Out of the Blue (Slim Modern Cabinet)

[Emy]

We've been working on a cabinet design over the summer, and finally have it pretty much CADed. The design is borrowed from the Vigolix with major modifications. We'll be building/assembling over the next few weeks. Before then though, we have a few questions.

Firstly, does anyone have any experience with stained wood as a finish? We were planning on using furniture grade Russian ply and staining the sides blue with a glossy finish (and possibly the control panel as well). We haven't seen any examples of stained cabinets other than natural wood colors, and were wondering if it would look good.

Next, we're having trouble deciding between two joysticks for our 4-way. We're hesitating between the Seimitsu LS-32 and the Pac-Man/Galaga. We don't have any experience with either and would be buying it blind, so any advice would be appreciated.

And lastly, to mount our Plexiglas, we were planning on using either double-sided tape or epoxy. Since we're painting the inside border of the plexi black, we were worried that epoxy might show through or remove the paint. That's why we've been leaning towards heavy-duty double-sided tape. Has anyone else used tape in their builds?

We're also still open to suggestions for the overall design. We'll update with more pictures as things develop

A few specs:
- 5'6" tall X 27.5" wide X 20" deep
- 7 buttons per player with Happ 8-way competitions
- Player 1 4-way joystick in the middle
- USB port for console controllers

Overall view:



Top view:

[firedance]

Looks good 

[Emy]

We made a lot of progress this weekend! Got all the pieces cut and started painting.









This is our colour scheme. The blue is stained so the grain will show, and will get a gloss varnish at the end. The black (called "Penguin's Back" according to the sample) is latex paint and will have a satin finish after a few coats.



In the end, we went with a Seimitsu LS32 (in white) as our 4-way. And we got some industrial strength velcro which we'll be using to affix our plexi. Also, we're going with 6 buttons per player since we couldn't really justify the 7th.

Our next steps are to finish painting, then moving on to the stained portions. Stay tuned for stain pictures

As always, we're still open to suggestions/advice (this is our first cabinet after all).

[harveybirdman]

First of all your take on the Vigolix design is awesome!

Interested to see how finish turns out.

I think it would be cooler to make another one with a vertical screen and put your 4way in that. But to each his own I guess.

[acme64]

Mind sharing the blueprints for that? I was going to modify the vigolix myself

[Emy]

First of all your take on the Vigolix design is awesome!

Interested to see how finish turns out.

I think it would be cooler to make another one with a vertical screen and put your 4way in that. But to each his own I guess.

Thanks! We'll probably do a vertical 4way down the road, but this being our first cab, we're still trying to overcome the fit-everything-in-one-box mentality 

Mind sharing the blueprints for that? I was going to modify the vigolix myself

Sure! We'll post the schematics in a bit. Just need to make a few adjustments to our existing documentation.

[Emy]

Weekend 3 Update:

We got about 90% of the finishing done this weekend. Finished painting the black pieces and stained and varnished the rest. Here are some pictures. The color doesn't show very well in most of the pictures, unfortunately.

Inside of side panel:



Outside of side panel (unvarnished):



This is what we used for stain. Diluted primary cyan acrylic paint from the art store since we couldn't find a wood stain in the color we wanted. Applied generously then wiped off.



For the kick panels, we joined two pieces of continuous wood so that the grain follows.



Here it is stained and varnished:



This is the side panels stained and varnished:



This is our control panel top:



And again, from a different angle:



We used glossy varnish, but as the pictures show, it gave a sort of orange-peel texture. We're going to attempt sanding and buffing it smooth before assembly. Hopefully we'll get a more "glassy" feel.

The arms are supported with two biscuits each and will receive an additional wooden support to the one pictured.

[Emy]

Not much progress done this weekend. We decided to add another coat of varnish, so not much we can do until it cures.

On the other hand, here are our plans in PDF if anyone's interested.

[acme64]

Thanks a ton for the plans!, i'm going to attempt some modifications myself and see how bad i can screw up

By the way what size screen where you planning on using?

[Phreakwars]

Next, we're having trouble deciding between two joysticks for our 4-way. We're hesitating between the Seimitsu LS-32 and the Pac-Man/Galaga. We don't have any experience with either and would be buying it blind, so any advice would be appreciated.

Honestly, I don't think you're gonna like the Seimitsu's all that much unless short throws are your game. I think it's a matter of playing style preference. My son and I learned the hard way that we prefer long throw HAPP type sticks, which the Pac-Man/Galaga sticks would be more like then the Seimitsu's would.

Might also possibly be that I used them in a cocktail cabinet and not a stand up. I noticed if I positioned myself correctly, they worked awesome, but move out of position and those hair pin turns just never came out right. I just felt that maybe if I were playing an upright machine, the throws would have felt more natural, so with that being said, perhaps the Seimitsu's WILL be to your liking... guess you'll find out.

[Vidiot]

Just wanted to say that is a beautiful design. I love it. Watching this one! 

[Emy]

Thanks a ton for the plans!, i'm going to attempt some modifications myself and see how bad i can screw up

By the way what size screen where you planning on using?

No problem! We'll be using a 23" monitor, but there would be enough room to put a vertical screen with few (if any) adjustments. I'd love to see your take on the Vigolix too

Next, we're having trouble deciding between two joysticks for our 4-way. We're hesitating between the Seimitsu LS-32 and the Pac-Man/Galaga. We don't have any experience with either and would be buying it blind, so any advice would be appreciated.

Honestly, I don't think you're gonna like the Seimitsu's all that much unless short throws are your game. I think it's a matter of playing style preference. My son and I learned the hard way that we prefer long throw HAPP type sticks, which the Pac-Man/Galaga sticks would be more like then the Seimitsu's would.

Might also possibly be that I used them in a cocktail cabinet and not a stand up. I noticed if I positioned myself correctly, they worked awesome, but move out of position and those hair pin turns just never came out right. I just felt that maybe if I were playing an upright machine, the throws would have felt more natural, so with that being said, perhaps the Seimitsu's WILL be to your liking... guess you'll find out.

Thanks for the advice. We've already bought the Seimitsu, but I guess we'll see how it feels once it's installed. We can always swap it out if it's not to our liking. Or I guess we could always get one of those shaft extensions.

Can't wait to get back to it this weekend! We now have access to an electric buffer, so hopefully it'll make our final polishing easier.

[edge929]

I like the design, less is more. This is a little late but here is a guy who stained his cab: http://www.photos-albums.com/classy-white-oak-veneer-arcade-cabinet-album284760/

[mgb]

I love this cab design.
Everything is looking great.

[Emy]

Thanks!

And thanks for sharing that link. I love the look of that stained cab!

[acme64]

Sorry for digging up an old post, but i had a question about the measurments. What angle is the screen sitting at? and whats the height of the cp from the ground?

[taxidriver6]

Not much progress done this weekend. We decided to add another coat of varnish, so not much we can do until it cures.

On the other hand, here are our plans in PDF if anyone's interested.

What would be the easiest way to convert these plans into a format that I could take to a CNC machine?

Cool machine, btw...

[Blue007]

I know I'm about a year later then everyone else on seeing this build, but I absolutely love it! I'd love to see some pics of the final product…

[Emy]

Sorry for digging up an old post, but i had a question about the measurments. What angle is the screen sitting at? and whats the height of the cp from the ground?

Sorry for the late reply! The screen is titled back 15 degrees, and is parallel with the front face of the cab and side panel front edges. The CP is 36" off the ground at it's lowest point (in the front).

Not much progress done this weekend. We decided to add another coat of varnish, so not much we can do until it cures.

On the other hand, here are our plans in PDF if anyone's interested.

What would be the easiest way to convert these plans into a format that I could take to a CNC machine?

Cool machine, btw...

Thanks! Not sure how you could convert to CNC format, unfortunately.

[Mike A]

I like the blue wood grain. It looks like my guitar.

[Emy]

I know it's been a long time, but we finally made some progress!

The cab is assembled, wired, and operational! There's still work to be done, but it's getting there. Bezel is cut to size, but needs to be painted, some minor touch ups on the black paint, final wiring management, and a few other small tasks are left.

Here are some pictures! We'll post more of the final wiring and finished cab soon as soon as it's done

[yotsuya]

Nice job.