Ready to cut expensive oak ply wood for cocktail cab, ANY LAST WILD IDEAL?

[rackoon]

OK I'm building a three sided cocktail cab. I am about ready to cut up $200 worth of oak ply-wood. I have done a lot of drawing and planning. I cant think of anything worth adding at this point.
   Let me list things that I have come up with (out of the ordinary) for my cab:
1.    25 clear buttons with UV LEDs glowing in them.
2.     On third horizontal panel the trackball is raised to the height of the glass for hard swings
3.      The cab sits on a 3 1/2" pedestal covered in diamond plate with UV LEDs shining down on the diamond plate.
4.     UV LEDs shining down under cp on all sides.
5.     300 watt stereo system with equalizer.

I would hate to get half way through buildng this sucker and miss somthing. Any Ideas no matter how wild would be great at this point.

[OSCAR]

You can only do so much planning, then you just have to let the sawdust fly!  Sounds like you've done your homework and if you are confident with your plans, you should be okay as far as that goes.

But the next step, and the one that will determine the final appearance of your cab, is the application of your woodworking skills and use of tools.  Don't overlook the little things...  If you are using a tablesaw, a good, sharp blade to make the cuts is essential to help eliminate tear-out of the oak veneer.  And if you use a router, again make sure you are using a sharp bit and fence (or guide) for razor sharp cuts.  Don't make the mistake of spending $200 on wood and use old, dull blades to cut it with...  Another thing is to plan out your cuts to take advantage of miter & dado joints where applicable to maximize strength and aesthetics.

[AtomSmasher]

it needs a stobe light, or a light that changes colors to the music, attached the top-back-angled section pointing up 

[MikeDeuce]

A related tip that has helped me while trying to learn how to make excellent sawdust...

If you are using a tablesaw, a good, sharp blade to make the cuts is essential to help eliminate tear-out of the oak veneer. 

And if that doesn't help, I butt a piece of wood scrap up against the point of exit on what I'm cutting. And if I'm in a pinch and don't have anything to use as scrap, I wrap a tight layer of painters tape on it.

miter & dado joints where applicable to maximize strength and aesthetics.

Or if you're using a router, how about a lock miter joint?

[OSCAR]

miter & dado joints where applicable to maximize strength and aesthetics.

Or if you're using a router, how about a lock miter joint?

Yep, I use lock joints whenever possible...  A bead of polyurethane glue in the joint, keep it clamped for about a day, and then you don't even need to use a single screw or nail. 

[DrewKaree]

OK I'm building a three sided cocktail cab. I am about ready to cut up $200 worth of oak ply-wood. I have done a lot of drawing and planning. I cant think of anything worth adding at this point.
   Let me list things that I have come up with (out of the ordinary) for my cab:
1.    25 clear buttons with UV LEDs glowing in them.
2.     On third horizontal panel the trackball is raised to the height of the glass for hard swings
3.      The cab sits on a 3 1/2" pedestal covered in diamond plate with UV LEDs shining down on the diamond plate.
4.     UV LEDs shining down under cp on all sides.
5.     300 watt stereo system with equalizer.

I would hate to get half way through buildng this sucker and miss somthing. Any Ideas no matter how wild would be great at this point.

Just a few problems I see in your plans.

1.  A 3-sided cocktail is gonna be wicked-flimsy.  Go with all 4 sides, and while you're at it, add a base and a top too.  That'll keep everything nice and solid-feeling

B.  $200 for oak plywood.  You did one of two things, neither of them necessary.  You either a) overpaid for your plywood (should be ~$40 for a 4'x8' sheet) or b) bought at least one too many sheets (I can't even fathom needing more than 2 sheets, but 3 is more than enough)

II.  Make sure the LED's aren't glowing unless they have electricity going to them.  Otherwise, return them to the nuclear plant you bought them from

d.  Don't swing your trackball.  It's not designed to work that way.  Use your palm or fingers to roll it.  Also, don't raise it up to the level of the glass.  You'll have no room between the glass and your trackball if you do that.

*.  If you put your cab up on a pedestal, it's gonna get a swollen head and it more than likely will end up breaking up with you and finding someone else

Q.  See if you can do something really cool and try to fit that stereo inside your cab.  Sure, it's nice to have one for playing some tunes while gaming, but think of how sweet it'd be if it were encased inside your cocktail!


Glad to be able to help you out in this fashion and please feel free to post any and all concerns back in this thread so we all may have the opportunity to help you to make this the best cab you've ever made so far!  w00t!

[eschmunk]

Hey Drew.

When he said he was building a three-sided cab I don't think he meant only three sides.  He has a player on each side for vertical games and on the side for horizontal games.  Just thought that I would point that out.

[DrewKaree]

Hey Drew.

When he said he was building a three-sided cab I don't think he meant only three sides.  He has a player on each side for vertical games and on the side for horizontal games.  Just thought that I would point that out.

* DrewKaree wonders if eschmunk took the rest of the comments as seriously as that one

On the intra-nets without your helmet again, are we?

[vader]

Did you not notice all the humor and sarcasm in Drew's post ?

Tim

Edit :  Dammit Drew, you responded before I did

[nostrebor]

Hey Drew.

When he said he was building a three-sided cab I don't think he meant only three sides.  He has a player on each side for vertical games and on the side for horizontal games.  Just thought that I would point that out.

* DrewKaree wonders if eschmunk took the rest of the comments as seriously as that one

On the intra-nets without your helmet again, are we?

Eventually eschmunk will learn that Drew wears a helmet while surfing.. it is asshat shaped.

Seriously, Drew's just havin some fun... I am wondering how all this dandy stuff is going to balance on a 3 1/2" base. Maybe he means 3 1/2 feet? Oscar offered some good advice. I will second his notion about lock joints. No screws to patch makes nostrebor smile a lot

[skippy]

Yeah, Drew is an Asshat but nobody said anything about the fact that Oscar posted in a thread.  Nice to see ya Oscar

[rackoon]

Funny, I am usually the one getting slapped for sarcasm on this forum.

  Actually, wood is very expensive up here (funny I live in a forrest, unfortunately its all pine) because I live in the boondocks near a ski resort. Nearest Home Depot is 2 hours away. One piece of 3/4 oak plywood is $78 buck before tax. I bought two oak and one standard pieces. When I post some pics you will see why I needed so much. (Well, just picture Whamocade with rap around cp. I had to do this because of the elevated GT trackball and the box it is in plus I needed four joysticks on the third side for games like Smash TV, this took up space.   Lots of scrap that is just big enough to build a nice Foosball table.

    First the pedestal is the height of a 2x4 on is side. the cab only hangs 1 1/2" over the pedestal.

Yo Oscar! thanks for the wood working tip. Unfortunately those end joints wont work because the sides lap each other 3/4" so that I can put T-molding on them. This leaves me with a T-joint I believe its called. I was going to use wood dowels then add some simson strong ties for the inside corners. let me know if you know of any thing easier or better than using dowels. I'm open to any method that will make strong corners.

I look forward to posting pics. I done lots of planning to make it look aesthetically pleasing. It should turn out good. I have been building houses as a contractor for sevral years but my fine carpentry skills are not as good.    For example, I have never used a dowel jig.