Display case.

[im faster]

I want to make one in the next couple days..
deli cup display case

How long should x be?

also i want to use thin plastic.. or wood it will be black or blue.

I need to make a display case..
i would like to make it collapsible any ideas on how to connect the 4 pieces? it will have 2 sides and a front (3"x24") and the top with a all the holes (no back).

any ideas?

 

[im faster]

disregard x
if i get the board 24"x8" i can cut it into 2 equal pieces

 

[M_surinamensis]

Pythagorean theorem.

a² + b² = c²

You're working with a right triangle, using the base of the display as one of the triangle's legs and with the second leg having a measurement that can't be determined from your drawing, as it would relate to the choice you make for the lip length. Choose that, you get a measurement and can plug it into the formula. Keep in mind that your materials with have three dimensions, so you'll need to use a miter saw, miter box or a router to angle the ends of the centerpiece.

Connections would depend on the materials. Screws, bolts, fastenerless joints, dowels or pins, even adhesives... depends on what you use to build it.

Collapsible is a little trickier. I could see making something that is assembled from multiple pieces, but not an easy way to make something that just folds up into a single compact unit. Either way, it would be less sturdy than something permanently constructed, but I'm sure it could produce something that still has most of the benefits of a display. Probably not as secure, but the professional aesthetics would be retained.

Edit: you still need to know the length of the hypotenuse in order to construct your internal angled floor (the part with the holes in it for the deli cups) and your lid/cover/door

 

[im faster]

i think i had the x at the wrong spot
i want to make sure the par with the holes measures 24x35

and it doesn't have to be collapsible

i just figured it would be easier to get around..
but really at 5" its not gonna make much of a difference

 

[im faster]

bottom measurement - 23.49"

 

[M_surinamensis]

I usually plan these things on pieces of graph paper with a ruler, a compass and a pencil. Difficult to share that though and descriptions aren't as useful as a diagram.

I had seen a picture produced using a program called "GoogleSketchUp" which I have just downloaded and am installing. I can't promise that I'll figure it out sufficiently to show you what I'd do (have done) to build deli displays, but I'm going to try.

 

[im faster]

Lol thanks.. ill check out the program also

 

[M_surinamensis]

I cannot make that program do what I want it to do. I'm sure it's probably an excellent tool for 3D modeling, I just haven't got the time to put into mastering its use. So you're getting MSPaint diagrams instead. Editing your picture so that it's clear what I mean, though the sketch is not to scale.

Diagram one has the Pythagorean theorem sketched in using those side dimensions. Those dimensions may change as you read the rest of my post, so keep in mind that you may need to re-run the math. The length of the bottom (a) and part of the back (b) form a right angle, the distance along the angled top side would be the hypotenuse of a right triangle (c). In this case, a would be 24", b would be 2" (the difference between the back wall and the front) and c would be 24.0831¯" as the measurement for your lid.

If you were going to use the internal floor as a standard measurement, rather than cutting it to fit, the chosen angle would produce different values for a and b, resulting in different dimensions for the side piece. Whichever dimensions you feel are the important ones will inform some of the others. I usually choose the length from back to front, to ensure it fits the way I want it to on a folding table, but any measurement can be the one around which others result.

Diagram two shows a recessed and angled center floor from a side view. The red line would (again, scale is bad on the diagram) represent the section you have labeled as 24" x 35" You'll want it to be recessed slightly so that the hinged lid (glass or acrylic) forms an open space of at least an inch between the bottom of the door and top of the floor where the delis rest. It's important to remember that your materials will have three dimensions, whatever you use to construct the box will have thickness, so the internal and external dimensions will have a difference equal to the sum of the material thickness. So, for example... if you're using one inch MDF and the length along the bottom from back to front is 24", the internal length along that same line will only be 22"

Diagram three is a close-up of the back wall and the angled floor. In this diagram, the angle used is much sharper than the one you're going to be using. This is for illustrative purposes, you'll be using a much shallower angle. Figure 1 in diagram three shows how a squared off material would line up against the back wall, note the gap created by the angle. Figure 2 in diagram three is intended to show that angling the back edge can give a much tighter fit (better for stability) while simultaneously providing a cleaner appearance. Flip the diagram upsidedown and you've got the front piece.

Diagram 4, related to internal and external dimensions. Consider those like a top-down view of your back and sides. Deciding which pieces to nest inside the others will change the length of your cuts. In the figure on the left, the material used to construct the back adds it's width to the length of the side (making the side-cut smaller). In the figure on the right, the width of the side would add to the length of the back. This is assuming a quick and easy right angle fastener construction, rather than implementing a joint. A joint would be stronger, but cheaper materials such as plywood and MDF really can't hold one. So, if you are using one inch MDF for example, and cut the side to twenty four inches, you'd nest the back piece between the sides and only cut it to thirty three inches. Or, if you want that 24" x 35" to be the internal dimensions, then the external measurements for that same arrangement would include 26" sides and a 35" back.

Diagram five shows the three easiest fastener options. The red lines represent hardware. In the far left figure, a screw is used broad-side through one piece to penetrate the width of the other, this is fast and light, but not that sturdy and it risks splitting the material (especially the second piece). In the center figure, a small piece of additional wood, say 2" x 2" is placed in the corner, each of the sides is then penetrated in a perpendicular fashion into that wood. It's stronger, reinforcing the inside of the angle and there's less risk of splitting the material while installing the screw. The far right figure shows a very poorly drawn L bracket, a small metal strip bent into a right angle which would be fastened to the inside surface of each piece, in the corner. L brackets are pretty solid, though lever action against them can cause them to bend or pop- so be careful not to exert pressure against them until all four sides are assembled.

Diagram six is a side-view of a deli cup. Deli cups usually have angled sides, with the radius of a circle drawn at any point from top to bottom having a different measurement- and the circle around the edge having a different circumference and area as a result. When you choose which hole saw attachment to use, you want to select something that's between the radius of the top and bottom measurements of the deli. If it's smaller than the bottom, the cups won't sit in the hole. If it's as large as the top, they sit very low (and are more difficult to move in and out), bigger than the top they obviously just fall through. Pick your deli cups, decide how low you want them to sit and measure the radius, use that size hole saw. You can also cut them freehand with a jigsaw, but I find the hole saws to give much cleaner circles. Diagram seven is a quick and dirty example of how a cup should sit, using the same cup from diagram six, the grey area represents the hole cut into the material. Put air-holes in the deli cups below the line that will end up free-hanging underneath the display's floor.

Just a couple general tips and thoughts... I personally like to include a number of braces underneath the deli-cup floor surface, they add to the weight and material cost but greatly increase stability. I also like to cover all visible surfaces with plastic laminate (countertop material), it's pretty easy to work with (though you may make a few false starts, so buy a little extra until you get the hang of cutting it cleanly) and gives you nice, clean looking surfaces that are impermeable, so they're also easily cleaned. It does mandate using fasteners that are flush with those external surfaces though. A hinged lid (hinges located in the front, so it opens up from the back, where you'd be standing at a table) with a small lock keeps people honest and forces them to talk to you in order to look at anything, let's you sell. An investment of a couple extra bucks can get you nicer looking hinges and latches, well worth the investment at the price.

There are also some... tweaks... to the design that I'd usually implement, a slightly more elaborate design can allow you to have a lighted deli display, which is a very cool visual. Requires making a few more pieces and increasing the dimensions a bit though, to build areas where florescent tubes can be hidden from view. A slightly different shape to the back, top edge is also something I'd personally do... but again, a few more parts and a little more math to determine how to cut and assemble them.

In Diagram 8, the black lines represent the dimensions, the blue line would be a glass lid, hinged in the front, latched and locking up the top. The yellow circles/tubes would be florescent lights, the red areas/lines would be cross-supports and the grey circles would be the deli-holes. Alternatively, the top and bottom lights could be wired into the lid, if the lid is set into a frame, rather than simply hinged along the side angle.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Uploads seven and eight.

Would have been so much better on graph paper, with a T square and a compass.

 

[im faster]

Do they make thin florescent tube ballasts?

my biggest issue with the lights is it seems like it would ad A LOT of extra size but then again they may make small ballasts..

 

[M_surinamensis]

There are thin options. In this case, rather than dismantling an aquarium hood- which has a lot of extra plastic on it as part of the finish of the design, you'd go to a hardware store and pick up fixtures that way. They're slimmer and still include the ballast and starter. You'll also find a much wider range of bulb shapes and sizes, including much thinner tubes and even different shapes for compact florescent bulbs (which are even easier to wire up, with simpler switches).