Cocktail cab concept - sharing it.

[RandyT]

Slick looking design.  I just have a couple of comments on the build/structure elements:

The interface between the panel supports and the body seems very difficult, and possibly a bit flimsy in the end.  The way the supports line up, there's only one point where solid wood meets solid wood, and that one is directly in-line, meaning an "edge to edge" connection point (not very strong).

If I were to make a suggestion on the earlier design, it would be to make a cutout in the inner face piece, and incorporate as much of the panel support structure into the frame as is possible.  Slots in the supports for the inner face piece could act as guides to create the curve, and the thinner sections would take the curve easier as well.  The bottom could be finished with a narrow "kick" plate, up to the bottom of the supports.  The later design looks like it would be nearly impossible for most to get a finish at anywhere near the quality of the rendering.  It would take a lot of filling and sanding to make those kinds of transitions seamless (think custom car body modifications).  And if one is going to go through all of that, the panel better not wiggle at all, as the fill material could crack or break out.

At some point, function has to take precedence over aesthetics. The coolest looking car ever isn't much use if it starts to go airborne at 50mph .  But with a few tweaks, I'm sure it could be easily buildable and very solid, while retaining most of the elements which give it the attractive appearance.

[clok]

So close to starting a Bartop, and stuff like this comes along and.. back to the "what should i build". I must say the curved stuff isn't as scary as people think, depending on the wood you use.. I would use something quite thin, but then you risk the "angry" gamer kicking it in. I must admit a curve on a curve will be a challenge,  i don't see any real problem otherwise.  I was thinking much like Groovy, about the control panel.. depending on if you making the sides transparent or lit (glass etc?) the frame inside can deal with that..  it might be a little tight right on the narrowest point of the control panel, but some woodwork will deal with that. I suppose it would ruin it if you had a 1-2" square right under hte control it would ruin the curved look.

anybody does this, please point us ot the project thread.. I am very close.. but also building a new garage, so quite truthfully I think my time will be full.

[JeffB13]

I plan on starting this in the next month or so.  1/4" ply should be able to take that curve without too much trouble.  Layer on two more layers and you have 3/4".  Actually that's probably overkill if you have a good support structure.  Two layers should be enough.  For the top I'm thinking 3/4" ply with a 2x2 edge of poplar.  That would make a nice thick edge to route the bullnose onto.

[Redback]

OND,

Very nice design!

Did you get a chance to make a carboard mock up?
Probably just check the hieght is simular to other tables and should be fine.
What program do you use for the drawings? 

Love the Journey themed one.

Red

[Ond]

Thanks Red,  no cardboard mock-up as yet, life got super busy and I just had to put all personal projects on hold.  I'm returning to give this some thought now though.  I know Le Chuck has plans to build a version of this, this year.  I will leave the Journey theme to him.  I really like the idea of a modern version of a Pacman cocktail cabinet along the lines of the render.  There's some new LCD monitor technology around now as well as new arcade control gear, that makes the timing for this perfect for a 2015 build.  First and foremost I must progress my Retro-Futuristic cab  build, but I will start a project thread for this on the mock-up kick-off.  I use 3D Studio primarily for all design work because that's what I'm familiar with.

For those keen on this design and maybe thinking of building it, I'll say up front there will be some challenges  .  I love a challenge, all design aspects of this can be worked out fer sure  .