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Author Topic: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet  (Read 47876 times)

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Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #80 on: October 08, 2015, 06:47:35 pm »
No it went on hold.  You can see my previous post was December 2014 about the time I started setting up my big Christmas light display.  Then I became one of the lead developers for the light control software I was using so I've been working on that software all year and helping hundreds of people learn to use the software and fix bugs.  I've also been building led display panels to use for this years display.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #81 on: May 31, 2018, 12:42:47 am »
Well it's been a long time but I'm carving out time to work on my cabinet.  I read the ideas here from before and created several new artwork options.  I like the towers except they are not really high resolution so I'm worried what they will look like printed full size.  I reworked the dragons after I learned to use Puppet Warp so that I could maintain the aspect ratio of the dragons and just warp the clouds above them.  I agree they don't fit the color scheme of the control panel I first came up with but they are like 6000x7500 pixel resolution each so they look great at full size.  Then I created more of a cartoony version with fan art and I'm kinda liking that look also cause it reminds me of some of the retro game art.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #82 on: May 31, 2018, 09:10:44 pm »
Another idea is to drop the whole lord of the rings theme and put the dragons on the side and the control panel.  I just love how sharp the images come out.
By the way I've noticed when I view my own images after posting on the forum the colors are nowhere near as rich as they look on my PC.
« Last Edit: May 31, 2018, 09:12:33 pm by Gilrock »

barrymossel

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #83 on: June 01, 2018, 08:49:31 am »
I really like the image of Rivendell...

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #84 on: June 01, 2018, 09:17:50 am »
Leave the word arcade off of your artwork. Everybody knows what it is. What do you think of the ---meecrob--- running around with the giant "Corvette" sticker on their windshield? Same goes for an arcade machine.

My candycab came with a Marquee that says "Multicade". I took it out. I need to come up with a replacement.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #85 on: June 01, 2018, 09:42:07 am »
I really like the image of Rivendell...

Yes I liked that photo also just a couple issues.  I grabbed it from google so it looks terrible when viewed at the size you have to stretch to fit a cabinet and I'd be using copyrighted artwork which I guess maybe half everyone does anyway.  Its not really Rivendell though it was just an artist picture of a wizard castle.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #86 on: June 01, 2018, 09:43:40 am »
Leave the word arcade off of your artwork. Everybody knows what it is. What do you think of the ---meecrob--- running around with the giant "Corvette" sticker on their windshield? Same goes for an arcade machine.

My candycab came with a Marquee that says "Multicade". I took it out. I need to come up with a replacement.

I assume you mean the "arcade" in "The Return of the Arcade Classics".  My son gave me the same comment yesterday to drop that.  It wouldn't make sense to drop arcade from "Lord of the Arcades".  Anyways the way I'm leaning now would be the latest dragon control panel and sides so there would be no words anywhere.

javeryh

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #87 on: June 01, 2018, 10:10:47 am »
I think a LotR theme could be really cool but pulling pictures from the internet and slapping them on doesn't do it justice.  Especially "realistic" art.  Artwork is 90% of a good cab but you need to try and do something custom that looks like it was designed specifically for this project.  You could incorporate a map of Middle Earth.  You could have the elvish writing as labels.  Or the braided design they use, etc.  Here is an example:



This is obviously Lord of the Rings without printing "Lord of the Arcade" on the CP.   :dunno

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #88 on: June 01, 2018, 10:52:46 am »
Yes I had that inscription running around the trackball if you look at some of the earlier posts and it's not from the internet I created the LoTR lettering myself in Photoshop.  Problem seems to be we all have differing opinions.  People say what I need to do and I rarely like the ideas.  When I was posting before I got to the point where I swore I just wasn't going to show my cab when I finished because nobody seemed to like the same things as me.

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #89 on: June 01, 2018, 10:57:45 am »
At this pace we will all be dead before you finish anyways. ;D

Go ahead and post pics. Some people will like it and some won't. Take advice you like and disregard the rest.

I hope you plow ahead and finish your cab.

javeryh

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #90 on: June 01, 2018, 10:57:58 am »
When I was posting before I got to the point where I swore I just wasn't going to show my cab when I finished because nobody seemed to like the same things as me.

Haha - probably the best idea of all!  You've gotta do what you like and not listen to all of the "experts" around here when it comes to art.  :cheers:

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #91 on: June 01, 2018, 11:30:49 am »
I've just spent an insane amount of hours trying to create art I like and it keeping me from finishing the cabinet.  That's why I stopped before but then got sidetracked with my Christmas light software.  If you checkout the xLights forum for that software I'm the top poster with over 5,000 posts so that's why my cabinet never got done.  Even when I've grabbed images from the net it hasn't been a quick drop and place.  Like on the side with the eye of sauron where the hobbits are climbing the mountain initially they were climbing the mountain the other direction and I didn't like it so I flipped the entire bottom half of the mountain.  I'm pretty good with Photoshop and can create great vector graphics but I can't just draw things from scratch.  I keep wavering on whether to use the dragons cause I did buy the rights from the artist and got high resolution copies of the files for them.

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #92 on: June 01, 2018, 11:45:43 am »
Dude. It was just a joke. Hence the  ;D

Sorry. I am not trying to tweak you. Just having some fun. I will recalibrate my future responses to you.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #93 on: June 01, 2018, 12:01:30 pm »
Dude. It was just a joke. Hence the  ;D

Sorry. I am not trying to tweak you. Just having some fun. I will recalibrate my future responses to you.

Well this reply is funny because I never read your last one.  When I clicked the link to see replies I only saw javeryh's so I was replying to him so don't take anything I said personal.

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #94 on: June 01, 2018, 12:32:56 pm »
No way. You were just defending yourself. Which, by the way, you never have to do with me. If my advice is no good just tell me and I will back off. If my humor sucks just tell me and I will back off. Although I might cry a little inside if you think I am not funny. If I offend you just tell me. I will apologize and recalibrate.

I want people to succeed in their projects. I come off strong on certain subjects (CRTs) because I care about them. Once someone makes up their mind I try to drop the subject. Sometimes I am not very good at that.

If someone posts a turd machine all finished with no community input, that person is going to get my unvarnished opinion. (see wall hanging turd machine)

Post pics and finish this cab.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #95 on: June 01, 2018, 12:46:04 pm »
Mike A:  Maybe I didn't state it clear.  I didn't even see your "joke" until after you said I reacted to it.  I saw the earlier post about the word arcade and I replied to that.  So no need to recalibrate cause I wasn't focusing on anything you said.  Most of what I'm saying is more about all the replies I got 4 years ago.

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #96 on: June 01, 2018, 12:48:25 pm »
Yeah. I saw that. I was just trying to be clear about where I am coming from. Guess I did a great job of that. :lol

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #97 on: June 01, 2018, 07:37:45 pm »
After putting the control panel image into SketchUp I want to move all the buttons closer to the center.  I already have a controller built by mameroom that I thought I was going to use before I changed my build plans.  So when I'm playing with that controller it feels like the player 1 controls are too far left like my face is staring at the edge of the screen.  I modeled this control panel after the Grounds For Divorce one and it's lining up the joystick at the same spot as what I have so they need to move in.  Starting to wonder if I really need 7 buttons since I can't recall any games I play that use more than 3 or 4 buttons.  Maybe because I haven't downloaded any CHD's so I don't play any of the fighting games that probably need those buttons.

TheGreatRedDragon

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #98 on: June 02, 2018, 06:03:50 am »
It's a shame you can't find higher resolution images of those towers because I think that looks seriously awesome. The dragons are really cool too.

I agree with Mike about the use of "arcade." The "Lord of the Arcades" title is very weird to me. The poster for Lord of the Rings doesn't say "Lord of the Posters." The movie isn't called "Lord of the Movies." The dust jacket doesn't say "Lord of the Dustjackets." Why would the arcade machine say "Lord of the Arcades"? To me it's a half measure between doing a dedicated theme and doing a generic arcade theme, and it doesn't really work as well as either.

And personally I think pairing that amazing dynamic machine with a theme so far removed from the arcade scene (as far as I know there are zero LOTR games) is a misstep. As I understand it the appeal of a dynamic marquee is being able to more accurately replicate the aesthetic of a given arcade game, but such lavish cabinet art will only lead to weird clashes. A Ms Pac Man logo in all its pink, yellow and blue glory glowing out of a Lord of the Rings cabinet will look really strange and IMO cheap, like an old cabinet that has had a new game jammed inside. An unbranded aesthetic would be more versatile

That's just my take though. If you're dedicated to a LOTR cabinet then that's your call, obviously.

Back to the side art, have you considered using the assets for the pinball machine? It would be a little pricey, but you could buy the art online and get high res work. These
are a similar idea to what you've got, and even if they're not super huge you might be able to scan them at a high enough resolution to compensate.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #99 on: June 02, 2018, 10:13:34 am »
Yep I already thought about the Marquee aspect.  Most people put artwork on the Marquee area to match the sides and cp whereas mine will switch to match each game.  Based on that argument the only option is a solid color.  I've always thought it was weird to create a cabinet that looks exactly like some game like Donkey Kong and then play 300 other games on it.

If I went with the dragons idea it would not be a LOTR theme at all because those dragons have nothing to do with LOTR.  I've already agonized over how it will clash with the games and marquee when I modeled it.  I attached an example.  Although I was expecting someone called TheGreatRedDragon to push for that option harder....lol.

 


TheGreatRedDragon

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #100 on: June 02, 2018, 10:48:18 am »
Truth be told I've never read or seen Lord of the Rings so I had no idea if there were dragons or not haha.

True, a solid color would be least intrusive but geometric patterns and bold shapes can go a long way to spicing it up. The sideart on old Taito cabinets was really classy and the kind of design that I think if rendered in the right colors could adapt well to a wide variety of marquees



And of course something like this can be done while keeping to a LOTR theme. It would just be leaning away from photorealism and more into abstraction. A piece like this could be the basis for cool side art:


Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #101 on: June 02, 2018, 02:55:01 pm »
Well I'm about convinced to drop the whole LOTR theme.  I just spent 90 minutes doing my own custom bezel for Dragon's Lair and finding a better marquee image than what was coming up.  I really wanted this game to look good and with my 1080x1080 playfield all the 1920x1080 bezels don't look the best so I created a custom one to fit.  Now this makes me want to start drawing some Dragon's Lair vector art and see how that looks.  I mean the whole reason I started with the dragon idea was because of this game.

TheGreatRedDragon

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #102 on: June 02, 2018, 05:40:30 pm »
Dragon's Lair art would be sick!

Still blown away by how good those screens look BTW.

Mike A

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #103 on: June 07, 2018, 08:35:15 am »
Yeah. Custom Dragon's Lair art would be cool. There is excellent source material to draw from.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #104 on: June 07, 2018, 09:30:13 am »
Yeah I'm trying to draw all my own stuff.  I've made good progress on the control panel.  I learned to use Inkscape and I'm liking it better for vectors than Photoshop.  The struggle I'm having now is I'm wanting to delete controls that are in the way of my artwork...lol.  I'm like do I really need to play Tempest that bad or can I do without the spinner.  And the button I had beside the trackball I'm thinking I can delete it and just use the 7th button of player 2 for the fire button in Missile Command and Centipede.  So I'm leaning towards just having the 7 buttons each for player 1 and 2, center trackball, and 2 buttons top left for escape and select.  Then having player 1 and 2 coin and start on the front edge.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #105 on: June 08, 2018, 10:43:17 pm »
Here's where I'm at with the control panel.  I learned Inkscape and drew everything myself using vector graphics.  The textures are created using the filters in Inkscape.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #106 on: January 13, 2019, 12:45:29 am »
Still working on this.  I trashed all my previous artwork and control panels ideas and began creating new side art last summer.  I wanted it to be a Multicade theme representing many games but the artwork out there didn't fit my cabinet dimensions well so I've been creating a lot of my own artwork. I'm pretty happy with the lower section of the side which is similar other artwork out there but I had to redraw the entire pink/blue girder system to fit my cabinet.  Then I started creating a redraw of a Dragon's Lair CD scene for the middle section and in the sky area at the top will be Space Ace graphics.  My CNC has been out of commission for 1.5 years because my PC to control it had died.  Got it back up and running today and designed and cutout a new control panel.  I cut an MDF and 3mm Lexan piece to go on top.  I'm not even going to worry about graphics for the control panel until I use it awhile and decide I'm happy with the layout.  Since I've taken a break from my software project I'll definitely be completing this before summer.

Oh and I did build a bartop RetroPie cabinet for my son over Christmas break in 4 days.  Amazing how fast you can go when you don't worry about graphics.  I just painted it black.

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #107 on: January 14, 2019, 09:17:50 am »
If anyone is listening does it matter which way you orient a Servostik when mounting as far as it working in the games?  I had forgotten to cut a pocket for the joystick and when I designed one I had to rotate one of the joysticks 90 degrees.  I just remember a couple weeks ago when I built the bartop Dragon's Lair would not work correctly until I rotated the joystick 90 degrees to the default that game wanted since that game finds the first joystick and uses it with no setup.  It was the player 2 joystick so maybe it's not a problem.  I guess I'll hook-up just the joysticks and a couple buttons and try it out.  If its not right I will move the joysticks and buttons and cut a new panel.

Drnick

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #108 on: January 15, 2019, 01:55:37 am »
shouldn't matter, just make sure the cables from the microswitches to the controller board go to the right places based on orientation of stick.  :)

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #109 on: January 15, 2019, 07:45:57 am »
shouldn't matter, just make sure the cables from the microswitches to the controller board go to the right places based on orientation of stick.  :)

Thanks...I figured that out myself when I got home from work and looked at it again.  That's the problem asking questions at work... :)

So now I'm struggling with whether to recut the control panel or make what I have work.  Trying to mount the joysticks didn't work as planned mainly because I had designed a pocket that was only like 10mm thick so that between that and the thickness of the lexan it would equal a 0.5".  I failed trying not to pierce through the MDF so if I go with this panel I'm going to need to cut through holes in the lexan and use carriage bolts.  I was trying to avoid having visible hardware but not sure it would bug me that much.

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #110 on: January 15, 2019, 09:02:21 am »
I tried to avoid visible hardware on the joysticks on my last project and I really don't think it was that great or even really noticeable. I used those t-nuts (I think that is what they are called) and they feel like they could come out of the wood panel if you push down too hard on the joystick. I am going through hole on my next one.

J_K_M_A_N

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #111 on: January 15, 2019, 09:13:13 am »
I already ordered some carriage bolts last night just in case I wanted to go that route.  I'm kinda leaning towards cutting a new board just so I can fix some of the positioning I didn't like once I started trying things out.  It would allow me to move that joystick over so they would both look uniform underneath.  I know I'm the only one that would see it but it bothers me having one joystick turned 90 from the other.  I also just bought a couple cabinet latches and there wasn't a good spot on one side unless I move the buttons a little.  I just wish I hadn't cut the plastic but in the end I think I'd rather spend another $30 for the wood and plastic than wish I had done it different.

Now that I'm getting fired up building again I've been looking around this site and I swear I've found at least 10 different bartops/cabinets I'd love to copy.  I just love designing and building this stuff I just wish I could find friends that would buy them when I'm done.  My wife is already complaining when I hint at wanting to build some of the bartops I'm seeing.

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #112 on: January 15, 2019, 07:20:23 pm »
Trying to mount the joysticks didn't work as planned mainly because I had designed a pocket that was only like 10mm thick so that between that and the thickness of the lexan it would equal a 0.5".  I failed trying not to pierce through the MDF so if I go with this panel I'm going to need to cut through holes in the lexan and use carriage bolts.  I was trying to avoid having visible hardware but not sure it would bug me that much.
You may want to consider using the "Under mount (support blocks)" method.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Joysticks
 

I used those t-nuts (I think that is what they are called) and they feel like they could come out of the wood panel if you push down too hard on the joystick.
You didn't put the T-nuts on the bottom of the panel, did you?   ???



Scott

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #113 on: January 15, 2019, 07:49:28 pm »
Yeah I like the idea but I've got Ultimarc ServoStiks bought 4 years ago when I first started this and it has a thin metal flange around the outside and doesn't look as easy to put into that type of configuration.  If I cut it out of plywood I think I could get away with shorter screws on the bottom that won't poke through.  I'm just trying to decide if having the domed carriage bolt heads is going to bother me.  I looked at a lot of projects and it seems 80% don't show any screws but I found many that did.

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #114 on: January 15, 2019, 10:09:12 pm »
Yeah I like the idea but I've got Ultimarc ServoStiks bought 4 years ago when I first started this and it has a thin metal flange around the outside and doesn't look as easy to put into that type of configuration.  If I cut it out of plywood I think I could get away with shorter screws on the bottom that won't poke through.
The wood support blocks are easy, just cut off the part where the servo is mounted.

For the crossbars, change them from a straight bar with two threaded insert mount screws to a "b" shaped pate with threaded insert mount screws on three corners.
- The belly of the "b" covers the wood support block.
- The narrow part provides clearance for the servo.


Scott

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #115 on: January 15, 2019, 10:50:48 pm »

I used those t-nuts (I think that is what they are called) and they feel like they could come out of the wood panel if you push down too hard on the joystick.

You didn't put the T-nuts on the bottom of the panel, did you?   ???

Scott

I did because I didn't want anything up top. I was only painting and I would have had to fill them in. I know better now. If I had used the threaded inserts instead, all would have been well. :)

J_K_M_A_N

Gilrock

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #116 on: January 16, 2019, 07:48:51 am »
Thanks for the suggestion PL1.  I was also tossing around some ideas when I couldn't go back to sleep this morning....lol.  I thought about attaching aluminum posts to get the flange to the level of the MDF and then I'd only need to countersink under the flange for the screw heads.  Then I could use the brace idea you mention.  I also could design a special shaped bracket and 3D print it if I can get my son home for the weekend to run the printer.

J_K_M_A_N:  Just sharing what I ran into.  I tried to use the threaded inserts that came with mine but with only 10mm of MDF I drilled a the hole all the way through.  I screwed the insert into a spare piece of MDF and used a grinder to thin it down to 10mm height.  But when I screwed the insert into the MDF it pillowed up a little on the top side around the edges of the insert enough that it bothered me.  That's what got me wanting to recut my whole panel. 

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #117 on: January 17, 2019, 11:59:36 pm »
So PL1 I went with a variation on the idea you gave me.  I made this metal bracket that came out really nice.  I used the CNC router to cut deep enough to score the shape in steel and mark the position for the holes Then I drilled out the holes and used a jigsaw to cut the shape.  I'm waiting for tomorrow to receive threaded brass inserts another friend showed me that are only 3/8" deep and should work well to secure that metal bracket in the thicker MDF area.  I'll practice in a spare piece first this time and if I'm not happy I'll just use short screws in a pilot hole.

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #118 on: January 18, 2019, 02:31:49 am »
I made this metal bracket that came out really nice.
Looks great!   :cheers:

I'm waiting for tomorrow to receive threaded brass inserts another friend showed me that are only 3/8" deep and should work well to secure that metal bracket in the thicker MDF area.  I'll practice in a spare piece first this time and if I'm not happy I'll just use short screws in a pilot hole.
You can only tighten the screw in a pilot hole once -- the MDF around the threads crumbles to pulp when you remove and replace the screw -- so threaded inserts are definitely your friend for this application.

Also, be aware of the outer thread geometry of the inserts.

The wide, flat outer threads found on the GGG and Ultimarc threaded inserts is better in MDF than the more machine-screw style threads for hardwood inserts.

   


Scott

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Re: Gil's No Name Mame Cabinet
« Reply #119 on: January 18, 2019, 08:59:06 am »
Well darn now I don't know what to use...lol.  The Ultimarc inserts were definitely a problem when the MDF was only 10mm but yeah maybe they would work in the 16.8mm region.  The other guy said he uses those brass inserts (E-Z Lok Threaded Insert, Brass, Knife Thread, #8-32 Internal Threads, 0.375" Length) and he showed me a picture that looked like MDF so he had me convinced they were the way to go.  I'll have both in my hands by this afternoon.
Edit: That's the picture he sent me its not my panel.