Beverly Hillbillies

[rickf]

But again, Why? A lot of work for no gain and THEN, you have to get rid of the thing which is why the original guy pawned it off on you. If it has been full of water for years then anything in it is gone short of gold and I seriously doubt a safe left at a sandblasters had anything in it let alone gold. Just be aware that even when you peel off the skin you still have to unlock the lock before the mechanism will move. Or you need to defeat the lock but check to be sure there is not a relocker in there before hammering or drilling. Otherwise you will be cutting and chiseling for a long time. Depending on what they did before they could have already triggered the relocker.

[m3a1]

No gain? Of course there is gain! I get the fun of goofing around with it at no real expense. I'd rather be tinkering around with a flathead Ford but, thus far, can't seem to luck into one for free. Anyway, it's far better than watching a bunch of loonies play at politics!

[rickf]

You live in Texas! Take the damn thing out in the desert and shoot it full of holes!!! At least you will have fun getting into it that way.

[m3a1]

Sorry. Anything approximating a desert is not less than 6 hours away.

[rickf]

I live in NJ................ Texas is ALL desert!! I remember when I was driving trucks I drove across Texas from La. to Ca. And it took two days with two drivers. It is ALL DESERT!!!!!!

[m3a1]

It's that time of year again. Why be proactive when you can wait till the very last second to achieve?

I'm building a Zoltar Fortune Teller inspired vending machine for part of my Halloween display...which is to say, I am building a totally fake fortune teller vending machine, using the guts from a Walmart purchase. This one has been rattling around in my head for years but this Walmart find was just enough to compel me to start the project which, even when finished, won't be 'finished'. This kind of project is like our MVs, where you can always take things to the next level.

I'm no cabinet maker but this will do. The legs are not yet on it.

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Temporary fitment of the Walmart Fortune Teller, just to ensure that he's in scale with the cabinet. He's atypically small so the size of the cabinet is reduced. He moves, lights up and talks. The vocalizations are good and it has surprisingly good volume for such a cheap piece. The original cloth surround will be discarded and just the fortune teller will be used for this iteration. At some point I will make my own fortune teller and install that.

The back wall and the floor of the cabinet will be dressed, similar to the cloth surround, with the addition of the usual bric a brac associated with fortune telling. Plexiglas windows, electrical power, and various lights are also in the works. This guy comes equipped with a motion sensor which may have to be moved to the outer face of the cabinet so some surgery is in order. The display preview button will be rewired to an external doorbell button mounted on the face of the cabinet.

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This 'coin slot' is actually a belt buckle. Somebody thought that was a good idea. Well, good enough to get me to buy one! Go figure. I'll remove the hardware on the back and repurpose it for use as my machine's coin slot. It has a nice look to it. I'm concerned about its size, though. We shall see when it gets here and I get to see what it looks like as compared to the size of the cabinet but the cabinet absolutely has to have a coin slot. Hey, somebody may actually toss me a nickel or two. You never know.

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A drawer pull similar to this will be installed on the face of the machine. Inverted, it will become the tray for the vending slot, where you would receive a printed fortune ticket.

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Here, we see the molding is starting to go on. Crown molding isn't hard, once you get the hang of it but until then, it's just a whole lot of misery and wasteful expenditure of relatively expensive mill work. Compound miter cuts are the Devil's playground. I made mistake after mistake with this stuff to the point of it being just rather ridiculous but, I finally got it. I would have done better buying a cheap piece of crown molding and going through the learning process with that. (If this is something you'd like to try your hand at...well, you have been warned.)

The molding hides a lot of crimes, covers brad and staple holes and it also serves to visually break up the slab-sided quality of the box and add character.

The entire top of the cabinet can be removed, top plate, crown molding and all, allowing unfettered access to the display area. There is also a full length door on the back that provides total access from the rear. The area below the display is for a power strip, other modifications and for now, general storage.

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Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

Wrapped up almost all the trim today. Plastic wood will fill the gaps.

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As nice as the legs and the factory mounts for the legs are, they are not firm enough to survive more than a few moves of the cabinet so they will absolutely have to be reinforced. I'm going to step back and think about how to go about that before committing myself.

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So far, so good.

Cheers,
TJ

[SturmTyger380]

That's really cool TJ. Apparently you are building it sideways.

[m3a1]

AND upside down!

Click the pic and it'll enlarge and orient itself.

[Mr. Recovery]

Hey TJ I found another project just waiting for your help!!

https://austin.craigslist.org/boa/d/lea ... 13981.html

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[m3a1]

Now STOP that!

On the other hand, I COULD buy it and say I own a yacht that sleeps 40 persons!

(...all of whom are required to provide adequate ballast.)

[m3a1]

Legs are stabilized... like a ROCK! Mood lighting will be installed in the center to provide a nice creepy glow. In my world 'Mood Lighting" = a string of Halloween lights coiled up and kept there with a sheet of leftover plexiglas. Still, I reckon it will be kinda cool.

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Molding added to hide the stabilizing bits is in place.

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I'm reduced to making this stuff up as I go along. Stay tuned, boys and girls!

Cheers,
TJ

[m3a1]

In my defense, I was left unsupervised!

Still some detail work to be done on the cabinet. Stuff that gets glued on the front and the sides. So, the cabinet get's laid on its back and side as the glue for the pieces takes time to dry.

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Meanwhile, I'm doing a little detail work on The Great Zoltan himself, and making a silk purse out of a sow's ear, I might add. However, each iteration pushes the needle way forward on the Cool Meter. I'm going to be mighty proud of this one when it's done.

Here, I've removed the cheap plastic jewel from his turban added some real (faux) bling. I admit, it's a little over the top, but that's what we're shooting for....wretched excess.

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Cheers,
TJ.

[rickf]

You missed your calling as a prop artist or set director.

[m3a1]

Well, as you know, I have made a few things for movies...

Okay, on a completely different topic, I am happy to report that my perennial Rye grass seed is starting to take hold! Can you tell I'm excited?

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...We now return you to my regularly scheduled nonsense...

Bottom view of the cabinet with my el cheap-o mood lighting held in place with strips of plastic taken from a kitty litter jug and a T-5- staple gun. What works, works...and there's just no benefit in throwing money at things that don't require it.

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Some more finishing touches. This is where money that is saved can be put to better use. Medallions!

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Because I want to add legitimacy to this thing, making it look old is the quickest way to do that. Damaged wood, which is from cutting the plywood with the wrong type of saw blade ( and believe it or not, that damage was intentional ) really adds to that old, slightly dilapidated look. You may doubt my claim of knowing what I'm doing with saw blades but I have been doing this sort of thing for a very long time and I know at least some of the tricks.

After painting, these low, damaged areas will grab and hold paint from a wash with a darker-color and it will look just right.

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Cheers,
TJ