Alright, well Marc and I were able to get a few more things done this weekend and I think we're finally ready to prime the cabinet next weekend. I remembered to bring the 20" TV with me this time, so the first thing we did was place the studs for the TV shelf. We figured out where we wanted the TV to sit and screwed in the screws for the front of the first stud as shown below. Then Marc held the TV in place while I figured out the angle we wanted it to sit at. With that determined, we secured the first stud with two more screws through the side panels.
First stud in place...
Look at those realistic graphics! No, that's just Rick's truck. The bezel you see is just a piece of foam we cut to the dimensions of the Mario Bros. bezel we will be using. This helped us determine where to position the TV. I suggest doing this (with whatever is handy, cardboard, paper, etc.) if you are using a bezel with artwork or you may be unhappy with the viewing area.
Looks good to me.
Here we have the second TV shelf stud in place as well as the stud that holds the TV in the back. Actually, those TV shelf studs
are the TV shelf as we decided there was no point in putting another piece of MDF on top of the studs. The studs hold the weight of the TV just fine, so we left it at that.
Here we used wood glue to glue this piece in the back. The removable back will lock into this piece. It was just a scrap we had left over, but I'm glad we used such a small piece of MDF because the TV can be taken out of the back without hitting the top. This will be nice because we don't have to worry about making the bezel easily removable.
Here Marc is sanding some spots to make the wood filler flush with the cabinet. You see that the TV fits nicely and behind the speaker grill you see a keyboard tray we installed.
The hidden keyboard tray will allow for easy PC access, but doesn't take away from the arcade feel (since it's hidden).
Another look...
Here we attached a little shim to the slanted TV shelf stud so that we could screw into it. There's a small piece of MDF that the bezel rests on and the control panel attaches to. Since that piece is so small, it will split if screwed into from the sides (we already experienced that). So we need to attach it by screwing it into the TV shelf.
Here you see that the Elmer's wood filler (which claims 'no shrinking!') actually did shrink when drying in some of the deeper holes. We circled the holes that weren't flush with the cabinet and will have to apply another layer. Many of the holes needed a second layer.
Here's a view from behind as we finish up for the night. That piece of MDF on the bottom is not secured yet. We haven't figured out how to notch it so that the removable piece will stay put. We will definitely be priming next weekend though, so stay tuned as we hope to get this finished by the end of the year.
First stud in place...
Look at those realistic graphics! No, that's just Rick's truck. The bezel you see is just a piece of foam we cut to the dimensions of the Mario Bros. bezel we will be using. This helped us determine where to position the TV. I suggest doing this (with whatever is handy, cardboard, paper, etc.) if you are using a bezel with artwork or you may be unhappy with the viewing area.
Looks good to me.
Here we have the second TV shelf stud in place as well as the stud that holds the TV in the back. Actually, those TV shelf studs are the TV shelf as we decided there was no point in putting another piece of MDF on top of the studs. The studs hold the weight of the TV just fine, so we left it at that.
Here we used wood glue to glue this piece in the back. The removable back will lock into this piece. It was just a scrap we had left over, but I'm glad we used such a small piece of MDF because the TV can be taken out of the back without hitting the top. This will be nice because we don't have to worry about making the bezel easily removable.
Here Marc is sanding some spots to make the wood filler flush with the cabinet. You see that the TV fits nicely and behind the speaker grill you see a keyboard tray we installed.
The hidden keyboard tray will allow for easy PC access, but doesn't take away from the arcade feel (since it's hidden).
Another look...
Here we attached a little shim to the slanted TV shelf stud so that we could screw into it. There's a small piece of MDF that the bezel rests on and the control panel attaches to. Since that piece is so small, it will split if screwed into from the sides (we already experienced that). So we need to attach it by screwing it into the TV shelf.
Here you see that the Elmer's wood filler (which claims 'no shrinking!') actually did shrink when drying in some of the deeper holes. We circled the holes that weren't flush with the cabinet and will have to apply another layer. Many of the holes needed a second layer.
Here's a view from behind as we finish up for the night. That piece of MDF on the bottom is not secured yet. We haven't figured out how to notch it so that the removable piece will stay put. We will definitely be priming next weekend though, so stay tuned as we hope to get this finished by the end of the year.
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