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The Arcade Even A Wife Can Love (Back From The Dead!)
Kaytrim:
--- Quote from: javeryh on February 12, 2008, 02:04:16 pm ---
--- Quote from: Kaytrim on February 12, 2008, 09:43:56 am ---Nice work so far Javeryh. What is the finish plan, stain and polyurathane?
TTFN
Kaytrim
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Thanks Kaytrim - you are correct. I'm going to put 2 coats of stain and 4-5 coats of poly on top... I'm a little puzzled by the directions on the can though. I chose "Red Mahogany" as my finish and on the can it says do not use that one color (out of all of them) with the poly. I'm guessing the poly will distort Red Mahogany or something so I have to think of something else. Minwax sells a bunch of different clear top coats - one of them is bound to work...
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It is possible that the oils in the poly will bleach the red in the stain. Your best bet is to take a piece of scrap and do some testing. You could also visit their website and ask them what would be the best topcoat to use with your choice of stain.
TTFN
mountain:
Looking great Javeryh :cheers:
DeLuSioNal29:
Read the whole topic. Great job! Can't wait to see the finished (pun intended) product!
~ DeLuSioNaL
javeryh:
Thanks guys! This cab is an exercise in patience for me. It's much harder to find time to build with two kids instead of the one for some reason. Anyway, here's a little update:
The next thing on the list was building the control panel box. It was quite complicated since I decided to miter every single joint including the bottom panel.
The overall dimensions are:
* Bottom panel: 12" x 32"
* Side panels: 12" on the bottom edge; 5-1/4" on the back edge; 4-1/4" on the front edge (it's exactly a 5 degree slope).
* Front panel: 4-1/4" x 32"
* Back panel: 5-1/4" x 32"
* Every corner is mitered at 45 degrees
* The top edges of the front and back panels are mitered at 5 degrees to match the slope of the side panels so the control panel top will sit flush
* The two holes in the side panels are for pinball flippers
These dimensions are completely ripped off from Knievel's design but I haven't seen them posted all in one place so hopefully this will help someone. After cutting all of the pieces I did a dry fit for the side panels to check for squareness and if everything was going to fit together properly. Note that the box is upside down in this picture.
Once I decided everything was lined up properly it was time to cut the slots for the biscuits to hold everything together. I could have probably used just wood glue and nothing else but the biscuits will provide a very secure bond between the panels. Here's a shot of the side panel without the slot:
Next you can see a shot of the biscuit joiner lined up with the mitered edge. All I had to do was set the fence to 45 degrees to cut all of the biscuit slots. I am not familiar with this tool at all but it was really easy to do.
The next shot shows the slot:
The next shot shows the biscuit in the slot. It's a #10 size biscuit - I tried 20s but the slot went all the way through the wood on my test cut so that wasn't going to work.
This process was repeated on all of the mitered edges. I used one biscuit in the corners and ten of them on the bottom panel (three on the 32" long edges and two on the 12" shorter ones). In my next post I'll show the glue up and the final results (God only knows whenever that might be).
Overall I'm pleased although it's not as *perfect* as I was hoping to get everything. I'm hoping the finishing process will eliminate any visual imperfections/minor gaps in the construction. If not, since the control panel is completely separate I can always try again! :cheers:
javeryh:
Ugh. I have to completely redo the CP box. I tried staining it yesterday and it came out horrible. I'm not sure what I'm going to do... I think it was a bit cold out for staining and maybe not enough direct light to work with. I'm finding out that birch is tough to stain evenly too... For the next box I build I'm going to stain first and then assemble. I think I'll have an easier time working with unassembled pieces because all of the test pieces I stained came out great. I'll add the poly after the glue up. I'm also scared to stain the cabinet itself now. I might have to take that super slow and only stain a side a day or something so I can lay it down to work on.
:angry: