Hello,
This is my first projector build and i very excited at the prospect of having my own projector but a bit nervous about screwing up.

Tools:
B&Q Router -B&Q
3.2mm Straight Cut Router Bit -B&Q
Drill with 3mm Bit
Craft knife

Parts List:
400w Coralvue Ballast -Reefstock
E40 Lamp Holder -eBay
400w MH Bulb -
330mm Collimator Fresnel Lens -Purchased from LL Member
320mm Triplet -Purchased from LL Member
Pro Reflector -Purchased from LL Member
Shower Drain -Purchased from LL Member
15.4" Widescreen Lcd -Ebuyer


11mm Pinewood
3mm Hardboard -B&Q
15mm Dowell
Panels From mATX PC Case -The Attic

I have been browsing though the forums for quite some time reading though plogs and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible, and have eventually collected the parts i need.
After this i spent quite some time planning out the appearance of my projector using google sketchup.
You can find my plans here, i will be putting them all online when i am finished.
After reading for some time on it, i decided to do an anti glare strip, i carefully laid out some kitchen role over my lcd and poured water until the kitchen roll was completely saturated.
After 2-3 hours i began to pull up the anti glare coating, it came off in 3 main pieces, but where i had not quite covered the LCD to the edges of the anti glare, it came up in a few smaller pieces around the edges. EDIT (just realised this is not the lcd i used in my projector, it was an old dead lcd panel i used to make sure i was capable of stripping the anti glare, which it turns out is a fairly simple, if nerve racking process)


I then set about making the outer casing for the projector, i first of all using sketchup viewer to print the outline of my model to scale. After taping the 6 pieces of A4 paper together, i used this printout to cut out a more sturdy template from some 3mm hardboard using a craft knife and a bit of patience.


I clamped this cutout to my plywood and used my router to make an accurate cut out of the side panels. I used the template flipped over to complete the top curve. This is the first time i have used a router and i was amazed at how easy it made things like this


I used some more plywood to make the lcd sled, you can also see our chicken coup in this pic, they didnt think much of the noise, whenever i turned off the router they would be angrily clucking.


This is just a picture of my first finished side panel, and a rough idea of where the lcd led will go, i was very pleased with how this came out.


Next on the agenda was cutting the frensels and lexan to size, i first of all cleared my worktop of all the dust, then laid cling film all over it to give the frensels a clean surface to lie on when they were being cut.
I simply measured out the length, and used my craft knife again.


After this i clamped my cut out side panels together and began the sanding to even out any bumps from the routing, and to make sure they are exactly the same dimensions.
The case looks a bit shark like here, ooo


There is a bit of a gap in my picture taking here, in this interlude i cut out the front and back panels of the case, drilled holes though the side panels and into the front and rear panels to allow them to be screwed toghther, i decided after doing this i didnt really like the look of the screws i used, as they go to the very edge of the case, i may try to find some ones with a smaller head, most likely i will just learn to live with it.


When the case has been screwed toghther i took a moment to feel a bit proud, i am still a long way off finishing but it is definatly taking shape, you can also see some of the sketching i was doing on the inside of the enclosure to see the light path


When my moment was over i broke out the belt sander and got to work on those protruding square corners on the front and rear panel, this took an age, and i went through a few strips of sand paper, and created roughly a metric ton of sawdust (most of which seemed to end up in my shoes).
When the sanding was done, i scored off some hardboard and (with much difficulty) slotted it into the routered groves on my enclosure. The picture shows where i have currently got to.

for your first pj,
you are doing a really good job. so far it looks awesome ,
my first one was a huge square box that made me want to cry to look at it

Thanks Jeffek, my exams at university are over for the time being so i have had plenty of time to put into this, it has taken me about 4 days to get to the point i am currently at. I have just been taking it very slowly and spending a lot of time thinking about how to do things as i was desperate about not having to do the side panels more than once.

Excellent start!

It really pays off when you plan things out before cutting any materials. Kudos to you for practicing the AG strip, too! Of course, not all LCD panels are the same.

You might want to add a parts list to your first post and update it as you go along. This will not only help you to keep track of everything, it may also help those who decide to follow your build.

Again, excellent start and I look forward to following your progress.

Awesome start! Especially for a first time build!
Keep up the great work!

Updated: 10/06 (in the UK btw)
Got to work on the enclosure again, and the outside is completly finished now
I started the day by taking a thin strip of hardboard and using it to mount the switch, power socket, lcd control, and vga input on, you can see my finished efforts.

The pic looks a bit fuzzy now i have uploaded it, oh well, the vga port is the only letdown here, originally it was perfect fit, bit i didnt pay attention to the way i was cutting and the original hole i cut was upside down, and meant there was no room for the rest of the input board, bummer. So i had to recut a square so the vga would fit, in this pic the board has not been fastened in place.

For the top cover i slotted in the hardboard i cut to size, and when it was slotted in all the joins i clamed the protruding hardboard so i could cut it off with the caft knife.


I repeated this for the second part of the bottom cover, and now evrything fits together with a very flush finish.
It was quite tricky to slot in the top panel, as i didnt leave it a lot of wiggle room.
Here is the finished enclosure:

Now i have to cut out the fan and lens holes, and create a mount for the frensels.
Quite happy at what i have managed to finish today

Looking pretty sweet!

If your concerned about the area around the VGA input, you can always fill it in with wood putty and finish with a little sanding. When painted, you shouldn't be able to tell the difference.

You could (if you want) even dress up the on screen display button board using TESCORP's el-nino mod.

^^^ Yup yup! His build is where I stole the idea for my buttons. Its so simple to do, and the look you can get is amazing.

Box looks AMAZING!

Thanks for the feedback, i may end up using that in the future, depends if the pcd showing starts to bug me.

Finishing off the frame for the frensels i managed to slice my thumb with a craft knife!
I was cutting a grove in mdf for a template, and as i was drawing towads me the blade slipped, and nicked my thumb taking a bit of skin and even a bit of nail with it, it wasnt that painful, it was gross though when i later found the small bit of my finger i had just sliced.
The annoying thing is i have been using various power tools for the last few days without the slightest nic on any of my work, then i mange this with a craft knife!
Taking a break for the rest of the day now.

Yes, this obsession of ours does occasionally require some blood sacrifice.
Happy to hear that the injury wasn't more serious.

At least when i say my sweat and blood went into building it i can really mean it.

Dean, this is looking brilliant. I look forward to seeing the results!

The Thumb has pretty much healed now, still a little sore. In this gap i have been working on the lcd sled, some flashing made from an old pc case and i am now starting a light box. I was originally just going to use bolts and fan grills, but couldn't find any m4 bolts that were long enough.
Also there is a thrift store on the way and i managed to get some lens cleaner and micro fiber cloth for Ž£1.

I got my first projected image yesterday, which was sweet, but very out of focus.
Its amazing how much light the lcd stops from going through.
I have also realised that the ballast may need to be mounted externally. It doesn't match up with the dimensions stated on the website.

Yeah I did some testing with my lux meter. HERE IS THE POST


Also, your lexan is blocking a TON of light too. HERE IS THAT POST

Small update for now, i have been mega busy lately, exam results, and tomorrow i move into a house with my friends at uni. Cant wait . On the projector side of things:
I was a bit unhappy with my lcd sled it's finished a bit poorly, and doesnt hold together so well from the constant unscrewing.
So i decided to create a new one. Most of the way though v3 of my sled i noticed the router was not cutting so easily, as i lifed the bit it simply fell off. Clean in two.

I seem to be killing off tools at an alarming rate, first my dremel kicked the bucket, seems the motor died in that, i have also been through a few drill bits for the reflector mount.
Sled v2 will have to do for the time being...

Apart from that i have made rails for both the lcd sled and the reflector, so everything is adjustable forwards and backwards, and i can always adjust the height using some shims around the sled or reflector joist.
This is a not very good picture of the supports and not much else...

I have also put in the supports, and spent ages sanding down the top and bottom panels so they had an easy fit in the now straight side panels.

I assembled the whole thing top and bottom for the first time to get an idea of what the whole thing would look like, and it defiantly brought a bit of a smile to my face.
First a shot of the back;

and from the front ( think the camera lens is a bit dirty in this one)


Still have a pretty long too do list on this, lots and lots of little refinements to be made. I have cut the pices out for a stand all that needs to be done is for me to carve them into a more appealing shape and find a good way for securing it while allowing the angle of the projector to be adjusted.
All that will have to wait a while while i get settled in my new home though!

Its semi-finished! I have been watching some movies and playing games with it and it looks really fantastic. I will have some pictures of how it looks up soon, busy over the next week also, so will have some pics of the results i have so far.
There is still a fair list of things to do, lots of little tweaks, but its quite hard to find the motivation to finish it off when you can use it.

I know how that feels!
I used my cardboard mock-up for a couple months, putting off building my wooden enclosure, because it looked good. Never did finish my mini-HAAS enclosure.

The projector is pretty much done, i have painted the inside black and been working on any excess light getting to the lens.
Three main things i was thinking about:
It appears my lcd has some kind of residue on it in the bottom right corner, i am guessing this is glue from the anti glare, and it is not exactly noticeable, as i have been watching movies on the thing for some time, but i aim to smooth out all wrinkles, so was wondering the best way to go about cleaning it, as i am paranoid about making anything worse now i have it showing a pretty decent image.
Also i am slightly more out of focus at the corners, and wondered whether this is something that happens with the s15 lens, or will better alignment of things like the reflector help.
Thirdly and lastly, darker corners, looking for some experience and advice on the more even image, i did have a pre-condenser in mind for the future, is moving the bulb further from the rear fresnel the only thing i can do in the mean time?

Thanks for any help

Late last addition.

At the moment i have the projector resting on a stack of drawers, in the future i plan building a stand for it.
Any guidance on a stand that allows adjustment of the angle of the projector easily, i have space either side of the lcd inside the projector, so that wouldn't be an issue.
(and i am also going to use those dowells to make some buttons and hide the lcd controller panel (eventually))

wow, i am blown away by your first build ,
it looks amazing

i cant wait to see what your second one looks like

i can tell you that buying a precon def. helped me with my dark corner issue and imo is the way to go
as for a stand

many of the haas designs i have seen have used a triangle like stand
like this mini haas
mini haas on stand

ps. lets see some screenies

Should have some screenies by about next week (very busy atm)

Well done man looking forward to the results.

Great craftsmanship i only hope when mine eventually gets built i can match this quality.

Well done again

Thanks for the compliments, keep em coming I still hope to improve upon the image but here is a teaser until i get some good screen shots to show:This is a close up to show how focussed the image is
This is a shot of nemo which came out particularly well on my phone camera

and finally, this is the projector starting up without the top panel slotted in, just thought it looked cool.

wow looks like you have realy good focus
the images look great

i noticed a slight screen door effect (normal when taking pictures that close)
how big of a image are you projecting ?