Need more cocktail kit construction tips - Control Panels

[quarterback]

Hey all,

I'm still in the process of getting my cocktail cab together and I've come upon another stumbling block.  I'm about to attach my metal control panels and I'm... confused.   I'm not sure how they're going to attach to the cab itself. 

There are three screw holes on the bottom of the CP (where the CP wraps under the wood) but the other place on the CP with screw holes is at the back, and mine doesn't have anything to screw into.    I searched the forums for some info and came up with a pic of the insides of vader88's cocktail and it looks like there are some pieces of wood that I don't have in my kit.

Here's a pic of the inside of vader's cab:



And here's a pic of mine:



Any advice on how to secure my control panels?   Do other people's kits come with wooden blocks that slide in there or???
Thanks

[vader]

You are missing two pieces of wood.  When you got the kit, they almost look like throw away pieces, but they are used to mount your panels.  They will have a slight angle to them.......like 4" to 3".  Hopefully you didn't throw them away.  If you did, I'll see if I can get some measurements for you tomorrow.

Tim

[quarterback]

Thanks Tim,

I don't think I got them.  I did have some other "throw away" pieces that I've hung onto, but nothing that small.  They're all larger pieces of wood used for the shipment.  Because I save everything, I still have the packaging from the shipment, and I'll go through it again, but I went through it a couple times when I first got the kit and I'm pretty sure I got everything.

Here's a pic of the included 'instruction sheet' as well and there's no indication of additional wooden pieces (although the instructions aren't exactly detailed and don't indicate where any of the metal hardware goes either, so it really doesn't mean anything)



If you could get me some measurements, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks again
qb

You are missing two pieces of wood.  When you got the kit, they almost look like throw away pieces, but they are used to mount your panels.  They will have a slight angle to them.......like 4" to 3".  Hopefully you didn't throw them away.  If you did, I'll see if I can get some measurements for you tomorrow.

Tim

[vader]

I'll open up the cabinet tomorrow and get them for you,  All you really need to do is measure the inside where the piece goes down the slots ( think milky plexi part ) and cut the wood about 1/8 short of that.  The piece your missing is really just a bracing piece, not much too it at all.

Tim

[vader]

FYI...your instructions look alot better than what I received.  Guess you got revision 2, lol

Tim

[quarterback]

I'll open up the cabinet tomorrow and get them for you,  All you really need to do is measure the inside where the piece goes down the slots ( think milky plexi part ) and cut the wood about 1/8 short of that.

Yeah, after looking at your pic this evening, I figured I could rig up a little something, but I figured I'd see if I could do it the "right" way instead of trial and (potential) error.

FYI...your instructions look alot better than what I received.  Guess you got revision 2, lol

   I actually got my kit from a guy here on BYOAC (sysrpl) who had a bunch CNCd for himself, but they appear to be almost identical to the arcadedepot kits.   

The 'instructions' I got look pretty nice, but they're really the set of instructions that he had made for the CNC guys to work from, so the text really just refers to things they'd need to know when cutting the wood and not so much about how to put it all together.   Most of it has been self explanatory but (obviously) there have been a few things that I haven't been sure about.   

After I get the CPs put on, I'll be moving onto the monitor-mounting-adventure.  I have your thread bookmarked where you show the pieces of wood you used and I'm sure that'll be the route I'll be taking.

[javeryh]

As others have said, you are missing the wood blocks that should have shipped with your kit.  I also have some questions about this part of the installation:

1.  Are those wood blocks supposed to be sized perfectly?  Mine aren't even close to a snug fit. 

2.  How do you actually install them?  The instructions aren't that clear.  Do I glue them in place and then install the CP over them using the provided hardware? 

3.  Should I wire my buttons and joystick before installing the CPs?  There's no way I could get my hands in there when the CPs are in place.  If so, do you just use really long wire and label each one individually so you know what's what when you finally wire them to the iPac?

Thanks! 

[vader]

They aren't sized perfectly by any means.


Going by memory, you just screw them in

You install the control panel over them and then attach the hardware

Definitely install your controls first, you'll never manage to wire things
up otherwise.  I just left about a extra foot to work with and bundle
it up later with tire wraps....I installed the wires and had the panel
resting on top.

Tim

[quarterback]

From your pics, vader88, it looks like the blocks are just attached to the interior of the cab via the flat plates.  Are they also attached to the sides or the bottom of the control-panel-box?

[vader]

I believe they are also screwed inside. I did that or they would pretty much serve no purpose.

Tim

[juggle50]

You could also use straps screwed into the inside of the cabinet.  I've got an original cocktail with an arcadedepot panel.

[quarterback]

You could also use straps screwed into the inside of the cabinet.  I've got an original cocktail with an arcadedepot panel.

Before the "wood block" confirmation, that's exactly what I was going to do.  It just didn't seem like a completely 'tight' solution and I wasn't sure that it would hold as I'd hope.    Then, after finding vader88s pic (the one I linked in the first post) I started to conclude that I was missing a piece or two of wood.

Do you feel the straps work well enough for you, juggle50?  Also, it looks like your plexi is overlapping with the straps.  Do those bolts go through the plexi?



To those people with the wooden blocks.  Are they small blocks like my pic#1 or longer like pic#2?
Thanks

[javeryh]

To those people with the wooden blocks.  Are they small blocks like my pic#1 or longer like pic#2?
Thanks

Definitely #2.  However, the blocks that came with my kit aren't an exact match to the side profile of the CP.  It's strange.

[vader]

ditto on two.  mine weren't cut to size either....they were just kinda close.

Tim

[juggle50]

The straps work really well for me.  Yes I overlapped them with the plexiglass.  Obviously with all plexi you want to predrill slowly, you can see how I accidently broke the cornor.

The CP is streched pretty tight to make it work but I don't have any room in my panel for wood blocks.

[quarterback]

I don't have any room in my panel for wood blocks.

And that is a concern of mine.  I'm wanting to put leaf buttons (potentially LIT "Neon Mame" style) and it's already kind of tight in there.  I haven't put the joy & buttons in there yet, but I'm afraid of losing a 1/2" on either side of the interior.

Thanks y'all.  I'm not sure what my final decision will be, but this is the kind of info I was looking for.
qb