Gayles Jukebox (*Project finished!!! 06/08/2014*)

[DaOld Man]

Hello Folks.
I have a sister named Gayle, and she lost her only daughter in an auto accident back in February of this year.
Well, Gayle is still having a hard time with the whole mess (and who wouldn't). So I decided to build her a juke box to maybe take her mind off things for a bit.
I have decided to build another Mountain Jukebox design, sort of like the one I built 5 years ago for my wife. (Brendas jukebox, link to that project in my signature below.)
I was going to wait until I got it finished then post it on here, but I figured what the heck? I could probably use the encouragement and suggestions I know you guys will give me.

Ok, to start off, this is going to be basically the same as the last one I built, with a few modifications.
I got another touchscreen 15" like the last one, except this one has a plastic bezel.
I tried removing the bezel and that didn't work, so I have designed this new jukebox to account for the bezel.

I am using a mini ITX motherboard. Foxconn 45CTP with 512 meg DDR2 ram (I will probably change this to a least a gig before Im done).
I placed a small fan above the CPU, it was getting too hot for my comfort, permanent will probably be a smaller one, but Im definitely going to mount one to the CPU heatsink



Motherboard connected to monitor (don't know if you can see the bezel I was talking about on the monitor.)
WinXP installed.



I will post some more pics soon, BYOAC says the pcs Im uploading are too big, so I need to resize them.
So stayed tuned.

[BobA]

A shame about what happened to your sister my condolences.   WRT the build keep the CPU as cool as possible.  I notice it has a fan which probably came with it but sometimes a bit more air flow is required.

[Martijn]

Hey DaOld Man, good to see you still building 

I too made a juke in that period for my parents, back then there where no tablets.
Now my parents have a tablet and the juke doesn't get used much anymore, shame really. but its just to much of a hassle to start a simple song

If i would make a juke again, i would buy a cheap large screen tablet, and integrate that into the juke.
One of the main benefits is that it you get rid of the pc boot times, and many (if you use android tablet) nice jukebox apps

examples

http://www.appszoom.com/android_applications/music_and_audio/easy-jukebox_bzgvu.html
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appfactory.jukeboxhero&hl=nl

Integrating a tablet means decasing it and wiring things up to the smd parts on the motherboard, you need some soldering skill.

That + a nice speaker set will give a 2013 proof juke.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck!

[DaOld Man]

Thanks BobA.
That MB actually came with no fan at all. I just sat that case fan on there because the CPU heat sink was getting a little too warm for me.

Martijn its nice to hear from you, yes I remember your build, it was about the same time I built my last one.
I like your idea of using a tablet, but I already have the front part of the frame cut to fit that monitor I bought. Already have  a lot of work and time invested. I wish I had thought of the tablet before I bought the touchscreen and the motherboard. Will have to remember that if I ever decide to do another juke.

[Martijn]

Ok, good luck then. you should get a ssd then and set windows to hibernate. That should speed things.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks, I have been thinking of an SSD, don't have one yet. So those really improve boot time?

I cant sleep, and don't have to work today, so I resized a few of the pics.
Here is the front and back frames, sitting on the bottom plate.


Sorry about the quality of some of these pics, looks like I lost some clarity when I resized them.

Here is same pose, different angle:


Notice the blocks I added to the sides of the front? These are to mount the monitor I mentioned earlier. More on this later, with hopefully some better pics of the monitor.

I am going to add a DVD player like I did on the last build (I will call that last build "Brendas" from now on, just to save me some typing). Here is the slot for the DVD drive cut out in the back frame.


And the DVD drive (from a laptop), test fitted.


I plan to use two usb plugs (like I installed on "A Little Rage" [link in my signature]). Here are the holes cut for them, beside the DVD drive.


I made a small plate out of black acrylic (same stuff I will use on the front) to mount the two usb plugs in, just to give it a sharper look. (Still got to polish the edges of the plate.) Here it and the usb plugs are, test fitted.


And now, the back.
I plan to have a removable back. I need to back up for a minute. This juke box is made from 1/2" MDF (well, the internal frame, bottom and speaker box will be.)
I glued some 1/4" MDF to the inside of the back piece, then routed it out to form a lip.
I then cut the back out of 1/2" MDF. The back will fit against this lip and hopefully will be flush with the outside of the back frame.
I ran out of 1/2" MDF, but I had some scrap pieces left. Hopefully it will be enough to make the speaker box, but I didn't have any pieces big enough for the back, except one piece I had been using as a table.
So I did what any BYOACer would do, I used the makeshift table.
This piece has holes bored in it, a couple of router slots, and even some spray paint overspray (anyone recognize the Little Rage coin door image?)
I plan to cover this with laminate and I still got to cut out for air holes, so I plan to sand it down and slap some laminate on it. Just hope the paint doesn't affect the laminate glue.
Ok here is the back, test fitted in the back frame.

[a1pharm]

Absolutely will an SSD improve boot times.  Now that you can pick up an SSD for < $50 USD, there's no reason not to use one.

[Typefighter01]

+1 on SSD boot times.

Put a 64GB Crucial M4 in both my visual pincab and the CNC computer and both take less than 20seconds to boot from power button push to the desk top.

One note before you buy, SSD's, at least when they first came out, varied drastically on their performance depending on what firmware version they are running. Once you decide on the SSD you want, go to the manufactures website and find out the last firmware release, write it down and take it with you when you buy. This way you can ensure you are getting the latest and greatest. I am sure you are capable of flashing a new firmware, but I find it good practice to do this with all my computer parts, especially mobo's and SSD's, saves me bricking them due to a failed upgrade.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks guys, Im seriously thinking of the SSD, but I have a regular hard drive Im not using. So I may put the SSD on the back burner until I get this baby working, then I may decide to go with the SSD to speed up boot.

I didn't do anything today, got a sore throat and felt like crap (pretty sure it's allergies).
Last night I did get the area for the USB plugs routed, so that I can recess them.
I got a little wild on the left side and had to use a little bondo.
Here is the routed -out recess:


Here is the test fit. I like this a lot more, but note that the plastic trim piece I made needs to be cleaned up and polished.


More to follow.

[DaOld Man]

Quick update.
Test fitting monitor into front frame.



Close up of the monitor bezel (as viewed from back) I was talking about earlier:

[FixitFelix]

Thanks guys, Im seriously thinking of the SSD, but I have a regular hard drive Im not using. So I may put the SSD on the back burner until I get this baby working, then I may decide to go with the SSD to speed up boot.

I didn't do anything today, got a sore throat and felt like crap (pretty sure it's allergies).
Last night I did get the area for the USB plugs routed, so that I can recess them.
I got a little wild on the left side and had to use a little bondo.
Here is the routed -out recess:


Here is the test fit. I like this a lot more, but note that the plastic trim piece I made needs to be cleaned up and polished.


More to follow.

Looking good man, can I ask a question? Where did you buy those use adapters plugs? Can find them anywhere
Cheers

[DaOld Man]

Thank you felix!
I have had those usb plugs for a couple months, but Im pretty sure I bought them off ebay.
Just search for NAUSB-W-B USB
I think I got them from ebay user 'usbargainsound'.

Link to a four pack:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/330743826043?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fsch%2Fi.html%3F_from%3DR40%26_sacat%3D0%26_nkw%3D330743826043%26_rdc%3D1#ht_599wt_932

Sorry about the long link, Im at work and cant remember right off hand how to do it right. I will try to fix it later.

[PL1]

If you don't need a 4-pack, you can buy them individually at Focus Attack, Allied Electronics, or Mouser.

They also come in nickel. (P/N NAUSB-W)


Scott

[Le Chuck]

Awesome to see you at it again, you never stop man!  Keep it up.  Hope it does the job and gives your sis some joy!

[yotsuya]

Love that trim piece.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks guys!

Got some critical monitor mounting methods worked out today.
I looked everywhere to try to find a good way to mount the monitor to the two 1/2" mdf pieces glued to the sides of the front.
I finally decide to do what this site stands for, and build my own.
I started by cutting some 3/8" schedule 80 pipe, 1/2" long (4 pieces).
I then drilled a hole in the side of each piece and tapped the holes for a 10/32" bolt.
This is a picture of the pieces, with one bolt threaded in to give you an idea.


I still need to clean up the pieces and will probably paint them, since they are made from carbon steel pipe, and carbon steel is prone to rusting, if not painted or coated.

I then placed the monitor in the front, and laid out two pieces of 1/2" aluminum U beams. (Sorry no pics of this, but I will get some soon.)
The U beams will mount to the VESA mounting holes in the monitor (4 mm), and span across the back to either mdf side piece.
A 10/32" bolt will then fasten the U beams to the mdf pieces, by going into the center of the mdf (I need a name for these pieces), and into the home made nuts. The nuts insert into the sides of the un-named mdf pieces.
This photo of the test fit should explain it more than I can:


Image the 2 U beams going across to attach to both mdf pieces, and the back of the monitor attaching to the U Beams through its VESA mount.

I also plan to either glue or bondo the nuts into the unnamed mdf pieces to keep them stabilized, and perhaps add strength to the mdf pieces.
I will do this after the nuts are completely de-burred, cleaned and painted.

Stay tuned.

[darthpaul]

Glad you finally posted it here, as always, great job so far.

[DaOld Man]

Thanks Paul!

Just a quick update. No pictures today.
I cut out a back out of a new piece of mdf (I really didn't think you guys were going to let me slide on that piece of a make shift workbench that I first cutout.)

Im not real happy with the monitor nuts I devised, so I may scratch that idea and try something else.
Im just about ready to glue the front and back frame parts to the bottom.
Need to decide what I want to do about the monitor nuts first.

[jbenesh]

The nuts you put together for the monitor look a lot like the nuts they make for knockdown furniture.  Perhaps something like the link below is an option.

http://woodworker.com/14-20x13mm-steel-cross-dowel-mssu-812-613.asp

[DaOld Man]

Thanks jbenesh, I saw those at Lowes, but the smallest size they had was for a 1/4" bolt. (That's actually what gave me the idea for the home made ones.)
Since the MDF piece is only 1/2" wide, I was afraid there might not be enough "meat" on either side of the bolt, (1/8" on each side of the bolt).
But now that I think about it, I will have one side of these MDF pieces glued to the skin that goes around the outside of the juke, so it may be strong enough.

[DaOld Man]

Ok, I think I have decided to keep the home made nuts.
Here is a test fitting of the monitor in the front frame.
Backside:



And front side:



Notice the small clearance between the plastic monitor bezel and the edge of the MDF? This needs to be flush, so I will have to use some shims between the monitor and the U-beams (or channels), in the back of the monitor. Shouldn't be a big deal.

Next up: Drill holes in bottom to mount hard drive, glue bottom to front frame, then drill mounting holes in back frame for back panel, and glue it to the bottom. (I got some interesting stuff coming up for the bottom, so stay tuned.)

[jbenesh]

You probably thought of this already but a washer or two on the vesa mount screws between the monitor and the c-channel would probably solve your issue easily.

[DaOld Man]

You probably thought of this already but a washer or two on the vesa mount screws between the monitor and the c-channel would probably solve your issue easily.

Good idea!!

[darthpaul]

You know, I have a touch screen that's still in the box, which I dare not take out because the last thing I need is another project to prevent me from completing my Cabinet. Looking forward to more pictures.

[DaOld Man]

Oh come on Paul, you know you need another project. LOL

Ok, just a quick update on my latest project.
I have laid out the LED strip (from superbrightleds.com) on the Marquee back. Just playing around, trying to get the idea I need to mount the strip.
Since this pic, I have primed and painted the marquee back.


Here is a test fit of my display router guide, placed in the front frame and matched to the monitor:

Those of you who followed my last juke, Brenda's Jukebox, will know what I have in mind. For those of you who don't have any idea what I'm up to, I will use this router guide to cut out the acrylic on the front. (More to follow.)

And here is test fitting wood dowels to the front frame, and marquee back partially fitted.


The marquee back will slide more toward the front frame, I had to drill out the dowel holes a bit, it was too tight.
Since these pics, I have primed and painted black the inside parts of the front frame, back frame, and marquee back.
The marquee front, and marquee part of the front frame have been primed, and not painted, since the primer is white, I am thinking it might enhance the marquee led strip lighting.
I will attempt to take more pics soon.

I would like to add that I now have an iPhone 5. It makes picture taking much easier, using "Dropbox" (a free download, google it), pictures I take are readily available on my PC, which also has Dropbox installed. If you have a smart phone, check out Dropbox, it makes taking and transferring pics a lot easier. (Ok, I will go sell my Dropbox stocks now. LOL)

Stay tuned.

[DaOld Man]

I forgot one more pic.
Here is the new back, test fitted into the back frame.



I have the cutout for the back vent grill.
Notice the boo-boo to the left of the power on button cutout?
The router got away from me. (Bad Router! It's electricity has been cut off for a day or two as punishment.)
Luckily for me, the back laminate will cover this.
(Im going to use the same router guide for this as I will use for the marquee.)

[DaOld Man]

Worked on the Marquee light today.
I am using a led strip from Superbrightleds.com.
I am mounting the strip to a 3/4" wide flat aluminum bar. This should make it easy to install and remove, after the jukebox is done.
Here it is mounted to the Marquee back:


I used the plastic clips that the website sells to mount the strip.
I drill a hole in the center of the clips, and bolted them to the aluminum bar.


I used 4-40 bolts and nuts on the plastic clips.
I drill a hole in the marquee back deep enough to allow the 4-40 bolts to go in, and a larger hole near the top to allow the nut to go in, so the aluminum strip will sit flush against the marquee back.
I then drilled and tapped 8/32 bolt holes in each end of the strip, so cap head bolts will hold the strip and allow me to easily remove it by taking out the two cap bolts and lowering the strip down and out.
When installing the strip, the holes for the 4/40 bolts will allow them to act as line up pins.
Here is a pic of the marquee back, with another coat of white primer. You can probably make out the recess holes for the 4-40 bolts and nuts.


And here is the other side of the marquee back.
Here you can see one of the cap (or socket, or Allen) bolts.
These bolts will be easily accessed from the back of the cabinet.


The weather today is really sucky. raining and chilly. (55-60 degrees F), so I didn't get a lot done.

Stay tuned.

[DaOld Man]

Got a little more done today.
I think I am just about ready to install the front and back frames to the bottom panel.
Here is a shot of the front and back.


And the bottom panel.
I decided to add a air vent hole beneath the DVD drive. I didn't really have a problem with the first juke, but I do know that DVD drives get pretty warm. So this hole should allow fresh air to come in around the drive. I also added a block at the rear of the drive to hold it level. There will be a 0.250" space between the air hole and the bottom of the drive. Should be enough to allow air flow around the drive.


And I went ahead and cut out two marquee glasses (not glass but plexi.)

[DaOld Man]

Ok, just a quick update.
Got the front and back frames glued to the bottom of the juke.


Notice the jar of silver change and the cup of pennies? No, these are not my life savings, (I wish LOL). This is the change jar that collects my end of day change for my grand daughters. Here they are serving as counter weights to keep the juke from tipping due to the weight of the c clamps.

And I got the marquee back mounted:


You can see the cup of precious pennies. (My precious!)

Today the laminate I ordered came in (Lowes said it would be OCT 28, so I got a surprise call today.) The laminate is Wilsonart 1595-60 BLACK.

I also got the mounting for hard drive and power supply worked out.


The pic shows the Power Supply seat clamped with the ole ACME C Clamp, waiting for glue to dry. You can see the grand daughters' college account coming in handy again. LOL

I primed most of the bottom, this explains the frog tape. I plan to Primer the Power Supply seat (kinda looks like a sofa don't it?), and paint the bottom black.
Directly behind the Power Supply seat is where I plan to mount the hard drive. I have two holes drilled, plan to use same method I used on Brendas Jukebox to mount the hard drive.
More to follow.

[DaOld Man]

She's starting to come together.
Got the mount for the power supply worked out:



I used a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum to form a bracket. The PS sits in the aforementioned seat, and the bracket holds one corner. It worked out pretty good. PS is sturdy and doesn't move in any direction.
Here is another angle:


Notice the hole in the seat? I had originally planned to run a cable tie (plastic grippy thing that cops use as handcuffs) through the hole and around the PS, but I decided I didn't like that, so I fabbed the bracket. I can still use the cable tie, but I don't think I will need it.
You can also see how the seat holds the PS up off the bottom, and allows a channel for the wires to lie in.
The "back" of the seat keeps the PS from going back (or front towards the monitor)
The bracket is attached to the bottom of the juke with 2 8-32 bolts, screwed into T nuts. These bolts were too long so I used some spacers for the test fit. I got to pick up some 8-32 bolts 1/2" long.
The T nuts are recessed in the bottom.
I used wood glue to fill in top of the nuts, this will hold the nuts tight until I get the laminate on.
Here is a pic of that. I used T nuts and wood glue on the PS mount and the hard drive mount.
Remember this will be covered with laminate.


No pic, but I got the inside of the bottom spray painted black. Spray paint looks good, but it's a pain trying to keep it off surrounding areas. I guess I love spray paint, Im just not in love with it. 

Now I got to sand down some rough areas and I think this girl is ready for some skin.
BTW, I also got the skin cut to size, it's ready to apply.

Stay tuned.

[DaOld Man]

Ok, I got good news and bad news.
First the good.
Got everything ready for the first layer of skin. Here is the front, Im using the monitor cutting guide to add strength.


And the back, using the back door to add strength to it. Also ran frog type around the edge of the back door to keep the frame from pinching it too tight.

Frog tape works great as a temporary fastener too.

Here's a shot of the inside bottom, with the grill for the DVD air vent installed.


I plan to touch up the paint job after the skin is installed, but will use brush on paint.

Now the bad news sports fans:
I bought this panel to use as the skin. It is not the same as what I used on my last juke, but I thought it would work.


I wanted a record of what it is, so I took a pic.
I laid the skin out on the table, scuffed it up a little with sandpaper and wiped it good. Laid the juke on its side on top of the skin.
I thought I would try the bend before I put any glue on it. (Good idea).
As I bent it around the juke, and pressed down against the frame, I heard a loud snap.
Oh no, I though that couldn't be good.
My first thought was that the frame broke. But luckily it was the skin. It couldn't handle a radius bend such as this.
I laid it out in the sun for a while to get it hot and tried to bend it and it snapped again.
So this skin is not going to work. Oh well, maybe I can use it to cover my workbench.
Maybe the "tempered service" on the tag should have been a clue for me?
I have a piece of the stuff I used before, but it's not enough to do even one layer, but I have a sample I can take with me to the store.
This has set me back a bit, cause I got to work this weekend, but it could have been a lot worse.

[Louis Tully]

.

[DaOld Man]

Sucks that you hit a bump in the road, but at least it wasn't a mountain. I'm digging this build, man. I hope to try my hand at a juke one day so look out for annoying questions.

Looks good.
 

Thanks Louis. Good luck on your next build, be glad to help if I can.
Also, I have router guides for the marquee and both styles of monitors already built, if you decide to do this Mountain design.
I also have a router guide for the speaker bar.
Welcomed to borrow them if you need them, may save you some time.
I also messed up my first front frame that I made (had to make another), but that could be used as a router guide to cut out the curved part of both the front and back. The top part, with the marquee cutout too, should be OK to use as a template. I intend to save that part for future builds (Groan).

[darthpaul]

She's starting to come together.
Got the mount for the power supply worked out:



I used a piece of 1/8" thick aluminum to form a bracket. The PS sits in the aforementioned seat, and the bracket holds one corner. It worked out pretty good. PS is sturdy and doesn't move in any direction.
Here is another angle:

Where would the World be without aluminum flat stock.

[DaOld Man]

I agree DP, aluminum has been very very good to me.

[DaOld Man]

Ok, just a little update on the skin condition. (sorry).

I found the board I used before as skin for the juke.
It is Eucaboard.
Here is a pic for reference later:


I am pretty sure I bought it a few years ago for my first juke, Stevies Jukebox, at Lowes, but they do not have it now. I couldn't find any other type of board that I thought might work. So I went to Home Depot, and luckily they had it.

The info on the web about Eucaboard said that it is meant to be used like wall paneling. It also said to leave it in the room where it is to be installed for at least 48 hours, to allow it to acclimate, before installing.
So after I cut it to size (12" by 54" long, I brought it in the house with the frame.
I tested it for bendability, and even though it is stiff, it did pretty good. (no loud snap, and Im extremely happy for that.)
I decided to wrap it around so that maybe it will form to the shape, hopefully making it easier to glue to the frame later.
This pic shows it wrapped loosely, with a wire holding it on the frame:


I then placed some books on top to flatten it against the frame pretty close to where it will be when glued (except it needs to be more centered with  the frame width wise, but Im trying to put a curved form in it right now.)
Sorry for the blurred pic:


Now I have got to concentrate on the volume control knob, I may need the room to work on it so Im holding off for a bit on gluing the skin down.

Does anyone have a bad griffen powermate they want to get rid of real cheap?
All I need is the knob. I couldn't get the one I had to work consistently on Brendas Jukebox, so I just used the knob and a pot. The knob on the powermate is perfect for this design, but Im having a hard time finding one like it.

Thanks for looking and stay tuned.

[rablack97]

Like this

http://www.aliexpress.com/cp/compare-large-aluminum-knob.html

[TopJimmyCooks]

good move to get the skin board trained to the shape of the curve- that will make it a lot easier when you glue it up.  That power supply looks bigger than ATX - is it powering an audio amplifier or something?  where did it come from? 

[DaOld Man]

Thanks guys.

Jimmy, I am hoping the eucaboard will form to the curve, I gotta work tonight so I may take the skin off when I get home and see how it does.

That power supply is a "slim line" Athena Power AP-MTFX30 300W TFX12V

It has regular ATX motherboard P4 power connectors, IDE and SATA connectors.

It's not the same one I used in Brendas Jukebox, but I couldn't find that one, Im thinking this one may be better anyway, it's a little smaller length wise.

Newegg link (link might be dead in the future):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817338056

[DaOld Man]

Thanks radblack, that is very similar to what I need, similar enough to work perfectly!
I like the $3.50 price, but the shipping to USA is $27.95??
That's crazy. I can buy a griffen powermate over here for that price or close to it.
Thanks for the link though, maybe I can refine my search using that info to find one over here, and please let me know if you find one where shipping (to USA) is not so high.