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| February 09, 2004 | |
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Over the next few days, I will start the finishing process of the Cabinet. I have chosen my mobile control panel as the guinea pig for my finishing exercise, it has taken some abuse moving from one place to another.
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| February 1, 2004 | |
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I used wood filler to fill in all the holes from the counter synch holes drilled so far... |
| I have just finished priming the surface and starting off with a coat of latex "lamp black" Behr finish.... |
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Here is the finished control panel in latex prior to
assembly....
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| After a few days of playing on the control panel, I have decided that Latex was not a great choice to go with. It chips easily, and the control panel is looking a little beat up after only a week of use. I want something more durable that is "chip" free . I am glad to find this out now. Latex is too fragile. I will next try a melamine base instead (kitchen and bath melamine). I have decided to switch to a Melamine finish because it is oil based and therefore much more durable. I do plan on finishing the control panel later with a thin piece of Lexan to protect the CP. If I like how the Melamine looks, I'll cover the entire CAB with it. Stay Tuned... Tip: I will re-prime the control panel to make sure the Melamine sticks to it rather than sanding everything down...
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| February 09, 2004 | |
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Finished off the sealing of the side panel screw holes with wood filler. I will sand these down later on before I prime the surface, |
| Wood Filler is a great material for resolving small mistakes. Here I am using wood filler to even out a joint. Will be painted with Melamine later on... |
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| Tomorrow I plan on finishing the CP and the CAB in Melamine... | |
| February 10, 2004 | |
| T-Molding Research For those of you not familiar with T-Molding, it is a rubber product you install on the edges of a cabinet. All original cabinets have this product. It makes the edges very durable (a definite requirement for something in the public). As the name implies, it is formed in the shape of a T. In order to install it, you need a cut a 1/16" slot in the middle of the edge of the cabinet. Sounds simple? Sure, if you use the right tool ;-) After extensive research on www.byoac.comI about the T-Molding problem I have decided to tackle the problem using a slot cutting bit for my router (thanks for the Link and the information Jakobud). I think this is the easiest (and safest) way to install the slot for the t-molding. Using a router or skill saw free hand just seems to me to be begging for trouble. I went to my local Home Depot, and the only one they had was 1/8" by Freud. Looking at the Freud catalogue, it appears they also have 1/16". I asked the guy at home depot to special order it for me from Freud. It costs $28.00 (CDN) and will take 5 days to come in. Hopefully I'll be able to install the T-Molding this weekend.
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| February
11, 2004 Install Coin Door
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I started off by marking the dimensions of coin
door "inner-lip" on the front piece of the cabinet. For this over-under
door, the inner lip measurements are Width=185MM x Height=503MM (roughly 7"
x 20" in imperial).
This is a picture of the coin door laid out on the front piece before cuts (notice: The rounded corners!!!)
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| Make sure you cut a rounded corner for this Happ coin door. If you don't, you will have gaps in the panel. Cutting corners is quite simple... I just looked around the workshop for a round object that created a good curve. I tried a few bottles in my shop. The closest curve ended up being a Lepage glue bottle. I lined up the glue bottle with he horiz/vertical lines and marked a curve on all corners. This will form my "cutout line". Not perfect, but nothing a sanding drum won't solve if too small.
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I used a 1/4" drill bit and cut 2 holes on the line to get started. Here is a picture of the jig saw in the drilled hole before cutting out the coin door hole. |
| Tip: I used a 1/4" drill to cut some holes around the curve. Make sure to drill inside the line (waste-side). This helps make cutting out the curve with the jig saw easier. Otherwise, the jig-saw binds up... |
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Coin door cutout complete. |
| The coin door did not fit. The opening I created was still a little small and needed some adjustments.". I used a coarse grit sanding wheel on my portable drill to carve out some extra coin-door MDF. After a 1/2 hour of carving, the coin door fit like a "bug in a rug". Take your time and keep re-fitting the coin door in the slot, making adjustments until all is square.
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Here is the first picture of the coin door in the slot. |
| Another picture with the front panel installed... |
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And yet another shot with with the coin doors opened... |
| Here is a picture of the coin door from behind and how it is installed using the |
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Note that the metal part protecting/holding the plastic coin bucket is installed this way. |
| Here is a picture of the special "Canadian" .25 cent coin mech I needed to buy. Just a buck each, but it only accepts Canadian quarters (it rejected an American quarter I had from a recent business trip (not that American Quarters aren't any good :-) |
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It took me a little while to figure out how to install the extra coin mechs, but I finally figured out how to install the coin mechs. Each coin mech goes into a different slot. Simpy loosen the screw and lift the latch up to open the door (note in the pictrure, the left coin-mech door is open. The right coin mech is still locked. Loosen the thumb screw and raise the latch bar. This will allow youy to swing the door open to install the coin mech...
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| The coin mech slides into the slow (like a hard-drive in a computer), and the notches on the coin mech liine up with female holes on the spring loaded coin mech door. Align the tabs as I have in the picture and slide the mech in and close a re-scure the coin mech with the thumb screw... |
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| The first coat of Melamine. Nice, already looking better than Latex! Looks more durable! I'll let you know how it turns out... |
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February
14, 2004 Install Internal 2x4 Frame and Speakers I Decided to construct a 2x4 frame inside the cabinet to support the monitor shelf and to make the structure more solid. Just didn't feel comfortable without a 2x4 frame...
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Here I am using the table saw to cut a notch for the vertical piece of the frame... |
| Here are the frame pieces prior to assembly |
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Here is the frame dry assembled... |
| Here is a "perspective" picurre of the frame installed. You are looking from the bottom up to the monitor shelf... |
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Found some car speakers on sale at a local
electronics shop for $9.95. ADD Electronics on Armstrong in Ottawa). Figured
I'd give them a try... WARNING: I found out the hard way after installing these speakers that THESE WERE NOT SHIELDED. As a result, my monitor got "magnetizd". There is now a Purplish/Greenish blotch on the monitor! No worries though, I will have it de-gaussed at the local TV repair shop. I decided to use a pair of speakers from an old pair of computer speakers. The shielded speakers are the picture on the bottom. |
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Speakers installed... |
