I used for my CP wasn't and that created issues. Take your time in picking out the wood.
Need some links / advice:
1. Levelers? - What is it going to be resting on? If a hard floor, I say it may be a good idea, though your floors should be level. If its on carpet, I don't think its that necessary
2. Control panel wiring: I've read doorbell wiring, ethernet cables and other electrical wiring - Use anything you want. just get something that is 18-22 gauge since that is the most common size for disconnects. Stranded wire is easier to work with, solid is neater.
3. Gotchas in using car audio speakers - Can't help you there. I am using multimedia speakers
4. Wire/metal mesh to cover air vents - I used speaker cloth
5. Primer and paint - what type? - can't help you, stained my cab.
6. Euro hinge link? I have some that I use for the panel under my CP where my xbox 360 is. I just got them at home depot. they have a selection of them in the cabinet hardware section
7. I need some kind of flexible rubber piece to go between the admin panel and control panel. There is a small gap there and the control panel lid will hinge open. - I htought this too, but if you position the top of your panel right, and your wood is straight, the t-molding will cover the gap.
8. Marquee mount? - I built my own out of wood. but then again, my marquee is different since it is edge lit plexi
9. Other things I'm forgetting? - Seems good to me, as long as you have wood, tools, t-molding, controls, and wiring, you should be good
eds1275:
What I ended up doing on my cab is drilling pilot holes through some hockey pucks, then bolting them to the 2x4 base. After that I stuck some 3" circular furniture pads on the bottom - this thing slides around no problem on a smooth floor like laminate or linoleum, but is sturdy enough to stay in place when playing. Check out the bottom of my cab, you can see one of the pucks!
I wouldn't suggest doing this on carpet though.
ambush:
First cuts on the cabinet complete.
Shopping list:
* (3) AC sanded superply from Dunn Lumber
* (3) 2x2x8 douglas fir furring strips
* (1) 2x4x10 douglas fir
* bearing guided clone router bit
* 1/16" slot cutter router bit
* (1) box 1.5" wood screws
Photos:
Here is the AC Sanded Superply board. It is super smooth on one side and okay smooth on the other.
First we ripped the board to the dimensions 20" x 72.5" and placed it on sawhorses.
Here I am measuring and drawing the design on the board with a pencil. I used that glass jar for the rounded corners.
We started making cuts with the circular saw, cutting all of the straight areas we could. We used the jigsaw to tackle some of the curves.
Some of the curves didn't work that well. Oh well, we'll sand it up.
Here's the first side complete.
Then we clamped the first side onto the second board and used a clone router to get an exact match.
Close up!
Completed cloning. (except for that 90 degree angle, we fixed that with a handsaw)
This cloning bit takes out about an inch of wood and makes a lot of dust!
And we're done! Two identical, yet mirrored sides.
Overall, this took a long time to get perfect, but probably worth it.
We also cut some of the furring strips but did not cut the other panels yet.
More to come ...
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