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First Cab build (Began tear down)

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Donkbaca:
Are you getting all 3?  Or just one?  I wouldn't pay more than 150 bucks for a gutted cab with just the coin door.

As for the PC, I just got an off lease 3.0ghz core 2 duo for 150 bucks off fleabay.  Core 2 duo is the best processor for MAME from what I gather.  A P4, though will work for just about anything you want to play, and you can get those form anywhere between $0 and $75

If cost is an issue, make a 2p cab.  4p are more expensive since you need more buttons, joys and a pricier encoder.  I would ditch the trackball, unless you LOVE trackball games.  I personally don't think its worth it, not many fun trackball games to justify the 60-100 bucks you would need to invest to get a trackball.

For encoders, get a 2p xin mo from paradise arcade or GGG, they are like 25 bucks, plug and play and easy.

Buttons/sticks, depend on personal preference, but you can find them pretty cheap at most vendors.

The monitor is important.  I would just go 21.3 inch LCD.  They are 4:3, plenty big enough and usually good quality and can be found for under 200 bucks.  I wouldn't mess with an arcade monitor unless having one is really important to you, they are heavy, hard to find, expensive and a PITA to mess with.  Just go LCD, they are cheap enough, easy to find and plug right in to your PC

Diablo1616:
So I went and picked up 2 cabs today from the seller. When I arrived the guy said he had sold the three in the picture to two guys who came by yesterday. What I didn't know is that he had about FORTY (40) more in his garage! He had up-rights, cocktails, pinball, jukeboxes, you name it. I know I saw an original centipede cab in there somewhere. He was selling them all for different price ranges and since I was on a budget I went with this one, which I paid 30 bucks for. It came with a coin door, a control panel (no buttons or trackball) and that's about it.




As I was loading it into the truck he asked if I wanted another one he'd give to me for 10 bucks and I went with some old (and heavy!) generic looking cab for parts if nothing else. It came with two complete coin doors with mechs and a dollar bill acceptor. I didn't get pics of the second one today. The guy was super cool and said if I need anything else to give him a call. He took me to the second story of his garage and he had a ton of coin mechs, PSU's, game boards and original arcade monitors. So if anyone needs something let me know and I'll see if he has it.

So my first question is what material is on the side of the MDF panels? My buddy said it was melamine (sp?) and just a covering but my second question is what is the best way to get it off? Heat gun and peel, sand it down with a DA? I've never done any wood working in my life so any advice is great advice.

Now I just have to figure out a way to work on this in the garage in day after day of 100+ degree heat in Arizona.... :dizzy:

Donkbaca:
You should nab a pinball!

Sweet score!

Rando:
Really nice find and seems like you located a good guy to work with.  Welcome and luck!!

mathew_123456:
In regards to the melamine stuff on the side - I'm in the same boat. I've looked at all kinds of forums, and ran into the following conclusions (someone with actual experience might know better/ different)
- can't use heat gun to peel - I've even tried, but it is quite strong.
- you can purchase paint that will adhere to this (I purchased something similar to this http://renomart.com.au/laminate-melamine-paint-by-white-knight-paints/)
- apparently, using melamine/ laminate as a base, you can achieve a very good finish with painting, since the base surface is great to start with

I'm currently in the process of using bog (bondo as you would probably know it) to fill in the imperfections, after I removed stickers and the glue residue.

Good luck with yours - I've got a 2 year plan to finish mine  ;D

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