Cabinet Width Question

[javeryh]

How much wider should the cabinet be than the tv/monitor?  I'm trying to figure out what type of tv or monitor I should get and how it will affect the dimensions of the cabinet before I cut everything.  The BYOAC plans call for a 26" width but I am thinking that I may have to modify that based on what I actually end up using.  Thanks.

[Ghoward]

If you are talking about the Lusid plans you might want to add a inch or so. My cab is 28" wide because Lusid used a 25" TV but it is really hard to find a 25" TV now with S-Video on it, so you will need the extra to fit a 27" TV.

In the end I didn't use a TV I used a WG9200 however the extra 2 inches help make mounting easy.

The best thing to do is get the tv or monitor before you build.

Gary

[DougHillman]

I prefer in the range of 1" - 2" depending on how much wider the TV case is than the actual screen.  My goal is to have about 3.5" of blank space on either side of the screen when I add the bezel.  This gives room for some nice graphics or instructions or whatever.   The wider you get in relation to the screen size, the more lost the screen looks.  28" wide worked nicely for the cab I just built with a 27" TV.

In general I've found that the width of the cabinet is dependant on 3 things, each of which may have a higher priority for you.  First off, the width of any doors/openings you'll be required to move it through.  Normally, that limits total width to no more than around 30".  Secondly, the size of your TV/monitor.  Big enough to fit, small enough to not dwarf the display.  Thirdly, your control panel.  A skinny little 25" cabinet with a 44" control panel will look ridiculous.  You're even more a slave to the CP if you're gonna make it completely within the width of the cab like most classic games were.

D

[RayB]

... Keep in mind the widths of your doorways...

[javeryh]

Thanks for the advice about the doors - I tend to forget little details like that...  I'm leaning towards using a 27" TV as my display and the JVC I've been looking at is 25-3/4" wide so 28" for the total width sounds good to me... I lose 1-1/2" right away because of the thickness of the side panels so that would leave 1-1/4" extra space to play with (5/8" per side)...

[l8nite]

Wouldn't you guys factor in the width of the casing on the edges of the screen when making this decision too?

For example, the TV I'm planning on using is 26.25" across, but there is 2.25" of casing on the left and right sides of the TV before the screen.  I figured that building the internal width of my cab 26.5" (just .25" larger than the TV itself) would still allow for a nice bezel thickness and yet also allow me to move the cabinet through some of the smaller doorways in my house.  

Is having this tight fit likely to be a problem?  If I wanted a CP that's going to be roughly 48" would you advocate a larger width?

Thanks,
Shaun

[paigeoliver]

If you are building the style of cabinet that has an overhanging control panel then just make your cabinet just barely wide enough to get the monitor in, as the wider the basic cabinet is the more trouble you are going to have with it when it comes to moving it and lifting it.

If you are building a classic style cabinet then the magic number is 24, that is the piece's of wood that go between the sides are 24" wide (note, that is not universal, but few standard classic cabs varied much from this, some were 23, a few 25, but few went wider or narrower).

[l8nite]

Good advice, thanks!  

[DougHillman]

I disagree with paige a bit here.  IMO, aesthetics are always a concern.  If your CP is going to overhang, you can't make the main cabinet too skinny or it'll just look ridiculous.  

For a 48" panel, I'd recommend more width than you're planning.  Due to door size restrictions, it's possible you can't go much bigger, but I'd go as large as possible.  For many US houses, 28" inside width with another 1.5" for your side pieces will get you in just under the 30" standard inside door size.

If you're worried about weight, build a frame-on cabinet and use 1/4" hardboard for the back & top panels instead of MDF or whatever.  In fact, that's just a good suggestion regardless.