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Party-Box...Countertop cab w/ laptop & flat screen
odysseyroc:
by "illegal" I mean it's out of the printable color gamut. Super saturated colors don't print well at all because of the CMYK printing process. In photoshop, you can preview in cmyk by pressing command/y if you have a Mac and I think Control Y in Windows. Also your color palette will warn you with an exclamation point inside of a triangle if you pick a color that isn't legal.
IG-88:
--- Quote from: theCoder on May 16, 2006, 12:37:34 am ---
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.
--- End quote ---
I wouldn't go for the Birch ply if I were you. The $$ is way too high. Have you ever thought of using "solid" wood? The store I buy my lumber at has this 3/4"x 36"x 48" stuff that is actually little strips of pine that are glued together to form the wide widths. I believe it is used for shelving. It's really cheap and as flat or square as MDF, lighter and MUCH easier to work with.
You could probably get away with using 1/2" ply that is surfaced on one side. I dunno. Heck, take a stroll around your local mega lumber yard you should be able to find something.
Oh ya, have you thought about using masonite for the bendable pieces? You may want to check that out also...
theCoder:
IG-88 - My cabinet builder buddy also suggested going with 1/2" wood to reduce the weight but the 3/4" t-molding is already in. He ordered the 3/4" birch wood for me so I was committed. Regarding solid vs. plywood, He has been building cabinets and fine furnature for over 20 years. Who am I to question his recommendation.
Today I had a chance to cut out the side panels. When I transferred the profile from paper to wood I had a chance to double check the overall fit of the CPU, monitor, power transformers etc. I further reduced the height by shortening the top point. I also reduced the height of the control panel by
vrf:
wow, it's going to be plenty sturdy.
I'm interested in seeing how the curves turn out. (You're a braver man that I.) Keep up the good work!
theCoder:
Supporting Ribs
Tonight I made a lot of progress on the cross members. These pieces provide the shape for the outer skin and are the retaining supports for the CPU and monitor.
It is really critical that all pieces are the same length. I clamped down a scrap piece of wood on the table by the cutoff saw at exactly 18". This provided a jig for all pieces made.
I want the top leading edge piece to be smooth and match the contour of the outer edge. I transferred the profile to both edges of a board. I then very smoothly sanded it with a table mounted belt sander. I had to work one side at a time, eventually matching the profile.
Here's a shot of the top edge piece sitting in place
Originally I was thinking about skinning the front under the CP. After evaluating things with the side panels cut, I decided to just go with a solid piece of wood. It is going to be much stronger and less problematic. So much for all the weight I cut out of the monitor and CPU. Oh, well.
The skin on the back contour will start in a recess (yet to be cut out ) in the top edge piece, be glued to the two retaining supports, then straight down the back side with two more ribs and finally pinned in a recess in the back-bottom piece. The skin will hopefully be a straight flat surface from the end of the top curve down to the bottom.
The CPU and monitor will be held at the top and bottom with slotted cross members. The monitor will be mounted on a piece of
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