Cardboard Monitor BezelThe original cardboard monitor bezel was fairly thrashed, it was ripped in spots and had been re-stapled many times.
Joeycuda over on klov
makes and sells cardboard bezels like these and does a good job but I decided to make this one myself.
Start with the right board You
don't want to use regular matt board with a white core, it doesn't hold up well to bending/scoring and will crack. below is a trial I did on normal matt board.
The original were black printing on a stiff cardboard, the closest I could find is a cold press board they sell at Michaels. It's a little bit thicker than the original cardboard. The two sides have a slightly different finish as you can see below.
Tools and materialsLarge cutting board, Xacto with extra blades, metal rulers, packing tape, double sided tape, painters or white artists tape.
Examine for missing tabsMy bottom piece was missing one of the tabs used to attach to the side pieces and the other was close to falling off. I taped it the one with packing tape and cut a duplicate for the other side.
Rough cutI placed my original bezel pieces on the coldpress board and made a rough cut around each piece. This makes each piece easier to work with when cutting them out.
Tape down the coldpress board and originalI tape down the coldpress board then the original over the top of it lining it the two flat sides (lower left) so I don't have to make those 2 cuts.
Cut around the original Use a metal ruler for straight cuts and the original as guide for the curved cuts. The board is fairly thick so it's important to have a new blade and better to go over the cut twice.
Remove original and make scoresThe board needs to be scored in areas where it will bend, make a very light cut with almost no pressure on the blade on both sides of the board. For this piece there is a straight fold across the bottom and both tabs.
Fold scoresCarefully folded along score lines. Most of the time it folds in just one direction, the bottom piece and it's tabs fold in opposite directions.
Using the metal ruler as a guide can be useful for longer folds.
Double sided tape Change bladeChange the blade in between each of the pieces, it'll dull quickly.
Folding larger piecesUse something fairly heavy (409 bottle below) to help keep pressure on the bigger pieces and keep them flat as you cut around them.
Assemble the pieces Reinforce the back with packing tape.
PaintingI painted this one black semi-gloss but I think I think the flat black of the original finish is fine, I probably wouldn't paint future ones.
Finished bezel