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quarterback:
Success!   I think the threaded insert is the perfect answer to building break-down cabs... at least of the cocktail variety.

I just got a cocktail kit and ordered a bunch of threaded inserts from Woodcraft.com in anticipation of seeing what I could do with them.

I put the cab together using about half of the wooden dowels.  I laid out my L-brackets, marked the hole-centers, took the cab back apart, used the proper sized drill bit, drilled the holes, used my drill with a flathead screwdriver bit and drilled in the inserts.   

No drill press, no jig, no fancy tools needed.  Just a drill and some bits.  I can't say they were all perfectly 100% straight, but there's only one that doesn't look perfectly straight.  It was the last one I did (at ~3am) and it went into the hole at a angle.   My fault for being sloppy and careless.  :(

I put the rest of the dowels in, put the cab back together and started threading in all my bolts.  Brilliant!  Feeling the metal bolt against the metal threads of the inserts is awesome and I have no concerns (yet, at least) that this is going to break apart on me.  It seems solid as a rock.  And now, I can take the whole thing down whenever I want.  I love it.  Definitely worth the ~$20 I spent for the hardware to do it.

Some pics:




rdagger:
Did you drill through the wood or just deep enough to install the insert?   What are the dimensions of the inserts?

quarterback:

--- Quote from: rdagger on December 21, 2005, 12:14:21 pm ---Did you drill through the wood or just deep enough to install the insert?   What are the dimensions of the inserts?
--- End quote ---

Just deep enough for the inserts.  The reason I didn't go the T-nut direction is because I didn't want any hardware showing on the outside of the cab.   

The inserts I got are internally threaded for 10-24 and are 1/2" long.  I used a 3/8" drill bit for the hole (as recommended by woodcraft for these inserts).   I don't have a drill-bit-stop (is that what they're called?) so I wrapped masking tape around my drill bit so I'd know when I hit the 1/2" depth, which worked just fine.   I then used 10-24 x 1/2" bolts to put the whole thing together.

whammoed:
Nice job.  Do you think you'll ever actually take it apart though?
My first cocktail could be disassembled if necessary, but never did...ended up selling it.  I thought it would be handy though to replace a panel if one was ever damaged or needed a design change.

quarterback:

--- Quote from: whammoed on December 21, 2005, 12:25:03 pm ---Nice job.  Do you think you'll ever actually take it apart though?
--- End quote ---

Probably not :D
I like to keep my options open, though.

I moved around a LOT in my 20s (& 30s) living in many many different states during a small portion of that time, so having an arcade cab (of any sort) wasn't really ever an option.  Even though I'm currently stable, I'd hate to have a fully constructed machine that I felt like I had to get rid of if I was to move, or that I'd be worried about getting destroyed while somebody else moved it.   So I really like the option of flattening this out.

And honestly, I'd like to have the ability to use this kit as a template at some point in the future.  A cocktail or bartop are probably the most likely kind of cab that I'd realistically build myself (I doubt I'll ever build a full sized upright).   But even with a bartop or a cocktail, I know it would take me a long time to make sure I got all the parts right.... and even then I'd potentially screw something up.   

But with this kit, I could either trace out the parts or use a router to cut out the pieces and, voila, I'd have a new kit.   

But yeah, you're right.  It's possible I never break it down :)

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