Help out a noob take his first steps?

[walterg74]

Hi everyone!

Just starting out on this, after reading a lot of posts and enjoying arcade games for many many years, I decided to get started on a MAME cabinet project once and for all....

On my visit to the US last month, I went ahead and bought the controls essentials: joysticks and buttons (Specifically, 2 mag sticks, 14 buttons for players, 2 buttons for the side for pinball, two player start w/logo buttons (P1 P2), 2 lighted buttons for coin insert, 2 lighted buttons for pause esc, one Mini-Pac controller with wiring harness).

What I'm after:  2 player cabinet, 7 buttons per player plus the normal coin/start/pause/exit. That's it, nice and simple.

I was going to attempt to build it myself, following the well known wee-cade or project mame projects, but then two things happened that made me change my mind:

1 - I read a lot on building and decided I don't have yet enough skill/tools/practice to attempt it, and
2 - I found a used arcade cabinet for sale for $100 pesos (25 US dollars)

So basically, for now I will get started with this one, and if all goes well, since this seems to be addictive  my next project I will be building from scratch...

Ok, so that's all nice, but what exactly is this guy posting for?  

Well the thing is I've gone though a lot of posts, on different topics, and that's precisely it... There are sooo many topics, I don't know which are pertinent to what I need to do....

Being a total noob, I go: Ok, so I bought the used cabinet. So now what do I do?  I know I need to fix it up, but what topics/items/etc.  should I look for? (or straighforward tips/pointers are obviously welcome!).  Woodworking is to broad, and I don't what exactly I need to do....

Dicalaimer:  Living in a third world country, all the cabinets we always had here are "brand XXX"... no original pac-mans, donkey-kongs, etc.,etc.,etc.... So "No original cabinets will be damaged in the making of this MAME cabinet"

To make it clearer, let me post some pics of what exactly I got (These are actually auction pics, I won't have the actual cabinet with me until tomorrow), so you more experienced folks can give me your suggestions on what to do with it (please, no "light a match to it" type comments ) to pretty it up...  It does have some details, so work will definitely need to be done...

Thanks!!!

[javeryh]

Welcome!  you should read through the wiki when you can - there are a lot of useful tips there.

As for your specific cabinet, due to the damage on the side edges I'd recommend getting some bondo to fill in the gaps and then sand the entire surface smooth, prime and then paint.  That will be a good start and take you a while.  Some other things to keep in mind is how you will be mounting the monitor and providing access to underneath the control panel.  Other stuff you can do is get the dimensions of the marquee area and control panel and start thinking about artwork.  It's overwhelming but once you start things will just kind of flow naturally - like you can't put the t-molding on until your cabinet is painted properly, etc.  If you have any specific questions, just post them and someone will help you out.   

[walterg74]

Thanks javeryh!

Yeah, I really can't wait to get it to start "checking things out"... It's supposed to be complete with the exception of the monitor and game board of course. That is, as it's pictured, plus the glass bezel (not shown on the pic), and it has controls (which I will store away for a future project, as I already bought the set I want to use), coin door, mechanism? (not sure), marquee, light and speaker (this I might replace, have to see what's actually in there first).

I assumed sanding first. I'd have to check what "bondo" is called here, and also noob question, is "primer" what actually "seals" the wood, and is applied before painting? (like a really light/liquidy paint?).

I'll get the dimension when it arrives, and do a general inspection, and post back!

Thanks!

[javeryh]

Good primer will seal the surface you are going to paint.  It is generally thinner than a top coat of paint.  BIN Zinsser (BINZ) is the best primer I've ever used and definitely worth the cost - I'm not sure if it is available in your area though.  3 or 4 thin coats of the stuff will really make a difference in the final appearance of the top coat of paint (lightly sanding in between coats).

Good luck!

[walterg74]

Allright, so yeah, I know what you mean now... So I sand and prime, sand and prime, sand and prime.... sand and paint!... that it?

Also, is the "bondo" you mention this?: http://www.amazon.com/3M-20082-Bondo-Solutions-Filler/dp/B0007ZG9T4/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1267812460&sr=8-5

I'll have to find substitutes of other brands here, though I'm sure there are...

Thanks fo the help!

[walterg74]

Allright, so I got the cabinet...

The "details" shown on the pics are a little worse than I thought, but anyway...

I'll take some pics this saturday and post them up to see if anyone has some good suggestions, seeing the "real thing" and state...

It actually did come with a monitor, but although the guy said it *should* work, he said it'd be useless as it is all scratched up (the glass)   (any way to recover that?).

It's also a cabinet that opens "from the top" ? I'll have to examine that on saturday too, see exactly what it's about...

Sucks being a noob... 

[severdhed]

well, first of all, congratulations on starting your first arcade project...it will be alot of fun.  that cabinet needs a little work, but that is the fun part.  it looks like it will be a good cabinet to mame. 

Bondo, is a brand name of body putty/filler.  here in the US, they sell it at auto parts stores, as well as major retail stores like Walmart.

be sure to post some pictures once you get a chance, and don't be afraid to ask questions.  the BYOAC WIKI is a great source of information that covers alot of beginner questions.

http://wiki.arcadecontrols.com/wiki/Main_Page

[walterg74]

Hey severdhed, thanks for your encouragement!

I will definitely take some pics tomorrow and post them. Meanwhile, about the bondo, I know now it's a brand, and read through the wiki, but which one is exactly the one that is used for this?  I look through amazon to get an example, and I get a lot of different ones:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bondo&x=13&y=18

How do I know which one it is? 

[severdhed]

i haven't actually used any on my cabinet yet.(getting ready to redo my DK cabinet hopefully here in another month or so)  but i am under the impression that this is what people are using:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-262-Quart-Auto-Filler/dp/B000WZCNBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1268430717&sr=8-1

someone correct me if i'm wrong

[javeryh]

i haven't actually used any on my cabinet yet.(getting ready to redo my DK cabinet hopefully here in another month or so)  but i am under the impression that this is what people are using:
http://www.amazon.com/3M-262-Quart-Auto-Filler/dp/B000WZCNBC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1268430717&sr=8-1

someone correct me if i'm wrong

That should do it.  This is the stuff I used:



There is a tube of hardening agent in the cap. 

[walterg74]

Ok, I seem to have found incredibly one guy here in our local "ebay" one guy selling bondo.

I'm somewhat hesitant to buy it on one hand because it doesn't say "body filler" but "plastic filler" on the can, so it's making me doubt if it's the same thing, but on the other hand, I don't see for example in amazon any Bondo product that does say"plastic fill"...

This is the link:

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-83548853-masilla-plastica-bondo-_JM

What do you think?

[RobbyMac]

Here in indiana it's called all purpose putty by bondo co. and found in the wood putty aisle. I would think it's in most home stores, near the wood putty or fiberglass stuff etc

[walterg74]

Ok, so I couldn't go take the pictures just yet (Hope I can go this saturday), but I don't want this thread to die, so here's more questions for you experienced folks....

I know that part of what I'll need to do is get the cabinet up to shape, and that involves fixing/filling the broken corners as shown in the pic, and that's done with the filler and such as you've told me.  Then, additionally I will need to do the whole sand/prime/paint job, and being that the control panel (and front) is metal, I guess I'd have to scrape all that off to and repaint it (or not and stick the artwork on the panel after scraping and cleaning I suppose). so here are the doubts on this....

For sanding. I assume I should use a sander (electric) instead of doing it by hand, as (specially since I'm an experienceless noob) by hand it wouldn't be an even job. So considering all I'll use it for is this cabinet, for that specific task, and then maybe some other cabinets later on, is it really necessary to get a real "heavy duty" one?  I am looking at these two models I find locally (there are others but these seem suitable for a lightweight job such as this, at least that's what I think, correct me if I'm wrong please!):

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-82082551-lijadora-orbital-de-palma-skil-200w-modelo-nuevo-herramienta-_JM

http://articulo.mercadolibre.com.ar/MLA-82560389-lijadora-orbital-skil-145-watts-lija-13-herramienta-maquina-_JM

The second doubt is regarding the control panel. It's made of steel. If you look at the pics above, you can see where the sticks and buttons are placed. That's gonna go away, as I have bought a new set of controls and buttons, of the color combination I like, and it'll be a 7-button per player setup. So now... I take off the existing controls.... I'm left with the steel control panel with the holes.... Now the stick holes may be fine, as I will probably place my new ones in the same place, but what about the button holes? The way they're distributed currently does not match the setup I want, and I can't "un-cut" the holes...  So what can be done about this?  a) Cut everything out with a large hole and put a plaque covering it up? (and drill the holes on this new plaque). b) Remove it entirely and make another control panel like it of steel or wood? or c) Anything logical that I can't think of?

I still trust that after this, future cabs will be easier...

Thanks!!

[smalltownguy]

To cover existing holes in a metal control panel, I epoxied some squares of plexiglass on the underside of the CP, then filled in the hole flush with bondo. Once sanded and covered with the overlay, you'd never know the hole ever existed.

I have some pics documenting the process on my home laptop -- when I get back tonight I'll put them up so you can see what I did.

My final Control panel design used the following image:



The 2 sets of angled holes on top are the original Rolling thunder button holes that I'm talking about. The lower holes that interfere with the joystick borders are the ones that I covered up. The upper ones I kept as admin/mouse buttons.

A little tough to see here, but you get the idea:

[walterg74]

To cover existing holes in a metal control panel, I epoxied some squares of plexiglass on the underside of the CP, then filled in the hole flush with bondo. Once sanded and covered with the overlay, you'd never know the hole ever existed.

I have some pics documenting the process on my home laptop -- when I get back tonight I'll put them up so you can see what I did.

My final Control panel design used the following image:



The 2 sets of angled holes on top are the original Rolling thunder button holes that I'm talking about. The lower holes that interfere with the joystick borders are the ones that I covered up. The upper ones I kept as admin/mouse buttons.

A little tough to see here, but you get the idea:

Ok, I get the idea. Not bad at all..

My only concern is that you just covered them up, while if you look at my pics, it looks as though I might have to cover them up, but later on drill where I just filled... Wonder how that's gonna go down... 

[smalltownguy]

As long as you support the area you're drilling through from the top and bottom, you shouldn't have any issues whatsoever. Just sandwich the CP between two pieces of MDF or plywood, and drill away.

Here's a few shots of the process I took to cover my holes:

First, a shot of my panel after I sandblasted and primed it:




Here I epoxied two squares of plexiglass over my unwanted holes.



Next, mix up some body filler putty:



Then fill in the gap on top after the epoxy has dried.



After that, sand up to 600 grit or so, reprime, and you're ready to paint or apply your overlay.

[walterg74]

Ok, I'm back!

Managed to get some pics... This thing's a real mess...

This past weekend I managed to:

- Remove the tube, controls & buttons it came with, cabling, random *crap*
- Clean it, remove dust, etc...

Here are some pics....  So now, I'm a bit overwhelmed as to how to continue...  Sanding?

[smalltownguy]

Wow, dude, what kind of crazy ginsu knife fight did someone have on that monitor tube? Cripes, that's amazing stuff.

[Ginsu Victim]

Wow, dude, what kind of crazy ginsu knife fight did someone have on that monitor tube? Cripes, that's amazing stuff.

Oh....false alarm. Don't turn on the signal unless you mean it.