Help with my first build

[Speedy245]

Hi guys just looking for a bit of guidance really, i just got my student loan in and now have money to buy wood =)
i have all my buttons, coin door etc so now looking into guides for sizes
i am planing on it being a mame cab with a PC inside and a 19" PC moniter but all the plans i can find are for bigger does this matter or can i just use a bigger frame for the cab? anything else i need to know about or any tips? Im going for MDF 12mm as i think i remember reading that its cheap and strong
Thanks for any help guys will make sure i take pics as i progress

[Donkbaca]

Just build the cab a little smaller.  A good rule I read was that the cab should be built based on the width of the screen.  In my opinion, nothing looks worse than a cab with a huge bezel around the screen

[Funnel]

What he said^. How much was your student loan?

[Speedy245]

the second part just came in i got just over 1k =) spending time hahaha

[yotsuya]

Just think, after you graduate, it'll take you 10 years to pay off your education AND that arcade cab in the corner! 

[eds1275]

Yeah plans are IMO a great starting point - however you need to know what you intend to do and adjust those plans accordingly. Take for example my cab. The shape is nothing new, basically I took a look at a bunch of arcade machines, made some decisions and drew up a plan based loosely around several different types. I paid close attention to things that really matter in terms of playability - control panel height and angle, screen angle, and width. I then chose the size screen I wanted in there which determined the width of the cab, and then everything else was just style.

You have to make the width fairly close to the size of screen, otherwise you end up with a hideously wide bezel - same for height around the screen. That should also give you an idea about how deep to make it, because size = weight and real estate! No point in following the plans for a 24" cab, making it narrower for the 19" screen and leaving it 3 feet deep! Most people around here make a simple [and sometimes not so simple!] mock up in a 3d editor, the most popular free one being google sketchup.

[Speedy245]

Ahh google sketchup! i shall give that a look =) and thanks for all the info i am still in the drawing phase and taking ideas from SF/MK cabs
what about if i eventually want bigger? is it better to just make it to suit or kind of future proof (thinking a couple of years before i need bigger then 19")

[Donkbaca]

No cab that looks good with a 24" screen looks good with a 19" screen in my opinion