Day 29 - Final Build 1

I've decided not to varnish/lacquer the cabinet after the side art is completed so there was no need to wait and I put the cabinet together. Using my phone's camera for the first time I had higher hopes of image quality, sadly it wasn't the case. I'll do better pictures next time. As always, click on a picture to see the full sized image.

In case you want to see the final pictures and not read the details here it is.

There's pictures showing the speakers and glass further down.

What follows is the assembly of the cabinet.


This is the base (wheels below it), the first  step was to build a stand for the sub-woofer to go onto and keep it nice and secure.








Next the front kick-plate was glued and screwed. The hole is where the sub-woofer peaks through. Sorry, I know the pictures aren't great, but I like them.

From previous posts you may recall the cabinet has been built already (before it was painted). This means the holes are already in so it's a case of peeping a screw through and letting it drop into the hole without worrying about alignment.








Next, one side was placed on the workbenches (with cloth below to protect the paintwork) and the base/kick-plate glued and screwed in.

 The top section of the back-panel (the white dots is the grill I made - by drilling holes - to vent any heat from the bulb), the base of the marquee and the middle strut were screwed/glued in. The other side was then placed on top and screwed/glued. The rear section is not glued to provide access to the marquee if the bulb needs changing.

The middle section of the rear was glued/screwed then the cabinet was then stood up. Yes, before you ask I did it myself and thinking the cloth would protect the sides, I scratched one side a fair bit, but hopefully it'll get fixed.

The marquee light was fitted and there should be no light-bleed because it is in a separate compartment to the speakers and there are no gaps. If there are, it's a bit of grout to fix it.

I added the top of the marquee and the first section of the control panel surround.

 This is the back in all it's glory. The bottom section is a door with a little handle to give access to the PC. It needs a hold cutting and a vent cover fitting to allow air to escape from the PC. This will be done when I know where the PC is going.

To fit the speakers I attached some contact adhesive to the speakers and a couple of square brackets.

I then attached the speaker housing to the cabinet and when the adhesive was ready I bonded the brackets to the speakers then fitted the speakers to the rear of the speaking section, as shown below. The contrast isn't like this, I enhanced it so you can see where the speakers go.

Next the moment of truth, the T-molding :)

I figured laying it flat would be easier (you can see the sub-woofer attached, btw). I glued the slot just in case then added the T-molding.

Whenever a sharp curve appeared I slit the T-Molding in several places to let it go round a bit easier.

Bit by bit I pushed the T-Molding in firmly then placed a cloth on top and with the base of a hammer (rubber handle) banged it down.

Well, this was only for a small section as it was late and I was waking everyone up so I had to stop and just press it down firmly with the base of the hammer. This worked better anyway as it was a bit more controlled.

If you ever do it yourself, just remember to get the curves in tightly before proceeding otherwise it will have to all come out to fix as it won't stretch.
















Just to try it out, I put the light on, fitted the test control panel and turned on the light.

Next the side art and marquee art will be applied followed by the control panel.