Newbie with first build, Unnamed mame pedestal [Complete]

[shiori1425]

Code: [Select]

Hello Everyone,

I'm the new guy.  I just wanted to share my latest project with other people who would enjoy it. It's still a work in progress but it's progressing quite nicely.  I'm not a pro and this is the first cabinet I've built, so be gentle.

After looking all over the net for pictures, blueprints, examples, etc of other arcade cabinets I found I didn't want to pay (2k for and empty cab, no way) for any I liked and I didn't really like a lot of them.  The best I found was the FunGlo pedestal but it's only either 2 player or trackball only.  I want 4 player and a trackball. So with the funglo ped as my inspiration I started by making a 3D model of what I wanted in Sketchup.  Here's what I ended up with:

http://i.imgur.com/EDZYN3uh.jpg
The first version Sketchup.  Some of the angles changed and the whole TV stand thing went away.  This is jus the initial design that i was working from....all made by me.


http://i.imgur.com/sTJKdz3h.jpg
Back/side angle.  The two circles on the back of the stem are exhaust fans (120mm PC fans).  The entire square they are on is going to be the access panel for the PC.


http://i.imgur.com/tD8WjJAh.jpg
Back.  A better view.  The cutouts of the bottom are were the TV stand was/is going to go.  It's a 8"x2.5" port that is the legs of the stand sort of latch into.  For the time being I will use them as a port for the HDMI and plug to come out of. I may put a little hinged cover on it till I make the TV stand.  We'll see.  I can add that anytime.


http://i.imgur.com/YNxV3Dah.jpg
Top down of the controls layout. This took a LOT of planning. I must have moved the layout a dozen times.  I put the measuring tape to it.  I asked for people opinions.  I did all I could to get this right.  I used the Slagcoin standard layout Hybrid 2 I think it was.  For players 3/4 I used the same control layout but cut off the right 4 buttons.  I know some of you may ask but I have no legitimate reason to use an 8 button layout for players 1/2.  It's also to late to change it, lol.


http://i.imgur.com/dZ9kHIph.jpg
The Final shape/size.  I am finally happy with everything here. A 9 degree slant on the CP, player 3/4 buttons straight, CP center is 3'2" tall, no TV stand, 5' wide control panel giving plenty of elbow and trackball room.  Everything is just looking good and I can't wait to start building it.


As you can see I wanted a cumston modern style pedestal style cabinet.  Origonally I was going to make the TV stand that attaches to the base of the pedestal, and some day I still might.  I decided to just mount a TV on the wall and that way I can push the pedestal up to the wall when it's not in use.


Ok,  I assume y'all would like to see some pics of the actual pedestal huh.  Since these pics are large and I don't want to flood the page with pictures I'll just post a few main ones.  To see everything up-to-date just go to my imgur album here: http://imgur.com/a/BOZHf




The beginning
I have no pictures of when I started.  Photo updates were an afterthought.  Sorry.  All I did was cut out the base stnad and put a few screws in it. haha


Update 1
http://i.imgur.com/0ayBx4Ch.jpg
Generic "I'm going to start taking pictures now" stuff. I didn't know what ti take pictures of haha.  So the big whole there in the middle is an air/wire port for the controls to go down to the motherboard. The PC will be mounted to a shelf in the bottom of the stem.

Update 2
http://i.imgur.com/tkUqpi6h.jpg

This, although blurry, is one of my favorites.  You really see the angles and the whole shape.  This is when it really started looking like something to me.

Update 3
http://i.imgur.com/k2MPvJt.jpg
The CP.  What a pain.  The angles, I didn't think the angles through.  I'm honestly suprised I was able to do all this with nothing but a circular saw.  The holes were fun too.  As you can see one of them got messed up.  I routed 1/4" off the back under the joystick ports to use the SS mounting plate.  The router bit got caught and dropped down to ~ 11/16th"  leaving a good 2" area about paper thin.  I was not happy but I fixed it later.

Update 4
http://i.imgur.com/xjRI94r.jpg
So, after three days of applying and sanding bondo this is what I end up with.  A pink pedestal. haha.  I still need to sand down a couple of spots and then I'm going over the entire thing with some 600 grit.  I'll get to that this weekend hopefully.


This week I should receive my orders from GGG, Focus Atk, Ultimarc, and EBay. Everything from buttons to boards, to wire.  I'll have everything I need to hook this baby up.  I can't wait to test fit all the buttons and joysticks. It'll finally look like a real arcade!

I only work on this during the weekends so my progress is a bit slow.  I'll update this thread as I update the arcade.

So, what do you think?  I know it's big and different but I like it!



I've done it!! I finished my cab!! Here are a few highlights.











The full imgur album has 90+ pics of the full build progress from build to finish. http://imgur.com/a/BOZHf

[yotsuya]

Not bad so far. How heavy is it, and how do you plan to move it around?

[shiori1425]

I am not a good judge of weight.  I can tell you that as a 6' tall 130lb skinny guy I have no problem hauling it around.  As for moving it around, it's only about 2.5'-3' wide (less if you lean it backwards) so it'll traverse the house easily.

I do have to counterweight it though.  It's top heavy but 10lb weight in the back of the base and it's solid as a rock so it doesn't require much.

It's surprisingly light and easy to move.  I thought it would be a lot heavier after using over 2 sheets of 3/4" MDF. I still need to but some feet on it. I'd love some lockable flush mounted casters for one side but I haven't found any I like yet.

[Acids]

nice work so far.
The key is always patience.   Sothing i dont have enough of.    Im watching this build 

[shiori1425]

Well, I FINALLY got all the HW in.  (Just kidding, I got everything within 5 days, GGG, Ultimarc, FocusAtk are all awesome!!)

Initially the buttons wouldn't fit but with a sanding tube tip on my dremel I got them all to fit nicely.  I also like how the trackball came out! Check it out:




I don't have all the hardware to mount the joysticks so P3/4 are not in.  I just wanted to see it. The LS-58s came up a bit short, with the P-40 SS mounting plate.  I'll be removing the shaft cover and adding the thread on shaft extenders at some point.  The dust covers are two different colors.  Wasn't sure which one I wanted to use.

I got the LS-58-01 with an SS mounting plate and an octal restrictor plate.
The buttons are Seimitsu PS-14-KN.
Trackball is a standard Happ 3" from eBay
I got an Opti-Wiz and iPac4 for encoding/decoding the stuff.

 There are a for closer up pics at the end of the imgur album link in the first post.

Hopefully I'll get it primed and maaaybe a little base coat of paint this weekend.   Still have no idea how I am going to paint it though.  Black with white stripes maybe...IDK. Still think about it (also open to suggestions!)

[severdhed]

looks great. i like the overall shape of this...much more elaborate than my pedestal build.  good job

[shiori1425]

Thanks Severdhed,  I spent a good month in Sketchup getting all the angles and shapes the way I like them.  Probably about the same building it, haha. I'm really pleased with the way it came out.  The angles all work good, the curves on the edges came out great, the height and width are just right.  I'm just pleased that after my do diligence has paid off.

Now I have to do the same with paint. Still no idea how I want to paint this thing and that sucks because as soon as I paint it I can hook everything up. 

[a1pharm]

Take a look at some of Knevel's builds, his control panels always come out clean, and are somewhat simplistic in artistic design.  This is a boon for you, because you intend to paint your CP.  Also, there are a few threads here that show what some people have done with stencils and/or painter's tape.  From what I've gathered:

DO NOT RUSH your painting job.  Gamester did a superb job painting his cab, while skill played a huge role, time and patience played an equally important role.

Keep up the great work!

 

[shiori1425]

Just updating the ones interested,  I haven't been able to do much with the arcade except getting a few layers of primer on it.  By a few I mean 4 layers.  I'm so tired of sanding this thing. haha.  I just want a nice smooth finish for painting. Hopefully this 4th coat will get me where I want to be.  I'f not a fifth should definitely do it.

I the mean time, here is my makeshift paint room, haha.


I've decided how I want to paint the control panel and gotten my vinyls in from SlammedNiss (which look awesome) for the buttons and joystick surrounds. I plan to get the base coat of paint on this weekend but I've been quite busy and my not get around to it.

And the buttons (some of them anyway)


Hopefully I'll get this beast painted soon so I can start the fun part, hooking up the electronics! I can't wait to set up the CP with all the buttons and stuff. It's going to be awesome.

My idea for the CP paint.  This is just a quick MS Paint version I made a few minutes ago since I'm at work.  Don't judge me. hahaha

[shiori1425]

The paint and paint supplies are bought and I have my paint scheme idea completed.  (doesn't line up in sketchup but it doesn't have to. haha)



That gray line at the bottom is because I lost a face, it wouldn't come back and I said crew it. 

What to you think? 

[ppv]

Nice and tight! I like a lot!

[Rick]

A) I love this build.
B) I LOVE this build.
C) Where the HELL does everybody get all the space to house these damn pedestal builds?! I live in a wartime house. Sure, it's had a second floor addition, but with no basement and no outbuilding, that means no 'man cave'.

Sweet deal, sir!

[shiori1425]

Well, I've been pretty busy lately but I did get started painting a few days ago.  I've learned two things 1) I SUCK at painting  and 2) I hate sanding  .   Aside from those issues I now have 5 coats of primer and the surface still wasn't the silky smooth finish I wanted but I am now aggravated with the delays from painting so I decided to move forward. 

I have two coats of white semi-gloss on the beast and the 3rd (and final) coat will go on tonight.  Then a couple more days for the blacks and clears and I can give y'all some picks!  I can't wait to get into the CP and start wiring stuff up.  That, I think, will be the most fun part of everything, not counting ~100 crimp connectors to put on.. ..

Anyway, hopefully I'll have jpeg proof for y'all soon. haha.

[shiori1425]

So, I finally got all the black and white on the cab.  I still have to do some touch up (aka fix my mess ups) and then clear it.  Hopefully I can get the clear on this weekend.

Anyway, here's the couple of pics I snapped real quick last night for y'all.

[rablack97]

what is that along the edges, is that paint on some sort moulding...

[shiori1425]

There's nothing on it but paint.  I used Ace Hardware Oil Based Paint - Semi Gloss.

[rablack97]

to say you suck at painting, that is an awesome paint job.....

[shiori1425]

to say you suck at painting, that is an awesome paint job.....

Thank you.

It's bleeding like crazy, the button surrounds aren't symmetrical, the lines aren't exactly as straight/even as they should be, there are a few black spots on the white that isn't supposed to be there, and a few other nit picky things. Also, we are our own worst critic.  I know it's not bad but I'm disappointed with the simple mistakes that I made and didn't take pictures of. haha

I know it's not horrible but I feel I could have done better, I just lost my patience towards the end. 

I plan to fix up the unseen blemishes and clear it soon. Then I'll just pretend none of it's there and just enjoy playing my 3500 mame games. 

[Almighty]

awesome painting job there!!!

[shiori1425]

Just a quick update.  The rain finally stopped enough to clear this beast so I got it cleared and I got the controls in.  Here's a few pics.  I'll do a "completed" update once I get the pc in it and it running.  As always all the pics so far and more i haven't posted pics in the imgur album in my sig.

Paint:


All graphics:


Buttons in:


Wired:

[shiori1425]

awesome painting job there!!!

Thanks Almighty! I like it.  It looks way better with the controls in. haha.

[jdbailey1206]

Very art deco.  Nice and clean.  Good work.   

[shiori1425]

Very art deco.  Nice and clean.  Good work.   

Thank you very much.

Yeah, the entire idea behind this build was symmetry with a new age look.  I wanted something different and I got just that.

[shiori1425]

Project completed, I modified the first post to just result pictures.  Thanks for all the kind words and assistance everyone.

[Troll]

Shiori1425,

Would you mind uploading or linking to the sketchup of your pedestal?  I've been thinking of building one for some time now.  The shape and lines of your pedestal really speak to me.  I like how the CP sticks out farther than the base.

I will start a build thread when I get started.  I just ordered an Ipac bundle to start playing with.

Cheers,
Troll

[Troll]

Shiori1425,

Thank you for your private message!  I believe the forums don't quite trust me enough to allow me to send private messages. I wonder why.

I was able to download the sketch up of the pedestal with the Monitor/TV stand attached.  It's a nice model!

Would you be able to provide two measurements so I can verify the size? It would be nice to have the length of the top and bottom of the CP.

Thank you again for providing the model,
Troll

[PL1]

I believe the forums don't quite trust me enough to allow me to send private messages. I wonder why.

Post 3 more times and your PMs should be enabled automatically.   

IIRC, Saint does it this way to make it harder for spammers to exploit the PM system.


Scott

[shiori1425]

Hey Troll,

Here's a better link.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_u948Wd0xtAM0ROMWFibHJEN28/edit?usp=sharing

This is the last updated file I made for the cab.  I opened it and verified the measurements are what I built with.  You can use the measuring tape to see the specifics.  The CP is about 5' wide and about 1.5' deep.  It's hard to give you specifics because there are so many different angles.  The entire thing is about 3.5' tall.

I love this machine and still play it, however, there are some changes that should be made if this is built again.  The two most important are:

1) The angle of the CP is a bit to much unless you have low chairs (the angle on your wrists sucks when standing) so it should be a little flatter. It is suggested that the CP surface be tilted ~7 degrees and mine is somewhere between 9 and 10.  I would adjust this if at all possible.

2)The base should extend more forward.  I had to add 25-30lbs to the backend of the base to stop it from tilting forward if someone leaned on it. I like the angle and the forward leaning feature of it but it either needs counter weight or the base should be moved/extended forward.

Outside of that it's all preference. 

If you have any questions about it all let me know.  I have my parts list and everything. It should all be in the top post thought. Also, make sure you make a build log for all of use to watch.  I'd love to see what other people can do with this design.

Shiori1425

[severdhed]

awesome job...that paint job is amazing

[yotsuya]

Hey Troll,

Here's a better link.  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_u948Wd0xtAM0ROMWFibHJEN28/edit?usp=sharing

This is the last updated file I made for the cab.  I opened it and verified the measurements are what I built with.  You can use the measuring tape to see the specifics.  The CP is about 5' wide and about 1.5' deep.  It's hard to give you specifics because there are so many different angles.  The entire thing is about 3.5' tall.

I love this machine and still play it, however, there are some changes that should be made if this is built again.  The two most important are:

1) The angle of the CP is a bit to much unless you have low chairs (the angle on your wrists sucks when standing) so it should be a little flatter. It is suggested that the CP surface be tilted ~7 degrees and mine is somewhere between 9 and 10.  I would adjust this if at all possible.

2)The base should extend more forward.  I had to add 25-30lbs to the backend of the base to stop it from tilting forward if someone leaned on it. I like the angle and the forward leaning feature of it but it either needs counter weight or the base should be moved/extended forward.

Outside of that it's all preference. 

If you have any questions about it all let me know.  I have my parts list and everything. It should all be in the top post thought. Also, make sure you make a build log for all of use to watch.  I'd love to see what other people can do with this design.

Shiori1425

I'm glad you posted this follow up. I was always curious about #2.

[shiori1425]

awesome job...that paint job is amazing

Thank you. I designed the paint and did it all myself ( though I won't do that again. Haha)

I'm glad you posted this follow up. I was always curious about #2.

A lot of people have asked me about it tilting forward. It can tilt forward still with, I think, 25lbs in the base. I pulled the cp half way down to the floor and it stood back up on its own. Its like one of those old blown up punching bag clowns. Its top heavy for sure but nothing that a little thought can't fix. If I made the cp out of 1/2" instead of 3/4 inch MDF or if it were a two player pedestal I doubt it would have been an issue to begin with. Its perfectly stable with the counter weight. Yes it can still tilt forward but you have to push down on the cp, leaning on to doesn't tip it.

[pbj]

How did you do the graphic around the joysticks?

[shiori1425]

How did you do the graphic around the joysticks?

Those are vinyl decals I got from SlammedNiss here on the forums.  Also got the white button decals from him. I highly recommend him.

[GWOZDZilla]

I've got a question, I'm a newbie and would love to build my own portable 4 player "cab". I was wondering what you used in conjunction with the ipac-4 to allow the trackball. I can't tell in the pictures provided. Would you be willing to share your schematics/parts you used (buttons, joystick vendors) ? What size tv are you using (is there a way to use a flat screen and change the ratio to fill the entire screen? And what are you doing for speakers? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just excited to start this journey!

Also...freaking great build...uber jealous!   

[shiori1425]

I've got a question, I'm a newbie and would love to build my own portable 4 player "cab". I was wondering what you used in conjunction with the ipac-4 to allow the trackball. I can't tell in the pictures provided. Would you be willing to share your schematics/parts you used (buttons, joystick vendors) ? What size tv are you using (is there a way to use a flat screen and change the ratio to fill the entire screen? And what are you doing for speakers? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just excited to start this journey!

Also...freaking great build...uber jealous!   

First off thank you and welcome to your new addiction. haha

I thought I included a parts list but clearly I forgot.

Focus Attack:

• 4x Seimitsu LS-58-01 Joystick
  4x Seimitsu LS 58 SE SS Mounting Plate P=40
  38x Seimitsu PS14 KN 30mm Screw Button Smoke

EBay:

• Happ 3" trackball

Groovy Game Gear:

• Opti-Wiz™ Trackball and Spinner Interface (makes the trackball a usb mouse)

Ultimarc:

• Ipac-4

I bought all my wires and hook-up stuff from MCM Electronics and a crap PC I had laying around to run mame.

The TV is a 42" flatscreen I have mounted on the wall.  It's ran through HDMI and the sound currently comes out of the TV.  I never went back and added the speakers.  I had planned to put them on the under side of the control panel but that panel is so heavy already I decided to leave it the sound coming out of the TV.  There is no full screen option.  I just deal with the black bars on the sides. I think mame will let you put custom images there but I never messed with it.

As for the schematic, there isn't one.  Everything is wired up to it's own screw terminal on the ipac/optiwiz. It's pretty straight forward, I just followed the instructions, ran my wires, and used a DMM to make sure I had the right wire when I hooked it all up.

Here is my reference for the trackball/optiwiz http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=133025.0

Hope this answers your questions.  If not feel free to ask more.  I'm always willing to talk/share info about my arcade.