Author Topic: Yet another Mountain clone..... Progress Update 5/5/09 (Read 6289 times)

explorerman · « **on:** January 19, 2009, 09:34:46 am »

Alright then, new poster here!
I've been lurking around the site/forums for a few years now, every few months or so I would get the urge to build a MAME cab so I would hop on the site and take a nose around.

Anyway I recently got serious enough to purchase Saint's book and started to plan a MAME cab. Problem was that I hadn't done any serious woodwork since I was about 13 or 14 in shop class. I've done some construction style woodwork (building laundry rooms etc) but the thought of the detail needed for cabinetry kinda scared me.

After so looking around the Project Announcement section I stumbled upon Mountains JukeBox and was inspired to give it a go. I read pretty much all the threads where other people have made Mountain clones so I have a pretty good idea that while this build could be very intricate, it is also a great place to start a cab building hobby.

Before I start I just want to thank Mountain, NVT, Daoldman, mccoy178, martijn and any others I may have missed for providing the inspiration and legwork for this project.

I am only 1 day into this project and I'm about as far as I can get while waiting for some tools and parts to arrive. Living in SW Florida, good woodworking supply shops are very few and far between.

I'm currently waiting on my touchscreen to arrive (should be Wednesday), my router circle guide (Thursday) and I'm trying to locate a supplier for laminate. A search on google for my town and laminate comes up with about 6 million laminate flooring suppliers and thats about it

I have a Dell mini tower that I acquired from a closed down business, and I'm trying out the Xlobby software on my laptop. So here we go with some pics.........

Initial template cutouts, the final shape is not quite finished as I am waiting on my circle guide.

Construction of the base box and the templates with the clamping holes cut out. Yeah I went a little over the top with those

Lazy susan hardware.

Rough mockup showing final size, shape etc.

Now just to wait for midweek

:

Thanks for looking

Explorerman

Martijn · « **Reply #1 on:** January 19, 2009, 09:53:36 am »

x marks the spot

i dont see any pictures

explorerman · « **Reply #2 on:** January 19, 2009, 10:16:38 am »

Stupid picasa web. I'll rehost them elsewhere.

Explorerman

edit: Fixed pic problems

mountain · « **Reply #3 on:** January 19, 2009, 10:47:14 am »

Looking forward to watching another one

Just post your pictures here.

explorerman · « **Reply #4 on:** January 19, 2009, 10:50:14 am »

Thanks Mountain, I just resized them and stuck them on photobucket. Seems to be working OK now

Explorerman

DaOld Man · « **Reply #5 on:** January 19, 2009, 03:50:40 pm »

looking good so far!
I got my laminate at Loews, but they had to order the black color for me. Took a few days to come in.

explorerman · « **Reply #6 on:** January 19, 2009, 04:41:42 pm »

Quote from: DaOld Man on January 19, 2009, 03:50:40 pm

looking good so far!
I got my laminate at Loews, but they had to order the black color for me. Took a few days to come in.

Ahh, good to know. I looked at Lowes but they only had light colored and patterned formica/laminate. Didn't think to ask about ordering. I've got some samples from wilsonart coming, since this is going to be be for the wife I showed her all the possibilities and of course the one she liked was about $400 per sheet

Explorerman

mccoy178 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 19, 2009, 04:48:16 pm »

Try a cabinet shop in the yellow pages. If you let them know what you are doing with it, if you run across the right guy he'll hook you up.

explorerman · « **Reply #8 on:** January 22, 2009, 09:23:48 pm »

Ok a quick update.
I now have both the laminate and lexan on order. The lexan comes from a link that Mountain posted (US Plastics) and the laminate comes from a company called premiumsurfaces.com. A 4x8 sheet of 0.7mm black textured laminate ran about $45 with shipping.
I also obtained a couple of sets of the Rockler rare earth magnets from a store in the next town from me and finally my touchscreen arrived today.
However I have one minor problem with the touchscreen. It appears to be a different model than the one that others are using and the electronics are not attached to the back of the screen. After testing the screen I took it apart to see how the fit would work and it looks like I'm going to have to incorporate a support board for the screen electronics. It's going to be awfully tight in that box.
Here is the touchscreen I'm going to try and use....

And a few shots for size comparison....

And finally a shot of the screen running XLobby....

I'm getting my circle guide tomorrow so I should be able to get quite a bit of progress done over the weekend.

Explorerman

reko19 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 23, 2009, 11:43:05 am »

I am not an expert but are you sure about the textured laminate?

explorerman · « **Reply #10 on:** January 24, 2009, 06:17:17 am »

Quote from: reko19 on January 23, 2009, 11:43:05 am

I am not an expert but are you sure about the textured laminate?

Not quite sure what you mean by this.

Also as an FYI, I wouldn't really recommend the laminate supplier I posted above. Whilst ordering the product I neglected to inquire about shipping costs. I just received a statement from the supplier and the shipping was more than the cost of the laminate. Laminate $33, shipping and handling $43. Live and learn I guess

Explorerman

DaOld Man · « **Reply #11 on:** January 24, 2009, 06:39:04 am »

I think that was still cheaper than what I paid Loews, or maybe close. cant remember now..

reko19 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2009, 10:33:50 am »

What I meant is that they have two finishes available listed on their web site for the black laminate: textured and gloss. I would look into it, I think textured means that the surface is textured, not what everyone else used for this project.

explorerman · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2009, 11:46:06 am »

Quote from: reko19 on January 24, 2009, 10:33:50 am

What I meant is that they have two finishes available listed on their web site for the black laminate: textured and gloss. I would look into it, I think textured means that the surface is textured, not what everyone else used for this project.

Yeah, I looked at the finishes and decided that the lexan was going to give me all the gloss I would need on the jukebox. So I went with the textured finish. Hey it's a learning process after all

Explorerman

explorerman · « **Reply #14 on:** January 30, 2009, 07:47:05 pm »

The laminate and acrylic have arrived. The laminate looks very similar to the texture of the laminate that Mountain used (as far as I can tell in the pics).
There has not been a whole lot of progress on the jukebox as I've been fighting to keep my job and the jobs of my crew.

The laminate...

The first skin being glued...

I couldn't find any 1/8 MDF that was bigger than 2'x4' except for tempered hardboard, and I don't think that would have worked quite as well. So I just used the 2'x4' MDF that I had and added an extra piece on the vertical section. I put the seam on the opposite side when I added the second skin. I seems to have worked out OK...

Clamps removed and flush trimmed (1st skin)...

Closeup...

Second skin installed and clamped...

Second skin trimmed up and the excess jig material removed...

I think I'm going to try and work on the base this weekend so I have a couple of questions.
What is the best glue for the laminate?
What is the best way to cut and trim laminate?
And finally, what is the best way to cut acrylic?

Thanks in advance,

Explorerman

javeryh · « **Reply #15 on:** January 31, 2009, 12:26:41 am »

Looking good!

Quote from: explorerman on January 30, 2009, 07:47:05 pm

What is the best glue for the laminate?

Use contact cement. Make sure to follow the instructions on the can and spread the glue evenly and up to the edges.

Quote from: explorerman on January 30, 2009, 07:47:05 pm

What is the best way to cut and trim laminate?

Router with a flush cutting bit.

Quote from: explorerman on January 30, 2009, 07:47:05 pm

And finally, what is the best way to cut acrylic?

Router with whatever bit you need.

beanboy33 · « **Reply #16 on:** February 14, 2009, 09:40:37 am »

Any updates on this juke?

explorerman · « **Reply #17 on:** March 30, 2009, 09:09:13 am »

It's been awhile since I've updated this but work and the kids little league games have kept me very busy the last few months.

Not a lot has been done to the juke but I did manage to get the base laminated and the lazy susan/magnet hardware installed on the base (I'll post pics tonight).
On to my request for help, after spending many hours getting the front panel cut, covered with acrylic, beveled, polished and routed out for the screen I came across a small problem. The screen has wires and 3 or 4 small triangular projections (sensors?) on the front side of the screen. These projections cause the glass to sit about 3/16" up off the acrylic. I had routed the wood away so the screen would sit flush with the acrylic. In my eagerness to move forward with this project I thought that I would rout a small channel in the acrylic to accommodate the wires and sensors, well you can imagine how that turned out (yes I'll include pics of that disaster also).
So can anybody who has done one of these offer any hints on how to acquire the flush fit (if possible) without destroying the acrylic. I seem to recall there was some discussion in another thread so I'm going to see if I can dig that out also.
My wife is really pushing me to get this finished in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if I can manage that but some time in the next couple of months would be great

Many thanks in advance........

Explorerman

mountain · « **Reply #18 on:** March 30, 2009, 09:19:38 am »

The easiest way is to fill the gap with black foam tape. What happened to the acrylic, did it melt.

explorerman · « **Reply #19 on:** March 30, 2009, 09:39:13 am »

Kinda like weather stripping for cars?
Yep the acrylic melted. I tried to move the router quickly so the acrylic wouldn't heat up to much but that didn't work too well

You'll have a good giggle when I post up the pics tonight

Explorerman

beanboy33 · « **Reply #20 on:** March 30, 2009, 01:50:49 pm »

you can find it in Home depot

explorerman · « **Reply #21 on:** March 30, 2009, 02:00:04 pm »

Thanks guys!

Explorerman

mountain · « **Reply #22 on:** March 30, 2009, 02:07:30 pm »

Just make sure the tape does not touch the overlay. If it does, the touchscreen will not work.

explorerman · « **Reply #23 on:** March 30, 2009, 07:17:37 pm »

Here are the pics as promised. Please don't laugh too hard at the screwup pics

Explorerman

javeryh · « **Reply #24 on:** March 30, 2009, 10:21:48 pm »

Wow - that was done with a router? What kind of bit were you using? I can't imagine my 1/8" bit melting the plexi like that - it always cut through like butter without a hint of melting... It looks like you are using 1/4" acrylic which is exactly what I wish I used...

explorerman · « **Reply #25 on:** March 30, 2009, 10:37:42 pm »

1/8" plexi cut with a 1/2" straight cut bit set to cut at about 1/16 depth. I think I just tried to go too deep. Lesson learned the expensive and time consuming way

Explorerman

javeryh · « **Reply #26 on:** March 30, 2009, 10:52:21 pm »

I think the 1/2" bit was probably too big. Did you try on scrap? I always practice a tricky cut on some scrap before cutting the real thing. Looks like you'll have to cut the piece again - hopefully you have the template or something to use to get that shape again...

mountain · « **Reply #27 on:** March 30, 2009, 11:03:25 pm »

When cutting a pocket out of acrylic, you need to keep the bit moving or the bottom of the but will generate too much friction and begin to melt. I use 1/2" bits in my handheld router. The key is knowing where you are going to cut, get in there, and get out.

If you are going to use the foam there is no need for cutting a pocket in the acrylic face. Like Javeryh said, using 1/4" acrylic will allow the transducers to set inside the face material enough to provide a much cleaner look. I plan on doing this myself on my next "Mountain Jukebox"

Martijn · « **Reply #28 on:** March 31, 2009, 02:00:01 am »

oh, thats nasty

I just let the screen and the plexi open in between. you really dont see it.
I tried the tape trick but the touchscreen went crazy. i also think i have a other version then you people.
I have more wires around the sides.

explorerman · « **Reply #29 on:** March 31, 2009, 06:43:29 am »

Thanks for not laughing too hard guys. When I started cutting the channel I was moving quite quickly but it wasn't leaving a clean cut so I slowed down a little and you can see the result.

Luckily I do have a template with which I can knock out a new front face quite quickly but when I think of all the time put in to the smoothing and polishing of the plexi bevels....

......

I've got another project in mind for the other touchscreen that didn't work for the juke and I think I'm going the 1/4" plexi on that job

Thanks again and hopefully I can put a few more hours in on the project in the coming weeks. The kids have springbreak and little league is on hold for that period

Explorerman

explorerman · « **Reply #30 on:** May 05, 2009, 12:04:50 pm »

A quick progress update!

I finally got the faceplate figured out. When I was routing out the area for the screen, I taped a piece of plexi over the opening. The plexi was only about 1/4" bigger than the screen opening, so I ended up with a thin square of plexi that I glued to the inside of the screen opening. This essentially gave me the channel I needed for the touch sensors so I didn't have to rout out the plexi. Pics tell a better story

I used clear plexi and once it was sanded and polished it turned out OK. Probably not the best solution in the world but it seems to work OK. I tested the touch screen and everything worked well, so I'm quite pleased with the solution.

I'm not particularly happy with the way I have scaled the cutouts on the faceplate, it looks very top heavy and the screen seems too small for the project. I think I should have used less than half a circle for the marquee and moved the screen up a bit. Oh well too late now. Over all I'm happy with the way this project is going, the scale thing will bug me but my wife said she likes it so I guess I'll just have to deal with it.

Install of components and wiring next, not really looking forward to doing that.....

Explorerman

leapinlew · « **Reply #31 on:** May 05, 2009, 07:35:11 pm »

For what it's worth, I think it looks good.

explorerman · « **Reply #32 on:** May 05, 2009, 07:51:32 pm »

Quote from: leapinlew on May 05, 2009, 07:35:11 pm

For what it's worth, I think it looks good.

Thanks, I really appreciate that.

Explorerman


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