wood blocks

[taintedplay]

ok, im doing an 8bit theme, and im going to build it with small wooden blocks. would a wall of blocks stacked up using wood glue be strong enough not to collapse if something bumped into it? should i somehow reinforce it?

also, ill prob go just buy some lumber and cut my own blocks, but for ease's sake, is there a place i can buy tons of them for cheap?

[Airbozo]

I would use dowels or biscuits between the blocks, but that can be a lot of work. If you use gorilla glue and clamps it should be strong enough.

Check this out if you just want to buy them...
http://www.childtrek.com/wooden-blocks.html?=wb1&gclid=CMyhmcSEs5sCFRYiagodFCTzPw

[taintedplay]

so should i make lets say a 10x10block wall, then reinforce the back with dowels?

[Airbozo]

Is it going to be a structural part of the build? If so reinforce it. It might be easier to reinforce the back with a thin sheet of plywood rather than dowels if no one is going to see the back.

...but, gorilla glue is hella strong...

[blueonblack]

Unless you're smacking it with a hammer it will be fine. Modern wood glue (Titebond, Loctite, Gorilla Glue) is just incredible if it's applied correctly. Unless it's going to be under stress there's no need to reinforce it.

That being said, remember the rule I read here somewhere: It's not overkill unless something dies from it.

[Luke122]

Check out the black magic build that was done a while back.. Someone build the black mage from NES "Final Fantasy" using wood blocks. :)

[taintedplay]

wow haha seems he beat me to the wood block idea lol. i think for the main wall part ill just back it up with sheets of plywood

[taintedplay]

ok next question. the back door i want removable. i could just hinge it open, which i might if this is too much of a challenge. what would be a good way to connect it? little hooks? double sided tape? (this will only be opened a few times total since its for a lan specifically)

[crazybillybob]

The black mage was just blocks glued together, no reinforcing needed. It's heavy but crazy strong! Wood glue is some tuff stuff!!!

[taintedplay]

what should i do paint wise? i was thinking since the majority is white, just spraycan prime it white, then spray white paint, then hand paint the few colored blocks. this a good idea?

with the spray paint will i still beable to see the cracks between the blocks so you can see the 8bit style?

[taintedplay]

eh, ok so i have the front plate done, but the blocks dont line up perfectly. the most is 1/16th off but still. i could make it out of one peice of plywood. im thinking the blocks offset a little bit add depth and bring out the 8bit style. give me your opinons. (ill sand the edges smooth) http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/Taintedplay/Picture001-6.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/Taintedplay/Picture004-4.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/Taintedplay/Picture003-5.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n236/Taintedplay/Picture002-7.jpg

thats the first glue. ill sand the outside edges smooth

[slaveofconvention]

If you paint them individually, then glue them together - you should see the cracks no problem. You might want to consider masking the middle of the blocks off wherever there's going to be glue as wood glue will bond to raw wood much more strongly than it will to painted wood - only fully paint the faces that will be visible when the case is assembled. On the faces where they're glued together, use the masking tape to allow you to only paint the last few mm near the visible face(s). The end result will probably look something like a sandwich, where the painted bits are the bread and the unpainted is your filling - can't think of a better way to describe it lol

[slaveofconvention]

Oops - read THEN post - sorry - didn't realise you'd already started assembly... there were a few more posts than I thought there'd be since I last checked the thread. As it's already partially assembled, I'd suggest several very thin coats of paint - if you put it on too thick, you'll get runs which will almost certainly fill up the cracks you want to see...