laminating 3/4 plywood, problems with t molding

[aldub516]

Hey guys heres my situation. Im cleaning up an old cabinet for mame. It used to be a track and field machine. When i got the cabinet it was trashed. I assume the t molding slots are original though. When i installed new standard t molding, the inside edge by the monitor has a little lip that doesnt get covered. Did track and field have a custom t molding? or did that little lip always exist. My issue is now, considering the t molding is already off a bit, im going to add laminate to atleast the outside, hopefully the inside too as it looks like crap. Some people suggest milling down the sides a little bit, but with the crappy mdf it seems that can go bad. I have access to an electric planer if that means anything? So, using the 3/4 plywood, with laminate on atleast one side, what are my options. Im going to bondo and fill in the old molding slot and re cut it, but im trying to figure out the best way. Are there other size t moldings i should be looking at? what are my options besides having a noticeable lip somewhere Can i sand down the edges to meet the t molding? any tricks?

[harveybirdman]

how noticeable is the lip?  I guess the the crap particle board might have swelled from moisture.

Depending on how bad the lip is, I would just paint the insides black and live with it.  I mean if you're going to take the entire panel off to re route a T molding slot then why not just flush trim a new panel?  ( I know plywood is expensive, but this is your cab man!)

[vwalbridge]

You could install over sized t-molding ( like 13/16 ) and then come back and trim it with a FastCap

[HaRuMaN]

Those trimmers only work on straight edges, not curves. 

[vwalbridge]

Those trimmers only work on straight edges, not curves.

From what I understand, you can put the t-molding in a nearby straight portion, trim it, then remove it and put it back in the curved portion.

[aldub516]

Thanks guys.! I was also wondering if I can use a bevel trim bit but I assume as thin as the Formica is it will do nothing but leave a bigger white edge. Just got my materials. Let's hope for the best

[vwalbridge]

moar pics!  I'm curious to see what you are dealing with. 

[dmckean]

You can also trim oversized t-molding using this method:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,86699.msg911119.html#msg911119

[aldub516]

unfortunately i didnt take close pics of said lip on the side of the tmolding.. BUT.. i did do my first laminating job ever! Did the first side, and it was actually a easy job! You may see in pics there is one part that is messed up by where the CP is gonna go..there will be aluminum edging going over that anyway. I made a mistake while cutting down the formica, and when i was laying it down on the cab it got super sticky before i could center it, and It happened to fall that close to the edge.. i got lucky. Anyways, im pretty damn excited about this job! The bottom, front and back edge is going to have corner protectors so it wasnt important how straight or clean they were.
I got a piece of 4'x8' formica at home depot for 42 dollars. I already had a trim router and bit. Ive read about adhesives for this taking hours to cure and such.. All i can say is, as fast as i could coat both sides, it was ready to go together. I sprayed both the cabinet side, and then the formica back. It was a little tough handling the big piece by myself, and this stuff is rather brittle. A wrong bend and it would break. I laid it on top of the arcade at the bottom, and just let it bend itself down little by little. Flattened it with a long piece of wood, and funny enough, my friend had one of those work out gimmicks where its a wheel with to handle bars to do extended pushups...well it worked as a fantastic roller lol.. I put some weight on it with wood scraps and any tool box i can find. Fired up the trim router, and basically just ran it along the edges of the machine. Nothing to it. Let it rest as long as i could, (i dont have room to leave it laying down when i pack in the workshop) and just clamped some wood pieces to keep the edges tight for the night.  Thank you to all of the help throughout my various laminating threads. I cant wait to do the other side.












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[Zeosstud]

Laminate looks great, stuff will last forever.

[aldub516]

Yea I almost got the lexan effect... It's almost hard to mess up. My only mistake was when I lined it up to lay it down on the cab after spraying glue, it adheres immediately.. So I couldn't lift Ito move or center it, I just had to
Lay it Down and hope I left enough overhang.. One area came EXACTLY on the edge of the wood. A little more and I would've wasted this whole process

[harveybirdman]

gotta use the dowels man...

[aldub516]

i actually did see the dowel method in 2 differen tutorials and i chose to ignore like a dumdum.. Had i just had a helper it wouldve been cake. all in all, successful first try