Beverly Hillbillies

[rickf]

Your "perennial Rye grass" looks like ivy to me.

[1SGCAV77]

TJ, Looks like you did not use the masking tape trick when cutting the plywood. No biggie it is not a cabinet that requires the wife’s approval. This is for the kiddos. My 11 yr old thinks it is no cool. He loves it. I think so too. Is this from the insurance commercial or the movie “Big”. I like both. Keep up the good work. I look forward to your daily adventures.

[m3a1]

Believe it or not, I actually wanted the wood to have that edge. Veneers on older cabinets delaminate very much like this which is what I meant by this adding to it's 'legitimacy'. In other words, it will look like it's really an old vending machine. All a total farce, of course, but humbuggery is part of it. People enjoy being fooled and they'll pay five pence for the pleasure of it, as P.T. Barnum knew so well.

Speaking of coins, the belt buckle arrived today. Perfect size! Shortly, I will be cutting the buckle goodies off the back of it, drilling mounting holes and chamfering them.

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A trip to Hobby Lobby for detail stuff. Something to jazz up the Gypsy fortune teller. Ask your son if he knows what coins and elder Gypsies are all about. it's a real thing and I'll be adding these coins to mine but, OH!...I hate tying tiny knots! What a PITA!

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This may end up being the wallpaper for the reveal (the wall behind the fortune teller) and yes, I may add an LED black light. The black bit is felt.
A black light would really make it pop and yet, shouldn't flood the cabinet with light. We shall see.

The design is more than just attractive art. It is obviously based upon the Lotus flower and believe it or not, as fake as this all is, there is some actual logic going on in the back channels of this project.

From Wikipedia - In Buddhism, the lotus flower symbolizes purity of the mind, body and spirit, as the flower, or soul, blossoms above and moves freely over murky waters, which represents the struggles of life, attachment and desire. It follows that any fortune teller would appreciate the value in the Lotus flower.

I felt this was a very lucky find...or maybe Karma?

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Assorted colors of velvet for the drapes. Which will it be? Well, I suppose we could consult with The All Knowing, All Seeing ZOLTAN! Does anyone have a nickel?

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More embellishments for the front of the cabinet (bricks are holding them down while the glue dries) and here, I'm working out where the coin slot and fortune card vending slot will go.

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Cheers,
TJ

[rickf]

You are really going all out! And what are most fathers going to say if the kid DOES know about Gypsies and coins? And think about this, The lotus flower and Gypsies? Kind of a conflict of ideals? I used to work a carnival route for a couple years so I knew a lot of gypsies and I can tell you NONE of them were pure of mind, body or spirit!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLTETaWswCY

[Mark]

ya, anything to get a buck

[m3a1]

My Dad used to have three things hanging from the hull compass in his airplane.
A Buddha
A crucifix
And a wishbone.
Ask him why, he would say, "In case things go really bad, I'm just covering all the bases."

That's what I'm doing...covering ALL the bases!

Signs assembled to a raised platform and will soon to be attached to the lid. Why a platform? It raises the signs to the correct height off the lid and allows the cheap lights to be laid in flat in the most expeditious manner. Lighting is installed in a manner allowing it to be easily replaced.

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Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Last night I laid in the lights whose purpose is to illuminate the signs on the top of the piece, only to have half of them go out without any obvious sign as to why. Grrrr. This happened in the evening because I was also trying to get a sense of how good the lights would be...something you can't do in the light of day. Locating them properly is a big part of it. Located too far under the platform, the light won't bounce around to the face of the sign.

So, with that failure, I was off to our local Walmart (just before closing, naturally ).

I lucked into some inexpensive rope lights which were I determined were not quite as bright as I had hoped but sometimes ya gotta take what you can get. So that's what I'll use for now. If I find I don't like it, well, I'm the bloody manufacturer.... I'll just change it!

Here's a shot of the embellishments on the face of the cabinet. Vintage vending machines are usually more ornate on their front and less so on the sides, probably as a matter of having them located side by side as well as making them cheaper to produce. I followed that method with this cabinet.

Corner pieces are white because they are made of PVC. I was concerned that wood corners might split. Wood is of poor quality nowadays and is simply not trustworthy. Quarter round stock will serve to backstop the glass at the bottom of the reveal.

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Cheers,
TJ

[1SGCAV77]

You are doing such a great job. After Halloween what’s the plan for the vending machine ? I think it would be a great addition to the “man cave”. Definitely a conversational piece.

As to the Gypsy and coins, my 11 yr old grandson is aware. I did put son where should have been grandson. My only child...
she will be 41 on Monday.

[m3a1]

Well, it's always good to know about Gypsies, just in case! And YES, who wouldn't want this in their Man Cave?

Installed the Walmart rope lights in a way that they will shed maximum light on the signage. I was pleasantly surprised to find the light kit came with these nifty little retainers. They really made things easy.

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Thank you Fancy-Clip-Maker-Dude! They help me to create a nice, orderly, and professional-looking installation. Zip ties complete the organization. Looking at this, one might assume I actually have skills.

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The plywood support for the signs cannot be seen by a person of average height. I know it seems shoddy to have an unfinished edge but if you're not over 6 feet tall, you'll never see it. The clever little signs are store-bought, by the way. That IS one of my skills. Taking things that are normally unassociated and bringing them all together in a cohesive way.

I will probably brighten up the gold with a better quality paint; something that will catch and reflect the light just a touch more efficiently.

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Later today I'll trim some wood to become the fillers for the corners on the sign. That will NOT be fun as there are a lot of strange angles and they're tiny pieces.

Stay tuned.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Still rounding up odds and ends for inside the cabinet. Call it 'Set Dressing" if you will.

Fortune Tellers often read palms. I reckon a Fortune Teller might have a mummified hand close by, particularly if that mummified hand was marked with Palmistry references. That seems perfectly logical to me. Perfectly normal, right? So THIS fella just arrived by mail...

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My physician wife (..who has seen just about everything..) instantly recoiled from it. If SHE thinks it's gross, then by golly it's a KEEPER!

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

I cut the filler pieces (and hate, Hate, HATE them). They are dead flat, look ugly, and need some gittyup. I'm going to see if I can replicate the millwork that came with the signs. Any chance of finding them at the local Home Depot are slim and none. Or, figure out something, anything, to break up that plain, flat surface.

But, the lights worked out very well.

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It's comin'...as well as another little surprise.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Fillers cut and finished with finials which are actually nothing more than drawer pulls from Home Depot.

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Unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to replicate these on either end. Opportunity missed! Boo hoo.

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Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Edging forward. Every forward.

This is the stage of the game when people get in a hurry and start making mistakes and/or errors in judgement. Let's "slow the roll".

And in order to achieve that, I'll do some detail work on stuff that goes in the cabinet until I'm satisfied with its quality. This allows me time to think about the upcoming steps that are necessary to finish the cabinet.

By way of example, I was going to use quarter round strips to secure the base of the glazing (that's "glass" to all you southern gentlemen). Then I realized it would cut into the available space in the theatrical area of the cabinet and make visible an unsightly, but necessary piece. In my experience, even the loss of a fraction of an inch can make a break ya and no artist wants unsightly stuff in their masterpiece, except for maybe H.R. Geiger.

So, the plan is that the platform of the stage (covered in velvet) will fit 'just so' and end up pretty much right up against the glazing but not so snug that expansion or contraction will become an issue. It will also help to hold the base of the back panel where it belongs. At least that is the present plan.

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

I had my sheet metal brake taken apart over the course of the last few days. It rusted up rather badly after the cover blew off, dust accumulated and condensate did the rest. Sheesh. All better now. I'll need it to bend the coin chutes for the Fortune Telling machine.

My associate with the Bobcat called me today and it turned out to be 'safe unloading day'. This monster is now back up on its wheels and I will begin to formulate a plan for it.

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I'm starting to have second thoughts about attacking through the front door (which is its only redeeming feature). Not much hope of finding the locking bits in any useful condition so, any plan that involves restoring the doors to usefulness is questionable at best. What might this safe become? It's time to start thinking 'out of the box' (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun).

I'm feeling lucky. Maybe I'll go in from the back...

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Busy as a bee around here. Putting away stuff from the Doom Buggy project, trying to organize the many extra Gama Goat parts (just the canvas and cushions take up about the same amount of space as a riding mower) and making a space for this jumbo-sized safe which can be rolled around without too much grumbling since its wheels are on concrete. Thank God it can be moved!

So, as a result of all this shuffling of stuff around, I'm away from the Fortune Teller project for just a bit. Putting that 'away time' to good use, cogitating on design variables. Even time OFF the project is put to good use. Bonus!

Cheers,
TJ