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Control Panel Intro
The next step is the
control panel. I've broken this process into several pages.
This first page will explain how to construct the CP shell. The
next page will detail the drilling of all the holes for the parts, and
the third page gives some explanation how to wire it all up. For
the shell, I used the router, table saw, drill, and jigsaw.
Note-
Because Scott is going to paint the control panel base, too, I didn't
want any exposed plywood edges on the base's sides, so all four corners
are mitered at 45 degrees. This makes the construction a little
more complicated than if simple butt-joints were used. There are
several more cuts and the measurements of the front and back boards are
a little different. Therefore, I have created two distinct
sections for the mitre and butt-joints. After that everything is
the same with the construction.
Mitre Joints
Begin by cutting two 4-1/4" strips at least 33" long for the back and
sides. Cut one 3-1/4" strip for the front at least 33". See
pictures A through C. Set the table saw to 45
degrees. Take one of the 4-1/4" strips; this'll be for the two
sides. Keeping the good side of the board facing up, cut two 16"
strips off. Take the first 16" strip you cut and flip it so the
beveled side is
facing the saw guide. Cut it 13-1/2" long. Take the second
board and turn it so the good side is up and the upward facing bevel is
against the saw guide. Cut it using the same 13-1/2" measurement.
You now have two side boards that look like D, and should be exactly the same
(see image to the right).
Next you will need to cut the bevels on the front and
back pieces. This ended up being a little trickier as my table
saw's guide allows up to 20" only. So I used the miter guide.
With the table saw set at 45 degrees still, place the front strip
good-side up on the table so the blade will cut about 1" off the end.
Carefully make the bevel on the front board. Then make the first
bevel on the back piece.
Take the front board (keeping the good-side up) and
measure 33-3/8" from the end and draw a line. You will cut along
this line, interior side down. You can save a little effort by
running both pieces through at the same time, making sure the ends
opposite the blade are exactly aligned. Now you can skip the next
section and go to cutting the side slopes.
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Butt-Joints
You'll
need one 4" wide strip at least 27" long, one 4" wide strip at least 30"
and one 3" strip at least 30". Take the 27" strip and cut into two
pieces 13-1/2" long. These are the two sides. Take the 3"
and 4" strips and cut at 28-7/8". These will be the front and back
boards. That's it for the butt-joint text.
Now you'll begin to create the slope on the two sides.
You'll be going from 3" at the front to 4" at the back.
Slope for the two sides
Take one of the two side boards. Measure up 3" on
one end a nd
mark the point. On the other end, measure up 4" and mark it.
Draw a line connecting the two points. Take your jigsaw, and using
a straightedge as a guide, cut along the line. Repeat for the
second side. With some sandpaper, smooth any rough spots along the
cut. You should end up with two boards like the one to the right.
Create the bevel on the top of the front and back
boards
The slope of the sides (one inch from front to back)
necessitates cutting a bevel on the front and rear boards. I
determined the angle by using the handy contraption in picture I
and transferring it to the table saw (J). It ended up being 4
degrees (K).
You'll want to now measure up 3/4" on the saw blade and
over 4" for the rear board to determine where to set the fence.
You are essentially trimming off a little bit of wood. Check the
below diagram for what I mean. Once you've made the two cuts (one
for the front and one for the rear board) you are ready to work on the
bottom board.
Base
You will need to cut a piece of plywood for the bottom that
is approx 12" x 28-7/8" (you'll note ours is not exactly that-
use the dimensions you need). We used 3/4" ply because we had plenty
on hand. Feel free to use 1/2" if you want.
Next you will need to cut some ledgers. I used some
scrap 1"x1" pieces and cut them into ledger strips.
Now you're ready to begin the base assembly.
Lay the plywood bottom on your work surface. Test fit the
four sides around the bottom making sure that everything will fit tight
when assembled. Get your clamps out and attach them to the box to hold
it tight (see L). We cheated and used corner irons (see M) to
attach the sides together. We predrilled and screwed one per
corner (N). Now you can begin attaching the ledgers as in O
and P.
You should now have a nice box constructed (see Q). Now would be the perfect
time to cut out a hole on the backside of the box to allow the
(eventual) cables to exit. I let Scott determine the location of
the pinball buttons on the side. We did this by having him locate
the proper position by feel and having me mark the center point of the
right side. We then transferred this measurement to the left side. Using a 1-1/8"
spade bit, we drilled the two holes. The method that works
best for me is to start from the outside and drill most of
the way through the board. Then switch and finished
drilling the hole out from the inside. This keeps
splintering to a minimum, and always on the inside if there
is any. Now you are finished with the base for a while.
Set it aside in a safe location. We'll use it a little
later on.
Top
To begin we cut a plywood board 33" x 16-1/2".
I have a template that will be used to trim up the top board ...
slot.
To be finished soon!
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