Mission Control Project: 5 years on, what to do with the leftovers?

[Pixelhugger]

Fixed broken link to OND's scratch built Ionic Velvetizing Wand mentioned at the start of this update. 

[Ond]

Beautiful work.  I think what I like most about this project is the successful realisation of the arcade machine as furniture quality art.  The level of effort put into this design is evident in the gracefull curves and choice of timber colors.  Actually playing games on this cab is almost secondary to taking it in as art IMO.  Labour intensive projects like this may move along at glacial speed (mine included) but the results are worth it.   

[Pixelhugger]

Many pages ago someone asked why I didn't just cut the sides from plywood since other "furniture" or "woodgrain" cabs use it. I responded with a picture to explain that not all furniture is the same thing. (None of this is my work):



There is the local Furniture Warehouse and then there is Stickley.... or Rohlf. Recently I've been really impressed with Straight Line Design's whimsical furniture.

Anyhow... I mention all this because I truly appreciate the reference to the cabinet as artistic. Taking myself too seriously as usual, I like to think of the cab as an artistic project... so it's fun to hear that coming from outside my little bubble of a vacuum.

[Pixelhugger]

OK, so this is not directly Mission Control related... at least not for anything more than the logo, but I just had to post this somewhere.

I've been a huge J. Scott Campbell fan for years. His Danger Girl comic has had a big impact on my interest in illustration and is about the only comic book I've ever bought. Anyhow, I went down to ComiCon last weekend after being so pissed I missed the Tron/Flynn's Arcade event last year and accidentally stumbled across Campbell signing books and prints. I had my sketchbook with me so I waited/lurked/stalked his table and during a lull in the line he sketched his Danger Girl heroine Abbey Chase for me..... with my project logo featured.... errrrr.... prominently!   So cool when your heroes actually turn out to be nice people.

Getting the sketch eclipsed my initial reason for going, but yes... they did have Flynn's Arcade recreated from the movie so that was awesome as well. Got me my TRON tokens!!!!

[emphatic]

That's awesome! 

[WhereEaglesDare]

Forgot to post the brackets. The little arm thingie moves freely under the rectangular thingie to allow some flexibility in positioning the panel. The rectangular thing is exactly 1 1/8" long, so it countersinks perfectly with the same bit you drill button holes with.

I got them at woodworker.com



@kizer: glad it helped. I wasn't sure posting the speaker panel build was going to be relevant to anyone, so that's good to hear. I'll get a video up soon.

I really like this.  So you made a recess in the wood for the rectangular part to sit in and then mounted the round part on the peice that it snaps to, protruding from it?  How deep is the hole?

[Pixelhugger]

Yeah, exactly. Only now I'm not totally sure why I countersunk the rectangular portion. Maybe it was to decrease how much of the speaker panel protruded... tho I guess I could have achieved that by routing the recession in the walnut panel deeper. Hrrmmmm. This kind of thing happens routinely on the project. I'll have some breakthrough idea at the coffee house only to forget why it was important later when not so focused on it. *sigh* But anyhow... the brackets are great. KERCHUNK!

[Pixelhugger]

Oh, you asked about the hole... it's just slightly deeper than the rectangular part is thick. So maybe 1/16 or 3/32 or something.

[AmericanDemon]

This is AWESOME.  You need to trim that page up and get it framed.  Amazing piece for the room.

[javeryh]

Wow - just read the update.  That coin door/kick panel is just about the nicest thing I've seen on this site.  Not only do you have incredible skills but you have incredible patience which I think is the key to any successful project.   

[Pixelhugger]

More patience than skills for sure.

Ironically it's about the nicest thing on the project itself. As long as this stuff takes to build and update, it felt like it came together kind of suddenly. I guess it's 'cause I really hadn't given it that much attention through the project. Up to this point all the renders left a big black square where all this goes. So when it came to actually building it.... the thing sort of came out of nowhere, without any renders or tons of planning. So I'm still trying to get used to the look and feel of it. A couple of people have compared it to a Hammond organ which drives me NUTS.  

[mgb]

wow that front panel is looking great.

[drventure]

Anyhow... I mention all this because I truly appreciate the reference to the cabinet as artistic.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I haven't been hanging around here as long and many of you guys, and there are plenty of people here that know WAY WAY more than I do about this. Plus, I'm not really quite as hardcore a gamer and many around here, BUT, I really love the way that these cabs bring several of my favorite things; art, woodworking, computers, software, hardware and creativity together.

Sure, there's people that really just love the games and build a straightforward cab quickly so they can get to the gaming, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

Then there's those that want to do more, go that extra step (or mile) and really create something unique. I like watching both. There's plenty to learn from each!

[javeryh]

Forgot to post the brackets. The little arm thingie moves freely under the rectangular thingie to allow some flexibility in positioning the panel. The rectangular thing is exactly 1 1/8" long, so it countersinks perfectly with the same bit you drill button holes with.

I got them at woodworker.com



@kizer: glad it helped. I wasn't sure posting the speaker panel build was going to be relevant to anyone, so that's good to hear. I'll get a video up soon.

hey Pixelhugger - how much weight can these things support?  I am trying to think of alternatives to hinging my coin door panel (because it is a pain to install and it seems to sag over time) and this might be the easiest solution.

Thanks.

[Pixelhugger]

I can't imagine they'd hold that kind of weight, unfortunately. If it's sagging maybe you could chisel a notch for each mounting tab to fit in so there's a lip to give it resistance?

[shmokes]

hey Pixelhugger - how much weight can these things support?  I am trying to think of alternatives to hinging my coin door panel (because it is a pain to install and it seems to sag over time) and this might be the easiest solution.

Thanks.

I just got a couple of angle brackets and put one on the door (opposite the hinge), and the other on the side panel.  So when the door is closed it is supported on both sides--by the hinge on one side, by the bracket on the other.

[thatitalian]

I was thinking, if you sold that cab fully completed, how much would it go for?

Now I know you might say "I will never sell it!" but honestly, what do you guys reckon? I am thinking it has to be in the 10k+ region. I don't know how much the materials cost (but I could bloody guess!) but the labour on it must be a ---smurfette---!

I'd be interested Pixel, what figure would you provide in a quote "if" you had to make another one?

[shmokes]

Yeah, the better question is how much would you charged if you were commissioned to make another one.  This one undoubtedly has sentimental attachment that would drive the price up.

[Pixelhugger]

Exactly. Plus I'm not very efficient at this kind of thing.

I guess the question is how much would it cost to have it made, since I'm sure others could do it far more cost effectively than I could. Custom woodwork like this could probably be done around 75/hr. I've long since lost track of the actual cost of materials, so you'd have to guestimate that. Same with the hours spent, although again, I'm sure others could do it far faster than I could.

As far as what I'd commission something like this for…. Man, that's hard to say since such a thing would take all my free time for at least a couple of years. I think we all like to believe our cabs are more valuable than than anyone would actually pay for them.  


One of the first questions people not familiar with the hobby usually ask is if I'm planning on mass producing the project, or making them to sell. My response is always that I'd love to, but everything that makes the project cool or interesting also makes it impossible to recreate profitably. At least for me.

If I had to guess, I'd bet it'd be almost impossible to sell for the cost of materials themselves. Which is why people don't make many things out of solid wood.. much less 2" thick.

[shmokes]

Two years!!!  I doubt that.  You've learned so much and developed skills while making this one.  You're next one would go much faster.  Not only that, but you'd be getting paid.

[Pixelhugger]

Blast you shmokes. You've forced me to tip my cards... I do have one commission.....

For: One. Million. Dollars.

[Donkey_Kong]

 

[thatitalian]

Hahahaha, brilliant. But seriously, give me a price or the kitty gets it...

[Roo]

Forgot to post the brackets. The little arm thingie moves freely under the rectangular thingie to allow some flexibility in positioning the panel. The rectangular thing is exactly 1 1/8" long, so it countersinks perfectly with the same bit you drill button holes with.

I got them at woodworker.com

In addition to being highly entertaining, this post is such a wealth of information - in spite of everything being called "thingies"   

Thanks for sharing, I ordered some "detachable panel connectors" for my build today   

You rock Pixel!

[Ed_McCarron]

You rock Pixel!

Well, he has had six years of practice...

[Aithos]

I am super glad I'm pretty new to these forums.  Had I been watching this thread for 7 years I would have wanted to do very mean things to you for taking so long to build this awesome cabinet.  However, since I went through all 37 (largely skimming through filler) in one day I have to say that this is really cool.  I'm having a hard time getting my project started here too since real life things keep coming up so I understand how time can get away from you.  It has only been a few weeks since I bought mine cabinet and there isn't a single day that I'm not thinking about it, planning it, browsing the internet looking for things and it's killing me that I don't have the time/space at the moment to get real work done.  Here's hoping you actually finish this thing soon! 

[Pixelhugger]

Welcome to the thread! Good timing, as I'm prepping the biggest update so far... CP front and curved top and back panels.  Lots to write and upload!

[yotsuya]

Pixelhugger-

This is truly an awesome project. Believe it or not, this project has inspired me to do more with my simple project. You truly embody the adage, 'If you are going to do something, it's worth doing right.'

[Rick]

Welcome to the thread! Good timing, as I'm prepping the biggest update so far... CP front and curved top and back panels.  Lots to write and upload!

When shall I start your drum roll, sir?

 

[HaRuMaN]

Welcome to the thread! Good timing, as I'm prepping the biggest update so far... CP front and curved top and back panels.  Lots to write and upload!

When shall I start your drum roll, sir?

 

I'd say, given his current rate of progress, in about another year or two...   

[Pixelhugger]

Next up was the front of the control panel.

This panel bridges the gap between the edge of the CP and the kick panel/coin door below.

The panel is curved at about the same radius as the CP and inset about a 1/2" from its edge. Initially I was going to build it with the same bent lamination approach as the other panels but decided instead to cut it from a piece of solid wood. Since I don't have a band saw I used a 2" long straight bit to follow the curved MDF template with the base of the router. The template is the thinner piece of MDF set back a few inches in the picture. The 3/4" MDF was just a base for the router to ride on. The board itself, about 4 3/8" wide, is screwed into a piece of plywood clamped to the table to allow me to cut the face along a vertical plane.




Once I had reached the limit of the cutting edge of the bit, and after having risked life, limb and (by cutting at crotch level… ) manhood, with the shank of the bit short of the minimum recommended insertion depth in the collet, I flipped the board over, screwed it back into the table edge and cut the remaining 2" with a bottom bearing flush trim bit using the previously cut face as a guide instead of the template.

I repeated the first half of this procedure with another 2" wide piece of cherry which I glued to the edge of the first to create a sharp edged step effect in the middle of the panel.

Because, like the people I work with in my real life, my logo can never be too big or appear in too many places, I wanted to put one front and center on the panel. Even if it looks a bit like a rodeo championship belt buckle trophy.

I wanted the cherry to curve around the logo (as seen in the render below)



Doing that was a 2 step process. First I needed to cut a concave back for the half circle piece to sit flush against the arc of the cherry panel it goes on top of. Then I needed to cut the half circle shape itself.

To cut the concave portion I used the piece of MDF left over from the template I cut for the CP panel  arc in the earlier step.



Once that was cut I flipped the cherry over and attached a 5" diameterer pine clock face thing I bought at Michael's (local chain craft store) to use as a template.



I only needed the bottom of the circle and in retrospect should have cut a piece much larger than that, since once the router got to the edge of the half circle piece I was cutting, the piece disappeared with a SNAP and I had to go looking for it in the garage. I guess double sided tape doesn't count proper bracing in this application, but luckily the piece wasn't blown apart and I was able to file off/sand down the edge that snapped using the the clockface as a guide and move on.



This little half circle, concave on the back face and flat on top, got glued to the face of the inset portion of the CP panel and to the edge of the overhanging larger portion of the panel. I then sanded it down to match the arc of the larger overhang. The net effect is that the semicircle is part of the top overhang and looks machined out of that piece.



I cut a circular recession behind the where the logo will go to place a stainless background and a piece of perf panel to give it a similar vent like dimensional feel like the side art.

To attach the logo I used a crazy steel epoxy putty to fasten a bolt onto the back. At the hardware store they had a product display with a golf ball puttied to the side of a smooth glass soda bottle. I figured any adhesive that could do that was worth using so I bought some. Turns out it works just like it says. It's basically an epoxy putty that dries hard like metal once it's blended together. You just cut some magic putty off the enchanted putty log, mash it around with your fingers to activate the hardening process, then spread it wherever you need it.  I felt like I should be sticking a wire in it to blow open a vault. In fact I enjoyed using it so much I put together an altered package shot with some I Photoshopped to post here. 




More tomorrow. It's a bit overwhelming to get all the pics and write-ups organized and posted, so the next few posts will come in parts…

   

[ccmathome]

Oooohhhh aaahhhhh update that's a really nice looking cab wish I could work wood like that.
Hm would that putty work good to attach bolts to the back of a metal cp?

LOL on the package does it say in the use on part Mame cabinets?

[Pixelhugger]

Heh... yeah. If you alt click the picture and open it in a new window so you see it full size it's easier to read.

I sure love me some joke packaging. 

[Pixelhugger]

Hm would that putty work good to attach bolts to the back of a metal cp?

I would think it would work perfectly. It's not expensive so I'd say buy some and test it out.  I used a flat head bolt to give me a tapered edge to feather the putty over.

[emphatic]

A Rodeo belt buckle, huh? 

[smalltownguy]

Hm would that putty work good to attach bolts to the back of a metal cp?

I would think it would work perfectly. It's not expensive so I'd say buy some and test it out.  I used a flat head bolt to give me a tapered edge to feather the putty over.

I gots to get me some of 'dat. Totally solves my 'how will I attach bolts to the bottom of my metal CP?' question!!!!

 

[Pixelhugger]

Before this project I had never really used epoxies before. I thought of them more like a fancy glue. Now they seem more like cold welding to me. They're just amazing, especially for those applications that require bridging a gap.

You know you're getting some quality project time when your wife comes back from the grocery store, gives you a suspicious look and says "Why do I smell adhesives?
Why does the whole house smell like adhesives??? 

[Pixelhugger]

After pretty much completing the front of the panel, I realized I had made enough adjustments to it's dimensions along the way that it no longer allowed for a keyboard to comfortably fit recessed on the back (the plan is to integrate a keyboard on the backside). I decided to add more height to the panel with a strip of walnut which I glued on and routed flush with the existing arc of the panel.



I didn't think I could stain the walnut once glued and cut flush to the cherry so I decided to add a piece of metal to separate them. I used the slot cutting router bit I had bought for the t-molding of my first CP (about 10 years ago!). Making two passes, I cut a channel 1/8" wide to allow a strip of aluminum to fit inside. Next I cut the aluminum to the right length and tapped it in, fastening it with the same crazy steel epoxy.





Originally I planned to attach the logo directly to the cherry, but in cutting the recession behind it, I accidentally cut a bit off center so I decided to hid the mistake behind a mini logo bezel/trim piece cut from walnut. I used another (larger) clockface as a jig to cut a piece of walnut about an inch larger than the logo itself. I planed this down as far as I could, and bluenosed the edge to keep it from protruding too much from the cherry panel (didn't want the cabinet to look like it had been born with an "outie") While this looks nicely consistent with the rest of the 2 tone design of the cabinet, it was really design by accident. Ah, well. 







Next up is the inlaid keyboard on the back of the panel….

[yotsuya]

That 'mistake' actually looks great!

[dfmaverick]

Looks great.

Is there a reason you decided to have the background perforated metal next to the logo rather than with a gap like the sides?