Need some sort of a kit...

[random255]

I've been working hard on a PC to use to emulate some classic games.  My dad is actually pretty interested in some of these old ones, things he played when he was a kid.  He told me that if I could show him that I got the PC all set up, he'd come up with a way to help me out with the arcade.  Well, as it turns out he had a gift for me when I got home from school today; he found a Tankstick on Craigslist and picked it up for me.

I wasn't originally planning on using one of these, but it was very thoughtful of Dad and I'm not going to use something else after he went though the trouble of finding something.  My last plan was just to referb an old cab and use it, but now I don't think that's as doable with my controls.

I know my limitations; I'm 15 and slightly disabled.  Not enough that it keeps me from doing all the things I want, but enough that I know I'm not going to grab a saw and start cutting my own cab.  What I need is some sort of kit.  I've seen something, the Xtension arcade pedestal.  If all else fails, I suppose that'll work, but that isn't quite what I had in mind.

Thoughts?

[eds1275]

get an old cab, and transplant the controls from the tankstick to the gutted machine!

[severdhed]

get an old cab, and transplant the controls from the tankstick to the gutted machine!

+1

thats how i started out, there was very little woodworking involved (cut a new panel and drill a bunch of holes). 

[random255]

Might give that a shot then.  I just didn't figure these would match up very well size wise, but if I find some cabs for sale I guess I can drag my tankstick with me to see what I might be able to do.

[random255]

You'd still think there'd be a market for someone to make an empty cabinet designed to house a PC and a Tankstick... makes me wish I could start a business.

[quadrider1]

Alot of people agree that just throwing in an xarcade control panel can ruin a cabinet. Like the others said, find some decent cabinet with a big control panel, drill the holes in the layout you want, and install the xarcade controls one by one. Would be easy and look clean.

[Siris]

random255,

Seriously, depending on where you live finding an empty cab should be fairly easy.
Look in the phone book for amusement game vendors or go somewhere that has games and ask who owns and services the games and get the contact info.
Most of the time vendors have empty cabs they would be happy to let you take. If you are lucky they will give you one with a monitor.

The reason the kit idea isn't all that great is the cost of shipping all that wood makes it unfeasible! There are plans that you can get but then you have to get the wood and start from scratch.

[BadMouth]

Good job on getting your dad hooked on the older games 
It will definitely make him more helpful.

I've been using an x-arcade tankstick in my "temporary" setup for the past year.
There's some pics of how I have it mounted here:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=106570.0

[orchidius]

How is everybody missing the most obvious option here, the arcade-kit sellers? xD

When "building" an arcade, there's 3 major ways to go: building a kit, starting from scratch, or refurbishing an old one. You mentioned your dad would come up with a way to make the cab itself?

Well, of course I don't know what woodworking skills your dad masters, but if he's got the know-how, I would definitely go with a scratch build (if your schedule and finances allow it). There's so much to learn in woodworking that no book or instructional video can teach you, but you have to see/experience/do in order to get the hang of it. By getting your dad to help, you'd most certainly learn all the basics so that you can help yourself on future projects.

The other two options are almost the same when it comes down to woodworking skills. The kits work like IKEA cabinets, they require no woodworking skills. Old cabinets might need some minor adjustments (to get everything to fit and repair possible damage), but mostly it's just sanding and getting it to look nice again. One advantage old cabs do have is a monitor (if it's still good). A real arcade monitor can set you back multiple 100's of $$, whilst an old cab is mostly found for... Well... less.

As for the tankstick... You won't be needing a woodworking genius to finish the job when reconverting or building a kit. All you'll need to do is adjust the CP area of the kit/cab to hold your tankstick. Even if the tankstick is wider then the cab/kit itself, there's still a way to get around it quite easily. Building your own cab however requires more woodworking skills, but allows for custom work on both the CP ànd monitor area (maybe you will want to use a LCD/TFT screen to save some money?).

As for kit sellers, you should use google and/or the wiki section to locate them. Some only sell their own kits, some sell custom models and will work something out with you. Another thing to keep in mind when choosing a seller is location. Those things are not small/light, so shipping a kit from the UK will cost 2-3 times the price of the kit itself, so keep that in mind. The biggest seller in the US is http://www.mameroom.com/home.asp