what is the type of lock you use to keep your cp closed?

[SpatzST]

i tried finding one at home depot but they all didnt look correct.

thanks

[Xiaou2]

Arcade 'Panel Clamps'

 They are spring loaded, and hold like vise grips, when installed properly.
You will only need two.  One for each side of the control panel.

[EMDB]

Arcade 'Panel Clamps'

 They are spring loaded, and hold like vise grips, when installed properly.
You will only need two.  One for each side of the control panel.

 

 

[mgb]

You probably won't find them at Home Depot.
Try an online vendor like Twisted Quarter

[jdbailey1206]

Nintendos can be found here and here.  Here are some at Twisted Quarter.  Also Spatz if you don't have a lot of room to work with (ie a bartop) try using one of these. 

Also below is an excerpt for what floriske.nl did on his xrcade build.

15-01-2013

It's been a while since I posted an update, mainly due to the holidays and being busy with all kind of other stuff. Amongst which "Selling my motion sim".

But picked this up again today and started with making my cp hinge points.

At first I wanted to use standard hinges for this, but thought of a method of creating something my self (which is more fun of course ).

Instead of the panel that was cut for this purpose I took a leftover piece with the same length as the original one. It's still a bit too wide but I will cut this to the right size later.

First of all I drilled a hole with my dowel drill on each side of the panel at the point I want the panel to turn:



Next I routed little slots with my bench top drill which has a cross table for simple routing work.



Took a couple of dowels, drilled a 2,5mm hole in them and fitted an m3 hex bolt:



Putting the parts together results in my own "sliding" hinges which makes the cp easily removable when needed.



To drill the holes inside the side panels of the cabinet I used a few simple dowel center points.

All 2012 updates have been move to the 3d post of this topic to be able to keep all updates on the first page of the topic

[Thenasty]

SpatzST

If interested in Panel Clamps, You can have mine for $6.00 for s/h fee (assuming ur in USA).

[Cobolisdead]

What type of hinges would you guys/gals recomend?

[jdbailey1206]

What type of hinges would you guys/gals recomend?

What type of cab?

[Cobolisdead]

I am building a custom 4 player cabinet. The control panel will be 47" long at the back and a bit shorter. I am basing my cabinet off of this design:

http://webpages.charter.net/rbecker5/plans.html#design

My control panel should be identical to his/hers.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Piano Hinges worked for me.  Similar to these here:  http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16412571

[AlienInferno]

On my cab I don't have locks holding the top closed.  I have a piano hinge under the front lip of my panel like what Delusional posted.  My plexi also slides into a groove in the back of the panel further helping lock it down.  It won't open while playing a game.

[Cobolisdead]

Piano Hinges worked for me.  Similar to these here:  http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16412571

Neat! I just saw one of your youtube videos yesterday! If you don't mind, can you tell me what is the length of your hinge and the front of your control panel?

[DeLuSioNal29]

Neat! I just saw one of your youtube videos yesterday! If you don't mind, can you tell me what is the length of your hinge and the front of your control panel?

30" x 3/4"

[Xiaou2]

Typically, the modern arcade machines pretty much all used Piano hinges,  as well as panel clamps.

 Only certain elder models, or small control panels didnt have hinges.

 This makes it easier to work on and or replace parts.

 I highly suggest the Happ style spring lock clamps.  They latch a lot stronger and tighter than the ones pictured above.



 And actually, its a bit dangerous not to lock the CP..   If a little kid grabs the sticks and tries to hang or yanks on them hard... they could get injured.   

 Also, some people rock the sticks quite hard... especially on a game like Robotron.. which can cause the CP to lift and slam down... which isnt pleasant, as well as can mess up on what you are doing.
 
 Finally, I know from running an arcade for 3yrs, that CPs can and do flip up... especially when you forget to lock them down.. >.<

[SpatzST]

hey guys, thanks for replies... My control panel is basically like the one delusional posted.  I have a piano hinge on the back side, but the intent of the lock is that if i want to carry it, I can hold it by the panel top and it doesnt swing open. lol

It seems that the latches will do the trick.. thanks!

[DeLuSioNal29]

How are you going to get the latches closed or open if you can't access the inside of the control panel? (Where they are designed to go)

These latches require that the bottom of the control panel has a hole in it for access to clamp them down.

DeLuSioNaL29

[TopJimmyCooks]

I used the spring latches on a panel by cutting access holes.