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Galacade (Galaga Insipred Slim MAME Cabinet) - painting advice needed
Roo:
I've been doing some work in SketchUp and some real work on the control panel ;D
Here's the current SketchUp model.
I got pretty detailed with the CP. I wanted to make sure everything would fit the way I had planned.
Here you can see the USB hub that will power and connect the 7 (seven!!!) USB devices in the control panel: 2 U360s, 2 LED-Wizs, an I-PAC, trackball and spinner. The power brick and a single USB cable from the PC will plug into the back of the CP.
Roo:
OK, so now for the the real work! I am so ready to move past planning phase on this project!!!
First I made a template for mortising out the U360 plates. First time I used the new biscuit joiner! :applaud:
It's no picture perfect template but it does the job. I was very happy with the nice tight fit around the mounting plates! Those aren't the final screws, just there for testing.
I had a little blow out on the bottom of the CP where I drilled the buttons and screw holes. And the other template I made for the holes that go all the way through for the body of the joystick shifted on me while I was routing. So when I went to route the part that shows from the top I picked up some carpet tape (as suggested by someone else here on the forums). It worked great. I didn't even clamp the template when I mortised out the top.
Overall, I think it looks great from the side that counts.
Then I realized the problem with the way I planned on mounting the U360s... I plan on laminating a control panel overlay to the top. If I ever need to remove them, I would have to destroy the overlay to do it. I also planned on using Epyx's method of mounting the trackball (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100903.0) and this would have the same problem. :banghead:
So I am calling this a mock-up and I'll have to redo it. I ordered a Happ trackball mounting plate and I'll mortise it in so it's flush with the top of the CP.
At least I can reuse my template when I get ready to bottom-mount the U360s! :lol
opt2not:
Great progress for such short amount of time!
Your CP looks nice and clean in real-life...it's going to be great looking with some awesome artwork! ;)
Roo:
I agree opt2not! But I am a terrible artist... Heh, I guess we can let everyone else in on the joke. opt2not has agreed to help out with the art for this project. I knew I had no skill in this area, so I went pro! :notworthy:
And a quick update... I just wanted to let y'all know i finally got wood!
I'll post some close up pictures of me working with it soon! :laugh2:
Roo:
I don't have a lot of experience making stuff out of wood, and it shows...
Everything moves pretty slow for one thing. Things that you guys don't even have to think about become a mini project for me to figure out. I'm starting to see how it can take some people 6 years to build a cabinet! 8) Just kidding Pixel, you're a god in my book!
So I have mostly finished the (easy part of the) control panel box and I only had to redo two pieces :cry:
In addition to the new CP top, I had to redo the back, since I didn't plan my hub and biscuit locations very well...
There was no way to fit a biscuit in the end and I figured that was important to have a biscuit on the outside of the hub to keep the back square. So I made a new back. Here's the new layout
Mostly finished (lol yeah right!)
Now just to glue it all up, figure out if the hinges I planned on using are actually going to work and make a curved front... ::)
Oh and I need to fill in the slots in the base. The hub will cover them up, but it just looks bad and I know they're there.
This Famowood filler has favorable reviews on the Rockler web site, or does anyone have a suggestion for an easy to use filler?
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=18537&filter=wood%20filler
So far it's a toss up between the router and the biscuit joiner for my favorite tool ;D
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