1/2" control panel...?

[fixedpigs]

hi...

is there any significant reason not to make a control panel out of 1/2" plywood instead of 3/4"...?

i noticed that even a 3/4" panel is supposed to get routed out 1/4" for joysticks being mounted and such...
 
so the chance of 'ripping' out a joystick through the wood should be the exact same...

                                                             thanks...!

[Farmboy90]

There is no way to possibly pull a joystick through a control panel of any width like that. 

Personally I went with 5/8" MDF and put 1/8 plexi on top.

The underneath routing is simply a personal thing.  If you like short sticks then you might not need to router at all.  Like them tall?  Then router or top mount them.

[Mark70]

You'd have to have one serious A-hole buddy over to rip the joystick out through the top.  If you're putting it out for quarters in a pizza joint or something then go as tough as you can.

Ideally  your CP should be 5/8 with an 1/8 acrylic on top.  Then the t molding will cover the edge of both materials and your CP edge will be the same thickness as  your side panels.

I used 3/4" for my CP and just pushed the t moulding up 1/16 and used thinner acrylic.  You see a little black edge under the t-molding but it's not noticable.

I have Happ Super joysticks and you can arrange the spacer so that there's plenty of length out the top without routing.  You do have to drill a larger hole to make the joystick taller though so it doesn't bang on the edges of the hole.  I set my joys short and just drilled a 1 1/8" hole.  they don't hit the edges and I like them.

[eccs19]

I built my control panel with 1/2" MDF.  Main reason that I did it this way, was I had the wood there, and it was free.  The biggest issue would be installing your T-molding.  I never put any on, but I wasn't that worried about it either.

[mahuti]

Acrylic isn't necessary.

[u_rebelscum]

is there any significant reason not to make a control panel out of 1/2" plywood instead of 3/4"...?

IMO, the main reason is flexing of the panel, not exactly ripping the joystick out.  Although I've seen full thick 3/4" panels at arcades with the stick busted out.  Like others said, 3/4" T-modeling is another reason, as well as if you want to bottom mount the sticks (whatever), 1/2 is on the shallow side IMO. 

If you're making a small panel, or don't mind a little flex, don't mind the look of 1/2" from the side, and are sure you, your friends & family won't rip out the joystick, go for it.

[DrewKaree]

Unless you've got a super-narrow CP, you'll notice the flex.  In and of itself, that's not a problem, but over time, you'll end up enlarging SOMETHING with all that flexing, mebbe to the point that your joystick seems a little loose and you can't seem to tighten it enough to fix the problem.  Again as others have said, t-molding, and lastly, the cost difference SHOULDN'T be THAT big a difference.  At MOST, $4 should be the difference in EXACTLY IDENTICAL GRADES of plywood.  If you can't afford to spend an extra $4, run as fast and far away from this hobby as possible, because it's not meant to be

[fixedpigs]

well cost was the main factor...since the 3/4" is twice that of the 1/2"...
check the lower left...

 http://images.menards.com/weeklyad/Super_Sale-20060122-20060205-23.jpg

i hadn't thought about t-molding...that's good to keep in mind...
*i just checked t-moulding.com and it appears as though they do make 1/2" black t-moulding...so that's not such a problem...

the dimensions of the top of my control panel are 35"width x 17" deep...so it's not really narrow...

thanks for all of the responses...!

[quarterback]

My CP is 1/2" thick and I've never noticed any flex.   You can see from this KLOV link (or hotlinked picture below), the original size and shape of my CP.  My current 1/2" thick c-panel is the exact same size and shape.  I certainly wouldn't call it narrow.

[DrewKaree]

now it'll psychologically feel like a friggen diving board

[DrewKaree]

well cost was the main factor...since the 3/4" is twice that of the 1/2"...
check the lower left...

You've GOT to be staining this, right?  If you're not staining this, you're a fool for getting anything other than pine.  That premium ply is NOT for painting, laminating, or throwing vinyl over. 

If there's a Menard's in the area, check out their MDO (I think that's what it is, I can't remember what they call it).  It's an MDF core with a nice plywood veneer and should cost you a bit less. 

Also, Menards is a good place for stuff Home Depot DOESN'T sell, like Walnut , Maple, or Cherry veneered ply, but it's been my experience that Home Depot usually has better Oak and Birch prices than Menards simply because they deal ONLY in those two "premium" woods and tend to go through it a little bit faster.  Your area may differ, obviously.

Are you using plywood for your entire cabinet?  Something's not adding up to me so that's why I'm wondering.

[fixedpigs]

If there's a Menard's in the area, check out their MDO (I think that's what it is, I can't remember what they call it).  It's an MDF core with a nice plywood veneer and should cost you a bit less. 

Also, Menards is a good place for stuff Home Depot DOESN'T sell, like Walnut , Maple, or Cherry veneered ply, but it's been my experience that Home Depot usually has better Oak and Birch prices than Menards simply because they deal ONLY in those two "premium" woods and tend to go through it a little bit faster.  Your area may differ, obviously.

Are you using plywood for your entire cabinet?  Something's not adding up to me so that's why I'm wondering.

the plywood that menard's has with the mdf core is only like three dollars cheaper than the full out layered plywood...i'd rather spend the three dollars more and get lighter wood...
 
that makes sense about menard's versus home depot...i'll see what hd has to offer...thanks...!

i am planning on using plywood for the entire cabinet...what's not adding up...?

[DrewKaree]

For some reason, I had envisioned the entire thing either being done in laminate/paint/whatever.

Other than that, are you thinking of using half-inch for the rest of the cab too, or just the CP? 

What kind of plywood are you thinking of using for the rest of the cab?  Oak/Birch as well, or Pine?  The grain differences are probably going to be pretty different, because most sheets are radially cut, and the grain is usually a lot wilder with pine than oak with radially cut ply, plus the differences in stain absorbption and general coloration differences between the two.

I guess I'm trying to just drag more info out of you

[fixedpigs]

the rest of the cabinet will be 3/4"...
i will be painting the cabinet...so i guess it should be pine...!
 
i was just wanting to get the 4x4' sheet of 1/2" since it was on sale(and easier to transport than a 4x8' sheet...) and build up the control panel...
i want to get the control panel squared away before building the rest of the cabinet...
 

[DrewKaree]

ALRIGHTY!  Now we're getting somewhere! 

Painting the whole cabinet, deciding on pine, now look at how much of a difference there is between half and three quarters pine in that size, and we're now down to $5 for the good stuff, and if you move down a step, the difference is still the same, but now you're onto something that saves you money but is still suitable for painting!  Look at the difference between the CDX sheet at ³/₄" versus the ACX sheet of ¹/₂" and the difference is even less.  NOW I'd say if you're gonna save your money and do everything in pine, skip the ACX grade and move one step down.  It'll take a touch more to finish, but your time saves you money, right?

Since you're gonna paint this, check out my project thread and look at the skim coat of drywall compound I did on the CP top.  It's on one of the later pages, so you don't have to read through that whole thing.  That drywall compound will level everything out once you've sanded it smooth, and it'll fill in any imperfections like knotholes, those little footballs they might have, cracks, etc.  If you don't do it, your grain will show through.  It's a personal choice, so it's definitely not necessary, but it'll darn sure make a nice smooth finish compared to how plain plywood of ANY species will soak up paint differently.  Save a few scraps and test it out and compare the two to see what I mean.  They sell that DAP pre-mixed compound in little half-pint containers for only a buck or two.

I think you'll end up saving yourself a pile more money going with pine all the way through, and if you choose to go that route, why not go the whole nine yards and make the wood the same thickness all the way through to make measurements and whatnot a whole lot easier?

[Xphile]

try mdo

http://www.canply.org/english/products/overlaidplywood.htm

it's a nice lightweight plywood with an easier-to-paint MDF-ish surface! no grain issues at all..

best of both worlds:-)

ttfn