This Is My Kind of Upgrade

🚨 GET 25% OFF EVERYTHING THROUGH MONDAY 🚨
Go to shop.iltms.com and use the code ORANGEFRIDAY25 for 25% off anything in the shop, INCLUDING our online courses!
I love customizing parts of my house to work for me, and that means doors too. I wanted a way to display some of my favorite figures from my childhood and made this cool LED display shelf in my shop door!
🔗 All the tools and materials I used on this project: kit.co/iliketo...
🛠 Join The Maker Alliance to directly support the channel and access exclusive videos, discounts, and our private Discord community!
themakerallian...
Subscribe: bit.ly/ILikeToM...
Second Channel: bit.ly/iltms-2
Check out my Top Videos!: bit.ly/ILikeToM...
Get digital plans, cool merch, and in depth articles at
iliketomakestu...
Learn 3d modeling in Fusion 360 with our online course:
www.fusion360f...
TOOLS & SUPPLIES WE USE (affiliate links):
kit.co/iliketo...
kit.co/iliketo...
FOLLOW:
/ iliketomakestuff
/ iliketomakestuf
/ iltms
MUSIC: share.epidemics...
#ILikeToMakeStuff
About I Like To Make Stuff:
We have lots of projects including woodworking, metalworking, electronics, 3D printing, prop making and more!
These videos are our attempt inspire and empower others to make the stuff that they want to have. Hopefully you'll see something here that will inspire you to make something that you're passionate about!
This Is My Kind of Upgrade
• This Is My Kind of Upg...
I Like To Make Stuff
/ iliketomakestuff

[@XanBos]

I really must say, that putting a collection inside a door had never crossed my mind! You did a top notch job with every aspect of the build! Very inspiring!

[@MrTallHead]

Cool idea and nicely executed! I do have a suggestion though: Next time instead of blowing the plastic particles off outside it would be good to suck them up with a vacuum to avoid sending them out into nature.

[@iankingart]

Hey Bob. I did the same sort of thing in my house a couple of years ago. Regarding the lighting, as it was low voltage I used the hinges as conductors and ran the cables through the door to them. No visible wires anywhere.

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Ooh that’s an interesting idea!

[@kristianlawrence]

That looks great! It would’ve looked pretty cool to have the back of the shelf as acrylic too, so it becomes and window and you can see the figures from both sides.

[@ThatGeekyMaker]

Cutting a hole in your door for Star Wars...that's awesome Bob! I know what you mean about nostalgia, I have the entire vintage '77-'85 collection and nothing takes me back like those classic action figures. Ever since I moved three years ago mine have sadly been sitting in a box. I'm planning to hopefully make a display (and a video about it) for them sometime next year. Your door idea is fantastic, nice job!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thanks!

[@stickmouse3865]

I've been watching your vids for 8 years Bob. This was definitely a Bob project. Loved it!! 🥳🥳

[@InTheYard]

I really like how this video shows the trials and errors, and your problem solving processes during the project. Keep up the great videos!

[@ThreeBitAutumn]

Awesome project! You've had the same kind of realisation that me and my SO had when we realised that a door was just free picture frame real estate 👌

[@spidey5483]

This is absolutely one of the goofier niche projects I’ve seen you do…and I absolutely love it!! Well done!

[@AytherX]

if you are trying to rip down acrylic sheeting i found it easy to carefully score the cut line and snap the cut line; making sure both side are properly supported is crucial for optimal results. clamp one side on the edge of a table and firmly press evenly along the score line. the material will want to fracture on the score line, clean and crisp is the name of the game when using this technique. the benefit is that there is a lot less mess. you might need to sand/file/scrape to get a good fit depending on how clean a break you can manage.

[@chrissturgeon8455]

I love all your "Bob" projects. One day I'll be able to make my house work for me. Right now I'm in the military and move every 5 or so years.

[@metajock]

I love this vid, its really inventive. But what I love the most is that you didn't pull out a case of pristen, still-in-the-box figs, you pulled out a used case full of well used and well loved stuff. Those will mean more to you than collectors stuff any day. Well done.

[@DenverRoot]

That ad split screen was fantastic. Bravo!

[@benhightowerv]

I love this project! They actually make power hinges that you can put at the top or bottom to run power into the door and still shut it. That said, you could always router the frame to run the power through pretty easy. Maybe a future upgrade?

[@JCWren]

Yup. I used to work for Sargent Lock (an Assa Abloy subsidiary) and we used those for smart locks on doors. We had both 4 wire versions and Ethernet compliant hinges. I'm unsure if they'd work on hollow core doors, however. They're meant for heavy solid core and metal doors, and have fairly thick flanges.

[@benhightowerv]

@@JCWren there's a pass through as well, I can't remember what it's called offhand. I'll have to check at work on Monday. I work for one of Assa's MSC's

[@pmdinaz]

I can smell that case @15:54 Talk about nostalgia! Great project!

[@matthysloedolff]

This is by far one of the coolest things I've seen someone do to a door. This looked like a fun project! I also really liked that ad read of yours, Bob.

[@Baruch05]

You should tweak it so the door has an open/close hinge switch that powers the lights on when the door is closed, but off when the door is open. Love the build, you do the kind of stuff in your house I dream of doing in mine!

[@mikejohnson219]

Love it!! I was so shocked you didn’t paint the background orange😂 great job!!! Did you consider using acrylic for both sides?

[@Waterflame]

I'm sure that acrylic on both sides would've made lighting it up much harder, because the light would have nothing to bounce off of except the figures and, therefore, give weird shadows. Have an opaque background means the light can actually light up the figures he's trying to show off.

[@SeanBZA]

I used to do deliveries to a company, and next door was a company making wooden doors. Those interior frame doors are just 2 sheets of preformed Masonite board, with a frame of wood around the sides, and bigger wood blocks at the points for the mortise for the door, and the hinges. Then the rest was filled with a corrugated cardboard spacer, and the card and wood was coated with glue, then placed into a door in a jig, and multiple were placed into a large press, which applied pressure till the glue was set. 20 doors at a time, and a cycle time of around 10 minutes, so around 80 per hour at peak, as they had multiple frames so stacking them with a forklift, then into the press, was the limiting factor. Exterior doors similar, just they used more of the corrugated card filler, but the same rest of the parts. Wood strips other than at the hinges and mortise were 10mm wide, and if you needed to trim the door down, you would have to cut them off, strip off the excess masonite, and glue them back into place at the correct dimensions.

[@Moonguided]

Oh my god, this is absolutely genius! I have a number of collections that I want to display, and this is a perfect solution! Having stuff around that inspires and makes me happy is such a necessity, and I'm really glad to follow people who feel the same way. I might try to figure out how to adapt this to work for a window I have that doesn't go anywhere (we had an add on to the house and they just didn't patch up the window, so it just stares at drywall)!

[@GeneJordan]

I have several hand painted, vintage, table-top wargame miniatures and this would be an amazing way to display many of them.

[@rickylynn1020]

This is a genius idea to put in my daughters bedroom door to display he track and field medals!

[@Iliketomakestuff]

totally!

[@Supermuttt]

In regards to your final comment, it's actually my wife's house, I just fix things and kill bugs around here.

[@OriginalMomo]

I’m stealing this statement. 😉🤙🏼

[@TheArtofCraftsmanship]

😂😂😂

[@mvadu]

Man, 99.99% of husbands can relate to this!! 😂

[@attilakohbor3360]

and first and foremost you fix the toilet

[@pdillenburg]

I see that you also live in my wife’s house.

[@jewdd1989]

My big brother grew up in the time of Star Wars and he’d probably bawl like a baby to see a display door or case such as this! It’s really neat, hard work and lots of strategizing but well worth the effort to display priceless figurines! Very cool

[@HOTAStudios]

I have so many small figures like this that I have collected over the years. Figures from Metroid to Star Wars to Power Rangers to Pokemon. Sometimes, for the unpackaged figures, it can be a pain to display them. This would be perfect. However, I would make mine, the full door. The door to my office doesn't really close or open, it usually just sits there open. Sometimes though, I do have to close it. Would look amazing to have figures displayed inside like this. Great job on it. Looks incredible.

[@jeremyjohnson1653]

So nice! I love watching you solve problems along the way. This is such a unique build. I'd be curious to see how it holds up over time with the door swinging and if the figurines stay locked into place.

[@tomtruesdale6901]

What a great idea. When you first started talking about the display case I thought maybe you would make it two sided so you could see the stuff from both sides and let the room light as more lighting but yours turned out first class.

[@betweenthekerfs]

Your joy is contagious and inspiring! Love seeing the trial & error process. Thanks for sharing your fun with us

[@danielmuscatell3603]

This video contains a LOT of problem solving examples and techniques. Thanks!

[@kenmarshall7054]

"Man, I can complicate anything" 🤣 That was a great idea Bob. Thanks for doing these videos.

[@MisterWoodBaron]

That's pretty sweet. I think that's super creative thinking. I think if I were to try this I may attempt to just cut through one door skin and leave the other side intact so you would never know from the other side. Then you could build the whole display case on the bench.with it's own back and just slide it into the opening. Also it would be pretty easy to rig up a small battery bank to run the LED. Either remove it to charge or just run a USB cable to it.

[@SouthernStyleDIY]

That’s great use of wasted space! Love how the little acrylic rods pick up the light too

[@FallingIsReverseAscending]

Sanding acrylic clear pieces, to get that clarity back you have to do quite a lot of work. Gotta sand progressively finer and actually end with polishing compounds to buff out and fill the fine scratches. Similar to polishing glass I believe.

[@RobDucharme]

I had a door opening in the basement where the door I bought needed about 2-1/2" of the bottom cut off. Of course, this left the bottom of the door with no framing between the door skins. Ripping down a piece of 2x4 to the exact width of that hole and solving that issue was oddly satisfying.

[@MrKevincryan]

Cool project Bob! I couldn't help thinking when you were powering the LED's, if the power was taken via the hinge side of the door and two contacts were on the hinge. Whereby closing the door would close the power loop and turn the the LED's on...

[@jasoncsullog3741]

Never would I have thought of such a thing! Your off the shelf ideas always blow my mind. I'd love to try this for me son's room for his lego stuff. Thanks for always coming up with new and creative projects.

[@VariablePenguin]

This was a very clever idea, Bob. I have a bunch of shallow 3D printed shelves in my office i use to display my Star Wars. I custom designed them with all sorts of little greebles on them and made 6 different designs that I printed and them mirrored making it 12 designs.

[@fujii_]

Man ! The result look awensome !! And all the process and research was fun and interessting to follow, great job !

[@kraven0675]

I love how casually the words, "Plug the door in", come out of your mouth. Awesome.

[@stuartkorte1642]

Cool idea. Great use of dead space and like you said, you get to see your collection.

[@Marina-bd4le]

The amount of Micro Machines you could put in that space would be amazing.

[@lucasmartene]

Really enjoyed watching you build it. Love how you show the whole process

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Thank you very much!

[@Mannniie]

Bob your projects always give us so much inspiration. Never considered doing this but as you started I was thinking “oh I wonder if he will leave the back clear and have minifigs front one side and backs the other” it turned out really well! Great out of the box thinking! It’s great to model the problem solving we all face and keep pushing through! 😊

[@AJB2K3]

If it was me (and it isn't) I would have taken that MDF frame you had already cut and press that into the door to re support the thin material and then fixed the LED strips to that so that the MDF gives strength to the hollow door and for fixing things to. Ouuu, loving the shade of blue! Despite what I have said, That looks damn good, and I'm surprised it hasn't been done before! Nice work but patent it quick!

[@NoReverse77]

Painting the back side of a plexiglass sheet to use as a backer would have a beautiful finish and help reflect light back into the room while adding depth to the figures.

[@Tinchor.15]

Woow, it looks gorgeous. I'm glad you can take a part of your house to display what you love. It's very inspirational. Love it!

[@gpaine]

That was awesome! Thank you for bringing us through all the ups and downs of that project!

[@connors431]

Acrylic on both sides would be awesome!..and likely way more challenging 😂

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Yeah, I really considered that, but ended up assuming that looking at the back of the figures would be less interesting.

[@jahanas22]

That's really cool. I still have my Star Wars case like that with figures.

[@mitchdrummin3]

Acrylic glue bottle tip: Before applying the glue, squeeze out some air out of the bottle. When you turn it upside down it is less likely to drip, and it really cuts down on the accidental drops of glue on the face of the plexi.

[@stevenbrowningsr1144]

Did you consider using a grid pattern for the shelving to give the shelves strength horizontally? You could use the laser cutter to cut the strips with the half slots for both vertical and horizontal strips.

[@edgardoheffele3]

really liked it! is a good way to display. Only coment of the build, I will add something to hold the sliding door in place. a strong magnet, a pin, anything, other wise it will start to getting open by the movement of the door

[@jimmylovesbikes]

Awesome project, great use of space!! This would be especially great for tiny spaces where every square inch is a premium. That door space can be used for anything really.

[@kreight007]

I love it!! Love me some Bob projects. I have used several of your projects in my house. Raise sandbox, secret door, this is next. You’re are my spirit animal!

[@Smurf_Hearse_368]

Loved this! I have no desire or reason to build something like this, but it was so much fun watching you build on the fly, solve problems, and end up with something awesome. Hope to keep seeing builds like this!

[@WaltSnider]

What a nostalgic journey! This is awesome, one of my fav projects that I've seen you do.

[@C3DPropShop]

Finding space to display is always the hardest part. Big brain Bob for just using the space thats already there!

[@sooperpickelz]

One could still make the other side of the backing useable by maybe painting it with chalkboard paint so you still get the usability factor that you wanted from writeboard material.

[@TerranCmdr]

Wow, I just had a very similar idea to this last week, except I was thinking of doing this in a wall. Never thought of using the door! I might need to change my plan.

[@DJ_Blaker]

Love the idea!! Looks awesome!!.... I'm surprised you didn't make the backboard plexiglass as well to make it a two way display case! See from both sides!

[@SportyPompano]

0:27 LEGO, always LEGO. It was..and IS...the thing i looked forward to most at christmas or my birthday or whatever. I am 21 now and still just love building LEGO, no matter if i have already got the set, ill either have 2, or ill find an alternate build online. I have always loved doing things related to creating, hence why i am here in your channel lol. LEGO is a great way to do that repeatedly, and it is also a challenge to think about how to use the odd shaped peices in things.

[@andrewzanto8591]

When I first start watching this, I was wondering if you were going to make the display case with acrylic on the front and back, so it would be a display case and a window. Great concept, thanks for sharing.

[@paulcharette6400]

What an awesome idea! Great video Bob! Thanks.

[@aestheticsinger]

So cool! Great collection also! The only thing that would stop me from doing this would be the stands for the figures. Didnt look fun.

[@Yitz42]

Love the idea, really cool implementation. Would be interesting if you lightened the paint color as it gets closer to the center to keep the contrast consistent

[@Craizg35]

Ha! I have that same exact case and some of the same figures. I thought I was the only 48 yo that still had some childhood toys. Love the project! 🤘🏼

[@VanOaksProps]

Great project, Bob. Also a fun trip down memory lane when you opened the case up and showed all the figures.

[@jarrodsmith8260]

Bob, that is so cool! I'd never have thought of doing that in a door. Love seeing your problem solving and creativity in your videos!

[@FlintEastw00d]

Looks great, personally I would have preferred clear on both sides so when closed you can see through the door as well as seeing your collection

[@MesquiteKevin]

Great job and very creative solution to display space! As a nostalgic geek, my house would look just like yours if I had any kind of talent.

[@arnavsurjan5625]

So cool! Just an idea, what if you added (relatively weak) magnets at the edges where the front panel meets the display frame so that doesn't slide around when moving the door?

[@sgsax]

Super fun way to display your collection. Love seeing the classic Kenner figures with the plastic capes and slide out light sabers. Sadly, none of mine are display worthy. Thanks for sharing!

[@TraskDittburner]

Fantastic use of space. Did you consider using an electrified hinge? It would have allowed you to completely hide the power cord.

[@glen748]

Neat project Bob. I don't have a collection to display but it does give me a idea to possibly use it for a spice cabinet in the pantry door.

[@kcsb91]

I kind of want to think through doing this + an 'on air' light up sign on one side for when I'm steaming. The biggest problem is going to be that power cord coming out of the door for me. But loved the ideas this video started popping off in my head!

[@thejason189]

That was a cool idea. I wonder if you could have routed the cord inside the door down to the hinge area to hide it really well. I think an upgrade could be a wireless wall switch to turn it on and off.

[@ChristianBehnke]

That's awesome - well done Bob! 👍🏻

[@ericness9660]

I’m going to keep this in mind as I slowly turn our basement from storage into a workshop.

[@idiotluggage]

Really cool idea for a display. I think I would have tried making the window magnetic and pull the whole thing off at once. I made my comment before seeing exactly how you did the sliding window. Your idea looks simpler.

[@ogrefade]

I feel like if I tackled this project I'd make both sides clear. I think we probably swing the doors more :) I appreciate the approach for sure. Well done.

[@printfluencer]

Looks great! Great project. Would make the background black with a few "star dots" from a brush with paint or something like that. Maybe this would look even better with all those star wars figures. :)

[@Iliketomakestuff]

ohhh great idea!

[@alkalinedale]

Such a cool project and awesome problem solving!

[@mattsully5332]

That was a great idea, and I love the result! Thank you for sharing!

[@timothycrincic3199]

Love this! I just bought my first home and I need this in my doors! Thank you for the inspiration!

[@danthemakerman]

This is a really cool project, it turned looking great Bob!! To be honest this would just make a really nice display case I love the idea of it being slim and the sliding door is genius!

[@kevinetheridge6153]

I think this was another excellent project, Bob. I really dig it. Kudos!

[@MegaDman42]

I thought about it and maybe even cooler and less work would be a couple layers of clear pvc sheeting and vacuuming the air out to hold things wherever. It could be more freeform and allow for adding more without remaking the structure every time.

[@overtinker.projects]

What a great idea! I love it. I don't really have space to display things, but using the door is really clever. Its space doesn't get used most of the time anyway

[@johnnyb95678]

Really interesting idea and well executed. I like the fact that you are always coming up with new and interesting things to share. Thank you!

[@jayf9259]

Awesome idea! It turned out great.

[@mikegregory5620]

I am just drooling over your star wars figurines! Oh and the door cabinet it's awesome 👌..

[@martonletai2360]

This is exactly the type of project that I love this chanel for! Great one Bob, keep them coming please! :) :)

[@charlesoliver2444]

Really enjoyed this one, not something I think I would do but still enjoyable to watch you make stuff. Keep doing you Bob and I’ll keep watching

[@TobyRobb]

Interesting project. Could you have used the top and bottom hinge for the positive and negative for the low voltage LEDs?

[@davidpardo4287]

So cool, the build and the figures...

[@roundrock63]

I enjoy and look forward to your videos but this one is one of your best. Watching the process of you updating and overcoming unexpected challenges is the best.

[@robbiehardy3228]

Dude, you are single-handedly perpetuating the hoarding nature of all makers. All of your supplies that you just happened to still have around lol

[@Iliketomakestuff]

Yeah. Yeah. 😀

[@MohamedMagdy_94]

Really nice idea! i kept thinking it would've been better if it was kept transparent! and also what would happen if the door got slammed shut?! 🤣🤣

[@robertwright6212]

This is by far the coolest idea I've seen! I would love to try this on my door! Hopefully it comes out as cool as this. Lol

[@LukeTheJoker]

Awesome idea! i wonder how making it clear both sides (like a window) would go and have every second figure facing the other way?