My second build : Pinup. Finished. Now with plans.

[yamatetsu]

I was browsing for arcade cabs and found this one :



I like the shape, so I'm going to build my version of it. Mine will be slightly bigger since I'm going to use a 20" monitor versus the 17" one used in his cab.

I will be using 'birch multiplex' wood (that's what it's called in Germany anyway) and black acrylic. The concept goes like this :









The pinups will be done using the 'inkjet to wood' technique, the dark shapes will be done using a dark stain.

This is going to be a vertical cab with a 20" 4:3 monitor.

Right now I'm waiting for the wood. I have given the sheet to a carpenter to get some boards cut out of it, so far he has promised to have it done yesterday, today, and now friday.
I'm also waiting for good weather, it has been raining cats and dogs all week long.



Some final pics, more at the end of the thread.

















Plans and measurements can be found here. 

[harveybirdman]

sweet concept!  Any way to make the ladies bigger?  Or are you limited with printer size?

[emphatic]

Nice concept!

[yamatetsu]

sweet concept!  Any way to make the ladies bigger?  Or are you limited with printer size?

Unfortunately I am pretty much limited to A4 size. I believe the printer could go a teensy bit bigger, but I have to print on paper that doesn't absorb the ink, and that will probably be hard to find bigger than A4 size.

[harveybirdman]

In that case have you considered placement in the top corner or nearer to the CP?


It's freaking cool either way, just spitballin.... 

[yotsuya]

Glad to see it looks like you're doing it as a single player cabinet. I'm not sure how well that would work as a two player.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

[yotsuya]

In that case have you considered placement in the top corner or nearer to the CP?


It's freaking cool either way, just spitballin.... 

I agree with James, put them in the corners, otherwise there's too much empty space around them and it looks unfinished.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

[yamatetsu]

   

   

I think the ones in the middle look best.

I agree with James, put them in the corners, otherwise there's too much empty space around them and it looks unfinished.

I'm planning to stain the wood a bit darker, so that the pinups do not stand out so much.

[yamatetsu]

Glad to see it looks like you're doing it as a single player cabinet. I'm not sure how well that would work as a two player.

Yep, I think pbj once said that it's 99.9% single player, so I figured that I might as well make the controls comfortable for me.

[JDFan]

I think the ones in the middle look best.

I agree with James, put them in the corners, otherwise there's too much empty space around them and it looks unfinished.

I'm planning to stain the wood a bit darker, so that the pinups do not stand out so much.

THink he meant more like this location wise

[harveybirdman]

Thanks for that yeah...

Though I like the one in the upper back as well....

Matter of opinion really, no one is going to look at this when complete an say.... meh the pinup could be in a more aesthetically pleasing location.... They'll be all, "Does it play Galaga?"

[yamatetsu]

Hmmm. That doesn't work for me at all. I don't know why, but at that position it just looks like a randomly slapped on sticker to me.

Now I'm torn between placing them a bit higher but still centrally and placing them in the upper corner. Shapewise they would fit into the corner, but it would lead the eye to the corner instead of the whole side. Placing them centrally would lead the focus at least more to the side's upper half, but then they just kind of float there.

I'll have to experiment with the staining, I hope to be able to darken the wood so that the girls do not stand out so much, maybe even to the point that you only see them at the second glance. That would make the placement less of an issue. 

[harveybirdman]

Play around with reversing image maybe? Make sure they are at least mirrored ( with all due respect to edoking)

I love where JDFan put it, but I think we can all agree we're excited to see where this goes regardless of where you decide to place the pinup.

Nevermind on the mirror I see now you already have it properly done.

[yotsuya]

See, and I think that small smack dab in the middle it leaves too much negative space. At least in the corner looks like a style choice.

Your cab, of course.

Sent from my SM-G386T using Tapatalk

[JDFan]

One of the reasons I like the front placement is if the machine is set next to something else (ie. another machine, or a wall) you will be more likely to be able to still see them rather than having them covered up. 

Also I would probably use a router and actually cut the inner outline into the cab and then stain darker than the rest of the side. 

[yamatetsu]

One of the reasons I like the front placement is if the machine is set next to something else (ie. another machine, or a wall) you will be more likely to be able to still see them rather than having them covered up. 

I simply do not like that placement. I would rather not being able to look at something that I like than being able to look at something that just does not look right to me.

Also I would probably use a router and actually cut the inner outline into the cab and then stain darker than the rest of the side. 

I would actually do that, but I do not have a router. I just own some basic tools, i.e. a jigsaw, a drill and a palm sander, so I am a bit limited in what I can do.

I will use a darker stain on the outlines, so that the wood grain is still visible.

[Kier]

Just a thought on the inkjet printing. I believe they do make special paper for it. But I have also heard of people using wax paper. I once messed around a little with it using the backing for avery sticker sheets and it worked quite well.

Regarding location - I like the middle version the best. The front the 2nd best.

Nice concept.

[rablack97]

Is it me or is nobody seeing laser etched instead of decal?

[yamatetsu]

Is it me or is nobody seeing laser etched instead of decal?

Decal ? The pics will be mirrored, printed onto the backing of sticker sheets and then pressed onto the wood so that the ink is transferred to the wood. The pic will not be transferred completely, which gives it a kind of retro vibe.

Here's one I made a while ago.

Just a thought on the inkjet printing. I believe they do make special paper for it. But I have also heard of people using wax paper. I once messed around a little with it using the backing for avery sticker sheets and it worked quite well.

I will stick to the sticker sheets, I don't want the pics to be crisp and clear, I'm looking for a kind of old photo look.

[Vidiot]

Just wanted to comment and subscribe. I love this concept. Cant wait to see how she turns out!

[wp34]

That is a really great design.  Reminds me of a combination between a "lowboy" and a cabaret but much more aesthetically pleasing.  Is  'birch multiplex' a type of plywood?

[leapinlew]

This is pretty much an anti-bartop design. Like, it's the bottom half of the cabinet and a bartop is the top half.

[yamatetsu]

That is a really great design.  Reminds me of a combination between a "lowboy" and a cabaret but much more aesthetically pleasing.  Is  'birch multiplex' a type of plywood?

It seems to be. From what I have read, it has a minimum thickness of 12 mm (a bit less than a half inch) and consists of at least 5 layers of equal thickness. In contrast to plywood they use a different way to glue those layers together, but don't ask me what that difference is. No idea. It looks like this.

[yamatetsu]

Yay ! I got my wood today !

I'm going to have a problem using both ink and stain : If I stain the wood first, it won't take the ink after that. If I put the pic on the wood first and stain it, the stain will destroy the pic. So I figured that I will have to put the pic onto the wood first and then do something to it that seals the wood and prevents it from taking the stain.

I took a scrap piece of wood and transferred the pic onto it. Then I printed the pic a second time, cut it out, put double tape onto the back of the 'frame' and put the frame onto the pic on the wood. Having now that masked everything off but the pic, I used a type of beeswax on the pic to hopefully seal it.
I also put three strips of frogtape on the wood to form a rectangle, this was to test whether I can use frogtape to mask the stain.

I then used a brush to apply the stain and wiped the excess off. Just a rush job to see whether it works or not.

This is the pic :



This is the result :



As usual, the camera does not get the colors right. The pic took a bit of stain but is still recognizable. As you can see in the upper left corner, frogtape works.
Next time I will try spraying the pic with colorless matte lacquer, that will hopefully seal it off better.

[yamatetsu]

The sides are cut.

[JudgeRob]

I thought you weren't going to do a second build? 

I wish the images were bigger.  If it is going to look retro and kind of "grainy" anyway, can't you print smaller parts and join them together?  The seams might not even be noticable.  I like the look and technique.  Very cool.

[yamatetsu]

I thought you weren't going to do a second build? 

Heh. I have resisted for a long time 

I wish the images were bigger.  If it is going to look retro and kind of "grainy" anyway, can't you print smaller parts and join them together?  The seams might not even be noticable.

I have done a tiled test print on 4 A4 pages. The pics look good even at that size, but transferring them on the wood getting a good result is simply impossible. When I print tiles, I get a border of 4mm on each page that has to be cut off. Aligning a ruler to the exact border of the print and cutting that wobbly 'paper' with a scalpel is challenging. If the rules touches the ink, you ruin the print. If you somehow manage to cut 4 prints without messing them up, you have to flip them over and put them onto the wood, aligning them without seeing the picture. That is pretty much impossible.

I came up with the idea to doubletape the prints on a piece of cardboard first, which at least allows you to align them while seeing the picture. I made the mistake of using thick cardboard, which led to the ink only being partially transferred.



I probably would get a much better result if I used thin cardboard paper. But if you look at the picture, you will notice the vertical white line. That is the seam. Now imagine the pics being perfect and still having that seam. It just doesn't work.

[Kier]

Have you tried wax paper? You could custom cut it, spray adhesive to what ever size paper or cardstock you need for backing so it doesnt wrinkle when you print on it.

I have never used wax paper for it, but I read it would work.

[yamatetsu]

The paper is not the problem. The backing of sticker sheets is nearly perfect for this, but I'm limited to A4 size by my printer. To get a bigger size, I would have to do a tiled print, cut off the borders without messing up the ink, somehow align them perfectly (ain't gonna happen) and then I still would get clearly visible seams.

So I'm going to stick with A4 size. Right now I'm experimenting on how to transfer the pics first, then protect them from getting wiped out by the stain. Masking everything but the picture off and giving it a generous coat of clear spray lacquer, letting that dry for a day and then staining it seems to work.

[Kier]

Got ya.

I just bought a 11x17 inkjet for just those few projects that A4 wouldnt be enough. I waited 2 years but found 1 at Staples for $56 I think it was.

Good Luck. I think its a great idea. Will look sharp when you figure it out.

[ppv]

Different process to transfer image to wood, bit more involved though.
But, it uses laser printing, so you could use an oversized printout from staples...

[yamatetsu]

Change of plans.

I found out that this lady looks horrible when printed in A4 size, the pic is too low quality.



So her replacement will be this lady :



The white areas between the chair legs will be hard to mask off, but I believe the result will well be worth it.

Different process to transfer image to wood, bit more involved though.
But, it uses laser printing, so you could use an oversized printout from staples...

I'm from Germany, I don't believe that there is someting like staples in my area. I'm comfortable with the A4 size, so I'll stick with that.

Staining.

I have been merrily staining away and have learned a few things.

- While you can put on the next layer after 3 to 5 hours, it takes 8 days for the stuff to fully cure. This sucks.

- If you buy two cans of stain, always check if it is indeed the same color tone. I bought a 250ml can and a 750ml can, same manufacturer, same color, but the stain from the small can is noticeably darker. I found that out the hard way after having done 3 layers on the inside of the cab's right side with stain from the small can and then having done the left side's inside with the stain from the large can. Sanding down 3 layers of stain to the bare wood sucks. Staining it again sucks.

- It is a very good idea to tape off the wood's edge when staining. The excess stain WILL run down the edge and onto the wood's other side.

So far I have finished two small pieces of wood and the inside of the cab's left side. The right inside needs two additional layers. I will let the left side dry for a day, then I'll put the pic on it.

[ppv]

I'm from Germany, I don't believe that there is someting like staples in my area. I'm comfortable with the A4 size, so I'll stick with that.

  Do what works for you! Love the cab line and the design BTW. Very unique!

[pbj]

I kind of liked the seam.  Gave it that old billboard look.

[yotsuya]

I kind of would like to see what it looks like stained with all the lines and no pin-up art.

[yamatetsu]

I kind of liked the seam.  Gave it that old billboard look.

Imagine a clear, crisp image divided by uneven horizontal and vertical seams. That probably won't look good. Also, I'm too chicken to try that, this has to work first try.

I kind of would like to see what it looks like stained with all the lines and no pin-up art.

That's impossible. It goes picture -> stain -> lines. If the wood is stained first, it doesn't take the ink any more. I can do the dark checker board pattern on the front piece which is already stained and show you that, but that's probably not what you have in mind.

[yotsuya]

So it is. Well, enjoy the process.

[BigCurtis]

To overcome the problem with using the multi-page layout issue, you might be able to get a large piece of poster paper (large enough for your full image and then some), then, only cutting off the edges which would overlap another tile, tape the first printed inkjet piece down to the cardboard using the remaining margin edges. For the next piece, only cut off the edges which overlap, and tape it down (using remaining edges), do the next the same and so on, until you have them all laying there flat, aligned "perfectly", taped down to the poster paper. If you try to go 3x3 tile wise or larger, the inner pieces will need to retian their sides, and outer pieces will overlap the "dead zone".

Another quick trick - instead of trying to print & cut to exact edges, have the art on your tiles overlap enough to offset any sloppy printing, you can still line up the image without having to be the worlds best scissor handler.

Anyway, then you would lay the side panel onto the image (this part will remain tricky and in need of a skilled eye, I wouldn't try it will a full cab, but a cabaret side and smaller I would), and finally tape the whole poster paper contraption to the wood from the underside (use a few boards like mini-saw horses to elevate the poster paper and slip some tape under) so it's very firmly in place, then carefully flip the whole thing and do your image rub down.

Thickness of poster paper "support" layer will impact how easy/well you can rub the image, and the thickness of what you're printing on will determine how well overlapping works.

One final thought, you can also print on to transparency paper so you can see the image from both sides, and then you can try aligning from "the top". Again, having the art on the tiles overlap will help avoid gaps/misalignment.

[yamatetsu]

To overcome the problem with using the multi-page layout issue, you might be able to get a large piece of poster paper (large enough for your full image and then some), then, only cutting off the edges which would overlap another tile, tape the first printed inkjet piece down to the cardboard using the remaining margin edges. For the next piece, only cut off the edges which overlap, and tape it down (using remaining edges), do the next the same and so on, until you have them all laying there flat, aligned "perfectly", taped down to the poster paper.

That's exactly what I did, and it didn't work. I think that due to the fact that you only can tape the tiles on three sides, they have leeway to move vertically a bit when you rub the poster paper, causing the seam to appear.

Anyway, then you would lay the side panel onto the image (this part will remain tricky and in need of a skilled eye, I wouldn't try it will a full cab, but a cabaret side and smaller I would), and finally tape the whole poster paper contraption to the wood from the underside (use a few boards like mini-saw horses to elevate the poster paper and slip some tape under) so it's very firmly in place, then carefully flip the whole thing and do your image rub down.

That side panel is approx. 27" x 46.5" and irregularly shaped. Trying to lay that onto the image without seeing it and hoping to hit the perfect position sounds like a bit of a stretch to me, especially when doing it for the first time. I won't risk ruining the panel doing something that just might work, but probably won't.

Status update :

So far I have done 7 test prints with smaller pics, all 7 were perfectly transferred to the wood, the last two not only survived the staining but also look pretty good.
So today I printed the marquee pic, transferred it to the wood, and of course the wood didn't take all the ink     I just love this.

[BigCurtis]

Have you looked into the wood-burning route? There's a similar technique using toner-based prints (i.e. laser-printer/copier) images and a wood burning tool. Being laser-printed, you don't have the smudge danger with the inkjet method, and the end result seems in-line with the style you're going for (though some experimentation may still be necessary to get the final result you want).

A quick writeup google found for me: http://www.maidendshade.com/2011/11/how-to-transfer-images-with-wood.html

Concept is the same, except you're using the flat heating tool to re-heat the toner and transfer it from paper to wood.

[yamatetsu]

Frankly, I'm quite fed up with experimenting right now. I'll sand down the marquee and try again.

To make things more interesting, another problem has come up. I have stained the front piece (custom made by a carpenter), it looks gorgeous. Since it's going to have a checker board pattern done in a darker stain at the bottom, I masked the pattern off and applied the stain. Which didn't work. The stain looks to be almost black, but when applied to the lighter stain, if becomes a light grey, if it sticks at all. In some places, it became almost pitch black. So there is no way to get an even finish and unless I find a way to completely remove the stain, a custom made piece of wood is ruined.

I will try now applying the dark stain first, then putting the light stain on top of it (this time on a test piece). Hopefully the dark areas will be sated to the point that the lighter stain doesn't do anything to them. If this also fails, I will be forced to use a combination of stain and paint, which is something I want to avoid.

[PL1]

If you really want to go overboard, build a Mostly Printed CNC with a laser.   




Scott

[yamatetsu]

Now that seems like an easy-to-do, affordable home solution. But I would build it using a laser that can switch the color of it's light beam, so that the pic is in color. I also wonder if one could turn up the laser's power several notches so that while doing the picture the cabinet side is lasered out, too.
'My cabinet has been CNC'ed.' 'Bah, mine has been lasered.'

[PL1]

I would build it using a laser that can switch the color of it's light beam, so that the pic is in color.

Yeah . . . that's not a thing.   

I also wonder if one could turn up the laser's power several notches so that while doing the picture the cabinet side is lasered out, too.
'My cabinet has been CNC'ed.' 'Bah, mine has been lasered.'

You'll need a WAY more powerful laser for that, but you can do a micro build with a 2.8W laser.
https://jtechphotonics.com/?page_id=1177

The 2.8W laser is just powerful enough to get through some thin plywood.  Customers have demonstrated cutting up to 3mm ply sheets, but you might be doing a lot of passes to get through it.

Bonus round: Looks like at least one arcade fan has been playing with laser-engraving leather.   



Scott

[yamatetsu]

Staining round two.

I have finished the test piece that I only stained with a dark stain checker board pattern. The result is truly beautiful. That stuff bleeds like heck despite using my trusty frog tape.



This is my once beautiful front piece.



So screw this staining stuff for the outlines & patterns, I'm going with paint now.

[Buick455]

Just thought of this..
https://www.amazon.com/Minwax-32716-11-5-Ounce-Finish-Aerosol/dp/B0009XB4LW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1466856022&sr=8-2&keywords=interior+wood+stain+spray

Maybe in thin coats it wont bleed as much under the masking.

[yamatetsu]

This seems to be a kind of stain. I figure that if my wood is saturated, chances are good that it won't take this stuff either. I'll do a test piece using paint to see if that works better.

[JDFan]

This seems to be a kind of stain. I figure that if my wood is saturated, chances are good that it won't take this stuff either. I'll do a test piece using paint to see if that works better.

Were you around when LT did his Mario Pedestal ?? Could always do the checkerboard pattern outline like he did with the blocks (or dremel out one of the colors of squares to give it a 3d look) and then either paint or stain between the cuts.

Only pic I could find since LT took down all his posts

[yamatetsu]

This worked on LT's pedestal because he didn't color the squares and because he used a black marker to color the grooves. Had he done that using paint, he would have had to mask the squares.

When staining, you have to use more stain than you need, let it dry a bit, and then wipe the excess off. You can't do that with pinpoint accuracy. So even if you do a groove to separate the squares, you'd still have to prevent the stain from spilling into the groove. If you stain the groove too, the stain mustn't get on the 'white' squares, so you'd have to mask those.

When cutting the squares out, I deliberately used more pressure than necessary to create a cut into the wood. I hoped that that would prevent the bleeding, but it didn't. If you look at the picture of the front piece, you'll notice that every square has a black outline, that's from the cuts. But the stain still managed to overcome them 

[leapinlew]

You could cut small squares out, stain them, and then glue them on.

[yamatetsu]

You could cut small squares out, stain them, and then glue them on.

Cut them out of what ? Also keep in mind that it's not just a few squares, you'd have to cut out every dark outline perfectly and then align and glue them perfectly, too. Come to think of it, the front piece and the control panel have rounded edges which also have to be colored.

[JDFan]

Could you do the checker board pattern using the same method as you are using for the pinups

[yamatetsu]

Could you do the checker board pattern using the same method as you are using for the pinups

Theoretically yes. But since I'm limited to A4 prints, I couldn't do the outlines and probably not even the bigger checker board pattern on the sides.
I will use paint and frog tape. It took me more than 6 months to get the paint job right on my last build, but at least now I have a lot of practice 

[leapinlew]

You could cut small squares out, stain them, and then glue them on.

Cut them out of what ?

I don't know... maybe use a 1" square dowel rod, put up a jig and cut them on a chop saw? I don't think it would be hard. You'd just have to decide if you wanted a 3d affect or not.

[yamatetsu]

I don't know... maybe use a 1" square dowel rod, put up a jig and cut them on a chop saw?

No chop saws here. The only saw available is a jigsaw, which isn't really suited to that kind of cutting. Also, I'd still have no means of doing the outlines.

[yamatetsu]

Update. I did the picture on the left side today. The transfer went pretty well, except for some splotches that appeared out of nowhere.



Here she is masked off, waiting for the clear lacquer coat. Cutting out those small areas between the chair legs and then doubletaping them accurately to the wood was a ---smurfette--- to do, but it worked.



This is how the left side looks now. Now I have to wait for the lacquer to dry and then it's off to the staining again.

[ppv]

Impressive, detailed work! 

[Jakobud]

One of the most interesting and original cabinet shapes I've seen.

[yamatetsu]

One of the most interesting and original cabinet shapes I've seen.

Kudos to whoever has designed that. I like it so much that I simply had to build it, even though I have no space for it.

Update

I did the two remaining ladies today. The photos suck, a single bulb in the basement doesn't make the best lighting. The camera doesn't do the colors justice. Or maybe my perception of the colors differs vastly from that of the cam. Who knows.

Anyway, this is the lady on the right side :



And the marquee :



This one I'm a bit worried about, she doesn't stand out that much and might get lost in the stain.

[BigCurtis]

To the checker pattern, you can spend a lifetime trying to stain adjacent squares different colors with pristine edges and never succeed, the nature of wood & stain specifically uses the absorptive nature of wood to pull and hold stain. Someone else mentioned cutting out squares - and that's the only way to go. However, I wouldn't try and build such a thing witth wood lumber, I would use a thin wood veneer (ex: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/131534/walnut-veneer-2-x-8-10-mil.aspx ) in the colors you desire, and then assemble any pattern, cut any racing stripes, etc. and glue to the plywood. How many of the cheap wood chessboards are made.

Good intro to veneering:
http://www.rockler.com/how-to/introduction-veneering/

[Generic Eric]

Thank you for sharing.  I can't say I've seen this style cabinet.  Where does it come from?  Does anyone have a flyer of an original game using this?

Either way, its super neat and I would enjoy knowing the dimensions and more specifically the degrees used to make the arc.

[yamatetsu]

However, I wouldn't try and build such a thing witth wood lumber, I would use a thin wood veneer (ex: http://www.woodcraft.com/product/131534/walnut-veneer-2-x-8-10-mil.aspx ) in the colors you desire, and then assemble any pattern, cut any racing stripes, etc.

Cool idea, but probably a bit too costly. I would need two sheets of 116cm x 68cm (45.67 in x 22.77 in) to do the outlines. From what I've found online, that would cost up to double of the cost for the ply, which wasn't cheap. Also the width seems to be awkward, so I might have to buy two very large sheets and end up with much of the stuff unused. This is versus the black paint which I have left over from my last build and which IMHO would be far easier to use. I think the paint wins.

Thank you for sharing.  I can't say I've seen this style cabinet.  Where does it come from?  Does anyone have a flyer of an original game using this?

Either way, its super neat and I would enjoy knowing the dimensions and more specifically the degrees used to make the arc.

I have found the cab on this spanish website : https://miniarcades.wordpress.com/category/arcade-vertical/. From what I (or rather Google translator) understand, they seem to sell those cabs custom-made. Here is a small gallery of cabs they built : https://miniarcades.wordpress.com/category/galeria-vertical/

The original dimensions are height 115cm, width 55cm, depth 60cm. Mine are 116cm x 50 cm x 68cm since I'm using a 20" monitor vertically versus the original 17" one. I'm pretty much winging it by using a real-size cardboard mockup of one cabinet side to put pieces of wood onto and then getting the dimensions.

As for the arc : I can't give you the degrees for that, I did a full scale cab side in CorelDraw, once I had determined at which height the marquee would sit I used the '3 point curve' function to make the arcs. I just clicked on the start and the end point and then moved the mouse around until the arc seemed right.
I can make a pic showing the dimensions, but it would probably be wise to wait until I have finished the cab, because I have no way of knowing if they are correct until I have assembled it.

[yamatetsu]

I have been busy staining.

The right side stained (color is, as always, way off ) :



The marquee :



And the control panel :

[yamatetsu]

The back panel.

To drill the ventilation holes, I printed a template and then used this fellow

to punch pilot holes into the wood. Then I put transparent tape over the holes to prevent splintering.

A close-up :



The backside, no tape used :



This is how the bottom and the top of the back panel will look like :



And finally a good idea which I should have thought of while staining the control panel :



When I stained the control panel, I had the excess stain running down the holes and dripping on the table. This time, I taped the underside of the holes to prevent this.


I had a slight problem concerning the back panel's width, it came out 5 mm too narrow. So I took a piece of wood 5 mm deep and used my jigsaw like a band saw to cut it to size. I glued it to the back panel. You can see where I glued it, I hope it will be less noticeable once I have stained it. It sure beats having a 2.5 mm gap on each side.

[yamatetsu]

The base.

I made the base today. Nothing special, just a piece of MDF and a few battens.



Then I took this,



cut it up



and screwed the wheels to the base.




The front panel.

The front panel is a piece of 12mm MDF onto which I doubletaped a piece of black acrylic. The speakers go behind the front panel, so I made a template for the speaker 'grill', put it onto the front panel and drilled the holes.



Since the speakers can't be mounted flush to the board, I took a small board that I had lying around and cut two crappy holes into it. Then I glued it to the back of the front panel.



Here is a mock-up of what the front panel is going to look like. The protective stuff is still on, so when finished the acrylic will look really shiny (and soon thereafter really dusty, too).

[yamatetsu]

Small progress. I tested the clear stuff that I'm going to use to protect the cab on the board that will connect the marquee and the front panel. It worked. Somewhat belatedly I decided that the power button and an USB port will go into that board instead of into the back panel, so I drilled the holes and put them in.



I also tested whether the black paint looks ok on the stain. It does. Other than that, I had fun watching the stain dry.
Come tomorrow, I may begin doing the outlines and the checker board pattern on the cab's left side.

[yamatetsu]

Painting the left side panel.

Since I didn't want to use a ruler and play connect-the-dots to mask off the outlines, I came up with this : The shape tracing device.



It works similar to a router's copy bit. It uses two wheels (old inline skate bearings) that are pushed against the panel's edge and thus follow it. The pencil is
dragged along and creates the outline on the masking tape.



On the top there a couple of holes, each of which is used for doing it's own outline.



This is the left side panel masked.



A zoom. You can see that the shape tracing device does it's job well.



Everything masked off / checker board pattern done.



First coat of paint.



This took about four hours. Can't wait to do the right side panel.

[yamatetsu]

Some finished pieces. These are stained and have 3 coats of clear protective stuff. The colors are washed out thanks to the camera.

This is the front piece. At the top you can see what is left of the damage I did with the dark stain attempt. Since this is going to be in a place where you won't see it unless you specifically look for it, it can live with it.



The marquee.



The CP.



The left side. This pic was obviously taken outside, the colors are much closer to reality in this.



And finally a shot for yotsuya. It's a bit crude, but you get the drift.

[yamatetsu]

I couldn't resist, I just had to take better pics of the CP, front piece & marquee.

[ppv]

This will be a unique piece!  Kudos on following you vision! Can't wait to see it completed.

[yamatetsu]

Kudos on following you vision! Can't wait to see it completed.

For me, that's the cool thing about building, having a picture in my mind and making it a reality. It's coming along nicely so far, but I still have two scary things to do, namely a) cutting the exact shape of the monitor screen out of a board+a layer of acrylic with a jigsaw and b) ironing on edge banding and cutting the excess off without damaging the cab. a) is very tricky to do, b) I have never done before.

There is still some painting to be done, which will take at least a week or so. It's a bit maddening doing three clear coats on one day, then having to wait three days for the stuff to cure. I have to clearcoat the insides of the cab's sides, since I lack the space to do two boards at once, this will take 7-8 days. So while I can't wait to put the thing together, a bit of patience is required.

[yamatetsu]

The right side is finished.



The bezel / monitor board.

For the bezel / monitor board I took a piece of MDF and taped a sheet of black acrylic onto it. I made a template for the monitor screen and transferred it onto the acrylic. I used a jigsaw to cut it out. It came out fairly nice.





I put in onto the monitor, aaand ... it's too big  Instead of cutting the line I should have cut inside it. So I have to fix that.

[yamatetsu]

Small update. Since the bezel turned out too big, I can't use it to cover the silver parts of the monitor. There is a small gap between the screen and the monitor casing, I didn't want to risk getting paint in there, so I decided to use tape. It turned out ok.





The bezel will cover most of that stuff, so it hopefully will not stand out too much.

[sealcouch]

Can't wait to see this come to fruition. I love weird shaped cabinets.

[yamatetsu]

Can't wait to see this come to fruition.

Me, too. Right now I'm doing the last protective clearcoats, then it's 3 days waiting for that stuff to cure. My goal is to begin assembly next weekend.

[harveybirdman]

The paint job was very well executed yam, sort of wish you used a  medium dark grey but it still epic.

[yotsuya]

The striping and checks look great,  but if I'm being honest,  I don't care for the pinups. They just look too faded in comparison to the rest of the cab.

[yamatetsu]

The paint job was very well executed yam, sort of wish you used a  medium dark grey but it still epic.

  I was bummed at first that I had to use the paint because it sure is darker than the dark stain would have been (though not by much), but it is a nice contrast to the wood color and will blend in with the black edge-banding and the black acrylic. It's a shame that I will butcher it when trying to trim the edge-banding.

The striping and checks look great,  but if I'm being honest,  I don't care for the pinups. They just look too faded in comparison to the rest of the cab.

I think the pinups turned out pretty good, they are seamlessly integrated into the wood, they look like they belong there. They may look a bit faded in comparison to the black paint, but I like the contrast. So, if you dislike the pinups but do like the rest of the cab, it's at least a partial success 

[yotsuya]

The paint job was very well executed yam, sort of wish you used a  medium dark grey but it still epic.

  I was bummed at first that I had to use the paint because it sure is darker than the dark stain would have been (though not by much), but it is a nice contrast to the wood color and will blend in with the black edge-banding and the black acrylic. It's a shame that I will butcher it when trying to trim the edge-banding.

The striping and checks look great,  but if I'm being honest,  I don't care for the pinups. They just look too faded in comparison to the rest of the cab.

I think the pinups turned out pretty good, they are seamlessly integrated into the wood, they look like they belong there. They may look a bit faded in comparison to the black paint, but I like the contrast. So, if you dislike the pinups but do like the rest of the cab, it's at least a partial success 

Yeah, I don't want it to sound like I don't like the cab. The lines and check look really sharp. It just appears to clash with the faded look of the pinups. But if you're happy with it...

Now that the cab is seemingly done, let's see under the hood!

[harveybirdman]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- he went from render to actuality in just a few weeks I'm super impressed.

 

[yotsuya]

Btw, take note: that's why Yam is a homeboy - takes feedback in stride.

[yamatetsu]

Btw, take note: that's why Yam is a homeboy - takes feedback in stride.

Officially, I take it in stride. At home, though ...



                                                           

[yotsuya]

[yamatetsu]

Blast it, I'm not even able to hit the bullseye. On a more serious note :

Now that the cab is seemingly done, let's see under the hood!

That will have to wait a bit, I still have to clearcoat one panel and then wait 3 days for it to cure. In the meantime I'll amuse myself with the monitor bezel and maybe I'll even do the CP, which undoubtedly will give me a new opportunity to take some negative feedback in stride 

[yamatetsu]

The control panel : A mockup.

I put the buttons and the joystick into the CP. I'm not in the mood for wiring the thing right now, so that will have to wait.

[rtkiii]

I like the look of the CP.  Nice Work!

[leapinlew]

What do you think of those buttons? I wanted to use them on my last cabinet, but decided I had to have concave.

You are a hyperspace and Reverse button away from a pretty accurate defender layout.

[yamatetsu]

What do you think of those buttons? I wanted to use them on my last cabinet, but decided I had to have concave.

I have no idea, to be honest. I haven't tested them yet. I originally wanted to use them in my first build, but then I changed the design and changed it again until I had a black & white cab that naturally had to have black & white buttons. So these buttons have been lying around for two years or so until I finally decided to build a cab around them. Just from laying my fingers on them and tapping around a bit, I think that concave buttons feel more natural because they sorta guide your fingertip to the center of the button, whereas you hit the UltraLux buttons wherever your fingertip happens to be. But they certainly seem to be playable.

You are a hyperspace and Reverse button away from a pretty accurate defender layout.

Heh. Funny coincidence. I just placed my fingers on the CP, marked the fingertip positions and drilled the holes. The start/coin buttons I just randomly placed on a line to the highest game button.

[yamatetsu]

Control panel wiring.

If you want to see neat wiring, go away. There is nothing here for you. You have been warned.



The left controller is a PacDrive, the right one is an I-Pac 2.

I'm surprised that wiring that thing went without a hitch. I hever never used lit buttons before and I also never have crimped a cable before. The hardest part actually was getting the LED holders into the buttons. You have to insert and then twist them until they snap into place. Unfortunately by twisting them you unscrew the button, so it's a bit tricky.

Some pics of the CP lit up. The pics do look nothing like it looks in reality, the buttons have a sort of warm orange glow. The camera disagrees.

This one was taken with flash on,



this one without flash.

[yamatetsu]

Fixed the bezel.

Since the bezel got slightly too big, I took a kind of weather strip and taped it to the bezel's inner edge. The bezel is still too big by about 1 mm, but that's good enough for me.



Edge-banding.

This was the part I was most scared of, since it's really easy to mess it up and ruin the work of weeks. From the videos I watched, it seems to me that using a chisel to trimm off the excess is the way to go. So I bought one and started practising, as I never have used a chisel before. I went through about 6-7 meters of edge-banding, using it on practically every board of scrap wood I could find. The results were lousy. The people in the vids make it look really easy, but if you never have used a chisel before, forget it.
So though everyone will tell you not to use a knife for this, I did. Boy, that made a huge difference. I didn't cut into the wood, most of the cuts I had to do only once, the result looks really good.

       

[yamatetsu]

Power.

Found out that the psu is a tad big.

"Look at the size of that sucker !" Famous last words.



I originally planned to screw the mainboard directly onto the cab floor, but since I need to hide that bunch of cables, the board now goes on a platform.

Speakers.

The speakers are installed.



The front.

I doubletaped the front piece to the front panel and used six screws going from the back to the front to secure it. The contrast between the acrylic and the wood is really awesome. As usual, the ####ing camera does not do it justice. Every time I don't want them, I get reflections. Now that I want to show them, I don't get them. Go figure.

[DaredevilDave]

Much coolness! Keeping an eye on your project!

[yamatetsu]

Much coolness! Keeping an eye on your project!

 

The computer.

Today I mounted the computer. The cutout from the bezel board had the right size to put the mobo and a hdd side by side on it, so I used that. The top layer is black acrylic, so it looks cool, too.
The 'chair' in the lower right will hold the psu.



Shininess.





I have to wait for some paint to dry, then I can mount the psu. After that, the software part has to be taken care of. I hope that I'm in the mood for that tomorrow.

[yamatetsu]

The psu went kaboom while I was installing the OS, so I had to order a new one. Luckily everything else is intact, the new psu has arrived since then and the computer is working again.

The monitor.

To place the monitor perfectly under the bezel board, I put the bezel board on top of it, adjusted it until it fit and doubletaped battens to each monitor side from underneath. Then I flipped the bezel board upside down and put the monitor in. To hold it in place, I glued two sets of 3 battens together, glued those to the bezel board and screwed a piece of scrap wood onto them. Then I screwed the monitor to the scrap wood.



The bezel board is 50 cm wide, the screen only uses 30 cm, so that left 10 cm space on each side. Too much. I took two strips of wood, 4cm wide with a rounded edge on one side, stained them, waited 8 days for the stain to cure, clearcoated them, waited 3 days for that to cure and doubletaped them onto the bezel board.



This is how the monitor will go into the cab, there will be no plexi or glass cover. The screen has an anti-reflective coating, I don't want to negate that by putting something reflective over it.

[yamatetsu]

Assembly is under way. Some pics of the innards.







My highly professional method of glueing the right side to the cab.

[yamatetsu]

Finished ! Some pics.

[yamatetsu]

[yamatetsu]

A family pic.

[wp34]

That turned out very nice. I really like the look of the front of your cabinet.

[yotsuya]

I can't help but think with the curves on the sides,  a rounded over control panel might have tied it together nicely. Just a thought.

[yamatetsu]

I can't help but think with the curves on the sides,  a rounded over control panel might have tied it together nicely. Just a thought.

Rounded edges probably would have looked better, but I wanted to avoid doing them as much as possible. Since I used plywood, I couldn't just round the CP edge itself, the rounded part would have had a striped pattern and not looked like wood at all. It does not look bad, but it would have looked out of place.

So basically every rounded edge had to be done as a separate strip of real birch wood that had to be glued on. I wasn't that confident in my ability to glue them seamlessly together, so I only did the ones that were absolutely necessary.
Of course, later on it turned out that I didn't have to do them at all, because the carpenter who cut the boards for me thought that he could do a better job of it than me and glued them together without asking me 

Glad that he did.

That turned out very nice. I really like the look of the front of your cabinet.

Yep, that contrast between wood and black acrylic turned out really nice. It does look even better in person, the pics don't do it justice. Of course, now I probably will spend more time dusting that thing off than playing it 

[JudgeRob]

Congrats.  Nice job dude.  I wish I worked as fast as you!

[yamatetsu]

Congrats.  Nice job dude.

Thanks !

I wish I worked as fast as you!

No need for that. Trust me, finishing your first build after months or possibly more than a year will give you an incredible feeling. Building the thing is a big part of the fun. You'll probably miss that once your cab is done. Then you'll go like me 'I won't build another one', wait a bit, get some cool ideas and start the next build 

[BigCurtis]

Very very nice. Great look.

You've convinced me that some how, some way, I need to make a cabinet in this style.

[yamatetsu]

Very very nice. Great look.

 

You've convinced me that some how, some way, I need to make a cabinet in this style.

Let me help you along, then.



See the attachments for a bigger version of this pic and a lifesize template of the cab's side panel. You just need a program that can print posters or do tiled prints, print it, transfer it to the wood and you are ready to go.
Keep in mind that this cab is somewhat top heavy, so if your are using casters, using leg levellers at the front is a good idea. The cab is stable on the casters without the levellers, but you will be able to topple it if you are determined to do so.

Edit : Apparently I have used an older version of the cab's design to make the plans. These have the curve going from the bottom panel to the marquee wrong. I have corrected the plans and swapped the wrong ones with the corrected versions.
These plans are safe to use now.

[thomas_surles]

This turned out really well. Congrats.

[yamatetsu]

Thanks !

Yesterday a friend of mine came over, we played some games on the cab and found a totally unintended but totally nifty feature. The CP is not a box, it's just a piece of wood that is velcroed to some battens. The car speakers I used are mounted about 40 cm underneath it. So if you play a game that has loud explosions, the CP vibrates from the bass. Pretty cool.

[thomas_surles]

That's pretty cool. Force feedback

[yamatetsu]

                                                                                                                                                                     

I ---fouled up beyond all recognition---. Apparently I have used an older version of the cab's design to make the plans. These have the curve going from the bottom panel to the marquee wrong. I have corrected the plans and swapped the wrong ones with the corrected versions.

If you have downloaded the plans prior to August 31, DO NOT USE THEM.

Apologies for that.

[Ian]

Love it! Great Job!

[yamatetsu]

Thanks ! It's always nice to see that there are people out there who actually like the things I do 

[tapule]

Great job Yamatetsu!!

My cab was also based on the same cabinet:

I think this is a great design to have in a house

[n3wt0n]

Congrats on another really cool cabinet build Yamatetsu! 

[yamatetsu]

Congrats on another really cool cabinet build Yamatetsu! 

Thanks !

Great job Yamatetsu!!

My cab was also based on the same cabinet:

A little bit different from the one I took the design from, but it looks good

I think this is a great design to have in a house

I agree. Though it actually uses more floor space than my upright, it somehow does look smaller. Also, the shape is simply cool 

[jordancbr]

My vertical arcade!!! Good job.

[yamatetsu]

   Thanks ! It's a really cool design to start with.

[jordancbr]

 

[danny_galaga]

Wow, just noticed this. This is wonderful! It's a 1950's surfboard stuffed full of retro gaming goodness (",)

 

[yamatetsu]

 

Praise from the maker of Meet the Jetsons^TM! I am honored.