t-moulding questions

[hulkster]

okay, a few questions about t-moulding.  i did some searching but couldnt really find any definite answers.  first of all, if i put t-moulding on my cp, and i have lexan on top, can i have the t-moulding come up to the cover the edges of the lexan? i have a cp right now that the lexan is just kinda sitting on top and the edges had to be sanded down so i didnt cut myself rubbing up against it.  its just a professional look.  so im wondering what do most people do with t-moulding and lexan/plexi on the cps?  

second question, what size bit do i use for routing out slots for t-moulding?  ive heard 1/16th, is that right?

third question, but its not related to t-moulding per se.  anyway, my uncle has a router for me to use, but its not a plunge router.  will i be able to route out the section for a trackball mounting plate so that it will sit flush?  also, do i need a plunge router for the coin door hole as well?

[orntar]

first of all, if i put t-moulding on my cp, and i have lexan on top, can i have the t-moulding come up to the cover the edges of the lexan? i have a cp right now that the lexan is just kinda sitting on top and the edges had to be sanded down so i didnt cut myself rubbing up against it.  its just a professional look.  so im wondering what do most people do with t-moulding and lexan/plexi on the cps?  

you offset the cut of the slot cutter enough to cover th lexan/plexi. but that means if you have 3/4" cp, 1/4" lexan, and 3/4" t-molding, when your all done there will be 1/4" of wood at the botton, because you moved the tmolding up to cover the lexan. make sense? you can adjust where the slot cutter goes in the wood with the router.

second question, what size bit do i use for routing out slots for t-moulding?  ive heard 1/16th, is that right?

yes

third question, but its not related to t-moulding per se.  anyway, my uncle has a router for me to use, but its not a plunge router.  will i be able to route out the section for a trackball mounting plate so that it will sit flush?  also, do i need a plunge router for the coin door hole as well?

it helps, but you don't need it. i used a hole saw and a jig saw. it does not have to perfect (but it does have to straight) because the coind door its self covers up all of the hole you cut.

hope that helps.

[hulkster]

k, i have 3/4" mdf, and ill get 1/4" lexan....so couldnt i just get 1" t-moulding?  or do they not make that or something.  what do most people do?

also, you answered my question about the coin door, but what about the mounting plate?  how am i supposed to use a hole saw and jig saw to cut a recessed square for the mounting plate?!?!

[cdbrown]

if you find a supplier that can give 1" t-molding then that's the way to go.  Otherwise you will either have a small gap above and below the t-molding which may not be so bad considering you have already smoothed off the edge.  Or you could just make the gap below and have the top of the t-molding flush with the lexan.

[orntar]

also, you answered my question about the coin door, but what about the mounting plate?  how am i supposed to use a hole saw and jig saw to cut a recessed square for the mounting plate?!?!

sorry missed that part. what i was talking about is for the coindoor only.
i have not used a track ball, but all you need is a regular router, just be carfull as you drop it into the wood. you will have to build a jig to run the router against to get the right shape. its hard to explain, maybe someone here has some pics or something. after that you will have a square recess with round corners, so you will have to use a chisel to square it off. sounds hard, but it really isn't just, takes some planning.

[orntar]

if you find a supplier that can give 1" t-molding then that's the way to go.  Otherwise you will either have a small gap above and below the t-molding which may not be so bad considering you have already smoothed off the edge.  Or you could just make the gap below and have the top of the t-molding flush with the lexan.

i actually used .093 plexi, but it depends on what you want it to look like. i used 3/4" t-molding on 3/4" mdf, so there is less than 1/8" of wood reveal at the bottom, i sanded a bevel into it and painted it black, and you can hardly tell. the t-molding lines up with the top of the plexi. sweet!

[Iori]

1" T-molding... they have it!    But only in black...

http://t-molding.com/cart/customer/product.php?productid=5&cat=10&page=1

[hulkster]

yeah i saw that.  ill probably end up buying that just to be sure.  that will look good dont you think??  

[Iori]

yeah i saw that.  ill probably end up buying that just to be sure.  that will look good dont you think??  

Should look pretty good I think...  just never seen it done like that before. (that I remember at least)  I would just go with the 3/4" and take the easy way though.  

[hulkster]

how would that be easier?  i mean, 3/4" mdf and 1/4" lexan = 1" t-moulding.....how is that not easy?

[orntar]

another thing to consider is mounting depth of all your stuff. the stick get shorter and shorter the thicker you material. some buttons are kinda shallow too. i have some that barely screw on 3/4" material. perhaps you should get a small sheet of 1/2" mdf. it is still real strong. and then you will still have standard thickness at the end.

[hulkster]

nah, i have already made a cab with the exact same specs, and the joysticks and buttons are fine.

[Iori]

how would that be easier?  i mean, 3/4" mdf and 1/4" lexan = 1" t-moulding.....how is that not easy?

I guess what I mean is easier in that you know what it will look like and how it will work...  from a routing point of view it won't really be any harder...  Looking forward to seeing how it works out though... post pics.

[hulkster]

oh okay, i guess i just misunderstood.  i dont know a thing about routing and t-moulding, so if im totally wrong in my assumptions let me know!  ill definitely post pics as soon as i get around to doing all this.  my job kinda gets in the way of my construction though

[nipsmg]

I don't know why this was such a hard thing to understand for most people.. but here goes.

If all you have is 3/4 in MDF/Plywood, you can still offset the 3/4 in t-molding and STILL get a great looking control panel without a -visible- lip on the bottom.. here's how.


You want to offset the t-molding so that the slot is positioned half of the thickness of the board (3/4in) minus the thickness of the plexi (1/8).  This will give you:

 3/4 = 6/8   (width of board)
 (6/8)/2 = 3/8 (1/2 width of board)
  3/8 - 1/8  = 2/8 = 1/4 (position of slot on side of board.

Now, get some kind of hand held power sander, and sand the BOTTOM EDGE of the board on an angle, so that the side of the board starts angling towards the back approximately where the t-molding would end (about 1/2 in from top).  Now, if your cab is black, paint the bottom of your board, including the side where it's angled the same color as your cabinet.  When you install the t-molding, the bottom edge of the board now slopes away from the edge, is painted the same color as your cabinet, and is *nearly* undetectable.

It really does look great. If I get some pictures today I'll post them.

--NipsMG

[eightbit]

Most people center the t-molding on the edge of the wood and just add the lexan to the top. This is the way many of the arcades were but that could be because the plexi was often added later.

[hulkster]

so was the lexan or plexi just sitting on top with the edges exposed?  the reason im asking all this is to find out whether or not the exposed edges of lexan....if this is normal or not.  i dont want o get a 3/4" t moulding and then find out that i shouldve gotten bigger to compensate for the lexan.

[General Zod]

On my Midway CP, it's actually a 3/4 wood panel along with a 1/16" plexi overlay ... the molding around the panel is 13/16" .

The thickness of the plexi was confirmed when I had taken it off for cleaning and was able to slide it along the inside of the t-molding slot.

Just another option I suppose.