Back with the final major update for this build! So shortly after finishing the marquee I started with what was one of the most satisfying steps: installing the side art. Part of the reason why it took so long to get to this is that I made a crucial error in inputting my measurements when creating the artwork dimensions. One of the corners was 1” off, which affected the slant of the border that lined the monitor opening. Consequently I had to reorder both sides from Brad. It was painful, and…well, my wife wasn’t happy ($$$). But I’m dedicated to publish the reality of this process so I didn’t want to hide anything; hopefully others can learn from mistakes like this lol. Now if you’ll kindly gloss over that small detail let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this post
. I’m sad to say that I was too nervous to take pictures during installation of the side art. My only willing “helper” is 5 years old, so with it being a one man install and learning during my first attempt at this I was too worried I would mess something up. I know, it would have added to the entertainment factor of this thread, so I’m sorry for that
. The material that Brad (known as Lucian045 around here) uses for his prints is very user friendly. There were a few times I had a bubble that I thought would cause a problem, but they smoothed out perfectly with just a few passes with the squeegee.
Once the side art was on I installed the t-molding. I ordered samples from t-molding.com and settled on gray. I started with the bottom of the cabinet and worked my way around with a rubber mallet covered with a cotton towel (not shown in the picture below) so that I didn’t mar the plastic. The stuff is pretty soft and scratches even with a rubber mallet. Here’s a picture of getting that started:
The thickness of the sides with the side art and laminate doesn’t quite add up to ¾” like the t-molding, so when I cut the t-molding slot last year I made sure that I positioned the cut so that the extra width of the t-molding would hang over the outside face of the panel. This would make it easy for me to trim just one side rather than two. To trim it flush I needed a blade that wasn’t beveled on one side, like a chisel. I didn’t have a sharpened chisel handy, so I removed the blade from a 3” block plane to lay flat on the face of the side panel while I slid it along the edge to cut the t-molding. I used painter’s tape to protect the artwork. Here’s a couple pictures of that process:
The painter’s tape worked great and I was able to use and reuse the same strips just moving them as I went.
After trimming was done, the cabinet was pretty much finished!
Here are some pictures of the Star Wars cabinet in all its glory
:
CP:
Coin door panel:
Side
Side art:
Some close-ups:
Rear: