My first cocktail-ish type cabinet (finished)

[rabidpuppy]

Hi,

This is my first attempt at a cocktail-ish cabinet.  Not a real cocktail style, I wanted to build something to replace a coffee table, so same height, and 2 player side by side to match the 2 people that the couch it will go in front of sits.

I built an upright 5-6 years ago from plans but that's the only experience I've got.   

I did this design in my head & graph paper.  But I don't have much of a head for design and made heaps of blunders.  I also wanted to use up existing materials (timber, t-molding, computer, etc etc) so I self-hindered the project by doing that.

Anyhoo, at some point you have to say done is done so here it is.

I'm not 100% sure how to insert images so will see how I go, I have a full album of about 500 photos pretty much from day 1 to completion on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/_rabidpuppy_/sets/72157649672478656/

















































For some reason I can't access this forum from home, so I may not be very quick in answering any questions.  But as this is not really a marvel of engineering, I don't expect there to be too many!

Cheers!

[BorgDog]

Nice!    

that's all I got.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Love it!  Nice work!  Your attention to detail is amazing!   

P.S. - You may want to upload your photos (by attaching them to this topic here.  You can then edit your post above to link to those files instead.  That way if Flic.kr goes down you pics won't disappear from this post.)

D

[Le Chuck]

Hey, that's a pretty sharp build.  Nice and clean, fun touches throughout.  I don't like the control panel overlay, I think something simpler would look better with the build, but over all it's a nice piece.

[rabidpuppy]

I don't like the control panel overlay, I think something simpler would look better with the build, but over all it's a nice piece.

I agree completely, it really turned out to be the odd one out, and I plan to re-do the control panel (one day?) due to that and a few other small issues with it (joystick placement error, too close to the glass top; vinyl application not 100%; etc).  Will probably match at least the colouring of the art I put on top, so it's yellow / orange and not yellow / orange / red-explosion-blargh.

Excuse: I did the control panel art during the winter months when everything was in the cold cold shed, not assembled and out of sight.

[Generic Eric]

Good show!  There is a lot to like here.

[yotsuya]

Hey, that's a pretty sharp build.  Nice and clean, fun touches throughout.  I don't like the control panel overlay, I think something simpler would look better with the build, but over all it's a nice piece.

I'm pretty much in agreement. Also, I'm not a fan of the top bezel. There's tons of space on the sides, and hardly any on the top and bottom of the monitor.  Something a bit more proportional might look a bit better.

Still, it looks clean and fun. 

[jackiabu]

Awesome job man  clean job

by the way what is this book?

[horizon]

Book looks like a custom photobook he made to highlight the build, which I think is awesome.

Very nicely done!

[johnrt]

That's a really nice one! Great job! 

I'm also curious about that book. How did you make that?

[Vigo]

Looks like it is from Artscow or a site like that.

Cool unique build. 

[johnrt]

Looks like it is from Artscow or a site like that.

It was a nice touch! Specially if you one day plan to sell it.

[jaharr01]

Damn that thing is beautiful.I love the artwork and color scheme

[williamavished]

Perfect job.

And like  the others ask you, what is this book? And what software you used to design it?

[rabidpuppy]

Hi all,

Thanks for the kind words and constructive feedback, much appreciated.  I will take everything onboard for the next project.

The "Parts And Operating Manual" you can see in the photos is, as was correctly guessed, a printed photo book.   It is from "Blurb" who let you use an offline application to create, called Booksmart. 

The actual contents won't be very interesting to anyone other than myself, but here is a PDF version if you wish to view (the PDF is boring, it was more about having a physical accessory to the machine).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zr326qeoo4aw7r/PARTSANDOPERATINGMANUAL.pdf?dl=0

Cheers.

Warning Boring Backstory:

The original reason I did this evolved from an idea of properly documenting the cabinet setup, as I failed to do so for my very first build 5 years ago, an upright (this cocktail is my second). 

After a house move the upright wasn't working, and there were wires and buttons that I didn't remember what the purpose was for, it was generally a mess which made it harder to work out what the problem was (it was both a faulty ram stick, which was unrelated to the move, and the cpu heatsink had lifted, which was because of the move). 

So even though it ended up as nothing to do with the buttons or wiring, after that I vowed my next project would have proper notes, which then eventually ended up as the photo book.

[Minwah]

The original reason I did this evolved from an idea of properly documenting the cabinet setup, as I failed to do so for my very first build 5 years ago, an upright (this cocktail is my second). 

Good idea - I am also guilty of doing that. I've got a few bits of paper kicking around with pinouts etc on, that I will never find if I need them.

Nice machine - I especially like the yellow / orange colour scheme and love the book idea. Well done!

[AzureKnight]

I love the vent holes!  Very nice work.

[coyo5050]

Just came across this. Very cool and fun design. My next build after i finish the one im on now will be something along the lines of your cocktail/coffee table design. The requirement for being allowed to build it though is to look more like a traditional coffee table than an arcade though.

[danny_galaga]

Love it. Speaker grilles are a nice touch. Great paint job too. What's the story with that book?

[Rick]

I love the uniqueness of the build. A lot of really great work here.

What's the story with that book?

The "Parts And Operating Manual" you can see in the photos is, as was correctly guessed, a printed photo book. It is from "Blurb" who let you use an offline application to create, called Booksmart. 

The actual contents won't be very interesting to anyone other than myself, but here is a PDF version if you wish to view (the PDF is boring, it was more about having a physical accessory to the machine).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zr326qeoo4aw7r/PARTSANDOPERATINGMANUAL.pdf?dl=0

[SMEAR_FLA]

Wow, great work. I think the only thing that would've made it better is a larger monitor, perhaps?

Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail though. 

[rabidpuppy]

Wow, great work. I think the only thing that would've made it better is a larger monitor, perhaps?

Excellent craftsmanship and attention to detail though. 

Thank you!   The monitor looks smaller than it is in some of the photos, I don't get a feeling of it being too small when sitting in front of it, but I'm definitely looking at it with a mothers love.

I do agree with your diagnosis, if I did it over I would start with the monitor and build around it to make better use of the size.  This one was on special for a steal and has excellent viewing angle (178 degrees), so in it went, with the table top sized to match the coffee table it was replacing.

[danny_galaga]

I love the uniqueness of the build. A lot of really great work here.

What's the story with that book?

The "Parts And Operating Manual" you can see in the photos is, as was correctly guessed, a printed photo book. It is from "Blurb" who let you use an offline application to create, called Booksmart. 

The actual contents won't be very interesting to anyone other than myself, but here is a PDF version if you wish to view (the PDF is boring, it was more about having a physical accessory to the machine).

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0zr326qeoo4aw7r/PARTSANDOPERATINGMANUAL.pdf?dl=0

Cool idea (",)