Aszurom's Newbie Cabinet v 1.0

[aszurom]

Well, here's my tentative cabinet design:

http://www.aszurom.com/stuff/cabinet.gif

It's 75 inches tall, 35 deep at the widest point.  27" tv in there pretty much dictated dimensions.

Controls are going to be a Hotrod SE and X-Arcade trackball married on a single panel that's 26" wide, 9" deep.  This gives me about 1/4 inch of slack on either side of the TV, and 2-3" to play with in depth from the rear of the set to the back of the cab.  Since the plywood is 3/4 and I rounded up to whole inches, plus left an inch of "float" between the sides and mount points for the front and back panels, I should have enough "oh #$%!" room in case I need it.

The nifty thing is that this cheap ($199) 27" tv supports component input - so it should be the best a TV can deliver, picture wise.  The box going into it is my previous generation gaming machine, so it's got a 3500+ amd, nvidia 7900gt etc. in it - so I'm not going to be limited to just pacman by any means.

One thing that I think is going to make this a trickier build than the other Luscid style cabinets I've been looking at is that I'm using very nice plywood with a nice woodgrain on it, and intend to stain and polyeurothane seal it.  Sooo... I want to keep exposed screws and such to a minimum.

What happens when you countersink a screw, putty over it, and then stain the surface?  Does the putty stick out big-time or not?

I've been drawing cabinets for like 3 days straight now - god I'm sick of it - and one thing I wanted to completely avoid is the "hammerhead" look where the controls are in a detachable box that is wider than the console.  Since I was forced to 26" width by the tv, I managed to fit all my junk on a control panel that stayed within the side-walls of the cab.

If I'm doing something stupid, tell me quick - I'm going to start sawing tomorrow.

[GAtekwriter]

I can't answer your question about staining over a puttied hole, sorry - I primed and painted over mine and can't find them.

Is the wood your using called Sandiply?  I bought 3 sheets from Home Depot for my cab and that stuff was so smooth (on one side) that my cab required very little sanding - saved some time for sure.

Good luck with your cab - I'm starting prep work on my control panel today (had a few crazy weeks of work where I didn't get anything done on the cab).

Jim

[pacmandude]

Well, here's my tentative cabinet design:

http://www.aszurom.com/stuff/cabinet.gif

It's 75 inches tall, 35 deep at the widest point.  27" tv in there pretty much dictated dimensions.

Controls are going to be a Hotrod SE and X-Arcade trackball married on a single panel that's 26" wide, 9" deep.  This gives me about 1/4 inch of slack on either side of the TV, and 2-3" to play with in depth from the rear of the set to the back of the cab.  Since the plywood is 3/4 and I rounded up to whole inches, plus left an inch of "float" between the sides and mount points for the front and back panels, I should have enough "oh #$%!" room in case I need it.

The nifty thing is that this cheap ($199) 27" tv supports component input - so it should be the best a TV can deliver, picture wise.  The box going into it is my previous generation gaming machine, so it's got a 3500+ amd, nvidia 7900gt etc. in it - so I'm not going to be limited to just pacman by any means.

One thing that I think is going to make this a trickier build than the other Luscid style cabinets I've been looking at is that I'm using very nice plywood with a nice woodgrain on it, and intend to stain and polyeurothane seal it.  Sooo... I want to keep exposed screws and such to a minimum.

What happens when you countersink a screw, putty over it, and then stain the surface?  Does the putty stick out big-time or not?

I've been drawing cabinets for like 3 days straight now - god I'm sick of it - and one thing I wanted to completely avoid is the "hammerhead" look where the controls are in a detachable box that is wider than the console.  Since I was forced to 26" width by the tv, I managed to fit all my junk on a control panel that stayed within the side-walls of the cab.

If I'm doing something stupid, tell me quick - I'm going to start sawing tomorrow.

Yes, the putty sticks out like a sore thumb. It looks awful.

Here are some things you can do:

Countersink, then insert a dowl of the same type of wood in the hole and trim flush.

Screw from the inside at a sharp angle (usually using a simple jig)

Purchase screw cap covers

Check out my Pac-Man cocktail build. I used both of the top two techniques even though I primed and painted.http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=75290.0

[pacmandude]

Whoops, double post.

[DaOld Man]

That design looks very similar to my "The Rage"
Good luck with your build, and I am looking forward to see how the nice plywood turns out. I would like my next build to be lighter, and that may be the way to go.
Also, I fastened all my cabinet parts together with screws from the inside. Screw puttying up holes, that gets old fast.

[pacmandude]

Also, putty isn't the only thing you need to worry about. Any excess glue, not matter how little or how thin, will resist the stain and look terrible as well. Make sure you remove all of it before it dries. In fact, make sure you are getting it off and not just smearing it around. It doesn't take much to ruin an otherwise nice finish.

[MazzMn]

What happens when you countersink a screw, putty over it, and then stain the surface?  Does the putty stick out big-time or not?

I did a similar thing...nice quality oak plywood and stained it. To avoid exposed screws I used brackets on the inside. About $2 for 4 at Menards. 4 screws per bracket...worked fine for my cocktail table.

[aszurom]

I got the sides cut today.  I made a "saw board" guide thingy after being inspired by the thread in woodworking forum, and that was wonderful for the circular saw.  I should have made one for the sabre saw too, but I freehanded that.  It wasn't terrible but there are a couple of spots that the two sides aren't 100% matched.  Nobody will see it but me once the T-molding is on though.  Next time I need that saw, I'm making a guide for it as well.

I have a cheap-o $19 "finishing router" I picked up, thinking it would be adequate for doing the molding notch and some basic evening-out of edges.  I didn't want to get $100+ invested into a router if I didn't need to.  However, it uses 1/4 inch shank bits, and I had two moments of frustration with it - one not the router's fault.  I didn't have the bit holding nut cranked down enough apparently - and I put a heck of a torque on it I thought, but in the midst of cutting a test piece it got loose and started changing depth.  So, I cranked it down with all the oomph I could, and it seemed to do ok.  However, if that thing moves at all while doing the molding notch, I'm going to scream some rage like Kirk in Wrath of Khan.

Second router issue was when I tried to use it to even out a spot where my freehand-sawing put a wave in the edge.  Well, the guide I had clamped down shifted (I'm buying better C clamps tomorrow) and I dug a 1/4 inch trench into my edge.  ARRRRG.  No big though, because I left an inch of slop room there anyway, so I clamped the side panels together, re-cut the section so they were perfectly matched. 

In hindsight, maybe I would have had a MUCH easier time of things if I'd just cut both sides at once by stacking the boards.  Then I wouldn't have had to sand the sides to match or have my "router episode". 

So - any bets that I can cut the molding notches and the recesses for the sticks and trackball with this cheapie router - or should I go blow $100 on a tool I'm pretty sure I won't ever figure out how to use fully?  Do the routers that accept 1/2 inch shank bits also take the 1/4 inch ones as well, or did I just blow $30 in a slot cutter I wouldn't be able to use?

[pacmandude]

Routers that can take a 1/2 inch shanks can also take 1/4 inch bits as well. This is typically done by changing the collet. I don't know what routers you are looking at, so I can't really comment on a particular tool.

I have a 3 1/2 HP variable speed plunge router, but you don't really need the Cadillac of routers if you are just planning on building arcade cabinets.

Also, the purpose of sanding is to smooth edges and not to remove wood. Taking the time to make your cuts more precise will actually save a ton of time in the long run.

[Jdurg]

Spending money on a good router is well worth it.  I didn't think I'd need to either when I started building my cabinet, but looking back I'm VERY happy I spent the money I did on a solid router. 

When routing out the trackball and joystick mounting areas, I HIGHLY suggest that you use a jig of some sort.  Granted, if you're bottom mounting nobody will see it and even if you're top mounting the artwork will cover everything, but having a jig allows you to move much quicker. 

After much practice, I've gotten to a point where I didn't even need to use a jig when routing out my trackball area.  Just slow and steady did a good enough job.  (Though you can still see where the router "jumped" as the vacuum hose caught on the edge of the panel and then released).

Instead of sanding your two panels to make them match up, you may want to invest in a pattern cutting bit for your router.  What it does is it uses a bearing to guide along the top half of your "main" piece, and then the cutting part cuts an exact copy into the bottom part.  Because the blade never touches the top part, you will be cutting an exact copy onto the bottom sheet.  (Or top sheet.  I can't recall how all pattern cutting bits are set up).

[pacmandude]

Don't get me wrong, having a good router is most definitely worth it. I was just saying that you don't need to spend $400 to have a good router for building arcade cabinets.

[aszurom]

Yeah, I'll have to read up on the jig-making process.  I haven't used a router in so long, I don't remember when it was... so I'm going to play with it quite a bit before I approach my cabinet parts with it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44914
That's what I picked up, thinking it would be perhaps more controllable than a big router.  Aside from the molding slot, all I need to route is the 3x3 recess to drop the trackball into, and the two joystick recesses.  I don't think it would be an issue to use this thing if I can trust it not to change depth mid-cut or worse have the bit work loose in the collet.  Granted a larger router opens up possibilities of more applications - like the pattern cutting bits and such.

I tried to make most of the long cuts with my circular saw and guide board - so those ended up perfectly straight.  I need to make a guilde for the sabre saw too, it seems, because freehanding with that thing is never going to give perfect matching cuts.

Well, the wood is the cheap part of the project - so I won't mind too much if I have to redo a couple of pieces as I get familiar with how my tools behave.  This is pretty much my first unsupervised woodworking project.  I sure wish grandpa was still around, he'd have had it built in two evenings.

[Jdurg]

Heh.  I know that feeling.  I had zero woodworking skill before starting my cab and have quite quickly picked up a good deal of it.  You only get better through experience.

[aszurom]

Major progress today.

Last weekend I had the cabinet free-standing but it had no wheels.  Today it does.  Also, managed to first-try eyeball the miter cuts for the 45deg sloped rear section.  A little sanding to take the miniscule overhang out and it'll look perfect.

I did have to break my dream of having no external screws, though.  In the interests of having a completely sturdy cabinet, I put a few in it with the really nice countersinking bit that I got with my new drill.  I figure even if the filler putty doesn't stain 100% unnoticeably, it won't be a big deal anyway.  I'm keeping putty use to an absolute minimum still.

Lastly, I got the 27" tv mounted in it.  I didn't want to mess with breaking it out of its casing, so it's a flat shelf reinforced with 2x4s above and below.  It started out as below only, until my wife started insisting that my planned monitor height was too low.  In the interests of spousal appeasement, I planned on a row of 2x4s and then another sheet of plywood on top of them.  Well, the plywood made it too high to get the monitor in through the back door of the cabinet - so it had to come out.  I don't like the 2x4 slats it's sitting on now though, so I'm going to put some 1/8in. fiber board on top of that, that's laying around here.

Next step is to get a bezel made and mounted in front of the tv.  Then I can build my control panel.  Once that's done, it stain, poly, order the t-molding and park it in the living room... until she makes me retire it to my office. 

Pics are here:  http://www.aszurom.com/gallery/index.php?album=cabinet

Before anyone comments - yes, I know the wheels aren't perfectly symmetrically mounted.  It's ok though, no wobble and perfectly level.  Non-issue. 

[aszurom]

Oh yeah - to address the router discussion previously in the thread.  I spent $89 on a Skil brand (apparently Bosch's off-branded stuff) router that did an amazing job of not only slot-cutting for the molding, but also I was able to get perfectly matched side panels with the flush-trim bit.  Worth every penny.

My wife has started recording all the Norm Abrams and other DIY channel woodworking shows, and is pointing out the list of stuff she wants made once I'm done with this project.  Sigh.  I guess I'm now committed to being a full woodworking dude.  I just knew this project was going to land me in trouble.