New CP Idea (anyone done this?)

[Jess--]

was sat here thinking about what to make my new CP out of, wanted hard wearing, Heavy, smooth and have never been a big fan of artwork.

what me and my other half came up with was Granite (same as they use for worktops)

know that it should be possible to get the panel made up, just wondered if anyone here had any thoughts on it

[Bones]

It would be a pain in the ass to work with, but given all the correct tools and equipment nothing is impossible.....

Why would heavy be one of your main preferences though?

[missioncontrol]

sounds expensive

[Bones]

Sounds like... sounds exactly like a toe bone breaking.

[missioncontrol]

Sounds like... sounds exactly like a toe bone breaking.

well if there is an expert on broken body parts here then it would be you 

[Jess--]

The reason I want heavy is that at the min my cab seems a little light,

I know that doing this will probably cost me more than I have spent on my cab in total, however it would make it pretty unique (and make the CP pretty hard to destroy)

to get more of an idea of the cab this would be going in follow the link in my sig, this would be replacing the existing panel but would be mounted horizontal instead of at the stupid angle the one on there has at the moment, and it would be extended out by about 2" to give a little more support to the wrists (the current panel is murder on wrists)

any comments / suggestions / criticism about the machine / panel idea welcomed.

Edit: should say that I am stuck with this as a maximum size for a few years yet as it is the biggest size I can fit in the house without it taking over the room, (currently sits behind kitchen / office door nicely

[Bones]

Cost is insignificant! 

If this is what you want then I say more power to you. Good luck with it.

[Jess--]

its just an idea at the min, I know I have to change the CP at some point and was nosing around at some of the control panel art kicking around, one looked like marble, and that set me thinking.

should say that I would not be building a frankenpanel, just a simple 6 / 7 button 2 player panel

no admin buttons etc as I now have that pretty much taken care of and no credit buttons as my coin mech is fully working.

[missioncontrol]

The reason I want heavy is that at the min my cab seems a little light,

throw a couple ciner blocks into the botton...

voila instant weight. 

no seriosly if you want to do it then I say go for it.

[Sephroth57]

whatever floats your boat. personally i think its kind of pointless/expensive

[TMS]

Granite, the kind used in countertops, runs about $65-80/sqft. That is just slab if you want it cut,shaved, or rounded you are looking at like $100

[DrewKaree]

Not only that, but you've got to think about AFTER you've got it all wired up and stuff.  Think of the size of the hinges you're gonna need to use.  I promise you they all look like ass around that size.  Looks like gate hardware.

Here's a better less costly idea.  Get the wife/gf to do the faux marble or Google faux granite.  You'll end up with something infinitely better suited to a cab, far less costly, and easier to machine and/or fix if the need arises.

You've also got to take into account that you're adding weight to the front of your cab unnecessarily.  You may have to fortify the CP just to even use granite, but from the looks of the size you'll need, perhaps not. 

Basically I'm saying granite, while it WOULD be super sweet and cool and durable, just isn't very practical for this application.  If you could get your hands on a slab of Corian or something similar, THAT might be a winner-winner-chicken-dinner idea, plus you'd be able to machine it yourself.

[Jess--]

would mount the panel the same way as the current one is held in place (2 latches from underneath)

the weight of the panel has already been taken into consideration where the panel fits on the cab is strong enough to bear the weight already.

getting it machined shouldnt be too much of a problem as I know a local stonemason, the size I would be looking for from him would be classed as scrap as far as he is concerned, and I am pretty sure that as long as I was in no hurry for the panel to be made up he would just work on it when he had nothing else to do and it would cost me very little (just might take a month or two to finish)

probably everyone on here thinks I am nuts for even thinking of doing this..... very tempting to do it just to confirm to everyone that I really am

[missioncontrol]

if you spend most you time in EE then we allready know your off your off your rocker

[AmericanDemon]

Don't forget the issues with screwing items into Granite.  Trying to attach your joysticks could cause fractures.

Granite isn't too expensive if you know someone.  I used to work for a company and the cost to the company was $12.50 a square foot.  Funny eh?

If you wanna go for it, then do it.  You may have to epoxy some sort of mounting bracket for the joys.  Also once you screw through it, the edges get to chipping fast. 

Personally I wouldnt go that route.  Its nice for a solid countertop, but the more holes you put in it, the faster its going to break on you.

[Stingray]

Well, I dig wacky, especially if it's just wacky for wacky's sake. So you can consider yourself as having my full support.

That should talk him out of it.

-S

[menace]

Just becasue you CAN do a thing, doesn't mean you SHOULD do a thing.  I'm all for new ideas but this sounds pretty lame IMHO.    You would have to have so much bracing underneath the CP just to prevent the granite from cracking--ever seen under a granite countertop?  thing is reinforced up the wazoo cause granite has virtually no strength in tension and if you push down on the top of the panel--this creates bending--meaning tension on the bottom and compression on the top--crack city.

If you want to go ahead but i'm thinking innovationshould move things forward not make everything unnecessarily unweildy and difficult, not to mention expensive.

[paigeoliver]

I used to work at a place that dealt with a lot of marble and granite. The stuff would break if you even looked at it funny, much less picked it up wrong, banged into it, or set it down wrong.

[shmokes]

What about a slate veneer?  It's strong, looks great and is relatively thin and light (compared to granite).  Think of, or better yet google slate shingles or slate tiles, for an idea.

[danny_galaga]

was sat here thinking about what to make my new CP out of, wanted hard wearing, Heavy, smooth and have never been a big fan of artwork.

what me and my other half came up with was Granite (same as they use for worktops)

know that it should be possible to get the panel made up, just wondered if anyone here had any thoughts on it

YABBA DABBA DOO! (insert photoshop of fred with granite CP here  )