Pad Base

Tools Required: Skillsaw and/or Tablesaw, Router, Drill (1/8" bit and countersink), Wire-strippers, Sandpaper or wood file

Click a picture to see a larger view.

1. The pad base is a 3/4" piece of plywood - dimensions are 40" x 36". I used maple because it doesn't cost much more than the fir/pine these days and I think it is easier to work with. Any 3/4" plywood would work however, as long as it isn't warped too bad. You will notice in the pic that I marked off the locations of the border and stationary pads. All these pieces will also be cut from 3/4" plywood. Stationary pads are 10 7/8" square, top border is 3", bottom border is 3 3/4", and sides are 1 3/8". The odd sizes are to account for the sheet metal sheathing on the stationary panels and border. The inside dimension of the pad is 33 1/4" square if you do the math. The extra 1/4" allows for a very small gap around each of the arrow panels which will be almost exactly 11" squares. You can't quite get all these pieces out of a 4' x 4' sheet of plywood (you can get everything except the side borders). If you are not planning an X and O button and are going with 5 stationary panels, then you are also going to be short one of the 10 7/8" squares. If you must get all of the necessary pieces out of a 4' x 4' sheet of ply, then you can make the bottom and top borders a little narrower and decrease the overall size accordingly - as long as the inside is about 33" x 33". If you're going to have 5 stationary panels, there is no way that you can get all the necessary wood out of a single 4' x'4' sheet. Notice that I have routed out channels for the wiring. The channels are just big enough to fit a Cat 5 cable. The channels are offset from center about 1" to avoid the screws which I will be using to secure the stationary panels and borders. Also notice that I have pre-drilled all the holes to secure the 3 stationary panels and the borders to the base.

2. On the underside of the base, I have countersunk all the screw holes. I will eventually secure all the panels with 1 1/4" sheet rock screws from the bottom of the base. Countersinking will ensure that the screw heads will not protrude from the bottom of the pad.

3. This pic shows the wiring to the arrow switches. I used tape to keep the wires in place while I am working on the base. Eventually all this tape is removed during assembly.

4. All the wires come together where the controller will be mounted to the pad. I am not going to get into any details about the wiring. There are other sites out there that have pages and pages of details. The bottom line is that you should wind up with a wire for each switch and a common for all. My design has 6 switches (4 arrows, X and O) so I will have 7 wires going to the controller.

Update: There has been some confusion about the wiring of the "common" lead, so I have come up with a few pictures to help explain it better. Hopefully they will help: Wiring Image 1 Wiring Image 2.

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	1. The pad base is a 3/4" piece of plywood - dimensions are 40" x 36". I used maple because it doesn't cost much more than the fir/pine these days and I think it is easier to work with. Any 3/4" plywood would work however, as long as it isn't warped too bad. You will notice in the pic that I marked off the locations of the border and stationary pads. All these pieces will also be cut from 3/4" plywood. Stationary pads are 10 7/8" square, top border is 3", bottom border is 3 3/4", and sides are 1 3/8". The odd sizes are to account for the sheet metal sheathing on the stationary panels and border. The inside dimension of the pad is 33 1/4" square if you do the math. The extra 1/4" allows for a very small gap around each of the arrow panels which will be almost exactly 11" squares. You can't quite get all these pieces out of a 4' x 4' sheet of plywood (you can get everything except the side borders). If you are not planning an X and O button and are going with 5 stationary panels, then you are also going to be short one of the 10 7/8" squares. If you must get all of the necessary pieces out of a 4' x 4' sheet of ply, then you can make the bottom and top borders a little narrower and decrease the overall size accordingly - as long as the inside is about 33" x 33". If you're going to have 5 stationary panels, there is no way that you can get all the necessary wood out of a single 4' x'4' sheet. Notice that I have routed out channels for the wiring. The channels are just big enough to fit a Cat 5 cable. The channels are offset from center about 1" to avoid the screws which I will be using to secure the stationary panels and borders. Also notice that I have pre-drilled all the holes to secure the 3 stationary panels and the borders to the base.
	2. On the underside of the base, I have countersunk all the screw holes. I will eventually secure all the panels with 1 1/4" sheet rock screws from the bottom of the base. Countersinking will ensure that the screw heads will not protrude from the bottom of the pad.
	3. This pic shows the wiring to the arrow switches. I used tape to keep the wires in place while I am working on the base. Eventually all this tape is removed during assembly.
	4. All the wires come together where the controller will be mounted to the pad. I am not going to get into any details about the wiring. There are other sites out there that have pages and pages of details. The bottom line is that you should wind up with a wire for each switch and a common for all. My design has 6 switches (4 arrows, X and O) so I will have 7 wires going to the controller. Update: There has been some confusion about the wiring of the "common" lead, so I have come up with a few pictures to help explain it better. Hopefully they will help: Wiring Image 1 Wiring Image 2.