Original Side:
This was cut when we were going to build the cabinets from the plans located at www.arcadecab.com
They are FANTASTIC plans and they are FREE.
Of course as with any project, after we get a side all cut out we find some plans that we like the look of even better than the free set. I got the plans from www.mameroom.com
We are modifying them quite a bit, but it was worth the price (30 bucks) for all the starting measurements.
Chris with part of the new & improved top half of a side
Cutting the master bottom half of a side.
Chris gettin jiggy wit it...
Casters for the back www.happ.com
Control Panel Overlay (A REALLY BIG decal) and Plexiglas protector
Blue Coin Reject buttons to replace the yellow ones that came with the Happ coin door.
PCB Standoffs
Clamps to lock the control panel in place
Corner protectors
Chris making his lower section
Chris's lower section
My Lower section
My cabinet taking shape
They are looking SOOOO good!
Check out the SWEET 11" Sansui monitor I'm designing the cabinet around....
NOT!!!
The REALmonitor - A 27" Wells Gardner Arcade Monitor flipped sideways.
I can't wait to get my game on!!!
Experimenting with button colors...
I wanted to do all red buttons for player 1 and all blue for player 2, but with the decal being mostly blue, I'm not sure about that many red buttons in one place...
The Buttons, Joysticks, and Spinner Holes drilled.
I still have to cut out the trackball hole, cut the edges to fit, and route the joysticks, trackball, and spinner.
I stayed up until 2:30 last night working on this!!! I cut the curved front and rounded the corners, routed the joysticks, trackball, and spinner recesses and sanded it a bit.
See what I mean on the solid colors per side?
Thoughts?
Decal all cut out (Not stuck on the top yet) - I still need to route the 1/16th t-molding groove around the edge - I still haven't decided on the colors of each button...
We will be laminating the outside with Formica later - Today was the day to prime and paint!
After painting a bunch of pieces, we were questioning our Formica purchase - They were looking GREAT with just paint!
More pics of paint drying :)
Everything we had was put to use for parts to dry on - Even the Table Saw!
More views of the cabinets...
Last one for the day...
Control Panel - ALMOST done!
I put the light blue T-Molding around the edges, and wired up all the buttons and played some games and it ROCKS!!! I'm STILL waiting on the spinner set screws and LED module from Ultimarc...
I am almost certain I'm going to replace the red joystick and buttons with blue.
1st rendition of the custom side art - I may have the text curve more...
The red and light blue lines won't be printed - Red is where the cabinet edges are and the light blue are just measurement lines.
2nd rendition - curved text - I like the first one better :)
Heating up the garage - The wood, adhesive, and Formica are all supposed to be 65 degrees or higher for 24 hours before and 72 hours after applying the adhesive.
Matthew about to help me find the exact point to cut out the circles.
We used dental floss in the screw holes of the neon lights to get the exact center of the circle, and then marked a spot 12" in from the back and 27" down from the top.
I didn't get any pictures of us actually putting the Formica on - We were very rushed - But I'm sooo glad we did it, it looks MUCH better than the paint. Ryan just wants to push buttons :)
Finally a picture of me :)
Getting there! I've got a few internal things to finish and I still have to make the bezel that surrounds the monitor, but it's soooo close!!!
Close up of the control panel and monitor.
Side view.
Control panel flipped up for access to the switch wiring. It locks when closed and is unlocked by holding 2 magnets over the locks.
Drawer in open position 1 - Keyboard / USB access.
Drawer in open position 2 - Full access.
Side view.
Monitor Bezel Completed!!!
It's really starting to look SWEET!!!