Bezel Ideas

[orangelounge]

Hey all,

I'm looking for ideas for a bezel for a 27" TV.  I made the mistake of getting the Happ Controls 27" bezel, paid a load on shipping, and accidentally cut it too small =(

Any suggestions for other materials/things I could try?

Thanks!

[bkenobi]

Cardboard + spray paint.

[Franco B]

3/5mm acrylic (god I'm a acrylic whore  )

Cut a template out of MDF and then use that to template route the acrylic bezel.

[Beretta]

Cardboard + spray paint.

hate to say it but this actually works.. or buy black poster board..

however if you want a bit more "depth" there was a thread on here on how to make your own 3D bezel complete with PDF download.. do a search.. never made one but i heard they look great.

[TAG]

Black foam core board

[Sledgehammer]

I second the black foam core board suggestion. You can easily cut the opening for the monitor with a straight edge and an Xacto knife. Cut the board to the exact interior width of your cab and it pretty much holds itself in place. I use smoked plexi for my bezel glass and you only see the lit up monitor...you never see the foam board (meaning it doesn't stand out so you notice it.)

Worked well for me on two of my most recent cabs...

[Nacimroc]

Can't picture what this black foam board stuff is! 

I got some spare acrylic so might try that route. Do you cover the acrylic with a black film or something ?

[Sledgehammer]

The black foam board is sold at a store like Michael's (craft store)...pretty much like a woman's hobby store (LOL).

They sell fabrics and art materials and stickers and stuff like that.

Target might have it but it's more likely to be found at a craft type store.

J

[TAG]

I got my black foam core board on sale at Hobby Lobby.  I'm not sure where you live, but they have locations everywhere but the west coast and the northeast.

[syph007]

The black foam board is sold at a store like Michael's (craft store)...pretty much like a woman's hobby store (LOL).

They sell fabrics and art materials and stickers and stuff like that.

Target might have it but it's more likely to be found at a craft type store.

J

I have a Michaels near me.. If i just ask for black foam board will they know what I mean?

[versapak]

The black foam board is sold at a store like Michael's (craft store)...pretty much like a woman's hobby store (LOL).

They sell fabrics and art materials and stickers and stuff like that.

Target might have it but it's more likely to be found at a craft type store.

J

I have a Michaels near me.. If i just ask for black foam board will they know what I mean?

They should.

It is a pretty common item. I found it in an assortment of colors at walmart right next to the poster board (foam board is 2 sheets of poster board sandwiching a foam core).

[FrizzleFried]

Why make it difficult on  yourself?   Simply tape up a nice square in the middle of your plexi/glass bezel and spray paint around the edges from the back side...

That's what I did here....

[bkenobi]

Painting the back side of the glass does look really nice.  But, if you are trying to hide the edges of your display, that won't really help (of course, any flat insert like foam core will have the same issue).

[garnerb350]

Painting the back side of the glass does look really nice.  But, if you are trying to hide the edges of your display, that won't really help (of course, any flat insert like foam core will have the same issue).

I did the same as what frizzlefried was refering...It does look nice...to hide my edges...I bought some wood molding from Lowes and glued them around the outer edge of the pexi...



Hard to see it from the photo...but it just regular half round floor molding....saved me a bunch of money on my car insurance...

[syph007]

Anyone have any good tips on how to cut the foam board on each side to match the profile of a curved crt?  I'm sure there is a simple solution, but I cant think of one.  I don't have a large contour gauge or anything similar.

[bkenobi]

Make a template out of throw away material (news paper, card stock, etc).

[Blanka]

I made the mistake of getting the Happ Controls 27" bezel, paid a load on shipping, and accidentally cut it too small =

Buy it again and don't cut it too small this time  
Foamboard stinks. The edges are damn ugly (10 points if you can cut THAT STUFF nice), and the looks of the structure of the paper part is no pick nick either. Using foamboard is soliciting for a page on CrapMame.
Spray-paint the glass, and make a frame between the glass and the screen of ABS plastic or so. You can glue ABS easily and use filler to make it perfect if needed. Spray paint the frame in black too. If you make the frame a little larger than the hole in the paint on the glass, making it fit perfect is not even needed. It's just there to prevent looking into the box like you can do on FrizzleFrieds cab.

[Turnarcades]

Depending on how close your monitor is to the acrylic/perspex/plexi, you could cut a suitable wooden bezel and shape the edges of the hole you cut for a better finish. We've done this on many cabinets and it looks great. If you want it to fit the curves of your monitor and hide the monitor surround better, you can route out the back of it a bit to push it onto the screen, then sand theedges of the hole to the contour of your screen. Here is a picture ofone of ours with a wooden bezel:

[Blanka]

I just see black

[Turnarcades]

I just see black

Yeah, doesn't show up too well on that pic, just noticed. Can't seem to find a better one at the moment either, gotta do some housekeeping in our project build records....

[KissMyWookie]

I picked up a good tip from a DIY show for making templates...
Cut strips of cardboard - length of each depends on the radius you're making the template for - butt the pieces up against your object (around the edge of the monitor) and tape them together one at a time.

Now you have a master template, lay it onto either a permanent template material (ie: thin mdf) or directly onto what you want to cut and trace around the edge (the inside edge in this case).

You'll need to smooth out the curves a little, because tracing around the cardboard strips will have given it a polygon look.

Finally, it's time to carefully cut out your material and amaze yourself with a perfect fitting bezel!

Steve

[Beretta]

Spray-paint the glass, and make a frame between the glass and the screen of ABS plastic or so. You can glue ABS easily and use filler to make it perfect if needed.

can you go into a bit more detail? when i hear abs plastic i think drain pipe

[spOOf]

Why make it difficult on  yourself?   Simply tape up a nice square in the middle of your plexi/glass bezel and spray paint around the edges from the back side...

I love this painting idea!  I've been trying repeatedly to frame my monitor out and it looks like crap.  This seems a simple, yet elegant solution.

For the guys who have gone this route... Is there any reason you went with spray paint over rolled paint?  I only ask because I have plenty of black paint for cabinet painting purposes and I'm wondering if I can use that on the plexi as well.

Thanks for the tip!

[bkenobi]

I would think that rolling on the paint might be more prone to bleeding under your masking material.  If you spray it on correctly (meaning in thin coats), you can simply lay the masking material in place (more or less).  If you use rolled on paint, you need to use tape and be very careful about straight lines.  Either should work though.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, spray it on in thin coats. Don't roll it on. Done right, it will look like a black mirror.

[Blanka]

can you go into a bit more detail? when i hear abs plastic i think drain pipe

Here drain-pipe is PVC. ABS is the stuff I can get at a train model building shop in plain white sheets. But I guess the USA does not have model-train-shops as the houses have no attics, and the US has no trains.

[bkenobi]

... and the US has no trains.

THAT'S TOTAL BS!!!  We have 2.

[Ginsu Victim]

... and the US has no trains.

THAT'S TOTAL BS!!!  We have 2.

Yep, they are Thomas...


and Charlie

[Franco B]

Yep, they are Thomas...

Hey, he is OURS!

Find your own fictional anthropomorphic steam locomotive 

[Ginsu Victim]

You can have him.

Bonus points to those who can find the connection between my avatar and the second train pic.  

[FrizzleFried]

Why make it difficult on  yourself?   Simply tape up a nice square in the middle of your plexi/glass bezel and spray paint around the edges from the back side...

I love this painting idea!  I've been trying repeatedly to frame my monitor out and it looks like crap.  This seems a simple, yet elegant solution.

For the guys who have gone this route... Is there any reason you went with spray paint over rolled paint?  I only ask because I have plenty of black paint for cabinet painting purposes and I'm wondering if I can use that on the plexi as well.

Thanks for the tip!

I see no reason why rolled on paint wouldn't work.  You don't need to worry whether it's glossy or not as it becomes glossy because of the plexi.  The plexi also makes it a smooth finish regardless of how ugly it looks on the back side.

[Ginsu Victim]

I was concerned about a texture somehow showing through, but I guess not. I've never seen it rolled on.

[spOOf]

I'll try it out and let you guys know.  Good point about the tapping though.  I'll have to make sure I do that really well so it doesn't bleed through.

[speedklz]

The connection Ginsu is from the Gunslinger by Stephen King.. My favorite books..And it wasnt Charlie Cho Cho it was Blain the Train, Blain the Pain! hehe

[speedklz]

What do I win!

[Beretta]

can you go into a bit more detail? when i hear abs plastic i think drain pipe

Here drain-pipe is PVC. ABS is the stuff I can get at a train model building shop in plain white sheets. But I guess the USA does not have model-train-shops as the houses have no attics, and the US has no trains.

i'll havea look around, did'nt know you could buy abs in sheets.

yes we mostly use PVC for drain pipes now days.. although it use to be ABS (black).. most of my house drains are plumed in abs the really aweful thing here is ABS was used over PVC years ago because it was suitable yet cheaper then PVC, now that everyone is using PVC it's really hard to find ABS and when you do it's much more expensive then PVC now.

you can not use PVC glue to join them together either the glues are different

[Ginsu Victim]

The connection Ginsu is from the Gunslinger by Stephen King.. My favorite books..And it wasnt Charlie Cho Cho it was Blain the Train, Blain the Pain! hehe

Actually, it's from The Waste Lands, book three of The Dark Tower saga, and that IS Charlie the Choo-choo.

This is Blaine the Mono:

What do I win!

You get to keep your life.

[speedklz]

I have the books but i have never seen that picture..

[Ginsu Victim]

Both pics are from The Waste Lands.

[speedklz]

 I loved the riddles they told while they rode, they were pretty good.