"funbox" in production

i started this project on 5-26-08. since i'm only half or maybe a quarter of the way through it, i thought id make use of this thing called blog.
day1:
after a couple weeks of slacking off and not committing to any of the ideas that i had been messing with, i decided to build another of my notorious "box toys". i finished one earlier this month as a gift for a friend. sadly, i forgot to take hi-res pics of it before giving it away, but here's a video for a reference.

ok, so i gathered up a fresh box














and a toy keyboard














the idea is to put the keyboard in the box.
then i opened up the keyboard to see what it was capable of.

after coming up with an idea of how the toy will sound, i drew up a diagram of what the interface will be like

day2:
drafted and printed templates for the holes that will be cut to fit the keys and the side panels of the box(took a long time to get it right, just had to measure to 1/4 mm!)

then i had to cut the keys and fabricate a top piece to attach the keys to the box giving the keys about 1 1/2mm clearance from the surface of the box. otherwise the surface of the keys would go below the surface of the plastic when depressed(bad action). the plastic i used for the top piece was from a side panel to an old aiwa stereo thing(great plastic!).

day3:
i cut the second hole for the first(easier)set of keys. now there are two giant holes for keys. they are extremely precise.

these are the tools i used to achieve such perfection(not pictured: scotch tape)

i then began with ideas for the side panels. after about an hour of going through scrap plastic and different ideas i came back to the aiwa plastic. (awesome plastic!)

after a lot of cutting, sanding, catastrophic mistakes and bad ideas:

i got two side panels finished(lower left, upper right). they are perfectly flush.
here are some pics of the "scotch" assemblage.

i think that's it for today. i dont think my wrists and neck can take anymore. maybe i'll cut up and rewire the circuit board tonight if i cant sleep.