Mirror Mirror

The results!

And the happy recipient

The mirror

The mirror is definitely the most essential piece to the whole project. However what I didn’t know was that these double sided mirrors are actually acryllic and plastic like. They’re much more forgiving than actual mirrors and you can cut them in several different ways to fit what you need. So order a mirror that’s close to the size of your monitor (only the screen part, do not include the bezel in your measurement). But don’t worry too much about ordering slightly too big, you can cut to fit the size you need.

The mirror and the monitor behind it

Removing the bezel

I decided to make the case fit even closer to the monitor by removing the plastic around the monitor. Turned out to be a good call because at first I didn’t take in for account the depth space I’d need to fit in all the wiring. I used a paint scraper to pry at the edges of the monitor till it eventually gave in and split.

Showing the guts of the monitor

Make sure to be careful removing the monitor controls. They’re wiring is very thin and you’ll definitely need it intact to turn on and adjust the monitor.

Being careful with that thin monitor control wiring

The monitor exposed

That little green thing is the control panel.

Building the case

Nothing super exciting here. I just cut 4 4x2 pieces to fit the new Jenny Craig’d monitor in a case. I used a few clamps to hold the pieces in place while screwing in the sides. With this method you’ll get a flush fit and be able to remove the montior from the case with no issues.

Building the frame

But another snag, originally the plan was to use a kreig jeg to make little pocket holes to screw in. But however 3/8 thick wood, just like jihadst groups, are cowardly and easily splintered under the slightest pressure. But luckily a helpful employee at Home Depot showed me this awesome 90 degree angle holder tool.

Cutting the mirror to size

I happened to have a band saw available and put that puppy to use. My only word of advice here is taken from Will it Blend? : “Don’t breathe this”. By this I mean the plastic dust.

A flush fit

Now the mirror is flush-ish with the case.

Monitor text showing through!

A proud moment. The mirror that allows light to shine through it. Right now that light is monitor diagnostic text but hey, progress!

Raspberry Pi plugged in before cable management

Cable management lol

Just held together with painters tape.

Adding a back to hold everything together

I just used a simple thin breadboard like material with 4 screws holding it in place.

The raspberry pi booting sequence

Always fun to watch.

After building the 2/3rds of the interface

Added a weather widget, a random compliment at the bottom of the page.

Close up of the weather.

You can't tell in this picture but the icons are actually animated.

To view how I did this in detail visit my tutorial:

http://blog.dylanjpierce.com/raspberrypi/magicmirror/tutorial/2015/12/27/build-a-magic-mirror.html