MYX

BLACKOUT: February 20, 2006, 10:54:29 AM

Feb 202006

I have not done a whole lot this weekend as I have been under the oppressive forces of a cold. OK, that was a little dramatic. It is time to make the monitor brace. This weekend I got a 96 inch long piece of 1 inch heavy aluminum corner bracing. Since my monitor is going to be a vertical set up, I can not just mount it on a shelf like many builders are doing. After a lot of thinking about it, and spending a lot of time wandering around Home Depot (Oh darn) This is the solution I came up with. I would make a brace similar to the TAITO cabs. They used wood bolted at the bottom and top of the monitor and bolt that to the sides of the cabinet using the bottom bolts as a fulcrum. I will do the same with aluminum as I like the strength and look of it. I cut it into 2 – 25 in and 2 – 20.5 in pieces. I drilled 1/4 in holes in the ends and put it together with 1/4 – 3/4 in long bolts. This was a great place for my son to help. He is always watching and asking if he can help. It would not be cool to just hand him the Sawzall and say here ya go kid, so, he got to put the frame together. I did the final tightening (just for safety sake). I measured the bolt holes on the monitor, put holes at 8 1/8in. in from the edges, and then bolted the monitor on. A little nervous, I grabbed the sides and lifted up the brace. It was totally solid. Now I have to put four carriage bolts through the sides of my cab. Two bolts will be for the bottom of the brace and two more for the top. The hard part right now is trying to figure out what angle I want the monitor at. I have to figure in bezel, and glass height into the angle. I am scared to death about drilling into the side of this thing and I only want to put 4 holes in the side of my cab 1 time. It seems like the more you do, and finally get right, that the fear of some great catastrophe seems to increase.

BLACKOUT: February 14, 2006, 06:22:56 PM

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Feb 142006

I have now glued the back on it and added the door. It is looking more and more like an actual arcade cab. I wanted the hinges to be inset so that the whole hinge was not just sitting outside of the box like you would see on a house door. I routed out a little area for the hinge nub to sit so the door would sit flat to the edge of the cabinet.

I have one issue with the back door. It is like the door is warped. I am not sure if the hinges are off or what. I am not too concerned about it as it is really not that big of a bend. But I will keep an eye on it.

BLACKOUT: February 06, 2006, 09:17:51 PM

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Feb 062006

I love the smell of sawdust in the morning. It smells like…cabinet making.
I have form!!! I have glued the base and top sections into the sides. It looks like a real arcade cabinet cab is actually starting to take shape. I am more inspired than ever. I’m finding that there are no true measurements any more. It is now measurements like 5/16’s not 1/4 or 1/2. Once you have enough things that are just a smidge too long or short, it adds up over time. I glued on the rails for the kick plate this morning. I also glued a guide on the actual kick plate itself. Tomorrow morning I will glue the kick plate to the cab. My only issue is that the left side of the kick plate is a smidge above the Control panel shelf while the right side is just under. Looks like I will need to get crafty with the router.

BLACKOUT: February 04, 2006, 12:03:17 AM

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Feb 042006

I have wanted to work on my cab all week long. I was getting very good at cutting measurements that were actually the measurements that they were supposed to be. Somehow that changed during the week. I was probably way too tired to be working tonight. I just could not get a cut that was 25.5 in wide. With this particular cut, you can only make this mistake a couple of times before you’ve blown a whole sheet of MDF. I can repurpose these pieces for the pieces that need to be just a straight 25 inches. For me, it was the frustration of trying, and trying, and trying, and just kept cutting it wrong. I finally got a piece to the right size. Yay!!! Well sort of.

You see, I have a habit of wanting to see how things I make are going to look. I just had to see it. I put the sides, top and base together. Remember that it is channeled, with angles, so there is some natural strength without any glue or screws. I had assembled it on its side. I then got the harebrained idea of wanting to see it standing upright so I could see it at full height. I really do not know what I was thinking. I started to lift it up from the top. It was holding firmly. I decided to go for it. When it got to about 45 degrees gravity took over and it unassembled itself. Now as you might know, MDF by nature dents easily and crushes when dropped and it lands on a corner. Add to this the laws of Murphy, it dents even more when the object happens to be the above mentioned 25.5 inch piece that I spent so much time trying to get right. Now I have a totally mashed corner, hurt pride, and a wee bit of exhaustion.

Yup, I am done for the day.

BLACKOUT: January 29, 2006, 06:02:09 PM

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Jan 292006

I put in the top channel for the second side. I then routed a 1/2 in. curve (bevel radius) on the back and bottoms of both sides. On the first side, when I got to where the channel was, the router dipped into the channel creating a lovely crater. I just stood there and stared at it for a while. But, as I am learning, wood putty is your friend. I filled the gap with wood putty and set it aside to dry. I cut out the kick plate and beveled the bottom of the piece and made some side braces for later in the build. These were rounded it as well. I love the router.

BLACKOUT: January 28, 2006, 08:54:32 PM

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Jan 282006

I am seeing that building this is a great excuse to get some new tools. Knowing that the cab build was coming, I asked for and received a router for Christmas. I got to use it for the first time today. What a great tool. I started by doing a rough cut of the second side with the jig saw. Then I used a laminate bit on the router and just traced the first side. It mowed through the second side MDF like butter. I thought that there might be marks or divots. It was just as smooth as the first side. It was too easy.

With the confidence I just gained, I went on to cut the slots for the t-molding. T-molding is a plastic decorative trim that will be added at the very end of the build. The slot was just as easy. My only gripe is that one has to love the taste of MDF if he/she undertakes this hobby. That stuff went everywhere. Soon grabbed a face mask and continued.

After much procrastination (read… fear) I decided to try routing the first channel for the base plate. It needed to be 1/4 in deep and 3/4 in wide. I clamped a board to the surface to act as a guide. It was actually easy. The line was perfectly straight minus a couple of dings where I stopped paying attention (Note to self part II…). But It was very near perfect. I set the wheel base in the channel and it fit great. I then did the other cab side and it went well just as well. Later I cut the channel for the top boards on the first side. At this point it was getting dark and a little cold, so I called it a day. This is so much fun.

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