16x9 Cocktail Table Project (Now With Video!!!)

[jkdubb]

Where do you plan on putting the seams in the t-mold (where both ends meet)? Under the glass right by the controls?

Good question.   I was planning on doing the seam on the back in the center.  I'm hoping to get it tight enough to be able to hide it pretty well.  There will be a seam on each layer of the cab so they should all line up in the same spot.

[dextercf]

Just came to think about this.
What about trying to solder the edges of the trim together. Do some testes. Should be possible to achieve a good resold in melting them together.. with the right tools and gentle touch!
Somebody must have done this before?

[jkdubb]

What about trying to solder the edges of the trim together.

That was a thought I had although after a few tests realized melting t-mold is not an easy thing to do.  It tends to shrink when heated up and a piece of purple sample molding I had turned bright pink!    If anyone successfully melted t-mold together I'd love to see it but I have decided on a clean cut overlap technique for my cab.  I'll document the process well as it took a bit of practice to get it to look perfect.

So I have sanded and painted coats 2 and 3 of the cab and I believe painting is all done. I didn't take any pictures of me sanding it because that part sucked and I don't want to remember doing it. 

Wet paint.



Everything drying.



3rd coat bezel.



Controls.



I'm putting on the t-mold tonight and trying to take it back to my apartment for complete assembly.  Almost done at this point. 

[Le Chuck]

Why don't you tarp and tape the complete project around the t-molding seam then bondo, sand, and paint?  Should be able to get a seamless application that way. 

Looking good as always.

[jkdubb]

Why don't you tarp and tape the complete project around the t-molding seam then bondo, sand, and paint?

I'm not sure what you mean exactly... and it sounds like a ton of work

[Le Chuck]

Why don't you tarp and tape the complete project around the t-molding seam then bondo, sand, and paint?

I'm not sure what you mean exactly... and it sounds like a ton of work

The seam that you tried to blowtorch, just cover it with bondo and sand smooth.  Without dry time maybe 20 minutes of work.  You'll want to use a bit of painters tape and/or some plastic to protect the areas around the seam. 

Ton of work.... this from the guy that has taken apart and put together his build 12 times. 

[jkdubb]

The seam that you tried to blowtorch, just cover it with bondo and sand smooth.  Without dry time maybe 20 minutes of work.  You'll want to use a bit of painters tape and/or some plastic to protect the areas around the seam. 

I see now.  That might be good option once I see what it looks like put together.  Thanks.

And yeah, I suppose at this point in the project a little more work won't kill me.   

[elkameleon]

I see a wild Nissan 350Z in the background.

[emphatic]

How about painting the seam of the T-mold with white or clear paint to keep it from becoming a possible dust trap?

[jkdubb]

I see a wild Nissan 350Z in the background.

That's my Dad's toy.

How about painting the seam of the T-mold with white or clear paint to keep it from becoming a possible dust trap?

Good idea.  I may give that a try if it needs it.

So the paint looked great and I really really wanted to take the cab home for assembly but it was raining pretty hard so...

I wrapped that beast up and took it home anyway!!!

I'm not letting rain slow this project down.  I wrapped everything in plastic and then covered with towels and whatever else I had around the house.



I got the whole thing unloaded and into my apartment around 9:30.  With the late night help of my father we got the whole thing assembled.  I would love to show the pictures but I haven't put the t-mold on yet and it almost looks like a completed project without so I'm going to hold off until tonight when I put on the finishing touches.

Here is a teaser pic though so you won't go home empty handed. 

[dextercf]

What about trying to solder the edges of the trim together.

I didn't take any pictures of me sanding it because that part sucked and I don't want to remember doing it. 

LOL!

Wet paint, it just looks soo good!

[kahlid74]

Can't wait to see it fully assembled.

[jkdubb]

Can't wait to see it fully assembled.

Your wish is my command. 


Ok.  The cab is pretty close to done now.  All that is left is fixing up some of the wiring for the controls and making minor adjustments and additions with LED lights and customizing the software a bit.

Once I got it in my apartment I put it all together.



Dropped the glass on.  



Installed the hinges and braces.



Shut with a few buttons dropped in to get a feeling for the color combo.  



Then I went to bed cause that was a lot of work..

Woke up and started the t-mold!  Here is an example of how I overlapped the t-mold and then pushed a razor blade through both halves at the same time.



This was the result.  Not to shabby.



And now for the fun part.  Though not quite complete, here is what she looks like now.  









Turned on.  



Opened up wide.  I can not wait to throw my PS3 and xbox360 in this thing and see how it looks.  



Like I said.  Still not quite done.  I have a few really cool ideas how to polish this up a bit and I will be taking some nice videos and such after the weekend.  Hope you like.  It has been a heck of a long process and it feels good to finally be able to play!  

[jmike]

 


 

[Nephasth]

That thing looks pretty slick! Nice job!

[Woodshop Flunky]

I really liked this before the final pictures... but now we all know this is one sexy beast!   

This thing looks sooooo clean, and I love the way the tilt up monitor works.  Most wifes would probablly let this one into the main part of the house.

Great job! 

[DrChek]

MoFug that's purty.

[kahlid74]

Looks great man!  Very sleek and to the point.

[dextercf]

Oh my!
This is clearly a strong candidate for the best build of 2012 throphy! 
Love the black&white theme of this cab. And the t-mold splice worked out great!

I'm only curious to how it would have been with tinted glass on this one, not much.. just a little tint..
But yeah, that is details. Imma shuddup, your awesome!

[emphatic]

Congrats on the amazing result! 

[PCMedics]

Amazing results! What brand tv did you use ?

[BobA]

Great looking cab.  Your workmanship and attention to detail are superb.  Your cab must be an award winner for 2012.   

[jkdubb]

Wow! Thanks for all of the awesome comments!!!    It is so cool to know people like something that I spent a lot of time working on. 

I am still actually working on the cab.  I am waiting for a LED harness to come in from ultimarc so I can shed some light on the side buttons.  I am also working on putting some ground lights under the cab as well.

I have hit a small problem however.     I want to make an on off switch that works for the computer and the tv but I really have no idea how to do that.    I assume I can take my tv apart a bit and add some wires leading back to an external switch but I would really like to see someone who has done this already so I don't make a mess of it.  If anyone can help that would be awesome.

Here are a few more pics of the machine up and running.  I opened the windows to get some nice glass reflection.







I also spent all weekend getting hyperpin installed and visual pinball running. (not as easy as I had hoped )

[smalltownguy]

Wow! Thanks for all of the awesome comments!!!    It is so cool to know people like something that I spent a lot of time working on. 

I am still actually working on the cab.  I am waiting for a LED harness to come in from ultimarc so I can shed some light on the side buttons.  I am also working on putting some ground lights under the cab as well.

I have hit a small problem however.     I want to make an on off switch that works for the computer and the tv but I really have no idea how to do that.    I assume I can take my tv apart a bit and add some wires leading back to an external switch but I would really like to see someone who has done this already so I don't make a mess of it.  If anyone can help that would be awesome.

Here are a few more pics of the machine up and running.  I opened the windows to get some nice glass reflection.

I also spent all weekend getting hyperpin installed and visual pinball running. (not as easy as I had hoped )

Playing pinball on the cab is a ton of fun!

Thanks again for the comments.  I'll post more pictures when the LEDs are all in place.

Again if anyone has a solution to installing a master power switch let me know.

What you need is a smart strip:

http://www.bitsltd.net/



Plug your computer into the 'master' outlet, and your TV into the 'slave' one.

But better yet, doesn't your 16x9 display have a VGA input? Most times those displays go to sleep (or low power state) if the video signal goes away. I know my 47" Vizio does that. But only when connected via VGA. If I'm connected via HDMI, it doesn't shut off when my home theater computer is shut off, it simply stays on and says 'waiting for input'

Try hooking your PC up to the display using the 15 pin d-sub connector and see if it goes to low power mode when the computer is shut off.

Of course, if you use the 'smart strip' approach, you can also hook up your speakers to it too, and have them power on/off when the computer powers on/off. Saves electricity.

[CWorley]

Does Hyperspin handle vertical layouts now, or do you just have it horizontal?

[jkdubb]

Does Hyperspin handle vertical layouts now, or do you just have it horizontal?

As far as I know Hyperspin is still being updated for vertical use.  This has been going on forever...  I am tempted to write the code my self for a vertical layout.  It would not be overly hard to do.  For now though it is only horizontal.

As far as the smart strip.  I don't think this will work for turning on the tv and computer.  When power is cut to the tv and the computer they both need to be turned back on by pushing their separate power buttons once the power is turned back on again.

[Nephasth]

Get a DPDT (or SPDT) momentary switch. Wire one side for your computer's power, and the other side for your TV's power.

[jkdubb]

Get a DPDT (or SPDT) momentary switch. Wire one side for your computer's power, and the other side for your TV's power.

This is looking like a good idea.   Thanks.  I am assuming most momentary switches on tvs and computers use ground to activate so attaching them to the same switch would be fine.  I guess I'll find out either way.

[emphatic]

  Maaan is this a classy build.

[Nephasth]

Get a DPDT (or SPDT) momentary switch. Wire one side for your computer's power, and the other side for your TV's power.

This is looking like a good idea.   Thanks.  I am assuming most momentary switches on tvs and computers use ground to activate so attaching them to the same switch would be fine.  I guess I'll find out either way.

Probably a good idea to keep your TV ground and computer ground seperate, this is why I suggested a double throw switch (one switch to control two seperate circuits).

[jkdubb]

Ok.  So for start up I would just toggle back and forth and both would turn on.  That makes sense.  Thanks.  

[Unstupid]

First off... Looks awesome!     Now question.... I may have skipped the answer already but here goes.....  Where is the speakers?  If you are using the tv's speakers don't those fire down and into a sealed box?  I can't imagine that sounding any good when you are playing in cocktail mode!   

[PL1]

Ok.  So for start up I would just toggle back and forth and both would turn on.  That makes sense.  Thanks.  

If you want single button press on/off, try this.

You'll need a DPST momentary pushbutton. (green)

Wire (red) the two individual sides in parallel with the power switches on the TV and computer.


Scott

[killsurfcity]

This is absolutely stunning. So Classy. Jealous! Enjoy it.

[creatine28]

Very cool!   Good job!

[drventure]

Hadn't seen this build since you finished it.

Fantastic job! I love the ability to play pinball on it as well.

 

[Mupaso]

Love this build!  Would you be willing to share the measurements so I could build one like it?

[jkdubb]

Wow.  It has been a long time since I posted.  Maybe I'll add some videos one of these days. 

Love this build!  Would you be willing to share the measurements so I could build one like it?

Thanks!

I have been putting off taking final measurements of the cab for months.  I will see if I can motivate myself to put together a build sheet in the next week.  I had original 3D models but the sizing changed a bit when I built it.  I'll make sure I post here once I get everything figured out.

[Nephasth]

Just in case you weren't aware, this build was nominated for a 2012 BYOAC User Choice Award in the cocktail category.

[jkdubb]

I didn't know. Very cool!  Has a winner been picked?