Still Going Strong(ish)

It wasn't my original intention to only blog once a week, but that appears to be what is happening. Anyways, like last week, I have been working on it.

Here it is with the front, top, and diagonal attached. There really isn't a whole lot to say about this, except I did cut some angles to make it fit together better. The angle in front should help when I install the marquee and backlight.

 This is the "ventilation slot" I was talking about. If I had thought about it better, I might have cut a slot for T-molding to make it look nicer, but it is in the back after all, so it probably doesn't make a difference.

This is the template I used to route the holes, and it worked fairly well.

I did manage to get a TV finally. I had been looking on Craigslist, and maybe it's better when you want to pay for something, but people were so flaky, I probably sent out about 20 emails, and got back maybe about 3, with one being spam, and the others saying it was already taken. I eventually gave up and went to Goodwill. That's what I should have done from the beginning. I spent way too much time trying to save what turned out to be $25, and I really needed it to keep going. If anything, I actually went a little overboard with trying to find the best deal, and ended up with a 27" screen!

Sorry about the worse than usual picture quality, but anyway, this set me up for the next step.

This was to screw the TV shelf in place, but I wasn't sure where to locate the the shelf. When I got the TV, I was able to measure it, and figure that out. I decided to have it at a right angle to the slant on front, so hopefully the TV will be parallel with the bezel. Before I screwed it in, I screwed another piece of MDF to the bottom, kind of like I did the base, to help support the TV. You can kind of see it in the following picture.

 

I still didn't completely trust it, so I decided to glue cleats to the edges. At this point, I don't think it will budge at all.

I also decided to glue a cleat to the top of the shelf. This is to make sure that the TV doesn't slide back, since it will be at an angle. It should be plenty strong enough.

Around this time is when things started to fall apart a little bit. I had originally planned for the speakers to be 3" from the edges. This meant that the opposite side would be approximately 7" from the edge. That was before I took the bezel into account. I realized that if I kept the holes where they were, I would have to either cut out a place in the bezel for the speakers, or have no bezel at all. Both of these options were unacceptable of course, so I had to create new holes in the board. To do this of course, I also had to make a new routing template. Luckily, I was able to squeeze out what I needed from the same board I had used for the original measurements. The new holes were 1" from either edge.

 I got that routed, and also managed  to rout out part of my bench cookie in the act. It looks a little bit sad, but I learned my lesson, and hopefully will be able to keep from doing that again.

 Anyway, I did that, and cut the bevel, just like the last time, and screwed it in. That probably would have worked, but I have not mastered the fine art of drilling a straight hole yet apparently. I had also been using a bit that was too small, which had been working fine, although it has cracked the MDF slightly. All these combined problems caused the board to basically split. I tried to fix it by watering down some wood glue and injecting it into the hole, and that worked to make it stronger, but I couldn't clamp it good enough to more or less stuff the MDF back in. I eventually gave up and made another board.  Anyway, the picture is the only really good way to show what I am talking about with the splitting and blowout.

 You can see the more or less stain from the glue. You can also see the holes alternating sides. This is from my less than perfect drilling.
The sequence for making the second board is more or less the same, so I won't get into that too much, but I will note a few things I did differently the second time around. To start with, since the holes were already drilled in the side, I took a ruler, and marked a straight line centered on the holes, and then measured 3/8" down to put the board precisely in the middle. I also used a larger drill bit. For those keeping score, I went from a #40 to a #34. Both of these things helped keep the MDF from splitting. I also used 1 1/2" screws near the holes for the speakers, instead of 1 3/4", which is what I am using for the rest of the project.

The next thing I did was screw on the two back pieces. Also pretty straightforward. All I did was measure in 1/2" from the edge on the inside, and 7/8" from the edge on the outside. Clamp in place and drill, countersink, and screw. Done.

I also filled in the holes/countersinks with woodfiller. Both of the cans of Plastic Wood that we had were dried up, and my idea of MDF sawdust and wood glue didn't work as well as I hoped. So today I went out and bought a canister of Timbermate woodfiller, recommendation of the Wood Whisperer.

It worked very good. I had to put it on a second time, but I think that is more due to the fact that I have not yet mastered wood filler. I am almost done with the filler, I just need to finish sanding it down, and I should be ready to prime. Now I just need to turn my shop into an operating room, aka, clean it up really good, and I'll be ready to prime, then paint. Unfortunately, I only have tomorrow to work on it before I go to my college orientation, a 3-day live on campus ordeal. After that, my friend is coming in town, and I had hoped to have all the construction done and the cabinet hauled upstairs before he came, but it looks like I will have to rethink my strategy. On that note, anybody know of a non water-based primer that dries quickly?

Cool Stuff and More Work

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted! I got more supplies last Friday, but I had to leave before UPS came, or else I would have posted pictures, and the last few days, I have been blowing and going. Anyways, there were actually two different packages, but they just happened to come on the same day. The first box was from Rockler, which had the T-Molding and router bit. I took a picture of the box right when I got it, at first because I thought it was funny, but then I realized it was a good thing I did, and here's why:

This is pretty much exactly how it looked when I got it. The papers you see on top were in the box, but fell out when I picked it up to bring it inside. Like I said, at first I thought it was funny, but then I realized the router bit could have easily fallen out; luckily it didn't.

The other box I got was from Hagstrom Electronics, which contained the keyboard encoder, breakout board, and two PS/2 cables. I'll get into this more when I start wiring it up, but anyway, I got them.

Once I got the router bit, I could start on cutting the slots.

I started by making some test cuts in a scrap board to make sure it was centered. I did this by cutting a slot, it doesn't have to be very long, and then I took a piece of the T-Molding, and hammered it in, to see how centered it was. It took me quite a few tries to get it right, but I eventually did, and started on the big piece. Interestingly, when I started to cut the slot on the first side, despite the weight of all that MDF, it tried to shift on me. The solution? 50-pound weight to the rescue! It worked perfectly, and allowed me to easily rout the slot all around.

After I routed out the slot, I could get to work screwing it together. I had actually already drilled and countersunk the holes while I was waiting for the stuff to come, so it was a fairly quick assembly, except for one problem. I had planned for the base to be flush with the sides, but when I got it together, one side was further forward than the base, and the other side was too far back. After thinking about it for a while, I ended up planing/shaving/sanding the base down on the other side, so that it looked about the same on both sides.

This is the side of the base that was too far back.

And this is the side of the base that I had to plane down.

Here it is standing up. The board on the back is just clamped on to provide rigidity while I got the other pieces screwed in. It's at this point that you really start to realize how massive this thing is.

I am actually farther than I have pictures of. I have the front screwed in, as well as the top and diagonal piece.
And now, for the mistakes I made. When I was cutting the sides out, I misread the measurement on the plans and had the diagonal cut as 18" from the corner on either side, as opposed to 16", which is what it should have been. What this means is that I had to cut the top piece down to 7" from 9". This also means that the diagonal is too short, but in the spirit of engineers everywhere, it's not a flaw, it's a feature, it makes for better ventilation! I also failed to read the instructions that said to cut a slot for the T-molding in the base, but it's too late for that. I'm sure it will look fine, but I wish I had noticed that. I don't know if I would call it a mistake exactly, but I wasn't exactly consistent in whether I glued-and-screwed, or just screwed. A mistake I did make was when I was drilled the holes in the top piece. I started by drilling the front screw on either side, but I failed to clamp it the whole time. This  made the board sag in the back a little when I drilled the back holes, and in turn screwed it in. Once I noticed this, I backed the rear screws out, lined it back up, and clamped it down hard, and re-screwed it. Of course later I realized I needed to cut a bevel on the front edge of the top piece, and when I took it off, there were cracks in the sides. It may have been fine had I done nothing, but I decided to water down some wood glue, and drizzled that on the edges. I would recommend using a brush of some kind, but I couldn't find one, and this worked fine. The MDF is so porous that it soaked it right up. I'll see how it turns out tomorrow. I also made a template out of 1/4" plywood for the speaker holes, and I can make those holes tomorrow as well. All I did was mark out a circle with a compass, and once I did that, I drilled holes all the way around and used a coping saw to saw out the middle circle. After that, I put a drum sander on the drill press, and sanded to the line. There are definitely much better ways to do this, but it doesn't have to be too precise, as there will be a grill covering it up.

The Base

Well, I finished the base today. It really wasn't all that hard, although the kickplates were a little long, so I had to trim those down on the tablesaw. No big deal. The only really hard part about it was lining everything up. Here is my basic process:
1. Start with the base upside down, and do a rough layout with the kickplates and supports on the sheet.
2. Figure out the best measurement, then make sure all the pieces are centered.
3. Using the sharpest/finest pencil you can get, make some lines to mark where the boards are. I used a 0.3mm mechanical pencil.
4. Flip the base sheet over, then make a layout line 2 3/8" in from the edge on each end, because even though my plans had the kickplates as 1 1/2" in from either end, I ended up with them being 2" from each end. The same goes for the supports, and in my case, I went with the supports 8" in from the edges, so the lines were 8 3/8" in from the edges.
5. Next draw some lines to mark where the screws will go. I used my combination square, to keep the screw holes as symmetrical as possible.
6. After they are marked, use a center punch to help the drill bit. This is an optional step, but very helpful to make sure the drill bit doesn't go skating across the MDF.
7. Now here's the hard part. make sure the parts are lined up, then drill them. I started with the kickplates before I even thought about the supports. Make sure they are square; this is where the lines we drew earlier prove invaluable, because now all you have to do is make sure the edges are right up against the line. While you're doing this, don't forget to keep the edges flush. After you drill those holes, get the supports lined up and drill them. This is the most frustrating part, because you can't really see, so it takes a lot of time with a combination square, and a heaping scoop of patience.

After all that, the actual glueup was easy. What I did was get a screw on both ends started, to where the tips were just sticking through. Get the glue on the kickplate or support, and I didn't even bother spreading it around. After that, just stick it on, and drive the screws. The reason for the screws is that it helps with the alignment; just get the hole lined up with the screw tip, then drive it in. Once those two screws are in, it's a simple thing to just go down the row, driving the rest of the screws in.

Here's a picture of the base with all of the holes drilled and countersunk. You can see the layout lines, as well as the symmetry of the holes.
Behind the glue bottle is a 50 pound weight, which was extremely useful when trying to get the supports to stay in position.

This is the base with only one of the kickplates installed.

Here it is with everything fastened, now to let it dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, I'd say I had a very productive day.

Cutting... Done!

Well, more or less. The only things left are the sides of the CP box. I am really glad that this stage is over; I'm getting tired of being covered in MDF sawdust.

Later, I'll go back out there and start on the construction. According to the instructions, the base is first, so I'll start with that. LuSiD also mentioned that it's best to rout the slot for the T-Molding before screwing it together, and I should be getting the router bit for that on Friday.

More Cutting

Well, I've been cutting the rectangular pieces today. I came in for a little break, but I'll probably be at it again in while. Most of these pieces I was able to cut on the tablesaw, which is always nice. For one thing, I can stand up, instead of crawling all over the place. There are still a few pieces that I have to cut with the circular saw, since the fence on my tablesaw only goes to about 28". And I can't use the miter gauge, since it doesn't have a very good width capacity, and I haven't made a crosscut sled yet, even though I have a piece that I have set out for it, but that's a different story. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Anyway, back to work...

The Sides

Well, I managed to finish the sides of the cabinet, for the most part. I used a circular saw and a straightedge for the long straight cuts. I had some problems keeping the cuts square, since I was using a framing square to line the cuts up, which doesn't really have any reference edges. So I had to make a trip to Home Depot to get a different square. It's more or less a drywall square, but I got one with an adjustable angle, which I guess will come in handy if I ever need to mark an angle, but I mainly got it because it can fold up when not in use.

Anyway, here the sides are partially done. I meant to take some pictures of the MDF before I started cutting it, but I guess I just got too excited. Already at this point you can see the shape of the cabinet coming through. You may notice the plethora of clamps around it. This is because I cut both sheets at the same time; this way, they would be as close to exactly the same as possible.

Here it is with the front profile cut, and setting up to cut the back diagonal. I mainly used a jigsaw for the profile. The blue foam underneath is to provide support for the material, while providing a surface that the circular saw blade can cut through. I don't recommend using the foam when using the jigsaw, because you can't control the depth of cut on the jigsaw, and you would end up pretty much destroying the foam. Also, I had a big problem with the jigsaw blade deflecting. This could possibly be the blades fault, but most likely because I was cutting through 1 1/2" of MDF.

Here it is all nice and cut. When I was first planning the cabinet out, I wasn't too crazy about the shape, but it has definitely grown on me.

I'm not sure how much I will need to clean up the edges and corners. I think definitely more than I have in this picture, but maybe not too much more since it will be covered up with T-Molding. I think I just need to make sure all the edges are smooth. I also need to decide what size molding to get. That mainly depends on whether I only paint it, or put some kind of laminate on the side. I think I will probably just paint it a solid color.

Getting Back in Gear

Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while, but I have been working on it. The main holdup was that I had to finish some step stools for my dad, along with some other stuff, but I think I'll write a dedicated post for that. I was also trying to decide how to cut the MDF. I got way more obsessed with this than I ever should be on anything. What I was worried about was the accuracy of the cut that I would get at Home Depot or Lowe's. The robotics team I have been on has a panel saw at the shop, so I was thinking about doing it myself, to "guarantee" an accurate cut. You can read my obsessing here. Anyway, I finally decided to "risk" having it done at Lowe's, and there was absolutely no problem. The guy helping me was very professional. He managed to get two sheets on the saw at the same time, and spent a lot of time making sure they were lined up perfectly before he cut them, which is just what I wanted. If you look at the cut plan, on the 3rd sheet, all the cuts are 26" except the last one. So once I told him this, he actually set up a stop block. Even better.
I spent probably a good 15 minutes loading all the pieces into my pickup, and used some cardboard to try to keep from damaging the corners. Anybody who has worked with MDF will tell you that the corners will deform if you give them a dirty look. Since my shop has a concrete floor, I decided to try to get some cardboard to cushion the floor, so maybe the corners won't dent as bad. I found a posting on Craigslist, so that night I went to where it was, and I hit the jackpot. I think I got way too much, but at least I won't have to make another trip.
Anyway, I'm going back out to the shop to work on it some more. I'll have pictures later tonight, and maybe I'll be done with the sides by the end of the day.