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Sasquatch!:

--- Quote from: marsmarvin on August 27, 2004, 02:00:16 pm ---Goofy:

One of the most critical things to get right in the making of your cab is that it is square.

Here's some good advice on this:

http://www.arcadeparadise.org/arcade/ap3/cabinetconstruction.html

Sasquatch used homemade plumbs (I used kite sting and fishing weights for my plumbs) to get the cabinet plumb before screwing it down.

Of course it's critical that you have the cabinet sitting level on it's side while doing this.

See figure 3 on the page I just referenced.
--- End quote ---
HOLY COW, someone found that useful??  I thought everyone would think I was out of my tree when I documented that.  ;)

patrickl:

--- Quote from: Sasquatch! on August 31, 2004, 10:30:39 pm ---
--- Quote from: marsmarvin on August 27, 2004, 02:00:16 pm ---Goofy:

One of the most critical things to get right in the making of your cab is that it is square.

Here's some good advice on this:

http://www.arcadeparadise.org/arcade/ap3/cabinetconstruction.html

Sasquatch used homemade plumbs (I used kite sting and fishing weights for my plumbs) to get the cabinet plumb before screwing it down.

Of course it's critical that you have the cabinet sitting level on it's side while doing this.

See figure 3 on the page I just referenced.
--- End quote ---
HOLY COW, someone found that useful??  I thought everyone would think I was out of my tree when I documented that.  ;)

--- End quote ---
Does that even work? Won; the strings hang down at an angle due to the odd (non-symmetrical) shaped weights?

pointdablame:

--- Quote from: patrickl on September 01, 2004, 09:43:21 am ---
--- Quote from: Sasquatch! on August 31, 2004, 10:30:39 pm ---
--- Quote from: marsmarvin on August 27, 2004, 02:00:16 pm ---Goofy:

One of the most critical things to get right in the making of your cab is that it is square.

Here's some good advice on this:

http://www.arcadeparadise.org/arcade/ap3/cabinetconstruction.html

Sasquatch used homemade plumbs (I used kite sting and fishing weights for my plumbs) to get the cabinet plumb before screwing it down.

Of course it's critical that you have the cabinet sitting level on it's side while doing this.

See figure 3 on the page I just referenced.
--- End quote ---
HOLY COW, someone found that useful??  I thought everyone would think I was out of my tree when I documented that.  ;)

--- End quote ---
Does that even work? Won; the strings hang down at an angle due to the odd (non-symmetrical) shaped weights?

--- End quote ---

No, it works just fine as long as the weight is beyond the board you are tyring to square.  Gravity takes care of the rest.

neuromancer:
I have a small shop.

I have a Sears table saw that I really like. It folds down and has wheels built into the side so you can move it to the corner when you're not using it.

Tools in the order I find them handy: Cordless drill, table saw, power mitre saw, circular saw, reciprocating saw, router, jig saw.

My cordless drill is a 14v 1/2 drill that will drive 4" screws into oak.

To rip sheets of plywood with my circular saw, I use a strip off a piece of plywood clamped to the other sheet as a guide. To crosscut a sheet of plywood, I use a 48" ruler (clamped) as a guide.

When you're cutting, check your measurements twice.

To slot a sheet of plywood, I'd use a dado guide in the table saw. You can use a router, but bits are different sizes than plywood, so you don;t get a good fit.

I wouldn't use 3/4" for the back 1/2" should be way more than necessary. I also woudn't glue it in, because I would want to be able to open it up.

Bob

Zakk:
I'll add $.02 here as well.

The tools I use the most when building the cabinets:

Drill press: There are just soooo many homes to make, and since I use plexi too, this saved me countless hours in cracked and unaligned holes.

Cordless drill: DeWalt is my fav.  I have 3 of them, a 14 volt for the light stuff and a couple of 18V hammerdrills for the heavy drilling/screwing.

Table saw: You can't get a good cut without one, although I have cheated and used the angle iron and circular saw route...I think the best thing is that you can set the fence and make multiple identical cuts, which is near impossible with the clamp and iron.

Router: Oh man, when you need it you need it.  No better way of doing your t-molding or rounding off the edges of your plexi or wood, or countersinking joysticks etc etc etc.  Oscar uses his for his button holes I think.

Band saw: for nice quick cuts in thinner material, it's nice to have the band saw handy.  

Bench grinder: I use this more than I thought I would.  Either rust needs to be buffed off, a piece of metal or plastic is just a smidgen too big, or the edge of the plexi needs to be buffed to a shine.  Big timesaver.
http://www.mameworld.net/massive/How-to/Buff/buffing.htm

Soldering iron: You just can't get by without one when working with these beasts.

big---I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules-- metal ruler: Indespenible when you need it.

Jig saw: I use this fella when I want a whacked curve or something.  I never have had luck with them, so I try to avoid it.

Biscuit joiner: I have Narm's yankee workshop to thank for this.  I use it on almost every joint I make, however it's not needed, and yep, it makes a pretty permanent bond, so best to measure twice cut once kind of thing.

Palm sander: Nice for quickly sanding the putty holes, and rough edges.

Welder: Oscer got me hooked on this, it's nice to be able to make your own bracket/mount/harness/panel etc.  It's not for everyone, but damn it's amazing how many things 'need' to be welded around the house when you're done working on the cab.

CLAMPS!!!: You can never have enough clamps.  Period.

Air compressor: this is admittedly a luxury.  However, I have used it to invisibly tack in t-molding when it didn't want to stay in the slot, and I like to spray paint on pieces without the smell of aerosol paints.

And lots of little things I can't think of now.  Basically, you can't go wrong when buying tools.  TOOLS GOOD!

**edit: forgot mameworld doesn't allow links to pictures.  You'll just have to imagine pictures of tools :)

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