Big problem and cabinet is almost finished!!

[sofakng]

The last two days I spent sanding my cabinet and filling all the holes with wood putty.  Today I primed the cabinet and tomorrow I plan on painting it.

However, I think I ran into a BIG problem.

I've been following the Project Arcade book (LuSiD's designs) and I don't think my bezel is going to fit properly!

Take a look at this picture (from project arcade book):

Click http://ss88181327.onlinehome.us/arcade/PA_02.jpg for a closeup.

Look at the red circles areas.  See how the bezel was actually cut to accomdate these extra long speaker shelf supports?

Well, it looks like my supports are also too long!

Click http://ss88181327.onlinehome.us/arcade/PA_03.jpg for a closeup.

What I plan to do tomorrow is somehow cut the support to the first screw.  One big problem is that not only is the support screwed in already, but it is also glued.  On top of that, the cabinet is already primed so I'm really not sure how I'm going to cut this piece.

Does anybody have any suggestions for me?  **ANY** ideas would be GREATLY appriciated.

I really don't want to have to cut the corners of my bezel to accomodate for my extra-long supports... I think it doesn't look right at all.

[daeven]

I used the Lusid design and didn't add any supports, just glued and screwed with 3" drywall screws.  If that makes you nervous, you could always remove the entire support piece and cut a shorter one.

Removing the piece shouldn't be too hard - first take out the screw and seperate the piece from the cabinet with a metal putty knife and a hammer.  You'll have a bit of clean up work to do, but I think it is worth it to avoid the supports extending out beyond the bezel.

Now that I've typed all that, you could just paint the support black and use it as a resting point for tinted glass.  That should hide the supports well.

[DennisInMN]

I guess if you were daring enough you could use a dremel to cut that support back a bit.

I, too, have been following the Project Arcade book.  I think my bezel will be here tomorrow and I'll have to check it out to see if I am in the same boat as you are.  I am just in the process of cleaning up the cab to start painting it.  I'd be better off to catch this now, if I do have that problem, than after I painted it.  

[JAMMA Guy]

Other than maming the Happs monitor bezel ... I don't see a mistake  

Just add a bezel ledger and your plastic bezel and monitor glass or plexi sits on top of that  (hence no more mistake)  

Modified your pic to show you what I mean  (plenty of room for the glass and plastic bezel)

If anyone would ask what's up with the bezel ... you can just tell them that you modified it for easy removal ... they'll believe it  

[sofakng]

Daeven:  The problem is that I really can't remove it at this point.  There is wood putty in all of the screw holes and the cabinet has been primed.  In order to fully remove it I would have to somehow get the wood putty out of the screw holes and that would do major damage to the cabinet I'm sure...

DennisInMN:  Let me know how you're cabinet works out... hopefully you don't have the same problem that I have.

JAMMA Guy:  That's not a bad idea but if I do that the bezel (and TV) will be VERY close to the front of the cabinet.  It's a 27" TV and I really wanted to push it back into the cabinet at least by a little bit.

Is there any way I could remove part of the support from the inside of the cabinet?  Somebody mentioned using a dremel and I guess that work work, but what about a jigsaw or something?  Then I thought I'd using a screwdriver and hammer to back that piece off but I'm worried that when I do that I'll take a huge chunk out of the inside of the cabinet (a part that would be exposed none-the-less)

*sigh*

Any other suggestions for me?  I've spent so much time and money so far on this... I'm a bit upset that I've ended up with a major flaw like this

[REBIRTH]

I would do what daeven suggests - remove the screws in the peice, then remove the peice using some a screwdriver or putty knife.  It looks like it was screwed and puttied from the inside, just scrape out the putty and remove the screws.  The cabinet will not fall apart when removing it, and it is on the inside of the cab where you won't see it - so if it doesn't come out completely clean, just do your best to re-putty, install and prime a shorter peice, and any remaining scarring will be on the inside of the cabinet where no one will see it.  

[sofakng]

Rebirth:  It was screwed and puttied from the outside of the cabinet.  In my drawing the screw is labeled but it is actually coming through from the other side.

If I could simply remove the piece from the inside it wouldn't be a problem.  The problem is that I would have to find the screw holes from the outside and then dig out the putty over the screw holes.  However the screw holes are no longer visible because I put primer over the cabinet.

What I can do is remove the entire back section of the cabinet AND the speaker shelf.  Then I can either use a jigsaw or something to cut the front of the supports out.  I was also thinking about using a plunge router to basically cut away at the wood and then I would re-sand that entire area.

So... see my problem?  If I want to access those support screws to remove the entire support strip I'll have to dig, cut, and scrap at the outside of the cabinet which has already been primed...

[JAMMA Guy]

My idea will still give you 3/8" to 1/2" inset (judging from your pic).  Most 27" cabinets are this way but if you don't want to do that then there is another solution.

Just take a hand detailing saw and cut the excess off to allow more of an inset for the monitor bezel and glass.  Just make sure you don't damage your cabinet removing it (you did say the piece was glued in place so it's no going to just fall off but it sure beats digging wood putty out).

A dremel will smoke you to death before you get that cut out of there ... hehe

[Nannuu]

Mark a line where you need to cut back to.  Use a flush cut saw to carefully cut the piece off.  I use a Japanese flush cut saw extremely often, see link below.  One of my favorite tools.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39273
Or like mentioned you can try to ding away at it with a Dremel.
It won't be very easy since you already have the support installed above it.  Once you've cut through you should be able to chisel the piece off and the putty any damage you've done.  

Note: flush cut saws are not made for that app but should kind of work.

[Santoro]

I did something similar, I had a ledger interfering with a Joystick on my CP.  I took my sawzall and cut the ledger and took off the glued piece with a flathead screwdeiver and a hammer.  You could do the same, though it will take a little more work to rip the wood off of the screw.

It won't be pretty, but it will be hidden by your bezel.

$.02
Dave

[Mr. Dude]

I would just cut a peice of the front part off like suggested. You could use various tools to do this, it's just a matter of personal preferance.  I had to shorten some supports and I just used a small hand saw and cut it back to my first screw point.  Then I used a screw driver and hammer to loosen it.  There was no damage to the wood underneath.  You may need to just sand the underneath part a bit to remove any glue left on and then reprime that area.

[dvdapex]

In order to remove the screw, could you use a dremel and create a channel around where the screw comes out?  If you could do it wide and deep enought (it really shouldn't take much), you could use a pliers and turn the screw in the opposite direction to push it back out from where it entered.

I'm guessing if you did that just a little bit, it would immediately show you were the screw entered.  You clean up that area (remove the putty) and you should be able to remove the screw the "normal" way.

[DennisInMN]

I took a look at my cab and I have my support piece placed back further from the front edge of the side piece.  So it appears that I don't have this problem.

On a side note, stupid FedEx.  I signed a release a while ago and they still did not leave my packages.  This is the second time I have had to call them up to let them know that I have in fact signed a release.  Oh well, just had to vent.  I should be getting my bezel, marquee retainer and a couple other items tonight.  Yeah!

Good luck sofakng.

[pathdoc2]

One word of advice, always screw from the inside of the cab and avoid making holes in the side fo the cab.  Holes on the inside don't need to be filled with filler and can be quickly accessed in the future when needed.

[sofakng]

Thanks for all the helpful replies!

I can remove all the boards ABOVE that support without any problem so I can use a handsaw, flush cut saw, etc.  That's probably what I'll end up using.

As for prying the piece of wood off of the side, thats another story.  I can use a screwdriver and hammer to try getting it off, but wouldn't that damage the wood underneath?

Can I put something on on the sides of the support to dissolve the glue?  That would be ideal but I'm afraid nothing like that exists...

[Nannuu]

As pathdoc said, since you seem to be using 1x support material you can just screw from the inside with 1 1/4"-1 3/8" screws and glue.  It makes it MUCH easier.

[Santoro]

As for prying the piece of wood off of the side, thats another story.  I can use a screwdriver and hammer to try getting it off, but wouldn't that damage the wood underneath?

Yes.   You will probably have to do a little creative work with wood putty.

[sofakng]

Right...  If I didn't already have the support in place I would have definitely taken your advice.  However, the support is already in place with the screws on the outside.

Even if I put screws into the support from the outside, I still need a way to remove the existing screws from the outside (without screwing up the cabinet side).

[Santoro]

OK, I though that the screw would be left hanging out of the side (or broken off) behind the bezel.

Do you have a hand grinder? Maybe rip off the wood as discussed, break the screw off with pliers, grind it below the surface, fill with putty and sand off the putty and remaing glue.

Certainly not clean, but I don't think there is any clean way out of your dilemma.

[sofakng]

Well if I can cut the wood UP TO the screw I should be fine.  That means I'll leave the screws in place and just cut the 2 inches of wood in front of it.

I'm not sure if my father has a grinder or not... he has lots of tools but I don't think he has one of those.

Which makes me go back to the handsaw/screwdriver+hammer solution.  If I can seperate the support from the side panel without damage the side panel I'll be in good shape.  Even if a lot of glue is left on the side panel, that can all be sanded.

The big problem is the glue... that might cause me to rip a chunk out of the side (which I definitely dont want) if the glue is sticking too hard...

[DennisInMN]

Here is a pic of where I placed my speaker panel support piece.  I know in the book Saint says to make sure you don't place the piece closer than 1¹/₂ inches and no further than 24 inches from the front of the side piece.  I'm not sure if I took into account that I had to place the bezel there or if I got lucky.  More than likely I got lucky.  

I had to remove a piece after glueing it on the day before and didn't have too much difficulty.  I just used a scraper thing that I have that has kind of a beveled edge on it.  I hammered it between the support piece and the side a little bit along the entire length before really trying to pry it away from the side.  I did take some paper off but it didn't do too much damage.

[sofakng]

DennisInMN:  You lucked out big time  

As for me...  

I've re-examined my cabinet.  My 2nd support strip has a screw VERY close to the front of the cabinet.  The screw is going to have to come out.  Any recommended ways of doing this?

After I figure out a way to cut the inside piece and get to the screw, I can then try popping the screw back out of the side of the cabinet and removing it permanently, and then patching the side back up with some wood putty or something...

I'm really disappointed about the whole thing...  Hopefully I can patch this up to make it look decent    So far I probably spent $1200 or so into this cabinet and I'd hate to see any major screwups with it

[Sylentwulf]

A dremel isn't that expensive. Yes, the situation sucks, but with a $30 dremel-wannabe (black and decker has a version that's usually under $30) and the bits that come with it, or maybe $5-$10 worth of other cutoff blades, and some patience, you CAN cut all of that wood away, and the screws.
All from the inside, it will leave a sandable mess of glue and bumpy wood that can easily be patched up.

[pocketbikez]

i agree with the dremel recommendations. a flex shaft attachment might help get the tool level with the cabinet sides.

id use a bit like this for the majority of the wood removal:
http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/bit_template.asp?SKU=430&Color=660099
it may take a couple minutes per side but it will grind it away pretty clean.

as for the screws id chip out the wood putty to expose the screw head and then remove them. if that isnt possible you can use the dremel with this cut-off bit:
http://www.dremel.com/productdisplay/bit_template.asp?SKU=456&Color=cc0000

afterwards just use some wood putty to clean things up and then sand it smooth.

[sofakng]

Ok, I could buy a dremel if need be, but what are your thoughts on using a router?

What I thought I'd do is use a straight routing bit with my plunge router.  I'd route the area out to the screw, then use a hacksaw to cut the screw off.

Afterwards I'd use my powersander to cleanup the area.

Part of the area I am cutting will be in FRONT of the bezel so I need to do this as cleanly as possibly... (the exposed area will be about two inches)

[JAMMA Guy]

You know they do make screw extractors  

http://shop.woodcraft.com/Woodcraft/product_family.asp?family%5Fid=983&gift=False&mscssid=0AE45F3FBA3674CCEA2B097188A7B04C

[xar256]

I don't really see the big problem here.  Not to sound pushy or rude, but you must have a tape measure right?  And you also know where the screw is, right?  
Just measure from the top down, and from the front in to the screw on the inside of the cab, then take those measurements and mark them lightly on the outside.  That should be your putty spot <if your still not sure, try using a pin to check to see if you have the softer putty material under the primer.  Dig out the putty and unscrew.  Yeah it may sound like more work, but you'll probably be much happier with the results.  Heck you've gone this far, why try something that may leave an imperfection that will bug you later on <weather or not you can see it>.  Then just cut, remount, fill, sand and reprime the repair area.
Also for prying off the glued on piece, I would try a putty knife before a screw driver, the smaller surface area for the driver is more likely the dig into/compress the wood and leave 'divots' that will have to be filled <if your anal like me >.

Hope this helps
Xar256

[pocketbikez]

What I thought I'd do is use a straight routing bit with my plunge router.  I'd route the area out to the screw, then use a hacksaw to cut the screw off.

Afterwards I'd use my powersander to cleanup the area.

thats a great idea. even better than the dremel. and it wont cost any more $ for new tools.