Nintendo cabinet build - Wreck-It Ralph

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1-UP:
I know that its far too late for this build but this is the way I drew out my side panels (or I should say a router jig for side panels)...

a) Designed the whole cabinet in SketchUp from plans.
b) Reduced side panel by 3mm (to suit router).
c) Added all dimentions to side panel plan inc. radiuses.
d) Printed layout of side panel on A4 paper showing all dimensions.
e) Used those dimensions to draw it out in pencil on wood template.
f) Cut out with a good jigsaw and a steady hand!

To draw out the plan I just used a steel ruler and some big calipers to get the radiuses. As I was drawing it all up in SketchUp it made more sense to do it this way. I've only ever seen people get plans printed big, then trace them. I hope this is helpful for other builders to know there's a different way to do it. Also, I don't like the idea of tracing from a print as a lot of printers, even used by professionals, are not calibrated correctly so you'll end up with a different size particularly in the roll feed direction.

I'm also in the UK doing this same build. I have recently had delivered from US, all the marquee and bezel retainers. I can take images and show dimensions of those parts if you were thinking of making your own? (getting them from US is super expensive but they're pretty important to the build).

UnclearHermit:
You're not wrong about the 1:1 sizing. I've already found that there are differences (only mm, but they can matter) between measurements that I take from the cad drawings versus what the 1:1 print shows me, and again between what the annotated drawing says that the measurements are. The control panel 1:1 print ends up being wider than the actual control panel is supposed to be, so at some point I need to decide if I transpose the slightly larger measurements onto that piece of wood or whether that will cause me problems if I buy pre-made Perspex for the overlay. I'm a way off that!

I can certainly see the benefit of having that 3D model. I'm still wondering about the exact sizing of some pieces, to the extent that some bits I'll be cutting a bit long just so that I can then trim them down once I've more confidence in exactly how big they should be.

I'm guessing shipping and import from the US wasn't cheap? I'm still figuring out how best to obtain the various retainers.

thanks

UnclearHermit:
Just a quick update to talk about masking tape 8)

I've removing the masking tape that's been hiding my paint-less areas for many weeks now. The key part of this is the bits that cover where all the blocking will go (and hopefully fit). I'd used a selection of "normal" masking tape that I had lying around plus some more decent masking tape (Frog Tape) that I'd bought in the hope that it would keep the lines that really NEEDED to be straight nice and need. Taking away the tape was pretty nerve-wracking because I had images of all of the paint underneath pulling up, or the paint surrounding the tape doing the same, but so far so good. What's interesting though is the difference between the cheap and the "quality" tape.

This is where the cheap tape was. Note the bleeding of the white primer at the edges, but also the large amounts of sticky stuff left on the surface of the wood.

Now contrast this with the decent stuff. Sharp edges, and no stickiness AT ALL on the wood.

I'm pretty pleased at this sharp line between the matt black and the satin at the front of the cabinet. Okay, this line won't be visible at all from the outside, but it's still nice :)

I'm sure the masking tape experts around here are thinking, "Well, duh, the decent stuff is better" but hopefully this will make another newbie like me take notice that there really is a difference and not just a shiny box and brand name!

gingecko:
Notice taken! ;)

[Edit] I'll likely be using Scotch Blue tape, as that's what I've used in the past. Not sure if it would yield as clean of a line, but so far I don't have any plans for something quite as exact.

UnclearHermit:
I'm sure that'll be as good. It's more about not using the cheapest masking tape you can get your hands on, which is my usual approach ;)

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