Construction material vs. cabinet weight

[CIA_Guy]

I'm in the military and I have to move every 3 years or so.  I want to build a replica of a full size Defender cabinet, but I need to keep the weight down.  Anyone have an approximate weight per square foot for:

1/2 inch plywood
1/2 inch MDF
5/8 inch plywood
5/8 inch MDF

I suspect I can get by with 1/2 plywood if I use a good frame, lots of glue, and stick with my plan to use a 17" monitor.  Any thoughts on that?

Thanks!
 

[menace]

1/2" ply is lightest of all your choices.  You may even want to consider a modular cab--see frostillicus (http://arcade.tomvanhorn.com/)  the top and bottom can be separated if need be.  And yes a good frame and glue can do wonders for stability--but reconsider your 17" monitor--bigger is better when it comes to arcade monitors and the weight difference between a 17" (PC i assume) and a 19" (arcade monitor--hint, hint) isn't that great.

edit--way to overcome adversity in building your cab--don't let a few moves stand in your way!  Welcome to the dark side  

[eightbit]

1/2" ply is plenty strong don't go overboard with the internal frame. The monitor will come out when you move it so don't skimp on the monitor.

[paigeoliver]

A real Defender is plywood with no internal frame at all. They really aren't that heavy. Very easy to carry when compared to Atari cabinets.

Also, if you want a Defender, just do it right. You have to carry it once every three years, but you are going to be looking at it every day. I have like a dozen games, and have moved several times in the past few years. One would be a piece of cake.

[Wienerdog]

A Defender clone made from 3/4 hardwood plywood would weight less than 250lbs without a monitor or comptuer.

[paigeoliver]

A Defender clone made from 3/4 hardwood plywood would weight less than 250lbs without a monitor or comptuer.

I have never bothered to weigh an empty cabinet, but an empty Defender weighs a heck of a lot less than that. That is more like the weight of a complete one.

At one point I had several empty Defenders kicking around, they were VERY light. I even moved one in through a second floor window once.

[Spaced Invader]

A little off topic...b-u-t what is the best way to finish plywood? Does it look OK painted? I'm so tired of working with HEAVY MDF.

CIA_Guy,

Sorry to "borrow" your thread, but ease of finish is the main reason I went with MDF...but the stuff is way heavy. I'm ex-military and understand some of your moves may be pretty extreme...you don't want to move a MDF cab much or far. All this to say that finishing plywood may be of interest to you as well.

[Lilwolf]

MDF is VERY heavy.  Go to home depot and you will see.

And ALWAYS move your cab WITHOUT the monitor.

I've moved twice with mine.  One was a HUGE pain in the ass and I ripped the top board off getting it up the stairs.

The next time... I took the monitor out.

2 people... no problem...

And the CRT came in the car with me.

[paigeoliver]

I move cabinets up and down steps pretty regularly. So far the only thing I ever had to take a monitor out of was a Super Strike. It was just too big and heavy for two guys to handle on a set of steps that had 2 90 degree turns. On that one I pulled the monitor, the playfield, the coin doors, and a few other odds and ends, and then it was EASY.

Of course, a lot of you guys built your own cabinet out of MDF and used a 27" monitor. So that is a whole different kind of creature. Probably more than twice the weight of a real arcade game.

[eightbit]

A little off topic...b-u-t what is the best way to finish plywood? Does it look OK painted? I'm so tired of working with HEAVY MDF.

CIA_Guy,

Sorry to "borrow" your thread, but ease of finish is the main reason I went with MDF...but the stuff is way heavy. I'm ex-military and understand some of your moves may be pretty extreme...you don't want to move a MDF cab much or far. All this to say that finishing plywood may be of interest to you as well.

Best way is probably laminate but laminate will cost more than the wood. You can use a filler and sand it. It might take a couple coats with sanding in between but then it will paint up just as nice or nicer than MDF.

[Spaced Invader]

A little off topic...b-u-t what is the best way to finish plywood? Does it look OK painted? I'm so tired of working with HEAVY MDF.

CIA_Guy,

Sorry to "borrow" your thread, but ease of finish is the main reason I went with MDF...but the stuff is way heavy. I'm ex-military and understand some of your moves may be pretty extreme...you don't want to move a MDF cab much or far. All this to say that finishing plywood may be of interest to you as well.

Best way is probably laminate but laminate will cost more than the wood. You can use a filler and sand it. It might take a couple coats with sanding in between but then it will paint up just as nice or nicer than MDF.

Thanks, eightbit. I think I see plywood in my future.

[menace]

You can use a filler and sand it

So would drywall mud work for this?  Too soft maybe?  whats a good filler that spreads easy over large areas and sands easily as well?

[Spaced Invader]

Bondo?

[spidermonkey]

ULTRALIGHT MDF !  It is 1/3 the weight of regular MDF. And don't let the lightness fool you because its PLENTY strong. A much nicer finish then plywood if you're going to paint or laminate. I used this on my first cabinet and held it together with 1 1/8" x  1 1/8" pine ballast,MDF screws and pl-400 construction adhesive and I'm telling you after 3 years and 3 moves (two of them up & down stairs) the thing is still as tight as the day I built it while still being fairly managable weight wise. I can't imagine how much it would weigh if I used anything else. For the machine I'm working on now I bought a gutted Midway MK-4 cabinet. Its plywood and even when it was empty it weighed a TON. Now that all the guts are in its a nightmare to move. . And regular MDF is even heavier then plywood ! Many will say "well how many times do you really move your cab once you have it where you want it ?"  Well.. the day will come sooner or later and when it does you'll be glad that you used the lightest cab building material availiable. I know I was.

[CIA_Guy]

Thanks for the experienced opinions!  I was a little concerned that 1/2 plywood wouldn't be sturdy enough, but it looks like that isn't the case.

I'm going to go with 1/2 plywood, but I'll spend the extra couple of bucks to get the stuff that starts out with a good finish on one side.  My orbital sander does a pretty good job of creating a nice finish quickly.