TobiKomi Scratch Build - -7/20/2021 - 100% Complete

[ChanceKJ]

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[wp34]

I'd love to but that monitor is a mess. Needs a cap kit and has horrible burn in.  If I end up restoring that cabinet I'll need to do something with it.

[ChanceKJ]

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[ChanceKJ]

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[wp34]

Think you could retrofit that 20EZ frame onto your new tube and Chassis?

That might be a good idea.  It will depend on what I end up doing with the RBI baseball.  Right now I'm trying to leave it playable in case I decide to just sell it.

Here is the monitor that is going in my Q*Bert.  I'd like to find a frame like it for this build.

[ChanceKJ]

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[wp34]

I'm going to put an LCD in it for now.  This way I can finish the cabinet and look for better options in the spring.  Worst case I think my father-in-law can weld me a smaller frame.  I've also got another burn-free monitor that needs a cap kit that might be a better option that this NOS one.

I played around with HLSL settings in Mame a little today but didn't care for what I saw.  Granted I didn't spend a ton of time tweaking the settings.  Using CraftyMech's scan line generator seemed to be a better option.  My daughter gave her seal of approval after seeing the SLG in action.  She was kind of amazed that someone would make such a thing.  To help her decide I set up the LCD next to my dedicated Galaga so she could compare the two.  The Galaga of course looked much better but the LCD will do for now.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Good call on the SLG. That thing is great!

[ChanceKJ]

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[wp34]

Thanks guys.  The SLG really is an amazing little piece of hardware.  My daughter's reaction to it was priceless.

[vwalbridge]

Hey wp34, couple questions:

1. What make/model SLG are you using?

2. What resolution are you running the SLG in? 640x480 or 1024x768   (I think 640x480 is preferred right?)

3. Could I bother you for a picture of the LCD screen with the SLG running? Curious how it looks.

[wp34]

Hey wp34, couple questions:

1. What make/model SLG are you using?

2. What resolution are you running the SLG in? 640x480 or 1024x768   (I think 640x480 is preferred right?)

3. Could I bother you for a picture of the LCD screen with the SLG running? Curious how it looks.

I'm using the Mini SLG.  I'm running it in 1024x768.  With my current driver I can't get down to 640 so I haven't tried that yet.

I had some trouble getting clear pictures but here are the best of the lot.

Before


After

[vwalbridge]

Thanks for the info. The SLG looks very nice. 

[wp34]

Several of my cabinets have casters and I find it really convenient.   Even though this is not "standard" on a Nintendo cabinet I am giving them a try. 







I was worried the front casters would be too close together and make the cabinet unstable.  So far (on even concrete) they work great.  We shall see how it works on carpet.

[wp34]

If you don't already have a T-bevel I highly recommend picking one up.  They are so choice.  I used one to copy all of the odd angles on a Nintendo cabinet. 



You can copy an angle by laying it against the board you are copying.


Then use the T-bevel to set the angle on your saw. 


I used it to help make the cuts on all of these odd ball piece as well as the marquee area.

[harveybirdman]

Very nice! I got's to get me one of those.

Looking forward to seeing this one alive and kicking!

[johnrt]

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

[wp34]

Thanks guys.  I made a lot of progress this week but am behind posting.

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

I didn't know it either until I started messing around with my cabinet.  My original plan was to try and use a spiral flush trim routing bit to copy the speaker grill but that attempt failed miserably.

[wp34]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.



It fits a touch too snugly so I may trim it a blade length.  Once there is paint on it I'm afraid it will not fit.

[johnrt]

Thanks guys.  I made a lot of progress this week but am behind posting.

I didn't know that the control panel part could be detached like that. Nice work btw! 

I didn't know it either until I started messing around with my cabinet.  My original plan was to try and use a spiral flush trim routing bit to copy the speaker grill but that attempt failed miserably.

I wish I knew this. I have glued everything in that area!

[johnrt]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.

I totally agree. And it's on the back. There's not a soul on this planet who could care less about that back door.... maybe except for Chance... 

[wp34]

The back door is done.  I really don't care too much for the original Nintendo door so I improvised.  It is just a square piece of 3/4 plywood with no rabbit joints.  For the vents I just used the same pattern I used for the top of the cabinet.

I totally agree. And it's on the back. There's not a soul on this planet who could care less about that back door.... maybe except for Chance... 

Ha Ha!  True dat.

[wp34]

Since I'd like to put an arcade monitor in here eventually I decided to build a "frame" for the LCD and use the same monitor shelf I plan to use for the CRT.  That should hopefully make it easier to swap out in the future.

Similar to what I did on my Pac Man build I used the case to drill out the vesa-mount holes.


Using the Kreg jig it was pretty simple to throw together quickly.






I put a little lip on the front so it can rest at the top of the shelf. 

[ChanceKJ]

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[wp34]

nice monitor mount! Brilliant.

I loves my T-bevel. Best tool I own.

Thanks Chance.   

[wp34]

I found a 2x4 sheet of I-dunno-what at Menards for $10.  It looks like wood paneling on one side and a nice satiny black on the other.  Seems like a great option for a bezel.

Since I'm using the same type of monitor I used for my Pac Man cocktail I used the template from that project to route the opening. 





My daughter touched up the inside edge with a black paint pen.






For $10 I'm happy with it.

[wp34]

Felix is in the house!  There is nothing more exciting in this hobby than getting a new cabinet into the basement. 



Now on to the paint. 

[wp34]

Since zinger found laminate that matches the DK blue we decided to go that direction instead of painting. 

So that means pulling the cabinet back out of the basement.  A great side benefit is that I can now spray the black trim which is not something I was going to try in my basement.

Using a Kreg jig meant I could partially disassemble the cabinet to remove the front panel.  I could have applied the laminate with it still installed but it will go much easier this way. 



I did have to remove part of the bottom skirting to get at the Kreg screws but that's okay.


The coin mechs have been sand blasted and painted.  They may get replaced with new ones if I don't like the results.


The inside of the back door has been painted black.  It isn't perfect but it is the inside of the back door so it will be fine.  Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

[vwalbridge]

Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

Aint that that truth man. Never seen a very clean looking Nintendo door.

Looking real nice. Enjoying your progress. 

[wp34]

Thanks vwalbridge.  I considered laminating the door briefly before I came to my senses.

Also Nintendo back doors aren't all that nice looking anyway.

Aint that that truth man. Never seen a very clean looking Nintendo door.

Looking real nice. Enjoying your progress. 

[zinger]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

[wp34]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

I ordered them yesterday but they were down to one sheet so shipping will be delayed a week.  I wonder who cleaned them out? 

[zinger]

Awesome, I'm excited to see this! Do you already have the laminate or have you ordered it yet?

I may steal your LCD mount design. I'm interested in a Sanyo 20EZ if I could find one cheap enough. So will use an LCD for now and then switch later if I can find one.

I ordered them yesterday but they were down to one sheet so shipping will be delayed a week.  I wonder who cleaned them out? 

Hmmm... I recall they told me they had around 10 in their warehouse.

I read through this build and its really good! I definitely need to buy a T-bevel. I used trig to figure out the angles and it didn't come out to a clean number. My answer was between 14-15 degrees. I chose 15 and found that it was actually closer to 14 but you can't really tell the difference.

[wp34]

Thanks zinger.  The cuts on your build turned out great the way you did them.  I like that you used multiple passes instead of a dado.  I've got a dado stack but for tricky cuts like that lower bezel/cp bracket I feel like multiple passes gives me more control.

[zinger]

I almost bought a dado stack just for that cut but decided it was too expensive. My original budget was $500 and was trying to save money. I was naive then.

[wp34]

I was able to get the inside and top primed over the weekend but it has either been windy or rainy since then---when I've had time to paint anyway.   Hopefully I can get a couple of coats of black sprayed tonight.

[bplail]

which kreg jig do you have? ive been looking for an excuse to buy one for ages! wish i did my build with pocket holes now. would have made life alot easier.
build is coming along nicely though!

[wp34]

I have the Kreg K4.  The K5 had just come out when I bought mine and I decided on the K4 after reading some mixed reviews for the K5.  YMMV though.

I'm real happy with the K4 and have used it on several projects.  Since the K4 doesn't have the "wings" of the K5 I use Bench Dog "cookies" to support my workpiece. 

[wp34]

The black might be done.  I was painting until dark tonight and will know for sure tomorrow when I can check in the light.  Since the sides will be laminated I'm not bothering with taping anything off except the marquee area.  I'm going to leave that white.





And here are some ducks that came to help.

[vwalbridge]

This build is looking ducking good man! 

EDIT:

It's a sign...you need to make it a duck hunt machine.