Got back from ikea. Bought 2 new units Noticed glass coming out of one of the boxes. Not a good sign right? I loaded it without incident. Car ride was uneventful. Didn't even get it out of the car and it was broke. Called ikea, they said no problem to swap it out. So tonight I just put one of the cases together. No big deal. Started to drill a hole for my new diodes lights chord but my battery was dead on my drill gun. So I Went ahead and opened box 2 of the second case just to inspect it. All seemed well. Started to move it into the unfinished basement for storage. Thought I got it in a good spot..... Until I almost stepped on it cause it was laying flat on the ground. Joked to my self I was bound determined to break it. So I stood it up on end to stand him up leaning against a cabinet protected in this corner something in the box shifted and POP!.... More broken glass only now the box is open. I flashed red and am trying to cool down Questions. Anyone have any problems returning broken detolfs? The first one I really don't think was my fault. The second was on me I just couldn't leave well enough alone. I fairly certain ikea will just exchange it no questions asked. People with dioders... Did you drill a hole in the bottom to feed the wire through... Did you remove the glass to do so? I'm feeling gun shy about it all of a sudden I was planning on moving my other two cases down stairs tomorrow but am feeling skidish about that now. I was going to remove the shelves and door. Make sure the bolts are all tight, then by pressing up onto the top wood piece while my oldest Son guide the bottom take them down one flight of stairs. Anyone have experience moving them down stairs successfully? I know a few pages back people where talking about broken glass
you won't break the glass drilling... what is really sensitive for tempered glass is the edges. The box standing on its end puts the edges of the glass more at risk of connecting with something. Handling or standing the glass on edge is far more risky than worrying about your drill smacking the glass.
After seeing in person just how long and wobbly the runs of glass are on the Detolfs, I opted for a different display case. It was more expensive and only the front is glass, but it's much more stable and less prone to shatter or impact damage.
we got the cabinets moved downstairs yesterday. just stripped them out and had my 14 year old helped me carry them downstairs. no breakage. so i got set to work wiring up. hardest part was drilling the hole in the bottom. my hole saw bit is dull and my gun must be weak because chewing through that particle board was way harder then it should of been. the top shelf wires i ran through a space in the top between the glass seem with the channel shimmied all the way down giving me just enough space to get a wire through. i then taped the wire down the back. that turned out real nice. the middle compartments i just tied off and tried to keep tight. might consider some tube wrap at a later date. but really once you put bots in there the wires kind of disappear. i need to find a thin powerstrip to get all 4 onto the same power block once I'm ready to really finish it out. now i want to get that 4th broken cabinet switched out stat! I'm dreaming of what ill do with all that room up top!
Love all the great set-ups in this thread! So hyped to get a couple more Detolfs soon! Does anyone know if Combiner Wars Devastator will fit on one shelf space or require two? I'm guessing I'll need to remove a shelf to fit Devy, but just want to confirm with anyone who's tried it. Or is he just too wide to get a good pose in?
Anyone know if there are clear/semi-clear rubber matts or pads available anywhere that could go on top of the glass shelves and help with figures moving around/slippage?
I ran the wires up to the top out of that hole and cut some excess off the cap to keep a good seal. It's a little distracting when you're looking for it but I think the effect didn't turn out too bad. I should really go back and paint the channel black but I've been lazy You'll definitely notice some bow in the front door since it's not being stabilized along an edge like the sides/back. That being said, I've helped a buddy move his over to our place and as long as you take things slowly, I can't see a reason why you should be super concerned with moving it. Just mind the bend or take the front door completely off it that will put you more at ease for the move.
Yeah, the detolfs do a good job at a great price but the wife didn't like my idea of buying a whole bunch of detolfs for the display so I shopped between the Hemnes, Billy, and Besta. I went with the Besta and I'm so glad I use that as my main display . I still bought a few detolfs to hold my 3P combiners, some MPs, and my larger Gundam model kits
Cw Devy won't fit in a single shelf space I'm always concerned about cutting off light to lower shelves when i think about shelf liners That what I ended up doing, but only for the top shelfs wire. I went ahead and ran 2,3,4 through the bottom. I just really likes the idea of keeping the top square wire free I'm thinking I'll be ikea tomorow. I'm drooling at the idea of getting that 4th case exchanged and wired up.
Ho. Lee. Shit. That looks fantastic! Way to make the best of a bad situation. Question for you though... how are you supporting the top panel? I have a triple-wide nearly done, but I got spooked before final assembly because of flex and weight distribution. I was planning on cutting and staining some vertical supports but yours looks like it's just glass supported. Curious as to how you pulled that off. A guy I know takes a Detolf back and forth to toy shows. He leaves it entirely assembled (sans shelves naturally), wraps it in quilt, and sticks a big cardboard box/sleeve over the top. Then flips it over and does the same to the bottom. I'm not sure if he's ever had one break, but I was gape-mouthed when I saw him do it. I'm currently terrified of shattering Detolf glass. As mentioned above, I'm mid-project, and have 3 Detolfs worth of glass standing upright leaning against two walls, as close to vertical as I can get them. I'm guessing the best thing to do is lay them flat, but I don't really have a safe floor space for that. Any tips on safety would be most welcome.
I've had to leave the glass upright and unsupported before. I think you'll be alright so long as like sized pieces are grouped together. Wish they sold detolf tops and bottoms. I've got two woodgrain cabinets and two black cabinets. Started with the 'natural', but it was discontinued for a while and had to buy the blacl. Now I want them all black to match. Suppose I could always paint them.
I used a router on the top and bottom pieces. Just used a square 1/4 " bit on it and it cuts a groove out perfect for the glass to sit in. I did learn from my previous attempt. Made sure to put the two wood panels together, orientated how they would be sitting when I drilled the holes for the shelf supports. On the first one I did, just measured and was off by a bit so you could really tell the difference when top was a full inch to inch and a half further from the bottom. Now they align up just right. Did have to go back and drill them out another 1/8" so that the nut could fit down into the hole, otherwise there wouldn't have been enough to grab the threads and pull it together. Also, for the smaller of the two I went to my local glass shop and they have an H channel that they sell. Helps to hold the glass panels that are side by side together. It was only $20 for an 8' piece that they cut in half for me. Doesn't quite go all the way to the top, but does help with the flexing. Didn't do it for the larger of the two since I would have needed to buy two of the strips, plus the tolerances were a bit closer so not sure if it would have even fit.
Two keys ... Avoid temperature shocks Avoid any potential taps or sharp points on the edges If you simply protect the edges by putting on something soft... Even cardboard or cloth you'll be fine. Just always make sure you set them down gently and evenly. Avoid setting them on edge on rough surfaces... And of course avoid putting them where there is any risk of kicking them over. Tempered glass is VERY robust... It's just the edge that is risky. And of course when setting it down on the edge is the most risky. Temperature shock should only be an issue if dealing with storing in a non climate controlled garage or something. If stored cold.. Let it warm up some to room temp before handling.
Silverstreak: okay, you left a support pane in the middle. I must have missed that in your previous post. Ingenious! My plan was to use all three doors, with lever clamps (designed as a locking window stopper) at the tops of the center frame. Flynnibus, sparkimus (greetings from Pod 6 btw), thanks for the tips. They're on carpet in low traffic areas. Hopefully that's good.
Yes, I have a solid piece in the middle on the smaller cabinet with doors on either side. On the bigger cabinet, the doors are in the middle and there is an additional piece of glass coming from both ends [__] Something similar to that shape. Pretty happy with how both cabinets turned out for what amounts to about $70 in materials.
i can offer no such advice as i currently have one in my basement beating like the tell tale heart! all i will say is don't stand them on edge on concrete. treat them super careful! i got sloppy and burnt myself on 1 package, the second one i have no clue how i broke that thing on the car ride home.
The grey paint on my detolf frames is chipped. Can anyone recommend a shade of grey paint that I can use to touch up the frame?
