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The mini upright that was formerly a bar-top - update.

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captainpotato:
Okay, been working on it today a little. All up, dumping it and starting again from scratch probably would have been much easier, but as I'm hardly a master craftsman, I treating the conversion project as a further series of lessons in woodworking.

Progress today involved stripping out all of the rotating monitor framework and replacing the side door into the side of the cabinet.

Also discovered that the plywood that I bought last week is warped, so I'm working on flattening it. First run through hasn't gone too badly, and after the second attempt, it ought to be pretty good (at least, good enough to secure flat).

If the weather holds tomorrow, then most of the woodworking for the basic shape ought to be done, plus then working on the supports.

Choosing to refashion it means that I can now get rid of some of the features that weren't ideally planned in the original design, such as the control panel being a little too narrow, meaning that the underside was almost too small to fit in the joystick base and cabling.

captainpotato:
Didn't get as much done as I wanted to this weekend, but it's well and truly happening again. Just one photo from today - the bartop balancing on its new base (seconds before a wind gust came and blew it onto the floor tiles below, breaking all but one...).

The extension is being added by overlaying the top and bottom pieces, having routed out half of the wood's depth.

The rest of the base won't be too hard - after that, working out the new monitor mounting :P

captainpotato:
Okay, time for an update. During my silence I have been making some progress. The attached image isn't the latest stage but it does give an indication of how it looks.

In summary, a base with wheels at the rear was constructed, with a vertical frame to ensure that the two upright sections stayed in alignment. The bottom half pieces were shaped and routed, as was the front piece. The bartop top section has been added, as has a piece across the top at the back to support the handles for moving. Last night I added the monitor rests (that have been engineered so that I don't need to redo the monitor mounting that I created for when it was destined to be in a bartop).

As usual, I suspect I have well and truly over-engineered it. Rather than going with dowels and hidden joins that I had originally, this version now has a heap of screws. As I have discovered, wood glue does not budge as it is (I panicked and considering changing the angle of the first monitor mount about thirty minutes after I clamped it. Not a chance... not that it matters, anyway, as the angle is sensible as it is).

Next step is to fabricate the control panel. The first piece has been cut into shape, now it just needs the base and a hinge (not to mention some holes drilled in it). Following this is changing the size of the marquee area, then replacing it. Beyond this, there's only the back and preparing the surface before painting, so I'm happy with my progress.

Deadline is Christmas, so I've got time. Artwork isn't included in this timeline, but I know exactly what I want (but need to try to get decent quality versions...).

captainpotato:
Okay, time for another update. As can be seen below, the cabinet now has had its first coat of undercoat. The remainder of the woodworking went pretty much according to plan, other than for the fact that I'd think of something I hadn't done, just as I was considering cleaning up the cabinet in preparation for painting.

Next few days will involve more undercoating and sanding back between coats until I am happy with the finish. It also gives me a little more time to finalise the colour scheme - I know what I want, but it depends on getting the artwork that I'd like to use. If the artist doesn't agree to send me higher quality copies (I only have a low res copies of what I'd like to use), I'll have to decide whether to learn how to vectorise it or to change theme.

captainpotato:
Today was another day of undercoating. After three coats, it's time to sand back the finish, and then maybe another coat or two, depending on how I feel.

It may not need it, but more undercoats means that I don't need to finalise the top coat yet ;)

Anyway, this is how it looks at the moment (nice how the flash picks - and overemphasises) every minor bump, not to mention makes the t-molding slot look more jagged than it really is ;)

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