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Party-Box...Countertop cab w/ laptop & flat screen
theCoder:
--- Quote from: TOK on May 10, 2006, 07:41:40 pm ---Great project. I liked your initial design better than the new one, but I prefer a traditional looking cabinet.
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Thanks for the comments. I think I'm going to stick with the curved design. The more traditional one has been done before. I'm up for the challenge.
--- Quote from: vrf on May 10, 2006, 04:43:21 am ---I really wanted to have more curves on my design, too, but in the end decided it would be too difficult to build.
The profile pieces are easy to cut up all curvy and such, but it's harder to build the cross sections. Maybe you're thinking of bending material somehow?
Anyhow, great hacking job. This will be a cool little cab.
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I'm thinking about using 1x1" or 1x2" ribs along the top edge and lower front and skin it with 1/8" or 1/4" plywood. It's going to take some experimentation to get it looking right. The back and bottoms will be straight pieces. I was thinking the contour on the bottom would only be cosmetic, done with flat black paint. If that looks too cheesy I might route out a slight recess and let the shadows provide the effect. We'll see.
--- Quote from: markc74 on May 11, 2006, 07:16:24 am ---How are you planning on covering the monitor i.e. bezel?
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For the bezel I'm thinking about using 1/4" or 3/8" plywood with a rounded corner hole cut out; then come through with a router and give it a rounded chamfer. I don't have much room to work with. The monitor will be physically attached to the back side of the bezel piece. As with the bent wood, I've got some experimentation to do.
I'm definitely open to suggestions.
theCoder:
Side Art
One thing on my todo list is to learn Photoshop. I know you can make a career of it, there is so much you can do with it. I just want to get to the point where I can generate the occasional logo or cool user interface graphic to add a little punch to my applications at work. Now is the time. After many nights doing tutorial after tutorial, I'm sort of getting past the initial brick wall learning curve.
Below is my first draft of the side art for the PartyBox. I'm into abstract art. This has the light hearted feel I was looking for with a slight hint of grunge.
odysseyroc:
Your cyans, magentas and greens are "illegal". They will grey out quite a bit in the printing process. This piece also screams out "Hey, I'm learning photoshop!". I would tone down on the beveling and drop shadows. Right now your cast shadows and highlights (on the letters) are in conflicting directions.
Quarterhorse:
I had a MAJOR problem when I tried to use my Dell latitude in a cocktail.
When I unhooked the monitor from the laptop + motherboard, things went very awry. It had ran fine on the external monitor prior to disconnecting the laptop's monitor, but the screen resolution changed immensely despite reinstalling windows XP and the proper drivers after taking off the monitor. Additionally, I had to reinstall all the usb drivers (it would no longer recognize usb keyboard, IPAC, etc). Hopefully yours won't act as schizo as mine did when I took off the monitor....so test it out first BEFORE having your cab done....
theCoder:
--- Quote from: odysseyroc on May 15, 2006, 04:41:12 am ---Your cyans, magentas and greens are "illegal". They will grey out quite a bit in the printing process. This piece also screams out "Hey, I'm learning photoshop!". I would tone down on the beveling and drop shadows. Right now your cast shadows and highlights (on the letters) are in conflicting directions.
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Thanks for the feedback. What do you mean by "illegal"? What printing process does that? Regarding the screams... thanks. I'll tone it down a bit. I also need to change the shape. The oval does not go with the crescent contour. I'll post another image for you guys to throw rocks at, er, ah, critique.
--- Quote from: Quarterhorse on May 15, 2006, 10:36:15 am ---I had a MAJOR problem when I tried to use my Dell latitude in a cocktail.
When I unhooked the monitor from the laptop + motherboard, things went very awry. It had ran fine on the external monitor prior to disconnecting the laptop's monitor, but the screen resolution changed immensely despite reinstalling windows XP and the proper drivers after taking off the monitor. Additionally, I had to reinstall all the usb drivers (it would no longer recognize usb keyboard, IPAC, etc). Hopefully yours won't act as schizo as mine did when I took off the monitor....so test it out first BEFORE having your cab done....
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Good advice on testing before building. Not that I've ever been burned on that before. Sorry to hear about your experience. Perhaps the monitor had a critical PCB embedded somewhere? I lucked out. It worked fine.
Last night I did the first test of the system following the surgeries on both the CPU and Monitor. Success. Next I need to test the hacked up a pair of amplified speakers. I'll want to make sure they still work before cutting any holes.
Tomorrow I'm picking up the wood for this project. I spoke with a cabinet maker friend of mine. He recommended going with birch plywood. He showed me some stuff he uses that has 12 plies. He claims it is stronger than MDF, is a little lighter (remember my weight goal of < 25#), and takes wood screws much better. Unfortunately it is more expensive than MDF (around $50 per 4x8 sheet). I asked him about using formica for the rounded surfaces, but he said it is only good if you have a solid surface under the entire area. He also said it does not take well to paint. He recommended going with a "bendable" plywood for the rounded surfaces. My neighbor had a stack of old 1/8" paneling that is 3 ply. I'll give it a try.
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