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First Timer: Advice Welcomed
Slugworth:
--- Quote from: Slippyblade on August 25, 2014, 08:10:28 pm ---When it comes to cabinet finish, think about your materials. If you end up going with plywood it is almost impossible to cover up the grain of the plywood without many, many coats of primer and paint and extensive sanding. The finish is one of the reasons so many of us like MDF - it's easy to paint.
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Is this negated by going with a cabinet grade hardwood plywood? When I was down at Lowes, the nicer plywood (about $50 a sheet) felt much smoother than the MDF. Does it still take a lot of extra work, or are most people referring to the $20 plywood?
Slugworth:
--- Quote from: shponglefan on August 25, 2014, 08:12:13 pm ---
--- Quote from: Slugworth on August 25, 2014, 07:37:11 pm ---As far as tools go, I had intended to have a friend cut up the sheets for my cabinet, but I'm starting to think I'll need at least a few tools of my own. If you were amping up to do a project like this and had no electric tools, which ones would you prioritize buying? I'd imagine I can get most of them off of craigslist / garage sales.
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1) Router
2) Power Drill
3) Circular Saw
In that order.
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Thanks -- I'll get on that. I might just use my buddies for the circular saw, since I'm probably not going to be able to talk the woman into letting me spend too much money until I show some progress. Seems like I could get a lot of practice in with the router though.
dkersten:
Wow, I have to say I am impressed that you are taking on every aspect of this without much (if any) experience in any area. That is a lot to take on, but I am sure the rewards will be worth it in the end. In my opinion there is no better way to learn anything than by just doing it. I taught myself (with the help of books and the internet) everything I know about computers, woodworking, and electronics (OK, I had some electronics classes in high school and college, but when it came to applying it, that was all trial and error).
The cool thing about getting into a project like this is you have an excuse to buy tools. Just remember, every tool can have a purpose that suits the wife, and that is how you pitch it to her. My first woodworking tool for home was a router, and I pitched it based on the idea that with a router I could make a countertop, and that meant I could save us money when I renovated the bathroom. And not only did doing the work myself save the money to justify it, in the following years I did many more projects that both saved money (by not having to hire someone to do it) and allowed us to have quality crafted things that had a story behind them.
Also, one of the best gifts a woman can give her husband is a cordless set of tools.. Again, with tools like that you have the ability to tackle a larger "honey-do" list. A drill and an impact driver are probably the most useful items in any household.
You are never going to get far without a saw of some kind. A jigsaw is a must for any curved cut, and at the very least a skilsaw for straight cuts. With a couple clamps of some kind, some screws, some wood glue, and the router, drill, and saw, you can make just about anything. Sure there are more tools you will eventually need, but many of them are not that expensive by themselves.
As far as wood, if I understand you right, the cabinet grade plywood you are talking about is just "void free" plywood with a veneer. The "void free" is important. The veneer is less important. If you have a decent cabinet supplier in town (a place that sells to cabinet makers and carries rough cut hardwoods and prefinished plywood for cabinets and signs), look into using "Baltic Birch". This stuff is very light compared to MDF and particle board, is void free, and the 1/2" stuff is 9 layers, the 3/4" is 13 layer. Compare that to the cabinet grade plywood at the big box stores that is usually 4 or 5 layer (plus the outter veneer layers that are super thin) for 1/2", and 7 layer for 3/4". The biggest difference other than just the overall quality is that the edges will finish WAY better. Personally I wouldn't trust any kind of plywood other than Baltic birch to hold a t-molding slot. I am sure others might disagree though. Baltic Birch usually comes in 5 foot squares, not 4x8, although I have found it in larger dimensions before (very rare though). I found this on the interweb that is some good reading regarding Baltic birch: http://www.woodworkerssource.com/blog/tips-tricks/your-ultimate-guide-to-baltic-birch-plywood-why-its-better-when-to-use-it/
Personally, anything that you will have an exposed edge on that needs paint should be MDF if possible. Baltic birch will work pretty well too, but will still require some filler to really smooth out the end grain if it is exposed. Sometimes it is very difficult to not have some end grain exposed on your cabinet.
Laminate has a great finish, but it can take practice to master, and as stated, you have to plan things out REALLY well. You can get away with scoring and snapping and then using a file to finish the edges, but frankly that is a LOT of work and usually the results are not great unless you really know what you are doing. This means you should be using a flush trim bit in your router to finish any edges on laminate, which means you need to laminate anything that is going to but up to anything else BEFORE you attach it. Prep your surfaces carefully because despite the thickness of laminate, even small abnormalities will come out in the finish. Sand and fill your nail/screw holes, but don't oversand or undersand or you will see it when the laminate is on. Also, you need to account for the thickness of the laminate. It is usually around 1/32-3/64" thick, so even a layer of laminate on both sides will make 3/4" wood too thick for t-molding, and 5/8 too thin.
Another option is melamine, which is a paper based laminate that is very thin and comes on the sheets of wood. If you are using battens and screws or pocket holes, you can usually get away with melamine, but like laminate it requires some planning.
MDF with paint, even though the paint process can really suck, is actually the easiest of all to use. Spend the time to prep the surface well (block sand it to 220 or finer grit) and prime it with a couple coats, then when the primer is fully cured, sand to 220 or finer again. Then wipe it down with cheese cloth to get the fine dust off and shoot the paint where there is no chance of dust getting on it. The biggest thing I would say you need to know if you go the route of painting is that rattle can paint (oil based) usually dries in about 20 minutes and is fully cured within 24-48 hours. Latex paint that you roll on, brush on, or spray on will be dry in a couple hours, but needs at least a couple weeks before any kind of serious handling, and can take up to 3 months to really cure completely. Until then it is weak and will stick to anything left on it for long, even after more than a month.
Good luck and I wish you well. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask! This place is a wealth of knowledge.
PL1:
--- Quote from: Slugworth on August 25, 2014, 07:37:11 pm ---What dimensions would you use to build it?
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Depends on what you want include in the panel. :dunno
Follow the design process in the FAQ and it will help you determine what size CP box to build.
If you intend to include a TRON stick or a rotary joystick, they need more space under the panel than a Zippyy joystick and Goldleaf buttons.
--- Quote from: Slugworth on August 25, 2014, 07:37:11 pm ---I like the idea a lot -- I'll paint one side, laminate one side, maybe even build one with MDF and the other with ply wood to see which I enjoy working with more.
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You might be able to get some off-cuts or seconds (damaged) of the different kinds of wood from your local lumber/big box store.
This way you can practice woodworking and painting on cheap scrap before you spend big bucks on the good stuff.
--- Quote from: Slugworth on August 25, 2014, 07:37:11 pm ---As far as tools go, I had intended to have a friend cut up the sheets for my cabinet, but I'm starting to think I'll need at least a few tools of my own. If you were amping up to do a project like this and had no electric tools, which ones would you prioritize buying? I'd imagine I can get most of them off of craigslist / garage sales.
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Lots of good tool recommendation threads in the Woodworking section.
One feature to look for on a router is micro-adjustable depth control.
If you go the garage sale/craigslist route, proceed with caution -- there may be a reason they are selling. :scared
Scott
Slugworth:
Quick general question: Has anyone built a 4 player set up off of LuSiD's plans? Do those work out fine for this purpose, or do I need to find plans that are somewhat bigger? I like that he has everything on the website and pretty good instructions, but I'd hate to follow them only to find out my cabinet was a few inches too small.
I noticed when comparing them to the Kanami 4 player cabs that the dimensions seems a little smaller, but I'm not sure if it's a noticeable difference. Any experience with this?