When one is "young", anything is possible!!! Nowadays, I would NEVER attempt to build anything like that Maranatha desk!
It is still in service, with probably a bazillion mods done by subsequent owners:
http://www.brianroth.com/projects/m77/m77console-2004b.jpg
Currently, I'm content with doing simple things, such as rackups:
http://www.brianroth.com/audix.jpg
http://www.brianroth.com/projects/tfine/adm-front2.jpg
http://www.brianroth.com/projects/tfine/adm-inside.jpg
Or.....mastering monitor controllers (or, as Dave G. calls it, "the world's most pimped-out volume control"):
http://www.brianroth.com/projects/img_0922a.jpg
This rackup is still in-progress...I took the digipic before sending the front panel to my engraver...and the "proper" knobs for the blue-shaft pots hadn't arrived yet:
http://members.cox.net/brianaroth/joey/front2.jpg
<G!> Getting the metal work done correctly is the "bane of my existence", however. I'm lucky to have a local friend/machinist that understands audio gear panels, and a long-suffering engraver who will spend the required time to get the front panel properly marked.
In that final subject....I spend a lot of time doing stuff up in my CAD program (with dims, etc), yet my engraver and I can NOT find a common file format to translate my CAD into his "robots". Hence, double effort is required... in effect, Engraver John has to manually translate my drawings into "Mr. Roboto" files.
Bri