MortalKab 4 player DIY slim arcade cabinet/ Finished / Update?

[deezdrama]

Just curious now..... Who are my options to handle/print these out...

I have had all my artwork printed by BYOAC member  Lucian045
His prints are absolutely fantastic in my opinion. High quality vinyl. Super nice guy and prices are right on. Good turn around time too.

and what type file do they need saved in?

I've always given him .jpg but if I recall he likes tif. He likes to deal with RGB so make sure you artwork is converted to RGB first and the colors still look right. Make sure they are 1:1 as well.

Is he alot cheaper than gameongrafix? Does he do any laminates and / or adhesive backing?


Heres what I have sofar....

[vwalbridge]

I can't speak to how he compares to game on graphics. But others here have used them and been happy. Perhaps someone else can comment on them and their prices?

All of Lucian045's prints come with a super strong adhesive backing. He even includes a felt squeegee. He has a tutorial video on you tube as well.

Also forgot to mention a couple other things:

1. Make sure your artwork has "bleed". Meaning it extends over the edge of the wood just a little. Your going to need that little extra to razor off.

2.  Make sure you decide on matte finish or gloss. I imagine you want gloss everywhere. Are you putting lexan over your control panel?  If so, I'm told gloss doesn't play well under lexan. Also know that a matte finish will dull the colors ever so slightly.

Did you have any bezel or marquee art?

[deezdrama]

I can't speak to how he compares to game on graphics. But others here have used them and been happy. Perhaps someone else can comment on them and their prices?

All of Lucian045's prints come with a super strong adhesive backing. He even includes a felt squeegee. He has a tutorial video on you tube as well.

Also forgot to mention a couple other things:

1. Make sure your artwork has "bleed". Meaning it extends over the edge of the wood just a little. Your going to need that little extra to razor off.

2.  Make sure you decide on matte finish or gloss. I imagine you want gloss everywhere. Are you putting lexan over your control panel?  If so, I'm told gloss doesn't play well under lexan. Also know that a matte finish will dull the colors ever so slightly.

Did you have any bezel or marquee art?

Have not worked on marquee yet. I need to pick up the 32" screen and get it in there so I can see what room im working with to finish the speaker panel and marquee area. Wont know the exact marquee height untill I do this.

I planned on no screen bezel artwork, the 32" will take up most of the area in the cab and planned on installing tinted smoke 15 tempered glass.

For the CP.... I guess if I just get a vinyl print then I will add some thin acrylic , if I go with a vinyl with laminate then I will skip it.

Im wondering how hard it would be to run mkx from within hyperspin without needing steam or internet.
I almost did a mkx themed cab but then when the next game comes out im obsolete lol. Figured id just go with a basic theme not based on any certain version. Im not real happy with it but spending all this week in photoshop has my eyes feeling like there bleeding and ready to get this cab done and move on to the paint and wiring phases.

Still a long way to go.... feels like it will never get done.

[deezdrama]

Got some more weekend drinking - err work done 

Cutout a piece of cardboard to the dimensions of the screen Im using. Got my speaker panel cut/installed. Went super simple with the speaker mounting design since I dont have them yet. 2.5" holes, eyehooks mounted behind the panel. Will just velcro/ziptie speakers to eyehooks. Yeah...its ghetto.... but will allow the swap of speakers and no dismantling of the speakers. Ill cover the holes in the front with speaker grills backed with black cloth to cover the ugly.

Got my CP box sanded down (pictures from before I sanded) and took measurements for my marquee that I can play with now.

I might have to router some pockets in the bottom CP box.... my lower most button has 1 5/8" clearance under the top CP panel, player 1 and 2 joysticks have 1 3/4" clearance.... I planed on routing a pocket out for them anyway. I will be going with sanwa jlf sticks and paradise LED buttons with 20mg switches.

I really wanted the ultra mark trackball that is flush mount but due to clearance under the cp I might have to go with something else and router out a pocket for it.

Still trying to wrap my head around what exactlly I will need to mount 4 sanwa jlf sticks and have no bolts or plate ontop of the CP.

Oh.... and I got a buzz and test fitted some "custom" sticks 

[deezdrama]

uggggg, I want it finished    lol

[vwalbridge]

Mortal Beer Tap. I'd play it. 

[Slippyblade]

   ROFL!!!!

LOVE the beer bottle joysticks.  I wanna see this more often now.

[deezdrama]

Was going to lay out bottlecap buttons but that was just too much lol.


I ordered a plunge router an the slot cutting bit.
What other bits should I order? A cloning bit? What bit do I need for plunge routing out a cove on the bottom of the cp for the sticks?

Speaking of sticks.... Almost ordered a sanwa jlf to see what would need done for bottom mounting with no bolts or holes on the top of the cp. The more I read about mounting the jlf's the more confused and discouraged I get.
I thought I could just route out a cove about 1/2" deep from the cp bottom and use an S - plate to screw into the un routed area next to it. I guess that wont work, the S-plates dont go that deep and the jlf sanwas were meant for thin metal CP tops.
I dont have a problem drilling a custom mounting plate if its not too involved and needing bends etc...

I just really wanted to try these Sanwa jlf's due to there reputation for being great for fighter sticks-  but if its going to need a giant hackjob on the cp to get them installed...then maybee I should just go with some happ sticks or something easier to install 

Any thoughs on the stick situation..... and suggestions on the router bits I will need or if theres a cheap amazon router bit set that will have what I need (besides slot cutter....already ordered that)...thanks




Edit.........
I didnt realize the j-sticks are sanwa jlw's. These would probably be alot easier to mount.
If I just run J-sticks and bottom mount them without routing, will I just need the longer shafts and the blind mounting kits?

Are the threaded inserts in the pic the same as the ones from ulti? They want $9 for 4 with 4 screws.... I cant see paying $40 for 4 sets.
Ulti states "Available in 2 sizes, 6mm suitable for Mag-Stik and 5mm suitable for all other joysticks."
The ones in the pic are 5mm so assuming they will work and then can just get the screws and washers I need at local bolt shop.

[deezdrama]

Not much progress to report lately... 
Got major family drama going on and have to use my spare time finishing a bedroom build in the basement.

I did get my marquee area finished 
Got some hardware.... tools in.
I know black n decker is bottom shelf stuff from experience in the past but the price was right and amazon had a ton of good reviews.
After playing with the dewalt router at lowes I kind of wish I would of spent a little more on one but as long as this lasts to finish thisproject It will be ok.
Besides the router I got my arbor and t molding slot cutter in. Also found a top bearing 1" x 3/4" width flush trim bit at lowes for $20.

Got a couple paires of speaker grills. If I end up going with chrome ringed buttons I will use the chrome speaker grills otherwise will use the black ones.

I ordered a single pushbutton and sanwa jlf joystick to test fit and make sure I have clearance.
The pushbutton looks identical to paradises but got it from california on ebay.
The microswitch must be like 150g its way to stiff. When I order my buttons I will be going with 20g soft switches.
The jlf feels nice. I like the shorter throw and soft springs but dont know if i can get over the click click clicky click clicks.

I plan on mounting the jlf sticks to the bottom of the cp with threaded wood inserts.
Im thinking about grinding the wood inserts a little shorter and trying to router out a small cove in the joystick area but might just order the extended shafts. $60 for 4 shafts seems like alot though, plus I dont know how longer shafts will affect the feel of the already sensitive jlf's.

Hoping things blow over here so I can get back to this project soon.

[deezdrama]

Got the majority of the room I had to build finished so hopefully will be able to jump back on this cab this next weekend.

I found some sanwa jlf shaft extenders cheap from china on ebay so ordered some.... I wonder if I will need stiffer springs now?

The piano hinge I ordered came and is a joke... its paper thin so will need to order a different one or try to use some concealed hinges.

Anyone ever use concealed hinges for there control panel? Im thinking about using them but would hate to cut out the hole for the hinge cup to realize the hinges wont work.

[deezdrama]

Made a little progress, got the euro hinges/ keyboard tray on slides installed and most of the hardware I needed to finish the woodwork phase.
Just need to finish installing the tv mount crossmember and get the control panel secured with hand knobs and hinges, then slot for t-molding and then I can move on to paint.


My tv came with 4 plastic button washer looking things...they are not in the manual anywhere....no clue what they are for? wall mount bushings is what I thought but they dont seem to fit very good over the vesa holes.

Also when I hooked the tv up (samsung un32j5003af) to my pc I used hdmi , the picture looked fantastic but changed the input name to pc as Ive always read is a good thing to do to avoid screenfit issues etc.... but now the color looks a little washed out.
How do you guys set your picture settings? just by eye?

[deezdrama]

mocked the tv up and got the tv mount installed.

[deezdrama]

Feeling defeated right now.... I screwed up my t molding slotting     

The cheap routers collet loosened on me , then On the cab I started it while the bit was on the wood and ripped the corner out.
I been working overtime all week and was tired and didnt have patience and just wanted to get the slotting done... I should of waited.

I thought about filling it with wood filler and trying again tomorrow but figured the filler would just probably chip out as soon as I try to slot it.

So.....how bad is this? think that 8" spot on the CP will cause problems?

Whats the best adhesive to use in these areas when applying t-molding?

[Bloinkxp]

So with wood putty/filler make sure you pack it in.  That will ensure there are no bubbles which will make it doesn't pop when cutting it out again.  It will be fine.

Love the look of it.

[BGoulette]

Yeah, once the filler is in there and hardened, it should route just fine. Looking good!

[deezdrama]

so definitely pack filler in it?

Thanks for the kind words.... this is all new to me and been a fun but long and daunting project sofar.
The past few days have been setbacks... first my tv wall mount didnt come with m8 bolts that samsung uses so had to order them online since im working 5am to 5pm right now and have no time to go to any stores....then this.

Just need to get this done and the guide boards for my tempered glass installed then I can stop covering myself in sawdust and get to painting and electrical

[deezdrama]

Got the bad spots filled.... we will see tomorrow how it goes.
Its cheap elmer wood filler so I dont have alot of faith in it, seems like it cracked alot when I used it on my cp...but we will see.

[harveybirdman]

That stuff sucks man.

Two part stuff is probably better for an application like this.

[yotsuya]

Actually, I used the Elmers stuff all the time and don't have any issues with it.

[harveybirdman]

Actually, I used the Elmers stuff all the time and don't have any issues with it.

I guess if it dries completely it can work.

Using it to fill corner chips is a PITA though!

[yotsuya]

Actually, I used the Elmers stuff all the time and don't have any issues with it.

I guess if it dries completely it can work.

Using it to fill corner chips is a PITA!

I do it in layers so I never have thick chunks that I need to dry. Reduces cracking.

[BGoulette]

I use something called M/H ready patch, and that stuff fills nice, dries nice and hard, and sands awesome.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk

[stavros693000]

regarding your slot cutting slip up, you could try what other suggested...bogging and re-cutting...............or just use adhesive and tape the t-mould until the glue dries. its only near the corner in 1 spot right? so mallet the rest in and just have that one little mistake glued in, youll never tell the difference.
that what I would do, because its the quickest fix solution ,but that's me..lazy, corner cutter 

[deezdrama]

Ya... its just that top edge on the cab and about an 8" spot on the front of the cp.
I was going to just glue the t molding on in those areas but went ahead and filled those 2 spots with filler.

I dont think the elmer filler will hold but we will see.

[deezdrama]

It slotted out ok.... not great but better than it was. Im just worried when I go to pound the t molding in - it will crumble.


Got the cp and cab screw holes filled in too. Still need to get my tv in there to measure for the boards that will hold the glass in.

How far from the screen should my tinted piece of glass sit?

[ChanceKJ]

How far from the screen should my tinted piece of glass sit?

Theres no "rule of Thumb" here. just do what fits.

Also, pro tip, use a bit of black electrical tape to cover any little power or status LED's on the TV, but make sure you don't cover the remote IR sensor!

[deezdrama]

Thanks...

Need to order t molding...
I planned on going with light blue t molding.... i need 22' but see they come in 20' rolls.... that gave me the idea to do the sub zero side blue and the scorpion side yellow... and the cp half and half.

I dont know if this would look bad and if I should just go all blue... any opinions?

[vwalbridge]

that gave me the idea to do the sub zero side blue and the scorpion side yellow... and the cp half and half.
I dont know if this would look bad and if I should just go all blue... any opinions?

I think this is one of those ideas that sounds good on paper but wouldn't look good in reality. So speaking of "rule of thumb"...I think there is one when it comes to making a cab that looks like it can't make up it's own mind. Sucks you would have to buy extra rolls of t-molding but it is one of the lesser expenses.

[deezdrama]

Yeah... thats why I asked. Seems like it might look good but would be offbalance and might end up hating it.
But... Im wondering if I just went all light blue- that the blue t molding on the scorpion side would clash and look out of place.

I could go black but thats not very exciting... theres always chrome but not sure if I want this cab "blinged out" hehe......
which leads me back to the half/half idea again 

Wanted to get the molding ordered today but might hold off untill its painted and think this through.


Im still undecided on buttons and that will be a factor too.
Planned on blue/yellow paradise led's just hooked up to 12v for price / simplicity sake.
But those electric ice 2 rgb buttons look awesome.... it would add to the cost and make the build more complicated but they do look sweet..... If I went with those...then could maybe go with white t molding

[vwalbridge]

Wanted to get the molding ordered today but might hold off untill its painted and think this through.

+1 Wait until your cab is painted. Patience is the #1 rule when building your cab. Your future self will thank you.

Get your cab painted and order some free samples to play with here.

[deezdrama]

Ya sounds like a plan.


Heres my next dilema...
I was going to skip on coin doors but decided I need to use them for that true arcade feel.

My vendetta 4p cab has two dual over under doors mounted side by side.
I was going to sell this cab but decided to keep it for the coin doors.

Problem is... one of the mechs isnt working and have not had time to investigate why, not a huge deal but the bigger issue is -
I need to have room in the bottom of my cab for the coin door/doors, a mid tower pc, and a subwoofer.

This has me thinking about just installing one of the vendettas dual coin doors.

How silly would it be to only have a 2 player coin door on a 4p cab?
I guess it would work ok for demonstrating the ability to eat quarters on any 2p games.Or maybe could wire up 2 players coin in buttons to each of the 2 switches on the coin door.

Would you guys try to cram all 4 in the cab, just go with a single 2p door, or just pass on the coin doors?

[deezdrama]

Well... I got one door out. I think im just going to go with on of these dual mech doors.
I wont be using quarters much but will be cool to demonstrate it on 2 player games at least.

I bought a 1" top bearing clone router bit and planned on using that but have no idea how to go about it.
I guess I would need to build a guide fence frame.... sounds easier to just bust out the skillsaw since I can cut straight lines and could just hole saw the corner radiuses first..... we will see.

I have no idea if these mechs work. When it was in the vendetta cab I just flicked the quarter bar on the switches with my fingers.
The coin release buttons - springs get stuck back when the buttons depressed... maybee they just need cleaned/oiled?
Do they make drop in replacement switches for these? What about coin return buttons?
Would like blue or yellow.
Maybe I should call Coin Controls Inc hotline for help? (See pic to explain my bad attempt at humor)lol

[deezdrama]

Ok.... I can figure out all my previous questions but really need help with this one....

I plan on getting the utrak trackball and from as far as I can tell it states it needs 2" of bottom clearance.

well because of the way I had to build my cp to get the angle I wanted... I only have about 1 3/4" clearance at the bottom of my cp.

In the second pic ...the screw is in my punched guide hole for where the center of the hole will be for the trackball.... i measured over parralel to that where a button hole is and I have 1 7/8" clearance.

I dont know how far down the back base of the utrack extends from center but wondering if I should move my trackball up on the cp an inch or two to get more clearance and then just adjust for this the best i can in photoshop for my cp overlay?

I probably will need to remove some material up to a half an inch on the bottom inside of my cp box. I wont be able to get a router in there due to the bottom board of the cp box being there. I could cut out a square area from the bottom of the cp box and cover it by screwing a piece of thin gauge aluminum sheet over the hole but that wont be pretty.

Easiest solution for me would be to sand that area out with sanding resin pads on my grinder but that might be even less pretty when looking inside my cp box.

What would you guys do?

[Slippyblade]

While it's nice to have the inside all pretty, I'm a firm believer in "Make it work".  YOU are the only person who will be inside your CP, so if it needs to look ugly to make it work...  so be it.

[JDFan]

Get a chisel and hammer and it should make quick work of removing the amount of material you need to and should look decent !! Figure a 3 pc. set of chisels is less than $10 at Walmart !

[deezdrama]

Get a chisel and hammer and it should make quick work of removing the amount of material you need to and should look decent !! Figure a 3 pc. set of chisels is less than $10 at Walmart !

Hmmmm.... never tried chisels on plywood.... might actually remove layers easier.

I have some... might try it on some scrap.... thanks for the idea!

[deezdrama]

Got another 12 hours and 12 beers in today.... sure doesnt seem like i got much done 

Got the coin door cut out ... man - if this coin door would of been 1/8" taller it wouldnt of fit.
Just barely squeezed it in between the bottom of the cab and middle shelf.

After that... glued/screwed/filled the front coin door panel in.

Then I test fit the 32" monitor and positioned my guide boards that will hold the tempered tinted glass.

The last major obstacle was fitting a 2" thick u-trak under a 1 1/2" cp.

I mocked up a 2" thick wooden block using ultramarks dimensions for the utrak and mounted it under the cp... I quickly realized I would have to move it up a bit if I ever planned on fitting the u-trak under the cp.
.
I moved the trackball hole up 1" and drilled a pilot hole, I then screwed the utrak mockup under the cp and outlined the utrak base on the bottom of the cp box with a pencil threw the button holes.

After I had the U-trak base outlined and knew where to remove material... It took about 3 hours of chiseling... then busted out the grinder,dremel,drill with sanding flapwheel. Took forever ...but I have clearance now for the trackball. Looks a little shoddy but I think will be decent once painted.

The last thing needed done was to hole saw the hole for the trackball. The dang arbor that I got is too small and will have to pick up a bigger one tomorrow so i can drill out the hole ... then I will FINALLY be ready for sanding...painting.

[deezdrama]

Anyone know of blue or yellow coin reject buttons for wells gardner/ coin control buttons?

All I can find are red

If reds all thats available is there any methods anyone has found to paint them or use colored led's to change the color?

[deezdrama]

Found yellow lime reject buttons!!! 
check out this thread if anyone is interested http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=147086.new;topicseen#new
(still wont know 100% that they will work untill they arrive)

Then ordered some yellow led's for the coin rejects....and some color changing led's to play with on them....

Got 5 locks in the mail, 2 for the coin doors , 1 for the keyboard/mouse door, and one to lock my control panel down (wont be able to stick hand up from below due to keyboard slide out tray)




Was at lowes today for a new door...
While there I decided to get some 2.5" castors to replace the 2"ers.

My arbor for the 83mm hole saw came in the mail today and got my cp trackball hole drilled out.

Then spent about 6 hours sanding the cab and parts to get ready for paint.
Swept up and took everything outside to blow off with the air compressor.

8 cans of painters touch semi-gloss got a single coat on almost everything.... ran out halfway on the last panel (rear panel) also... my CP isnt painted yet untill I decide on if im running non led sanwa jlf's or paradise arcade led joysticks (anyone know if the jlf and paradise led sticks have the same bolt mounting pattern?) 

I sanded as much as I could.... after one coat of semi gloss rustolieum painters touch is looks very blotchy. 



***************************
Please help.....   

I have satin clear coat.... but should my second coat of black be semi gloss...or should I swap over to flat?

Should I fine sand between black coats or just wait and fine sand before clear coating?

How smooth does the sides need to be for vinyl art to stick well? I was going to just leave a single coat on sides since artwork will cover them but after the first coat it still feels a little rough.

[ChanceKJ]

Base coat, sand, base coat, sand, main coat, sand, main coat, sand, main coat, varnish, varnish

That's my process, did it with rattle cans. Used grey base coat, matte black for the main coat, and a satin varnish for the finish. Sanding started as a heavy grit at first and getting finer each step after, going slow after the paint cured and using tack cloths to wipe the sanding dust after. Didn't sand the last coat, added two even coats of varnish at the end.  All told a couple dozen cans, (32 I think... Don't remember but it's in my thread). All said and done, I estimated my paint job coat well over $400CDN in supplies, plus time, not sure if that counts my paint booth.   I wanted the best finish I could. It was my first attempt at doing this, like ever, but I took the time and money to research and do it to my standards.

You could go cheap and roll on. I'm very happy with my finish. Wouldn't change a thing.

Your art will stick better the more glossy it is, but you shouldn't have issues of you just get a decently smooth and clean surface.