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#4159105 - 08/18/15 11:32 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Thank you for the all the compliments guys!

It was now time for the front vent for where the computer is. I wanted as much airflow as possible through this area which is why I made the vent so large. I used “modders mesh” from MN PC Tech (http://mnpctech.com/case-mods-gaming-pc-...dders-mesh.html). It’s the right thickness at 22 gauge, not too thick to work with, but sturdy enough to hold buttons or switches (hint, hint…).

My first step was to use some scrap and mockup the frame. When I was satisfied, I cut a piece of pine board to size, cut out the middle with a jigsaw, then finished the edges with the router (using more scrap on the back of the frame as guides). Lastly I put a 45 degree bevel on the front.







I cut out the amount of mesh I needed using tin snips, spray painted it black (3 or 4 coats both sides), then attached it to the frame with wood staples.




Getting it attached to the "insturment panel" was time consuming because I wanted it to fit level, centered and securely. I mounted it with 4 small L-backets and small wood screws. This worked out well as it was simple and gives me the ability to remove it easily if I need to.


The bottom 2 L-brackets had to be installed differently than the top ones. Using a chisel, I made a cut outs on the back of the frame that were the same height/thickness of the L-bracket, which allows one part of the bracket to sit into the frame so the fram will be flush with the front of the "instrument panel".



Last edited by Redhornet; 08/18/15 11:33 PM.
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4159379 - 08/19/15 06:54 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Henk Offline
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Like cali said
Quote:
That looks awesome, can't wait to see it all done.

Read more: http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/4152495#ixzz3jHxQv93V
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#4159680 - 08/20/15 07:46 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Small update. I decided to hold off on the more refined pedal platform until I had used the sim desk for a bit. So I cut to size some scrap plywood to make a quick one. The darker plywood is an old table leaf:





#4160243 - 08/22/15 07:03 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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The drawers were the next thing to tackle. I used 1/2 inch plywood for them and solid pine board for the faces. I did not make the drawers in proper cabinetry fashion because I wanted to just get them done and see how I use them for a bit. (I will replace them later on with properly built ones. Hmmmm... I'm realizing there is a lot of that going on with this build...)

Anyway, pieces cut and assembled.



I used drawer slides that can hold up to 30 pounds and have a soft close feature. If I remember correctly, they are Liberty brand slides and were about $18 per kit from HomeDepot. Each kit has 2 slides, some mounting "hardware", which is made of heavy plastic and screws. They're actually a quality product, the slides are thick gauge steel with ball bearing action and the inserts come out without any hassle. They are supposed to be used in pairs and mounted on the sides of the cabinet and drawers. I used one slide per drawer and mounted them on the bottom. This enabled me to get the widest drawer possible.



I cut some 1/4 inch risers to the length of the slides to bring the bottom of the slides flush with the bottom lip of the drawer opening. I screwed the risers to the frame and the slides are screwed onto the riser.




The slide insert is screwed to the bottom of the drawers. These inserts are removable so I can take the drawers in and out if needed.








The top drawers were secured differently. The slide kit came with a thick plastic front mount, so I used that to secure the front of the slide and I made a rear mount using a small piece of 3/4 inch plywood and an L-bracket.




Once the slides were installed I screwed the faces onto the drawers and put them into the frame.




#4160309 - 08/22/15 11:21 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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choowy Offline
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I like it, nice work. clapping

#4164998 - 09/04/15 03:55 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Redhornet Offline
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Choowy thank you! I greatly admire the work you did on your mechpit, I saved all of those photos to my harddrive. thumbsup


Now that the top part was done I went back to work on the bottom part. I made shelves for the cabinets and installed those. I used pocket holes and screws (without glue in case I need to make adjustments) on the bottom of the shelves to secure them in place.





Here you can see how the controllers and keyboard will be stored when not in use:






I measured the cabinet openings and added an inch all the way around then cut some doors. I put a small bevel on the edges, I like bevels...



In place with clamps:




I put some guides on the backs of the doors to help them stay aligned when they're on. There aren't any hinges, the doors just pull on/off and are held in place by a magnet attached to the front edge of the shelves and a metal bracket on the door itself.




In addition to the metal bracket, you'll notice I drilled a notch into the top of the door. This is for the usb wire of the controller, so I can have the doors closed/in-place when I'm simming.



Doors in place before staining


#4165027 - 09/04/15 07:22 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Flying_Colander Offline
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Nice build, Hornet. Keep us posted. Love all the piccies.

Cheers,

Flying Colander

#4165235 - 09/04/15 05:37 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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f15sim Offline
More projects than sense!
f15sim  Offline
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I'd love to see a v2 done in Baltic Birch. smile

g.


Proud owner of 80-0007
http://www.f15sim.com - The only one of its kind.
http://geneb.simpits.org - the Me-109F/X Project
#4165347 - 09/04/15 09:22 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: f15sim]  
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Originally Posted By: f15sim
I'd love to see a v2 done in Baltic Birch. smile

g.


I actually considered using that but decided to use a rougher plywood because I knew I was going to stain it in dark colors and because I knew I would make mistakes.

I love that type of ply for cabinetry, shelving or furniture, it's so modernist and clean.

Last edited by Redhornet; 09/04/15 09:23 PM.
#4165495 - 09/05/15 10:32 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Henk Offline
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Thanks for the update Redhornet, for a moment I was afraid you've quit building smile2 Very curious to the end result

#4168860 - 09/14/15 09:53 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Ok lots of updates today.

Well when the doors and cabinet stuff was done it was time to do some semi detail work.

In the first image you can see how the pine top/bottom rails contrasted with the plywood rib, so I just made a veneer with the thin plywood I used for the skin. The veneer was just glued on, I applied glue to the back of them and used some scrap wood and clamps to hold it there and let the glue set/dry for 24 hours (sorry forgot to take pix of the process). I then sanded the edges down to smooth them out and round them off:





In these 2 shots you can see the how everything had progressed up to this point (except for the skin over the inner part of the cabinets).




Now I needed to make a vent on the computer cover. I measured where the CPU, RAM and video card will sit in the computer box and marked up the top panel. I cut out a rough opening with a jigsaw then refined the edge with a router in the same way I did with the front panel screen frame, including a small bevel. On the back I used the router again and made a shallow rabbet cut for the screen to sit into. I then stapled the screen in place. The screen was the front of my Antec 300 tower case:






Next thing I did was cut some pieces of the skin plywood to cover the inner side of the cabinets and attached them (again I forgot to take pix, at this point I just wanted to finish!)

Big commitment was next… STAINING!!! Woo Hoo! Almost done!

Now as this whole build was influenced by WW2 fighters I decided on an olive(ish) green for the exterior, black for the panel and white for the interior. WW2 cockpits normally used a very light green on the inside, but I didn't want that much green and I wanted as much brightness as I could get for the inside. I used Minwax water based stain, it’s very reasonably priced, has very low odor and drys fast, I also like using stain because you can still see wood grain through the color. I did a first coat, very lightly sanded the stained piece with 150 grit sandpaper, then applied a second coat.
Front view of sides:


Rear view (the 2 large holes will be explained later):


Front with doors off:


I know there are panel gaps with the inner skin. I didn’t glue these panels in. I left it that way because I wanted to see how the cabinets worked in situation. If I needed to change anything later I could easily remove the screws holding it on and make adjustments.




With top part on. The 2 small holes in the front screen will be explained in the next update:





The small hole on the right is for securing the monitor mount (and you can see a circular impression in the plywood of the test fit…):

Last edited by Redhornet; 09/15/15 03:15 AM.
#4169968 - 09/17/15 05:30 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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That is excellent work Hornet... really! I am working up a similar design for a buddy that wants a combo desk/simpit, and I think I am going to steal some of your ideas.

Your sixth picture in this most recent post shows a stained piece that I assume is a desktop for when you aren't flying? Where does it go when you fly? Also, are you going to mount you stick/throttle to something when flying, or just set them in place somewhere?

Keep at it!
Dud


They say "If you didn't fail, how would you learn?"... I learn a LOT!
http://cnadeau.webs.com/index.htm
#4170312 - 09/18/15 12:03 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: DudleyAz]  
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Originally Posted By: DudleyAz
That is excellent work Hornet... really! I am working up a similar design for a buddy that wants a combo desk/simpit, and I think I am going to steal some of your ideas.

Your sixth picture in this most recent post shows a stained piece that I assume is a desktop for when you aren't flying? Where does it go when you fly? Also, are you going to mount you stick/throttle to something when flying, or just set them in place somewhere?...


Steal away! In fact I am updating the Illustrator files to reflect what I built and will package them together with the Sketchup file in the next couple weeks (I'm out of town next weekend, won't be able to get to it this weekend).

The desktop is actually just an old 3/4 inch veneered table leaf that I slightly cut to size and use, I'm in the process of making an oak desktop. When gaming, the desktop justs lifts off and I put it in an out of the way corner of the office. The controllers sit onto the bottom drawers that are pulled out.

Next update will answer your questions very well with images!

#4170766 - 09/19/15 02:06 AM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Veeeeeeeeery close to the finish!

With everything stained, it was time to put the computer into postition. I have an Antec 300 case that I took all the outer panels off of and turned it on it’s side to fit. That means the power and reset buttons (circled in red) wouldn’t be accessible, so I needed new switches, more about that later.


First thing to do was to relocate the top fan to the side (which is the new top). On the right you can see where the top exhaust fan was, and I needed to fabricate a way to mount it so it would still exhaust warm air. I bolted 2 bars to the fan that are used for mounting light fixtures into ceiling electrical boxes.



I bent down these 2 tabs to mount the fan.



Fan in place over CPU and RAM.




I also wanted to increase airflow through the case from the front so I bought another 200mm fan and mounted it to the front of the case. My Antec case came with 2 front fan brackets and I cut out the grill of one, painted it black and mounted it to the case.






The fan, modified mount and stock mount.


Fan in modified mount.


On computer case.


Now the case went into the desk.




Switches were the next thing to go in.
I like the military missile type switches and I found momentary switches and flip guards here
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/10545


They were only $3, compared to the $24 mnpectech.com wanted ( http://mnpctech.com/case-mods-gaming-pc-...e-switches.html ) So I got them from Sparkfun, although they’re now discontinued, but if you do a search you can find them on Amazon. I did however get these switch wires from Mnpctech.


These were actually very easy to install. I attached the wires to the switches without solder, just screwed them on, then plugged them into the proper location on the motherboard. I left the stock power & reset switches on the case and just unplugged them from the motherboard. The new switches just screwed/bolted onto the front screen. On the left is the power switch and the right is the reset switch.




The top panel went back on.


Here's a closeup of the top exhaust fan. You can see how I made this opening large enough so that hot air can vent straight up from the GFX card (which is barely visible to the left of the fan).

#4170989 - 09/19/15 10:21 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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This will be a bit of a boring update: cable management.

Remember those large holes on the back of each cabinet? They are for those office desk cord management thingies to wrangle the controller cords.



I put some painters tape on them so they fit snug in the holes.





I put all the power cords into the ribbed plastic tube and the USB and ethernet cords are outside of it but still neatly wrangled together. The only cord not tucked away is the monitor one as I need to easily unplug it from the Mac and plug it into my gaming rig.




The cord hanging down is the top fan speed control switch.

#4171536 - 09/21/15 03:25 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Ok, here we go, this... IS... IT!!! (well, of the primary build anyway...)

The desktop is made from an old 3/4 inch veneered plywood that was a table leaf. I made notches in it so that it would fit snugly against the front panel.


I angled the outermost notches to line up with the angles of the case.





The simdesk in position and ready to work (and more importantly FLY!!)


Work mode (boo work, soooo boring...)


This is where the work computer lives.



Now, when I was making the drawers I still didn't know how I was going to mount the HOTAS in flight mode. Then I had an epiphany... why not use the bottom 2 drawers as the HOTAS mounts? They're going to be pretty useless for storage because they're under the desktop and using them will eliminate the need for making more components. So I measured the throttle and stick bases and cut out the drawer sides accordingly. I put 2 large strips of velcro on each drawer bottom to hold the HOTAS in place.




Getting into flight mode! The desktop removes very easily and I put it against the wall in an unused corner of the office. Then it's time to set up the controllers.

Throttle side.










Joystick side.









Full flight mode (Woo! Hoo! Hours of fun ahead!!!)


So that was how the simdesk was at the end of June. In an effort to promote domestic tranquility, I honored a request from Mrs. Hornet to tackle some projects around the house that needed attention. Now that those tasks are complete I have been making "adjustments" to the simdesk and will post those updates when I sort through the photos and get things organized. So stay tuned...

Last edited by Redhornet; 09/21/15 03:37 PM.
#4171641 - 09/21/15 07:00 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Henk Offline
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Looking great! Very inspirational! Ordered plywood for my own project today, think phase two will be an adaption of this pit. Thanks Redhornet yep

#4171653 - 09/21/15 07:22 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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A very nice build and it looks really good! That is a perfect workspace/simpit hybrid!

#4171909 - 09/22/15 12:01 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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Appalachian foothills in Virgi...
Excellent work, you should be proud of that!

#4171914 - 09/22/15 12:17 PM Re: My Sim Desk Build [Re: Redhornet]  
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- Ice Offline
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How do you lock the drawers in place in the full-forward position?


- Ice
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