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Convertible Bartop/Full size?
notbillcosby:
You're right, it isn't bad advice, but I think over my last few days of thinking this through harder and talking stuff out on here (even if it was just the act of getting stuff written out in front of me, it helped) I'm less concerned with having a functional bartop, and am more concerned with how to build a full size cabinet that can be disassembled for a move. That was the whole point in doing the bartop thing- the fact that I could lift the top half off and then dismantle the bottom half in order to move the whole thing easier, not so that I could have two machines. A functional bartop top-half would be cool(!), but ultimately isn't what I want. I want an arcade machine, damnit! :) I think I'm about settled on a lowboy with two interchangable CPs; one massive CP would be impossible for me to lay out in a way that I'd be happy with that would also gel with the aesthetic of the machine.
It will be living in my basement, and I don't think I'll be in this house for more than another year. When I move, it'll be to a city about two hours away, so I'd want to be taking as few trips as possible. Not only would it be obnoxious if not impossible to move a cab up my steep narrow basement stairs, but it'd take up a good chunk of the moving van unless i can part it out considerably. There is a *very real* possibility that I'm over-thinking all of this, and it'd just be a matter of spending half an hour to take some screws out. As I mentioned, the computer I plan on using is a rack mounted server so i won't have computer guts strewn about the inside of the cab to cause problems during transportation. Maybe I just dive in....? After some careful planning of course! I just gotta talk myself out of spending so much time trying to beat my high score in Ms Pac-Man and spend some time learning Google Sketch Up :)
paigeoliver:
There is NO REASON to build a cabinet to take apart for a move. Your fridge doesn't break into pieces does it, does your dresser, how about your couch? No, it doesn't and they are all just as awkward as any arcade game. Did you plan on taking all your furniture apart when you move?
The problem with trying to build a cabinet to break apart to move is that they tend to be top heavy. If you took your average 310 pound arcade cabinet and broke it into 2 pieces right below the control panel you would now have a 330 lb machine that breaks into a 250 lb piece and an 80 lb piece and guess which one is on top. Just take the monitor out and you get the same result. Heck, build with plywood instead of MDF and the whole thing will weight 100 lbs less.
You are totally overthinking it. A normal arcade game is 24" wide and 28" deep. This is less than your bedroom dresser and on par with most end tables. It will not make or break a move. It is just another piece of furniture to go in the moving truck. It is really no different than a dresser or a couch. Fact is I bet you have some POS end table or drawers or something that would take up equal room on the truck even though it is the kind of thing you could replace at a thrift store for $5.
notbillcosby:
That felt a little unnecessarily mean spirited! I don't plan on moving my fridge or disassembling my couch, but thanks for asking. If you've got any tips on making my couch fold into a smaller package so it isn't as much of a huge struggle to get out of my basement as it was to get it down there in the first place, I'm all ears! I'm also glad to know that my furniture is easily purchased for $5, that's good to know for the future. ::)
In all seriousness- It's less about having two magically lightweight pieces and more about something that's easy to get out of my basement. I know for sure that a top half and a collapsed pedestal would be way less of a big clunky unit to get out of my basement than a full, complete arcade machine, weight aside. If I make it so the TV can come out and i can break the machine down to it's primary chunks by putting screws in smart places and not putting wood glue in other smart places, it will make my life so much easier than trying to move a 300lb machine up a narrow, steep flight of stairs.
notbillcosby:
I think my idea has changed enough since my original post that I should probably declare this thread no longer relevant. Thanks to everyone for letting me ramble out some ideas and for sharing some of your own!
paigeoliver:
Cos,
Had no intention of being mean spirited. I just know from experience that a lot of people overestimate the difficulty of cabinet movement prebuild and do a bunch of unnneeded weird stuff to try to make it easier. I just wanted to drill home the idea that your arcade game isn't outside of the normal dimensions and weight of items one might have to move during a household move.
Real world example. I moved a Zaxxon style cabinet down the steps into my basement today by myself with no help at all. I am not a body builder. I am a 34 year old fat guy. I just took out the monitor and unscrewed the other pieces that come off easily and then just lifted it down the steps one at a time. I have probably moved 25 machines up and down my steps this year alone.
2 grown men can move basically any normal arcade game up and down the steps. Take the monitor out and it stops even being difficult.
It is misplaced concern to think getting your one normal machine into or out of the basement will be an issue. Heck, I have a Pole Position cockpit in my basement and that cabinet can't even physically make the turn on to my steps (took it apart into 100 pieces and reassembled downstairs).