Midway cocktail bezel - above or below?

[daeven]

I originally thought the monitor bezel on my repro Midway cocktail should be mounted above the plywood top.  When there, the screen bumps in to the glass top.

I'm now thinking the bezel is attached underneath the plywood top, and then the tinted plexi is installed in a routed-out section on top of the plywood with the clear glass over that.

Anyone know how it is supposed to go together?  None of the pictures I have found show this area clearly.

[MameMaster!]

....hmmm.. Which brand repro. cab did you buy? Was it a kit?

My kit, had a recessed top (about a 1/4") all the way around the hole where you view the monitor. I simply cut my monitor bezel to fit in this recess and then the overlay/glass laid down flush with the wood top.

See my pic below:

[daeven]

I got the Arcade Depot kit.  Does the bezel "rest" on the monitor, or is there air space between the monitor and the bezel?  What monitor do you have in there?  I have a WG K7200 in mine.

[MameMaster!]

I have the same kit. I have the bezel about .5" to 1" ABOVE the screen. I'm using a Sony Trinitron computer monitor....so your mounting situation may be different from mine.....check out http://www.geocities.com/chung123/

My pics are virtually identical to this dude's website as I used his as a template for my cab.

Let me know if you have more questions......

Good Luck!

[OSCAR]

I'm now thinking the bezel is attached underneath the plywood top, and then the tinted plexi is installed in a routed-out section on top of the plywood with the clear glass over that.

This is the way the originals were made.  Smoked plexi in the routed area on top of the wood top, bezel mounted from the underside.  Mamemaster's looks pretty cool, but you really don't want a gap between the screen and the bezel.

If you are going to have lighted white plexi behind the control panels like the originals, you want the bezel as tight against the monitor as possible.  If not, the lights will throw a glare on the monitor screen because the monitor is only a few inches away from the lights.  Here's a shot of the lights I put on mine:  http://www.oscarcontrols.com/cocktail/wiring9.jpg

Even though I put the bezel tight against the glass, I went back and sealed the gap with duct tape from the inside so you can't see it.  This keeps the internal lights from peeking out from between the bezel and glass.

[MameMaster!]

I'm now thinking the bezel is attached underneath the plywood top, and then the tinted plexi is installed in a routed-out section on top of the plywood with the clear glass over that.

....HMMM.... I honestly hadn't even considered attaching the bezel to the back based on the kits design....but now that you mention it.....yikes!....perhaps I installed my top backwards/upside down? The recessed part is facing up the way I mounted it....but I followed the directions that came w/my kit. Since I've never seen a real cocktail opened up (at least not in person); I didn't even consider doing it that way.

Regardless......it works well for me....as I'm using a computer monitor that's sitting on a shelf....but I'll have to remember your suggestion if I ever build a second cab.

This is the way the originals were made.  Smoked plexi in the routed area on top of the wood top, bezel mounted from the underside.  Mamemaster's looks pretty cool, but you really don't want a gap between the screen and the bezel.

If you are going to have lighted white plexi behind the control panels like the originals, you want the bezel as tight against the monitor as possible.  If not, the lights will throw a glare on the monitor screen because the monitor is only a few inches away from the lights.  Here's a shot of the lights I put on mine:  http://www.oscarcontrols.com/cocktail/wiring9.jpg

Even though I put the bezel tight against the glass, I went back and sealed the gap with duct tape from the inside so you can't see it.  This keeps the internal lights from peeking out from between the bezel and glass.

[MameMaster!]

...HMMM.... I honestly hadn't even considered attaching the bezel to the back based on the kits design....but now that you mention it.....yikes!....perhaps I installed my top backwards/upside down? The recessed part is facing up the way I mounted it....but I followed the directions that came w/my kit.

Since I've never seen a real cocktail opened up (at least not in person); I didn't even consider doing it that way (the recessed side down toward the monitor).

Regardless.....thankfully it works well for me....as I'm using a computer monitor that's sitting on a shelf....but I'll have to remember your suggestion if I ever build a second cab.

[OSCAR]

I think you followed the directions correctly.  The top should be routed to allow the smoked plexi to rest in there just below the clear glass top.  The bezel just attaches right to the underside.  My Ms.Pac/Galaga reunion cocktail has an area routed out on the *bottom* of the top panel for the bezel to rest in, but I don't believe the original ones did.

[Tilzs]

Did the orginal midway cocktails come with clear glass and use smoked plexi or was the glass smoked or was there no smoked plexi and just clear glass?

[MameMaster!]

I think you followed the directions correctly.  The top should be routed to allow the smoked plexi to rest in there just below the clear glass top.  The bezel just attaches right to the underside.  My Ms.Pac/Galaga reunion cocktail has an area routed out on the *bottom* of the top panel for the bezel to rest in, but I don't believe the original ones did.

....ohhhh, I see.....since I didn't add the smoked plexi, I had assumed that the bezel was to fit into that recess.

Has I known...I most likely would have done it that way...but the kit they sell doen't include any mention of the smoked plexi....oh well....it works and I love it!

[OSCAR]

AFAIK, clear glass with a smoked plexi insert on the Pac's.  I'm not sure about other Midway cocktails such as Tron and others that used that style cab.

[daeven]

It is all starting to make sense.  On my kit, the "top" has an edge routed out on the side that has oak laminate.  Since the top side of the top is to be covered with artwork, the oak laminate side should face down.  I assumed the manufacturer screwed up and routed the wrong side.  I was wrong!  

BTW, mamemaster, your cabinet looks great!  The match between the glass top and T-molding appears perfect in the pic.  That's another area that I'm having problems with.

Thanks everyone for the help!

[MameMaster!]

It is all starting to make sense.  On my kit, the "top" has an edge routed out on the side that has oak laminate.  Since the top side of the top is to be covered with artwork, the oak laminate side should face down.  I assumed the manufacturer screwed up and routed the wrong side.  I was wrong!  

BTW, mamemaster, your cabinet looks great!  The match between the glass top and T-molding appears perfect in the pic.  That's another area that I'm having problems with.

Thanks everyone for the help!

....HEY DAVEN!...I just remembered why I mounted my bezel on the "top" with the overlay over it.....if you mount your bezel on the bottom....you'll see the naked cut wood edge.....but, by mounting my bezel on the top (recessed into the cutout) it hides the wood.

Take a look at the edge of the monitor cut out in my photo above......I think that if the "kit" was meant to have the bezel mounted under the top....they would have stain/sanded that part. Obviously, the "real" cab was apparently built differently based on Oscar's (Kelsey's) suggestions.

....let me know if I've confused you or you see what I'm saying.

[daeven]

That would be correct (ugly cut plywood edge will show if you put the bezel below).  BUT, if I get the smoked plexi and install that on top, you wont see the ugly cut plywood edge, right Oscar?

Plus (and I didn't mention this before), I scratched up my @##!@% tube from the glass top rubbing on it before I realized it was sticking up too far.  The smoked plexi will help to hide that hopefully.

[OSCAR]

My Reunion cocktail has the inside of the monitor cut-out painted black, so it blends in with the bezel pretty good.

It is worth noting that the above comments about putting the bezel on the underside of the top is because I'm almost positive that the Happ bezels aren't as deep as the original Pac bezels.  I believe the Happ bezel is not deep enough to mount the monitor correctly, as daeven has pointed out.  If you have an old Pac bezel, then it should be mounted to the top of the board.  Sorry if I've caused some confusion here, I should have explained that better earlier.

See this page, http://members.rushmore.com/~wandk/ms/pac.htm, down near the bottom it shows a good shot of the Pac bezel.  It looks a lot deeper than the 19" Happ bezel I used on my cocktail.

[Tailgunner]

Just to further confuse things.

My Pac cocktail has the wooden top routed just enough for the bezel flange's thickness. The bezel has a step molded into it which the smoked plexi fits into.

There are differences between the Pac cocktail cabs and the Ms. Pac cocktail cabs. All of the repro cabs I've seen are based off the Ms. Pac style as it's an easier cab to build.