My back will be like the Emu cabs, a fairly stiff (1/16") piece of aluminum
with captive machine screws. There will be a notch in one corner for a fixed
back plate attached permanently to the cabinet, which will have the
fuseholder and power connector, power switch, 1/4" outputs for busses, and
multiconnectors for CV snakes to rack mounted Expressionist, and to other
cabinets. I don't want ventilation, because the electronics shouldn't get
that hot, and creating an airflow through the cabinet invites dust.
For wood, oak is extremely hard, thus very hard to work and not that pretty
IMO. Walnut is one of the most beautiful, and only medium hard so not that
bad to work. It's getting very expensive. Put a red mahogany stain on it to
lighten it up to a beautiful golden color. Cherry is gorgeous but you can't
find it anymore. Stay away from poplar, it's a very soft wood that will dent
if you look at it funny. Same for pine, if you are going for an elegant
look.
What does that leave? All kinds of exotic woods, that you might run into a
special deal for by chance. Or, if you take extra care, you can consider a
fine walnut veneer over plywood. At least some of the Emu modulars did this,
and their cabinets looked fine to me.
Just avoid buying your wood at a big chain like Home Depot or Lowes. It's
not the place to look for hardwood. There are specialty hardwood suppliers
in most areas of the country, you just have to dig for them.
Dave Bradley
Principal Software Engineer
Engineering Animation, Inc.
daveb@... > -----Original Message-----
> From: Tkacs, Ken [mailto:ken.tkacs@...]
> Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2000 9:01 AM
> To: 'MOTM Forum All'
> Subject: [motm] Open Cabinet Question
>
>
> From: "Tkacs, Ken" <ken.tkacs@...>
>
>
> To those of you who have or are planning to make wooden cabinets for your
> modules:
>
> How are you treating the back? Leaving it open? Finishing it with nice
> plywood? Peg board for ventilation?
>
> Also, what kinds of wood are you using? The only reasonable thing
> I can find
> around here is Red Oak, which wouldn't be bad, but I'm interested in what
> others have had success with. Buying a table saw on Saturday to get this
> show on the road.
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
>
>
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