Centering a computer monitor in a cocktail top.

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

Okay.  Let me preface this by saying I passed high school geometry with a C-

With that in mind, I'm in a pickle.

The plywood from which I'm cutting my cocktail arcade's top is 24" wide, by 33" long.

I want to center the screen of my computer monitor in the top (obviously).  But here's the tricky part:  The computer screen isn't centered in the monitor's casing.  So I have to OFFSET the hole I cut, in order for the actual screen to be centered.  In other words, if I center the monitor by the dimensions of its CASING (instead of the actual screen), then the screen will be off center.  And I don't want that.

I drew up a diagram in photoshop to get a better visualization of it.  The LIGHT GRAY part is what needs to be centered in the wood (the..."wood" colored part,  )...in order to do that, I need to know where to draw the "guide lines" to properly allign the casing...so that the SCREEN will be centered...

Hope you guys can help.  And don't laugh too hard at my piss poor geometry skills.  I'm a psych major, after all...

[NickG]

If this is the very top piece and you do not want your monitor casing showing then the hole you cut should be centered, not offset.  Any supportive framing beneath the top should then be offset.

warning: not to scale.

1.  find dead center of your arcade's top by drawing intersecting lines (shown in red)
2.  measure half of each dimension of screen from center in each direction for cut lines (blue)
3.  Guide lines measure from the second set of lines (blue) as shown in for perimeter placement guidelines (green).  alternatively add (0.5 * screen dimension) (blue) and monitor casing dimension (green) and measure from center for the "guide lines".

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

The monitor casing will be showing.  I plan to elevate it enough to sit flush (or almost flush) with the top of the wood.  In this case, if the casing should be centered, I'm pretty sure the screen would be off center?  I don't want that.  As far as aesthetics go, I'm not that concerned because 1) The monitor casing is black.  2) The top is to be painted black, and 3) A piece of smoked glass is to go over the whole mess. I'm pretty sure any visibility of the off-center hole would be more or less blacked out, haha.  The casing that would show around the monitor, would more or less serve as its own bezel.

Structurally speaking, I won't be mounting the monitor from the top.  It will be elevated and supported from the bottom..

My intentions are to basically get the monitor as close to the glass top as possible so that "leaning over to see the screen" is minimized.  It's a flat-screen CRT, so I'm thinking it should be relatively easy to snug it up as close to the glass as possible.

[fa001]

Find the center point of both the wood and the monitor screen. Then make all measurements relative to that point.
So on the monitor measure how far up, down, left, and right it is to the edge that you want showing. Then on the wood measure out those distances up, down, left and right from the wood center point.
Note that you will need to add to those distances if you are going to set a guide board for you saw on the lines.

[javeryh]

Find the center point of both the wood and the monitor screen. Then make all measurements relative to that point.
So on the monitor measure how far up, down, left, and right it is to the edge that you want showing. Then on the wood measure out those distances up, down, left and right from the wood center point.
Note that you will need to add to those distances if you are going to set a guide board for you saw on the lines.

This is exactly what I did. 

[NickG]

The monitor casing will be showing.  I plan to elevate it enough to sit flush (or almost flush) with the top of the wood.  In this case, if the casing should be centered, I'm pretty sure the screen would be off center?  I don't want that.  As far as aesthetics go, I'm not that concerned because 1) The monitor casing is black.  2) The top is to be painted black, and 3) A piece of smoked glass is to go over the whole mess. I'm pretty sure any visibility of the off-center hole would be more or less blacked out, haha.  The casing that would show around the monitor, would more or less serve as its own bezel.

Structurally speaking, I won't be mounting the monitor from the top.  It will be elevated and supported from the bottom..

My intentions are to basically get the monitor as close to the glass top as possible so that "leaning over to see the screen" is minimized.  It's a flat-screen CRT, so I'm thinking it should be relatively easy to snug it up as close to the glass as possible.

In that case you will want to cut at the green lines instead of the blue lines.  These should measure 8.5625" (7.1825"+ 1.375") from center in each direction on the horizontal.  On the vertical you will need to cut 7" (5.375" + 1.625") in one direction from center and 8.625" (5.375"+3.25") from center in the other direction.     

[rrcade]

Hate to burst your bubble but a flat screen is gonna suck for a table top, you need the curve of a normal monitor or else you picture will look distorted unless you standing up looking directly down on the Flat screen.

What's up with your avitar? You look like an Angry clown

[NickG]

Hate to burst your bubble but a flat screen is gonna suck for a table top, you need the curve of a normal monitor or else you picture will look distorted unless you standing up looking directly down on the Flat screen.

What's up with your avitar? You look like an Angry clown

That's only if it is an LCD, right?  This guy is using a flat-screen" CRT; would the picture still seem distorted?

[leapinlew]

Hate to burst your bubble but a flat screen is gonna suck for a table top, you need the curve of a normal monitor or else you picture will look distorted unless you standing up looking directly down on the Flat screen.

What's up with your avitar? You look like an Angry clown

That's only if it is an LCD, right?  This guy is using a flat-screen" CRT; would the picture still seem distorted?

It'll look fine. I just did one and it looked good.

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

Hate to burst your bubble but a flat screen is gonna suck for a table top, you need the curve of a normal monitor or else you picture will look distorted unless you standing up looking directly down on the Flat screen.

What's up with your avitar? You look like an Angry clown

Thanks for the encouragement, and kind words.   

Tomorrow morning, try your cheerios without piss in them.  They'll taste a little better, I promise.

Thanks, everyone else, for the advice!  This community is super helpful, as always!   

[rrcade]

If it's a crt it'll probably look o.k.  but I know lcds look terrible from an angle.

But really what's with the Tough Guy with rosey cheeks avitar?

[ArtsNFartsNCrafts]

Totally not important.