2P folding bartop (Still nameless... liking a Transformers theme though)

[syph007]

Hey guys!  Well I sold and parted out my first build and now I want another, but smaller this time.  I needed something that I could bring out to play then fold and store away when needed.  

Now I've loved the Benderama since I first saw it, so I thought I could modify that concept to fit 2 players and a bigger screen.

I made a mockup of the build with cardboard to get a feel for how it would look.  I made the tilt angle close to 100 degrees as it felt more natural to view at that angle to me, and fiddled with the curves a bit.







So I was happy with that design I went and got materials, white laminate and ordered a 22" 16:10 monitor from newegg which was on sale for $150.

I fiddled with the layout for quite awhile trying to get the curves just right.



I ended up settling on a curve of a 6 inch diameter.  I made a template from hardboard so I can route the curve smoothly.  I test fit the monitor as well, and I will have just enough room to mount the joysticks, and have them still clear the monitor when folded close.



The only other thing I got done so far was to test the thickness of tmolding to figure out how much of a gap to leave.  Turns out 3/32 of an inch shaved off each piece should be perfect.





I want to take my time with this build at make it nice.  I like the idea of white laminate with blue tmolding.

[emphatic]

That's gonna look sweet. 

[syph007]

Well, I could fib and say that I got the side peices made first try!... but... it took more like 4, and most of today.... but.. I'm happy with how things turned out.

My problem was that I was trying to make each part separately, when really they should be made together as they need to mate up.

So.. what I did was first take an exactly true rectangle 24x10 and mark out my pieces.  Since i was taking back 3/32 on each edge, I drew a series of lines.  The neat trick here is that I then just ran my jig saw up the center line to separate the pieces.  Then all I needed to do was route the edges smooth using various guides.  If I had thought of this to start with I would have saved alot of time.



Here are what I refer to as my template pieces, separated and routed.  It was so fiddly to make these I wanted template parts to use to make more if needed, if I messed something up later on.



Here are my template pieces and production pieces.  I did all my pattern routing outside, MDF dust is crazy.  I actually broke my bottom template so I have a new template for that from MDF, but same difference in the end.



Here is what the pieces look like mated together.  T-molding will be going around the entire parts for protection, and the sharp corners are going to be rounded.



I feel like I made decent progress for today, so I'm happy.  Next I can make some of the cross pieces and start test fitting.

Cheers!

[Bender]

Looks great!
Make sure you leave enough room for the t-molding
I didn't on my first attempt

[syph007]

Looks great!
Make sure you leave enough room for the t-molding
I didn't on my first attempt

I didn't leave room on the first templates I made and figured I would just magically figure something out, but in the final set I made, I ended up taking of 1/8 inch of each side.

I'm looking at the hidden hinges you used, those aren't cheap.  $50 if I wanted 4.  The piano hinge is cheap, but hard to hide... did you come across any other ideas in the hinge department? I'm still debating what would work best for me.

[eds1275]

I personally would use a piano hinge with some weather stripping rubber over it. It'll fold when the machine is closed, and cover the hinge when it's not.

[Yvan256]

Have you thought about a name for your cabinet yet?

How about Flexo?

[Coolin]

neat idea good luck with the build

[syph007]

Small update today.  I'm taking my time with this one, and I've been debating on how wide is comfy for 2 players with 6 buttons.  The mockup I'm fiddling with at the moment is 24 inches wide.



It feels comfortable, but I'll have to mount the actual controls to be sure.



I got my side pieces shaped up now though, rounded the corners.



The idea is that the bottom corners become the legs when in folded mode.



I cut the t-molding slots for all the pieces as well, but I have to wait to laminate and apply t-molding as I'm waiting on a new whiteside flush trim, and 5/8 blue t-molding.



Ive got the rest of the weekend to work away on this, so I hope to be able to get some of the other parts made up.

Cheers!

[syph007]

Have you thought about a name for your cabinet yet?

How about Flexo?

Ha, funny one, but no I can't impose on Bender's Futurama theme.  All I've decided as far as looks are concerned so far, is that it will have white laminate and blue tmolding.  If I can't think of anything else, it'll default to a bubble bobble theme.

[emphatic]

  How about a Transformers theme?

[Xiaou2]

Rounding the buttons like that, will cause the player to have to twist his hand which caused his elbow to stick out a lot more... thus his elbow getting in the other persons way.

I suggest straightening them out.  You dont save much space with a curve, and a straight layout is better for fighters anyways.

[syph007]

Rounding the buttons like that, will cause the player to have to twist his hand which caused his elbow to stick out a lot more... thus his elbow getting in the other persons way.

I suggest straightening them out.  You dont save much space with a curve, and a straight layout is better for fighters anyways.

It would save some space, but I cant play on straight buttons.  I tried all the layouts and the hori one was the only one that was comfortable to me.

[syph007]

Ahhh nothing like the smell of contact cement and laminate in the morning!!







This is actually the inside of the bottom pieces.  I'm laminating inside and out.  I'm loving the white laminate.  I'll be routing out some channels on this side to attach batons.



Just testing some t-molding.  This is 3/4 inch, but with my 1/2 MDF plus 2 sides of laminate, 5/8 should be just about right with only some tiny trimming.



Started to rain, and I do most of my cutting outside, so I moved onto the CP mockup.  I adjusted the controls just a bit.



I will be using 2 U360's, and there will be a spinner in the top center.  No trackball on this one.  Never really used it on my old cab, so it was an ok compromise by me to skip it on this build.



Well I'm on break now, but next I will be testing the panel with actual controls installed.  

Cheers!

[syph007]

How about a Transformers theme?

Oh... I do like that idea. 

[syph007]

Hey guys, I just wanted to post a small update to show what I've been up to.

I knew this would be a marathon build for me, and not a sprint.  So I've been taking my time with each part and making it to my satisfaction before proceeding.

I needed what is basically quarter round with a 3 inch radius, 2 ft long.  I tried a few easier methods to make this which didn't work out, so I just said screw it and did it the harder way.

I made a template with the curve I needed.



I then marked out a bunch of the shape I needed on 3/4 inch plywood.



I had quite the assembly line going, and it didnt actually take too long to cut out all 32! peices needeed.  Well most of an afternoon.



I started gluing them up last night, and it's slow going but not too hard.  Its a nice solid curve for laminating, which is what I needed.

[syph007]

I finally got some time to work again.  We've got a 9 month old, so I knew my 'free' time for this would be sparse.

I finished making my 2ft long laminated beam.  I'm positive there is a better way to do this, but this worked fine, and its nice and straight and rock solid. 







I also after 5+ attempts I got a CP cut I'm happy with.  Joysticks will be bottom mounted.









I started adding the batons to the side panels.





Lots left to do, but it feels good to make progress.  I can assemble the lower part next and then try my hand and laminate bending.  Never tried that before, so I'm sure that it will be super easy!

Cheers!

[Green Giant]

I think you solved the top heavy problems.

If anyone needs to prop up a car I know a control panel base we can use.

[syph007]

I think you solved the top heavy problems.

If anyone needs to prop up a car I know a control panel base we can use.

LOL yes indeed.  I tried bending thin material to do the curve, but I was very unsatisfied.  This way is at least nice and solid.  If i had a big lathe I could have make a 3 inch radius cylinder and then cut that up.   I suppose if I could have found a pipe the right size I could have cut that up.

[Donkbaca]

yeah, you could have used some PVC pipe the right diameter and then bondoed, and sanded it into place... Nice work though 

[emphatic]

Awesome beam. 

[Bender]

yeah, you could have used some PVC pipe the right diameter and then bondoed, and sanded it into place... Nice work though  

Yeah, you gotta watch out, you want this to be portable and the weight adds up incredibly fast
Altough you did want some weight in the base
Beautiful work

[syph007]

I got to do some more assembly and things are fitting together well.   









The only thing that's bugging me now is that in my mock playing, I now want the controls to be slighly higher up.  I tested on cardboard and this felt fine as I have it, but on actual wood my palms rest on the curve part and its not comfy.  This means recutting the CP panel, but thats not a huge job, and its better to decide at this stage, than after I've laminated.

[BurgerKingDiamond]

that sucks man. I did notice on your mock up that it looked like the  controls were too low..

[leapinlew]

If the controls are higher, will the unit still close?

[Martijn]

you can just place the old panel on the new one and route out all the holes where you want them 

[syph007]

If the controls are higher, will the unit still close?

Ya I went out and checked... it would be tighter for sure, which is probably why i moved them as low as was comfortable.  I ended up just unbolting the panel and sliding it up and down to see where it feels right, and after all that I decided it felt fine in the place I had it.. lol.  I tried bending a test piece of laminate on a hotplate last night and it worked really well, that part isn't going to be as tough as I thought.   Another hobby of mine is kydex knife sheath making, and I use a hotplate for that.  It's easier than a heat gun and you get uniform simultaneous heating.

you can just place the old panel on the new one and route out all the holes where you want them  

Absolutely.  I use a template whenever I can.  I actually made router templates for the joystick pocket, and the button holes already, since I KNEW I'd never ONLY be cutting 1 panel.  I've already cut 6 or 7 I think.

[syph007]

Well I'm still chugging along here.  Small update since I got a few hours with no baby yelling...

I got my laminated corner beam attached to the cp now.  Lots of bondo was used to smooth out the bottom and front so that I could get a nice crisp corner.





I countersunk and bondoed in the joystick mounting bolts.  Before I bondoed I filed the tops of the screws so they were more square than round.  I didn't want to take a chance on them turning on me.





I got to bend some laminate, and that's about all I had time for.  But it's getting there.  I'm in no rush really and I'm enjoying the build.

[syph007]

I actually got some more time to work, so I'm posting more pix.

The problem with this type of build is that I really can't finish any part of it until the 2 halves are rigid and my method of hinging is decided and prototyped.  There isn't much room for error so I decided to just suck it up and finish the mockup all the way and get the hinge attached, THEN go back and disassemble and laminate.

To get the clearance just right I was going to put spacers in to be the same thickness as t-molding.. then I got the einsteinian idea to just put some t-molding on!    Since... you know.. it's just the right spacing....





It was impossible to finish the mockup without the top part in a usable state.  Now I couldn't decide quickly how I'd have the final pieces, so I just temporarily screwed some pieces on the back and top, just to set the side pieces at the proper spacing and make them parallel.  I hope this will be good enough for me to get the hinge sections ironed out.



I got motivated when I opened it up and had a few pretend games.  It's a big boy, but I LOVE it.  I don't think I will have to worry about it moving around much... or my wrists crushing my wrist rest beam!

Since this type of build has a deeper than normal CP, it will have a bit of extra space at the top.  I'm toying with the idea of putting actual coin slots in.  No room for full mechs, but I could mock something up to get the sound just right.



Here is how I ultimately want the pieces to sit.  I need to design the hinge support parts next and hopefully get it just right, so it folds smoothly and everything lines up nice.



Transformed... into folded mode!  Maybe I can motorize the opening... maybe   I couldn't be happier with how it's turning out!  I have a large industrial metal recessed handle that will be installed on top.





Well it's getting there!  Slowly... but I'm resisting the urge to rush and mess it up. 

All for now, cheers!

[Yvan256]

For the coin mechs, maybe you could just do a slot with a switch? So it wouldn't be a real official coin mech but it would still work. Even a home-made universal coin mech is better than a simple "credit" button, IMHO.

[rCadeGaming]

Any updates?  This thing looks really neat.