VLX XL Worklog 02 – Construction

Before we begin, here’s an overview of the materials used for construction from the Worklog 01.

Construction Materials

1. MDF – I used 1/2″ and 3/4″ MDF to create the case
2. 1/8″ Thick Hardboard – I used small pieces as the 24mm Sanwa button holders that were flush mounted to the back of the case. The Sanwa buttons snap in, no problem.
3. 3/4″ x 3/4″ Square Pine Moulding – I wanted a small piece of square wood to use as the frame that the MDF would be screwed to. This was all I could find, but ended up being exactly the right size. Measures 11/16″ x 11/16″.
4. Screws – I ended up using 1″ and 1-1/4″ fine thread drywall screws.
5. Wood Glue

Final VLX XL Google SketchUp Files

Step 1 – Rough cut the wood

Cut out of 3/4″ MDF:

1. Top: 29″ x 9″
2. Front: 29″ x 1-11/16″
3. Left and right angled side pieces: 9″ x 2-7/16″ (make 4)
4. Inside side pieces: 7-3/4″ x 1-3/16″ (make 2)

Cut out of 1/2″ MDF:

1. Back: 29″ x 1-11/16″
2. Bottom: 29″ x 7-3/4″

Cut out lengths of 3/4″ x 3/4″ Square Moulding:

1. Front and back: 27-1/2″
2. Left and right: 6-3/8″

Once you have all of the wood rough cut, you can begin assembly. If you chose to stack it all up, it would look like this:

Step 2 – Route the top

I made many mistakes with my top panel by assembling the case before completely routing the top, as well as doing a really bad job routing the Taito Vewlix panel indentation for flush mounting. All of this can be seen in my Flickr photo set.

But, when you do it right…

This is what you will end up with:

Here’s how to do it:

The indentation that you will route to flush mount the Vewlix panel is about 1-1/2″ in from the back and about 1″ in from each side. The best thing to do would be to find the center of your top piece (29″ / 2 = 14.5″) and mark it. Then find the center of your Vewlix panel and mark that (68 cm / 2 = 34 cm). Then line up your panel 1-1/2″ in from the back and with the 2 center points lining up and trace around it. You’ll want to have your panel upside down because of the protruding bolts and clips on the bottom.

Step 2a – Cut out the area for the stick and buttons to pass through

I chose to just leave a 1″ lip around the entire indentation for the Vewlix panel to flush mount, but when I had my second go at it, I left more room on the right and left sides where it wasn’t necessary to cut out. This is entirely up to you. I don’t think it will make it any less sturdy – it’s already going to be a beast.

Step 2b – Drill the holes for the Vewlix panel’s bolts

You can see in the photo above, from step 2a, that the holes for the bolts were already drilled. Here are the measurements from my Vewlix panel:

• From left edge to right edge (center of bolts): 10 mm -> 220 mm -> 220 mm -> 220 mm -> 10 mm

I used a 1/8″ drill bit for the bolt holes.

Important: You’ll also want to use a 1/2″ router bit to route out the area on the back for the washer and nut to attach to the Vewlix panel bolts. I went about 7/16″ (a little less than 1/2″) deep. This is shown in the second photo at the beginning of step 2.

Step 2b – Route the Vewlix panel indentation for flush mount

Once you have your hole for the joystick and buttons cut, the holes for the Vewlix panel bolts drilled and routed, you’re now ready to route the top to flush mount the Vewlix control panel.

You’ll want to set your router to as close to 2 mm deep as possible. Use your routers guide and a straight edge to carefully do the 4 edges of the indentation. Then equally carefully remove the excess material toward the inside. You’ll be left with some excess material in the corners that you can’t get to with a router. I used an Xacto knife to hand chisel the excess material to be a perfect match with the control panel. This will take a lot of time to do right.

Step 3 – Assemble the case

Screw the 3/4″ x 3/4″ square moulding to the MDF to assemble the case. Be sure to use plenty of wood glue as well. I have since learned this little trick since building my Vewlix Tournament Edition, and it works quite well – no more MDF splitting.

Step 3a – Assemble the side pieces

To make sure the angle that goes across the front of the case matches across all pieces, you’ll want to assemble the side pieces and screw them in place.

All you need to do is screw them together (with the screws on the inside so they don’t show) and then screw them to the case from the inside. You will see what this should look like in step 4.

Step 3b – Add 1/2″ MDF scrap as spacers to mount the bottom of the case

Because of the size of the 3/4″ x 3/4″ square moulding, a piece of 1/2″ MDF placed in the middle provided the perfect surface to screw the bottom of the case to.

So, the bottom is screwed on:

1. The left and right inside 3/4″ pieces of MDF
2. The middle 2 pieces of 1/2″ MDF described above

Step 4 – Cut the front angle of the case

With everything assembled (well, you don’t need the bottom on yet) you can now cut the front angle of the case and be sure it’ll be the exact same on all pieces.

Just set your saw to about 41.5º and use the guide and a straight edge to cut straight across the front of your case. You may find it helpful to measure and draw a line 1-1/8″ back on the top and 1-7/16″ up from the bottom on the front. This will help you visualize the section to be removed by this cut.

Step 5 – Hardboard button holders

I decided I wanted to have the extra L1 and L2 buttons (or LB and LT) for possible use in menus as well as a Select and Guide (or Home) button. To accomplish this, I ordered 4 more 24 mm Sanwa snap-in push buttons and created some mounts for them with hardboard – it turned out it was just the right thickness. You could also use the screw-in type buttons and probably just drill and route some holes in the 1/2″ MDF of the back.

I cut 2 pieces of hardboard sized 3″ x 1-1/4″. I then cut (2) 15/16″ sized holes in the vertical center on each of them.

• From left edge to right edge (center of holes): 27/32″ -> 1 5/16″ -> 27/32″

Then, just like the indentation for the flush mount of the Vewlix control panel, I routed out an area for them to be flush mounted to the 1/2″ MDF back. I also drilled a slightly larger 1″hole through the 1/2″ MDF back for the buttons to fit through.

I wasn’t careful with the routing because I knew I’d be using wood filler to fill any gaps. I also just used wood glue to attach the hardboard button holders to the 1/2″ MDF back. Once the glue dried I added some wood filler. It wouldn’t stand up to anyone yanking on it, but it’s pretty solid.

Step 6 – Cut the angular side caps

I did not take step by step photos of this process. Instead, I was concentrating on keeping all of my fingers. I ended up using a miter saw that allows you to adjust the angle of the blade horizontally as well as vertically. After marking off all of the dimensions I could and drawing where each cut should be made, I carefully lined them up, took a deep breath, and cut.

To sum up: I can’t offer much help on this. Just get them symmetrical and as close as you can and sanding will take care of the rest. If you have the proper tools, this isn’t that difficult and you probably don’t need to be told how to do it. If you don’t have the proper tools (like me), it’s a real pain with really no ‘right’ way to do it – It’s a catch 22.

Step 7 – Apply wood filler, let dry, and sand

Make sure to apply wood filler to the back seam where the 1/2″ MDF back meets the 3/4″ MDF top as well as the front where you cut the long front angle. You’ll probably also want to add some to the two 3/4″ MDF pieces (the sides) you attached together and made the angular cuts on. The rest will be hidden and isn’t necessary.

Once you’ve let the wood filler dry the appropriate amount of time (see the label), sand down the filler and any rough edges. I used an orbital sander with increasing grits of paper to get everything ready to be primed.

Next worklog: I will discuss priming, painting, and lacquering the control panel case.