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Building 2x bartop cabinets (Second cabinet complete!!!)

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dmworking247:
They're not as easy to come by as a regular router bit, but they're not special order either.

A quick search at Home Depot (US store):
Slot Cutters at Home Depot

You need the blade, and an arbor (the shaft)... The shaft should have a bearing on it to glide it along the edge of the panel, and restrict the slot from being cut too deep.

Roughly the right type of shaft : Arbor shaft

dmworking247:
UPDATE #1

This morning I went to the hardware store to get a router bit I needed to cut a recess behind the side panel slots. After arriving at the hardware store, realizing I left my wallet at home, and heading back again... I found the router bit for A$37 (US$33) , which I couldn't justify for the few cuts I wanted to do.

However, I got a great deal on this 'spiral saw' for A$20 (US$18) which is basically a mini-router with attachments to do freehand routing or routing clean circles.  I used this to route the rebates by hand using a straight router bit and scrap MDF as a guide to keep the lines straight.  I already had a round-over bit which I used to curve the outer edges.

New Tool:


Round-over routing for externally visible edges


Recess routed for mounting the laptop LCD on the back of the rotating mount.


Routed speaker holes (external side). Router bit shown.


Side panels of both cabinets routed (rebates on inside for mounting, round-over on the outside for smooth curve)


LCD loosely mounted in rotating mount. Perfect fit.


Behind the LCD mount. LCD sits flush with the back of the MDF, which will allow the rest of the stripped-down laptop to be mounted.


The laptop (the battery will be removed for reduced weight, and I've yet to attempt hacking the power button which is integrated into the keyboard).


Overall I'm happy with the progress as routing is a delicate job (you can make BIG mistakes with routers). I've also glued & fixed the braces on all of the panels so its almost ready to put together. I had hoped to have some pictures of the pieces together and start experimenting with paint types on scrap MDF.... that will have to wait till next update.

While I'm still undecided on artwork themes, the colour schemes will be fluro green t-molding & joysticks on my cabinet, and sky-blue on the other.

IG-88:

Hey dm, Can you shorten up these links so this baby can fit all on one page?  ;D  Nice designs by the way !

leapinlew:
Looking good...

It'll be cool to breath some new life into a Thinkpad. I used a laptop on my last bartop, the only thing I had to do before I could use the laptop was hack the power button since my laptop(and I assume most) didn't have a boot on power option.

Another thing you will want to do is get a good high quality fan to exhaust air. I went with a cheapy $2 job on one of my earlier cabinets and it's too loud for my comfort.

theCoder:

--- Quote from: dmworking247 on October 14, 2007, 08:28:58 am ---...I've yet to attempt hacking the power button which is integrated into the keyboard).


--- End quote ---
Trying to hack the power button on my Partybox project, the solution ended up going in from the backside.  I demolished the switch from the front, but could not get at the leads until I took a dremel tool and hacked away the plastic beneath the switch.  With a power supply connected, I started shorting the leads together until it came to life.

Good luck with your project.

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