Woodworking steps to build a pinball cabinet - need help

[HanoiBoi]

I know this will be real basic to someone, but I'm not really sure where to start my cabinet.

I've seen builds out there, but none really answer some of my questions.

Assuming I've got wood cut, what's the best way to put it together?  Glue? Wood screws? Nails?  L brackets?

Do coin doors, fan holes, buttons holes, etc. need to be planned and cut prior to putting the pieces together to form the cabinet?  Can they easily be cut once the sides, bottom, front and back are affixed?

[MikeyMerse]

You should plan and cut everything before assembling.  Cutting holes on an assembled piece is much harder than on a work bench.  Try using SketchUp to draw up your plans, that way you can see where you will need to cut everything prior to assembling.  This will save you ALOT of headaches in the future.

[Ond]

If you are not familiar with SketchUp you can still use other software to create accurate plans with. I'm assuming here you don't already have plans to work from.  I still use Microsoft Visio to draw up plans for things, even hand drawn stuff on graph paper is good.  The important thing is to not have to calculate measurements while you are sawing up wood - that part is so much more enjoyable if you can just refer to your plans as you go.

I agree with MikeyMerse, in general it's better to cut out everything before assembly.  There have been a few times when I've used the cabinet I'm building as a kind of 'workbench' and cut holes for speakers etc after assembling the panels, but I wouldn't recommend that approach.

As to glue vs screws vs brackets, nails etc, with MDF or Particle Board the strongest joins are usually obtained through both screwing and gluing where possible.  You might want to allow for some panels to be only screwed on in case you need to remove them later.  I have used fine nails to accurately position pieces of MDF prior to gluing but never on their own.  Brackets are good if you are just butt joining timber at 90 degrees (just placing one edge against another) but I prefer to place a timber block on the inside of the jointed corner and screw through the panels into the block as well as gluing.  If you use this method, it's good to counter sink the screw holes so that screw heads lie slightly below the panel surface.  You can then putty fill them and paint or laminate over.

I hope some of that is useful to you

 

Ond

[MikeyMerse]

...but I prefer to place a timber block on the inside of the jointed corner and screw through the panels into the block as well as gluing.  If you use this method, it's good to counter sink the screw holes so that screw heads lie slightly below the panel surface...

I 100% agree with this method when working with MDF.  Use battens to secure your joints!

[HanoiBoi]

Thanks for the replies guys.  

Ond, you mentioned MDF or particle board.  I was planning on using wood for the cabinet (is this not generally used for pinball builds?).   Screwing and gluing is the thought.  I was just wondering how to keep it ‘clean’ looking on the outside.  Say if I were to stain it versus laminate or paint and I wouldn’t want to see the screws.

I haven't worked with SketchUp nor have I worked with Vizio for drawing purposes.  As far as measuring and planning ahead of time, I won’t say it can’t be done but I don’t think it’s ideal for me.   I don’t have all the parts yet (fans, coin doors, etc.) so I don’t know those sizes and then there are things like plunger and flipper button placement that would need to ‘clear’ the LCD playfield.  I was thinking that’d be easier to see after building the box and fitting the playfield.  Is this not the way to go?  How are the pinball cab builders doing it?

Oh, ‘timber block’...does that just refer to scrap wood that would fit into the 90 degree corners?  Or is that something more specific to look for at the hardware store.  Would I be talking 2”x2” thick?  I imagine I’d want to also use this on the inside of the cabinet to rest the playfield on.  


Thanks once again

[MikeyMerse]

2x2 battens are perfect to secure a 90 degree join.

Also, I would really stress to take your time and plan it out, you will be much better off in the long run.  Even if you don't have materials, get a list of what you will need to buy, and you can usually get the measurements of what you need without buying them.

But, where there's a will, there's a way.  Good luck with it all, and once your start, post it in the Project Announcement forum for criticisms and ideas from other members.  Cya around.