The Control Panel (Box: Part 1)

I finally got Bella's Arcade to the point where I can work on this one and not feel guilty about having unfinished projects laying around the house. The next thing on the list was building the control panel box and top. It was quite complicated since I decided to miter every single joint including the bottom panel.

The overall dimensions are:

• Bottom panel: 12" x 32"
• Side panels: 12" on the bottom edge; 5-1/4" on the back edge; 4-1/4" on the front edge (it's exactly a 5 degree slope).
• Front panel: 4-1/4" x 32"
• Back panel: 5-1/4" x 32"
• Every corner is mitered at 45 degrees
• The top edges of the front and back panels are mitered at 5 degrees to match the slope of the side panels so the control panel top will sit flush
  
• The two holes in the side panels are for pinball flippers
  

After cutting all of the pieces I did a dry fit for the side panels to check for squareness and if everything was going to fit together properly. Note that the box is upside down in this picture.

Once I decided everything was lined up properly it was time to cut the slots for the biscuits to hold everything together. I could have probably used just wood glue and nothing else but the biscuits will provide a very secure bond between the panels. Here's a shot of the side panel without the slot:

Next you can see a shot of the biscuit joiner lined up with the mitered edge. All I had to do was set the fence to 45 degrees to cut all of the biscuit slots.

The next shot shows the slot:

The next shot shows the biscuit in the slot. It's a #10 size biscuit - I tried 20s but the slot went all the way through the wood on my test cut so that wasn't going to work.

This process was repeated on all of the mitered edges. I used one biscuit in the corners and ten of them on the bottom panel (three on the 32" long edges and two on the 12" shorter ones). In my next post I'll show the glue up and the final results. Overall I'm pleased although it's not as *perfect* as I was hoping to get everything. I'm hoping the finishing process will eliminate any visual imperfections/gaps in the construction. If not, since the control panel is completely separate I can always try again!