Wood/Plexiglass Thickness to Allow 3/4" T-Mold

[RxBrad]

I'm having a really rough time finding 5/8" thick MDF where I live.  Everything around here seems to be either 1/2" or 3/4".

For my control panel, can anyone foresee any problems with using 1/2" MDF overlaid with 1/4" Plexiglass, and using 3/4" T-molding? 

I plan on using 3/4" MDF for everything else on the cab.

[jennifer]

      It sounds like a good plan.... Incorporating a steel back plate may not be so out of line to help reduce stress on the C/P however.   

[JDFan]

How thick is the cutting bit for the channel and can you offset it enough to get a good cut in the 1\2" MDF without having to cut the 1/4" plexi also and still have the channel hold the t-molding in place ?

EDIT : seems 3/4" T-molding has a 3/32" channel cut which would mean you are cutting the channel only 2/32" from the edge of the MDF if trying to cut it centered so might be difficult to not have it break off while routing. (haven't tried it myself so not sure but might want to test cut some scrap first.

[IAmDotorg]

I'm having a really rough time finding 5/8" thick MDF where I live.  Everything around here seems to be either 1/2" or 3/4".

For my control panel, can anyone foresee any problems with using 1/2" MDF overlaid with 1/4" Plexiglass, and using 3/4" T-molding? 

I plan on using 3/4" MDF for everything else on the cab.

I can't imagine how that will possibly work. You need to cut the slot at the halfway point, which is centered at 3/8". The slot needs to be 1/16th of an inch, and the T-molding will dig into it to hold. That'll put the slot 1/16th of an inch from the side of the 1/2" MDF. Even if you had some magic tool that could cut that, leaving that 1/16th of an inch undamaged, the entire thing would break off when you inserted the t-molding.

You're probably going to have to forego the plexi and use a polycarbonate laminated overlay instead. Its near as, or just as durable, but paper thin.

[jennifer]

How thick is the cutting bit for the channel and can you offset it enough to get a good cut in the 1\2" MDF without having to cut the 1/4" plexi also and still have the channel hold the t-molding in place ?

EDIT : seems 3/4" T-molding has a 3/32" channel cut which would mean you are cutting the channel only 2/32" from the edge of the MDF if trying to cut it centered so might be difficult to not have it break off while routing. (haven't tried it myself so not sure but might want to test cut some scrap first.

   You bring up a good point!!!.... I suppose one could just notch the whole edge and add a aluminium strap around it.... This would leave a big sloppy hole but hot glue would hold the "T" in place.

[JDFan]

You're probably going to have to forego the plexi and use a polycarbonate laminated overlay instead. Its near as, or just as durable, but paper thin.

This - or go with 1" T-molding and use 3/4" MDF and 1/4" Plexi which would give more room for centering the cut inside the MDF.

[IAmDotorg]

You're probably going to have to forego the plexi and use a polycarbonate laminated overlay instead. Its near as, or just as durable, but paper thin.

This - or go with 1" T-molding and use 3/4" MDF and 1/4" Plexi which would give more room for centering the cut inside the MDF.

Or 5/8" ply. At least around here, that's easy to find.

[yotsuya]

Or 5/8" ply. At least around here, that's easy to find.

Agreed. I did this on one of my cabs. 5/8 ply should be easy to find at a lumber yard. Call around.

[jennifer]

     The 1" T" Idea is the best IMO, It adds strength and gives a nice solid overbuilt look,... Be prepared OP, you may have to back cut the button holes to get everything to fit right.

[eds1275]

What I did was route the bottom front of the control panel away at 45 degrees, and painted the slanted bit black. In my incredibly lifelike drawing, blue is plexi, black is mdf, and red is t-molding.

[RxBrad]

Looks like I can get my hands on some 2'x4' sheets of 5/8" particleboard, which should do the trick. The only part of my cab that'll be using this is the CP, so should hopefully be okay.

The 1" T-mold option sounds cool, but I don't really want to route out spots for all of the buttons. That, and I feel like 1/8" plexi along with 5/8" wood will probably be easier to work with.

[AzureKnight]

What I did was route the bottom front of the control panel away at 45 degrees, and painted the slanted bit black. In my incredibly lifelike drawing, blue is plexi, black is mdf, and red is t-molding.

I ended up doing what eds1275 did, only it was a full routed right angle so that the thicker part sits completely in the base of the cp box and it worked great.

[RxBrad]

I find myself suddenly tempted to try one of the methods where you rout the front-bottom corner of the MDF now. 

I think it all depends on when I can get my hands on an easy way to transport the 3/4" 4x8ft MDF.  The 5/8" 2x4ft stuff will fit in my car.  I need to recruit someone for anything bigger.  Stupid Prius.   

[AzureKnight]

Where would you buy the large sheets?  Places like Home Depot will do a few cuts for you at the store so you can cut it into smaller pieces to fit in your car.

[lamprey]

Or 5/8" ply. At least around here, that's easy to find.

Agreed. I did this on one of my cabs. 5/8 ply should be easy to find at a lumber yard. Call around.

Second that. I used 5/8 MDO with 1/8 plexi on my CP and it worked like a champ.

[severdhed]

What I did was route the bottom front of the control panel away at 45 degrees, and painted the slanted bit black. In my incredibly lifelike drawing, blue is plexi, black is mdf, and red is t-molding.

this is what i did, works great

[RxBrad]

Where would you buy the large sheets?  Places like Home Depot will do a few cuts for you at the store so you can cut it into smaller pieces to fit in your car.

Good point.  I actually found a forum post where someone had Home Depot cut a 4x8ft sheet of 3/4" MDF into two 2x6ft + one 2x4ft sheet, and was able to fit it in his Prius along with a bunch of 8ft 2x4 boards.

Looks like I'll be getting started on this project pretty soon then...   Just need to finalize my plans in SketchUp this weekend.. 

[jennifer]

    You most likely wont need 8x2x4, the braces in a cab historically speaking were usually 1x1.

[RxBrad]

    You most likely wont need 8x2x4, the braces in a cab historically speaking were usually 1x1.

I'm using them for a really beefy base. The base will have 4 posts built directly into it and extending upward (2 in front with a crossbrace that the CP will attach on top of, 2 in back which will also provide basic framework to attach the monitor).  This will provide enough of a skeleton that I can actually attach the CP and monitor to it even before the cab is finished.

That said, I'll have a working "cabinet" in nowhere-near-completed state by doing this.  Dangerous territory if I ever plan on finishing this thing.