It's hip to be square.

Yesterday was a necessary evil.  Sanding wood is alot like watching paint dry, but it had to be endured so that I could get to today which I consider to be the meat and potatoes of the project.   This is where the fun begins and the cabinet (hopefully) will begin to take shape. On Friday I caught a glimpse of the overall scope of it when Doug and I leaned our side pieces up against the carport wall and stepped back, but now I'm going for the full on 3-D effect.  Once I was equipped with the right length of decking screws in one hand and a coffee in the other I was ready for whatever this cabinet threw at me.

First order of business was to finish what I couldn't get done the night before (namely attaching the monitor shelf and base to one of the side pieces). After this was accomplished I proceeded to put the other side on the top so I could line it all up. 

Like an amateur baseball player with sweaty palms it took me a couple of cracks at it.  Thank goodness for wood filler as I'll be doing some patchwork when all is said and done.  After more than one attempt I had it to where I was happy.  The most important thing I wanted was for the front of the machine to be square.  If this part isn't done correctly the controller won't fit.

 After this step I had two sides attached with the base designed to support the weight of the computer tower and a monitor shelf in place.  The next step was to work the interior of the cabinet.  I centered the monitor on the shelf and recessed it 5/8 of an inch from the front of the cabinet.  To stop it from sliding out the back of the cabinet I cut a piece that I screwed into the end of the monitor shelf.  After this I cut two 2x4s to run the entire height of the cabinet at the back from the base to where the back angles up.  I cut the tops of these pieces to match the angle of the plywood (leaving approximately the width of a piece of plywood from the top).  I also fortified the cabinet by screwing in from the outside into both the base and monitor shelf.  To help prepare the cabinet for the top and back sheets I cut a bunch of 1 inch ledger pieces that were also spaced about 5/8 of an inch from the top. After all that was done I put the controller in for a test fit, stood back, and took a few pictures.  This was a good a place as any to stop for the day.