Wednesday, September 5, 2001
10:30am - I got to work early this morning on cutting the third piece of wood which included the second side to the cabinet along with the monitor/television stand and a back panel. With some experience cutting the first piece last week, this cut session went quite a bit faster. After making all of the requisite cuts, I started in on the base panel. I wanted it to be extra strong since it would be holding up the whole cabinet - computer, television, controls and all. The original plans called for 4 support beams beneath the main base panel, which I have completed, but I plan on adding a couple more stabilizing supports. I would be working on it right now, but while doing preliminary construction work on the sides of the cabinet, I misfired with the hammer and caught the side of my finger, right near the fingernail, breaking the skin apart from the nail. Once bandaged, I put in the last nail I was working on and called it a day. Construction will continue this weekend. Pictures have been taken and will be posted in a couple of days.
5:30pm - Work continued on the project. I took the two sides of the cabinets, and cut out the angled/curved section where the monitor face will be. I had waited on this because I wanted to get both sides of the cabinet equal before attempting this fine cut. On the first side, I used a sliding protractor and made a 1/4 circle which then angled down to the point marked for the cut and then towards the side. Once you see the pictures, you'll know what I mean.
The pictures are:
5:30pm - Work continued on the project. I took the two sides of the cabinets, and cut out the angled/curved section where the monitor face will be. I had waited on this because I wanted to get both sides of the cabinet equal before attempting this fine cut. On the first side, I used a sliding protractor and made a 1/4 circle which then angled down to the point marked for the cut and then towards the side. Once you see the pictures, you'll know what I mean.
The pictures are:
- This is a shot of one side of the cabinet. I made the final cuts including the part that curves near the top. I also put in 3 reinforcing pieces of wood to which I will install the pre-cut panels. These three panels should provide ample support for the cabinet as I install it to the base (see right column pictures).
- A close up of the other side of the cabinet - same as the first...
- Just a shot of both sides of the cabinet back-to-back. The final construction should go quite smoothly as the panels seemed to fit in perfectly.
- A shot of the cabinet base from the top. It's quite strong which surprised me. Both a friend and I were able to stand on it without the slightest hint of it giving way. Regardless, I'm going to add one more cross beam.
- This is a shot of the cabinet base laying on its side. You can see the two supports that reach all the way from the "bottom" to the "top" of the base. The two cross-supports help as well. Each of the 4 supports is held in place by 3 screws. One more thing to add is a screw or nail through the side supports into the middle supports.
- A shot of the base lying upside-down. Looks pretty good don't it?
