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Author Topic: NES bartop with stand [done]  (Read 198180 times)

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jdbailey1206

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #40 on: September 22, 2014, 06:38:03 pm »
Im surprised Slippyblade didnt cut out your marquee in red and black acrylic.  I found  Krylon makes a plastic paint called Fusion.  Its available @ Walfart and it looks like its gotten good reviews. 

Its good to see you could take the idea of a NES and turn it into a cohesive idea.  I tried this with my weecade and it turned into a horrible mess.

Slippyblade

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #41 on: September 22, 2014, 06:51:44 pm »
I would have if there'd been any available.  I'm using the laser cutter at the local hackerspace and all that was in stock was the white.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #42 on: September 23, 2014, 09:04:12 am »
I live in the Netherlands, so Walmart is across the ocean for me ;D

nordemoniac

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #43 on: September 29, 2014, 03:19:14 pm »
I'm gonna have to steal this sometime. Either the idea, or your finished build.
My kids will be forced to play it, and like it the way I loved my NES growing up   

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #44 on: September 30, 2014, 02:48:41 pm »
I'm gonna have to steal this sometime. Either the idea, or your finished build.
My kids will be forced to play it, and like it the way I loved my NES growing up
I'll upload the complete plans (sketchup) once I'm done.


Got some work done last weekend:

20- Finished the top panel in similar style as the back panel. Note that I won't be using any fans in this build, so these vents serve as my passive cooling solution.

21- Now it was time to start putting the pieces together. It took me some time to come up with a solution that would allow me to easily mount the bottom panel to the sides. After quite some fiddling I managed to jam several pieces of scrap MDF (all 40cm wide) between the two cut sides. I then used two huge clamps to keep everything firmly in place.

22- Now I tilted the cab onto its back, and glue-screwed in the bottom panel. I then tilted the panel back to its upright position and placed it on some more spare wood. This caused all the weight of the cabinet to press down on glued joints.

23/24- Next up was mounting the back panel. Because the cab was still sitting on the spare piece of MDF, I could used that to easily position the back panel: just press down until it won't move anymore :) This time I only used glue, and clamps of course.

25/26- Now for the top panel. I tilted the cab onto its back, and placed some spare pieces of MDF underneath. I again used that for easy positioning of the panel. Glued it in place, added two clamps, tilted back upright, and added two more clamps.

Quite happy with how snug everything fits. Next up is positioning and mounting the 17" lcd monitor, and cutting the bezel.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #45 on: October 01, 2014, 02:13:48 pm »
I received the Nintendo logo that Slippyblade was kind enough to cut out of acrylic for me. Its 20x5cm of pure awesomeness :applaud: It will look fantastic once painted red and mounted between the speakers.

HaRuMaN

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #46 on: October 01, 2014, 03:28:36 pm »
Why not just use red acrylic? 

yamatetsu

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #47 on: October 01, 2014, 03:35:11 pm »
I would have if there'd been any available.  I'm using the laser cutter at the local hackerspace and all that was in stock was the white.
                  

HaRuMaN

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #48 on: October 01, 2014, 03:41:20 pm »
Doh.  That's what I get for skimming...

jdbailey1206

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #49 on: October 01, 2014, 06:40:16 pm »
Why not just use red acrylic?

I really think this would have popped with red or even better transparent red acrylic.  Oh well.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #50 on: October 02, 2014, 07:09:01 am »
I really think this would have popped with red or even better transparent red acrylic.  Oh well.
Maybe so, but I was planning on hand cutting it from wood, so this is already infinitely better.

nordemoniac

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #51 on: October 02, 2014, 09:05:00 am »
I'll upload the complete plans (sketchup) once I'm done.
:notworthy:

ChurchOfSolipsism

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #52 on: October 02, 2014, 12:30:53 pm »
This is starting to look really good, although I have to admit I'm always wondering what the point of those console based cabs is supposed to be. The different concepts just clash too much for me.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #53 on: October 06, 2014, 03:41:29 pm »
29 - Front speaker panel time :) This panel has two round cut outs for the speakers. To cut these wholes I used the large drill bit from the picture. It can cut holes between 25mm-63mm in diameter. Just remove all the blades besides the one you need. I first cut a few holes of different diameter in a spare piece of mdf. I settled for the 58mm one, which I copied to the front panel using my trusty router.

30 - After some more routing the results looked really good.

31/32 - Now to see if it fits, and how it looks.

33/34 - These are the speakers I want to use. They are roughly 7x7x7 cm, usb powered, and only 10 bucks. I then placed the front panel on top of the speakers and metal mesh, just to see how that would look. Not liking it, as I find the mesh to be too coarse for these small cutouts. I then tried using speaker cloth, but I only had really thick dark blue, so that also did not look quite right. Then my wife suggested wrapping the speakers in thin black panties. That looked rather ok, but still I have not decided yet. Sorry no pics of the panties :P

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #54 on: October 06, 2014, 03:45:09 pm »
35/36 - Then it was time to work on the monitor mount and bezel. The bezel took me at least 3 hours to make. Mainly because I can only route one side at a time, and the wood it really narrow. It also did not help that I had a small router slip, ruining my first attempt. In the end though I am extremely pleased with the result.

37/38 - Testing fitting on the monitor -> excellent fit  ;D

39/40 - Next I started on the monitor mount, which is just a simple 15x40cm piece of wood. Until I tried mounting the monitor and the M4 bolts were 8mm too long. So I glued on an additional 6mm piece, and used a washer.

41 - As the monitor has several buttons on the the lower right, I needed to route a small 2mm deep channel in the bezel for them. After that I test fitted the bezel. Now I noticed I had two problems. For one the bezel and speakers now occupy the same space. Secondly once the top panels are placed there is no way to get the bezel in or out anymore. As there is just no space to tilt / slide it out. So the bezel will need to be shortened somewhat. I also still need to figure out on how to keep bezel and plexiglass (todo) in place. And how the heck I am going to mount the speakers in such a way that they can be removed. I'm currently thinking of epoxy gluing some L-brackets to them so I can just screw them in place after painting is finished.


nordemoniac

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #55 on: October 07, 2014, 08:33:07 am »
I received the Nintendo logo that Slippyblade was kind enough to cut out of acrylic for me. Its 20x5cm of pure awesomeness :applaud: It will look fantastic once painted red and mounted between the speakers.

Try Tamiya X-27 on the rear side of them. Maybe top of with chrome/silver/mirror paint afterwards.
It's acrylic paint, so I don't know how it would be to paint with that on acrylic.

Do it on a test piece, it could look really cool!

grippie

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #56 on: October 12, 2014, 10:35:48 pm »
I like the look of that bezel in there! I'm using a 19" monitor for my bartop and I will only have about 1/8" all around for a bezel. It will fill the space nicely, but I like how yours if framed by a consistent space all around. Looking great so far :cheers:

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #57 on: October 13, 2014, 06:01:35 am »
but I like how yours if framed by a consistent space all around. Looking great so far :cheers:

This weekend I found out that's not entirely the case. I centered the monitor vertically within the visible area. However, the bottom bezel of the LCD is thicker than the top one. So the bezel I made is shifted up a bit. I'll wait until all the panels are done before I decide if this is an issue for me. I could always drill new holes on the monitor mount to lower the LCD if the holes are not to close to the old ones.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #58 on: October 14, 2014, 02:54:38 pm »
Finally figured out how to mount the bezel and plexi, as I wanted something that is removable, so it won't further restrict me when I need to slide in/out bezel.

42 - I figured I could use an aluminium L-strip to hold the bezel and plexi. The aluminium strip itself will be kept in place by two small pieces of wood. These have a small channel where I can slide the aluminium strip in.

43 - Screwed the wood into place. No glue but I might still do that later on.

44/45 - The aluminium strip fits really tight.

46 - Inserted the bezel, and two dummy pieces of plexi.


I also cut the plexi and control panel, but forgot to take pictures. Hopefully I can post those tomorrow.

Slippyblade

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #59 on: October 14, 2014, 02:57:29 pm »
Bartops always require creativity.  Good job on this one!

grippie

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #60 on: October 14, 2014, 10:48:58 pm »
Nice solution on the plexi stop.  I still hadn't figured that out yet but now I have an idea.  :notworthy:

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #61 on: October 15, 2014, 08:01:26 am »
Thanks guys  ;D

47 - Here is a pic with the plexi in place.

48 - I also cut the two CP panels. I used a chamfer router bit to cut a 45 degree angle on the top panel, so it can sit flush against the plexi glass. Note that the panels have not been joined together yet. I might need to do some router work on the bottom for mounting the joystick/buttons, and that needs to be done first.

49 - Could not resists adding the speaker panel ;) I still need to figure out how to mount the speakers before I can glue it in place though.

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #62 on: October 15, 2014, 08:26:54 am »
But do you really need the plexi? I think it's looks awesome without it, and then you also avoid reflections. But this is a kick ass build. I've been following it with great excitement!  :notworthy: :notworthy:

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #63 on: December 16, 2014, 02:55:55 pm »
But do you really need the plexi? I think it's looks awesome without it, and then you also avoid reflections. But this is a kick ass build. I've been following it with great excitement!  :notworthy: :notworthy:

Thanks man. The plexi still has the protective layer on, and the bezel still needs to be painted light grey. So I think it will look good with the plexi, as it will give the bezel a slightly darker tone. Anyway, I can always get rid of it later on.


Its been quite some time since I posted an update. Sadly I have not had much time to work on it.

I mainly worked on figuring out how to mount the speakers. The speakers I have are almost square boxes of roughly 7x7x7cm. As I wanted to be able to remove them if needed, I decided on gluing aluminum l-brackets to them and then to use insert nuts and bolts to hold them in place. Unfortunately, the space around the speakers that I can work with is extremely limited, so I could only use l-brackets on a single side Sad Then it hit me that I could just join the two speakers by gluing some additional aluminum strips to them, thus creating a single speaker assembly. Now it no longer mattered that each speaker was fixed on one side only.

After that I could finally glue the speaker panel in place, as well as the small panel between it and the plexiglass.

I also needed to cut a piece out of the plexiglass and bezel, before the speakers could be mounted. Yeah its a tight fit alright.

The removable back panel was also cut, but I still need to figure out how to mount it: magnets, bolt, lock?

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #64 on: December 16, 2014, 02:57:32 pm »
Oh and I also started with putting two coats of primer on. I'm waiting till I have the artwork printed, before I go out and buy grey paint. As I want the colors of the print and the paint to somewhat match  :P Speaking of the artwork, I started but it is going sloooowwww, as I'm pretty clueless with inkscape :embarassed:

Anyway the first coat of white primer is on.

grippie

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #65 on: December 17, 2014, 09:19:37 am »
I'm no artist, but I learned a lot about insckape working on my bartop artwork. Let me know if you have any questions.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #66 on: December 17, 2014, 10:03:03 am »
Thanks man. I'll have some free time towards the end of the year, which I plan to work on artwork. Will probably post in the artwork forum if I need any assistance.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #67 on: December 28, 2014, 02:36:36 pm »
Spend a ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- load of time on this, but here are the new CPO (with all controls) and side art. I think this looks a lot better than what I started out with.

Rockhart

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #68 on: December 28, 2014, 06:33:11 pm »
I agree, way better than what you started with. The art looks awesome, especially the CP!

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #69 on: February 19, 2015, 03:18:13 pm »
Things are progressing at a snail's pace :(

I received the side art, control panel overlay, and drill template from www.gameongrafix.com, and as usual the quality is excellent.
Before I started drilling the CP, I first joined the two pieces together. Then I taped on the drill template and started drilling. All the top holes are spot on, but the smaller front holes are slightly off-center. Hopefully that won't show after I put the artwork on.

For the back panel I wanted to use a lock, but no local shop carried any. All the online ones I found were rather expensive, so I decided on using magnets instead. I drilled a 18mm hole with a small chamfer. This will allow me to use my finger to pull the panel out.

Now I'm in painting mode. Have to do all the painting in the evening hours in a badly lit room. I took a piece of the side art to a paint shop to find a matching light grey colored paint. But that was harder than I thought, as RGB color values (204, 204, 204) mean nothing to them :P Anyway I think I got a pretty good matching color. I've got 3 layers on so far, probably one more is needed. I can't tell yet as I need daylight to make that call, so that will have to wait till this weekend.

Once painting is done I want to start spray painting the Nintendo logo and aluminium grills.

ChanceKJ

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #70 on: February 19, 2015, 09:48:57 pm »
HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS  :censored: ing  THREAD?!

seriously, pure awesome.  :applaud:

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #71 on: February 20, 2015, 05:44:33 am »
 ;D thanks man

scoodidabop

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #72 on: February 20, 2015, 11:23:55 am »
Nice router work dude!  The project looks great.  I'm totally stealing your plexi bezel mounting idea - it looks like it works well!

For those speaker grilles maybe you can use something that resembles the black ridges on the NES console?  Something like these, trimmed to fit perhaps: http://www.hifisoundconnection.com/Metra-85-3021-Speaker-Adaptors-for-Chevy-S-10-S-15-Blazer-1982-1993-Vehicles-MET13-85-3021?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=GoogleBaseFeed&gclid=CjwKEAiA05unBRCymrGilanF9SwSJACqDFRm8cWXobSebG0_uKDoeb-rGt1mGUucGNMiNxDUpcPU4BoCEP7w_wcB

Might look good, and again it borrows the aesthetic of the original hardware a little.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #73 on: February 21, 2015, 04:02:06 am »
Not sure yet. I'll mount them without any grill/cloth/cover and see how that looks first.

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #74 on: February 21, 2015, 09:20:51 am »
Good work.
Very professional.
The bad side is it's going to make my bartop build look like a piece of wet dog poo.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #75 on: March 01, 2015, 03:39:44 pm »
Good work.
Very professional.
The bad side is it's going to make my bartop build look like a piece of wet dog poo.

Who cares man, as long as you enjoy the build and or the end result  :cheers:

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #76 on: March 01, 2015, 03:42:59 pm »
I spray painted the ventilation grills mat black, and the Nintendo logo bright red.

Mounted the lower grill and power button. Note that the power outlet no longer fits, due to the paint, so I need to do some more sanding.

To Keep the back panel in place I used two kitchen cupboards magnets in the top, and two metal bars in the bottom. The metal bars keep the panel firmly in place.

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #77 on: March 01, 2015, 03:44:48 pm »
Also applied the side art and t-molding. I know some people just use their router for trimming the side art. So I thought I would try that on a scrap piece of wood. The results were really bad, as the cut is not flush enough. That's probably because the bit starts accumulating the sticky substance from the sticker. Back to the slow method of using an exacto knife. Gotta love the end result  ;D

The t-molding is 19mm thick and the wood is 18mm thick, so the t-molding extends a bit. This means that I can't get the back panel into place. banghead The control panel only went in after using quite some force. More sanding I guess Sad

edekoning

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #78 on: March 01, 2015, 03:45:23 pm »
Almost forgot, but here is the spray painted logo. Can't wait to glue this in place  >:D

otsep

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Re: NES bartop
« Reply #79 on: March 01, 2015, 03:54:01 pm »
Beautiful as usual.   :applaud:
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