SY-1 Wood Case Assembly

Recommended Materials/Tools:

Wood clamps with at least 13"/32cm capacity
Wood glue (I used Titebond III)
Wood filler (I used Bondo Wood Filler) 
Primer (I used Killz Primer Spray)
Putty knife
All Sorts of sand paper/blocks etc

Step 1:

Sand off the panelization tabs on the left and right panels that will prevent the case from sitting completely flat on the bottom edge.

Sand Flat with sanding block/paper

 

Put a small bead of wood glue on the inside parts of the front and back and clamp together.  Don't use too much force and make sure that the parts fit together square.

 

Important:
The sides have a contour to the top edge, make sure that the lower end faces the front of the case and the higher end faces the back with the opening


Clean up excess glue with wet paper towel or sponge, easier to do this now then after it dries.  Make sure that the front and black panels sit flush with the sides and everything is sitting flat to the bottom, loosen the clamps and adjust as needed.  

 

Step 2:

Inset the base into the opening, it is loose by design.   There is no orientation of the base, the hole pattern is centered. Use the included shims in the 4 corners to center the base.  The 4 clear go on the top/bottom, the color ones go on the sides.  Make sure that the case is sitting on a flat surface with nothing underneath so the base will sit flush with the bottom.

put a generous amount of glue on the two supports and place them in place half way on the inside of the case, press into place so you get good contact between the two surfaces

Let dry for 1-2 hours, remove shims.

 

Step 3:

Run a bead of glue around the inside of the case and use a paper towel to force it into the gaps between the panels.  You don't have to go crazy here, it shouldn't be coming out the other side.

Clean up with a wet towel, let dry overnight.

 

Step 4:

Fill in the gap on the bottom of the case with wood filler.  The Bondo is a great material however it has a VERY short work time, I recommend mixing it up in small batches and doing one edge at a time, clean up with a putty knife/flat edge best you can to save sanding later

 

Step 5:

Get sanding!  The main thing is to get everything smooth with no protruding anything.  Smoothing out the machining marks is most important.  You dont have to go overboard, the primer wiil cover up the MDF texture.  Once its acceptable, clean all dust off carefull and prime the case.  The spray on primer is easier to deal with than the paint on.  If you do choose the paint on, i recommend using a roller, not a brush.  Killz doesnt level very well with a brush and it will just make more work sanding.  Let it dry overnight and back to sanding.  This is really where you will get the best results once paint goes on so a good amount of work will be required.