Yeah, I have a lot of thin exotics to try the plate idea (rosewood, ebony, tulip, etc) so I might go that route. The metal bulb LED is also appealing, should I find one in that size (5/8") in my parts (almost easier to go by the surplus place and buy one), though not sure how to hook it in on this build.
May just plug it IFF I have the right hole saw, since that is a 5 minute drill, and glue, with an hour of sanding...
Cannot believe I did that.
WRT to the dovetails on the Raven, Dr Wood (swt61) did those for me, and I really, REALLY wanted to do through dovetails here (if going dovetail, go all the way) or box joints, but I really need every millimeter of width I can get on this case, as the layout pics will show. It is tight, and the parts need room to breathe with 8 tubes. Even the .5" for the 90 degree cuts was too much, not even considering the varying width of the wood (1" front and 5/8" sides).
Shocking how light the Koa is, especially compared to rosewood, but since the case has no real structural need (all the components sit on the aluminum base and feet), the butt joints are most likely sifficient. Screws even crossed my mind, as disappointed as I am with having to even take this route, but, everything should turn out fine with the glue blocks.
Now, back to concentrating on what I need to be - the circuit, as this is still only one of two prototypes, both duking it out for epic case fail.
