Build Your Own Arcade Controls Forum
Main => Main Forum => Topic started by: LurkingLizard on August 04, 2003, 03:52:31 pm
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I'm in the planning stages of stand-alone control panel, and I'm wondering about the best way to hold all the peices of wood together. My prior experience in woodworking pretty much amounts to hammering nails into boards during my childhood, often yielding crooked results. I know nails are probably a bad idea for this anyway.
I was thinking of using small metal L-shaped brackets screwed onto the inside of the box. Would that be sturdy enough? I could use these in the corners to hold all the sides together. The left and right sides could be fastened to the top panel, but since it has a slope the top panel couldn't be fastened to the box at the front or back edges.
Are brackets the way to go, or are there other/better ideas that I should consider?
Thanks.
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L-Brackets work well, but you should also use woodglue, the brackets are mainly there to make sure everything holds together whilst the glue sets.
Check my site for some pics of L-Brackets holding my controller together.
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metal L-brackets are one way, but I'd still not use them as my sole means of attachment. You can forget about nails, you're not framing a house ;)
L-Brackets are good for setting and holding pieces together......but I'd always use screws of some sort into the appropriate joined edges.
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I'm DEFINATELY not an expert, but i found that pre-drilling holes, then using 2" wood screws worked REALLY well.
If you countersink them, you can use PlasticWood to fill them, sand it down and it'll be all but unnoticable.
BTW when you're painting MDF, remember to prime it (i didn't, and i regret it) since the side of your board and the top of your boards will look very different if you don't.
If i had to do it again, i'd use some wood glue as well.