Mini Cocktail project

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Another decade, another arcade project! While browsing the webs I stumbled across this beauty:



Of course, I wanted one as well and, despite being far from finished with my DK bartop, decided to build an improved version of the mini cocktail cab. Some of the things I would like to change:
- include proper t-molding
- use real glass
- make the control panel not angled (I've always found angled cp's really uncomfortable to play)
- use a higher quality screen that doesn't change colour depending on the direction from which you're looking at it; using a CRT was out due to the long neck of the tube, so I bought an 10.1" IPS screen

My goals for this build were:
- make it as comfortable to play as possible. This was not supposed to be decoration, I wanted a working machine that was a joy to play and a joy to look at.
- make it two-player - I didn't mind at all that the only high quality screen I could get at this size was 16:10; this way, when two people simultaneously play a 4:3 game the LCD will provide enough space for two "screens".
- Try out new things with regards to PC stuff: among else, I want to use the unused part of the screen for displaying marquees and/ or instruction strips
- ... and with the build materials: I'd like to bend acrylic glass for a cp with a round edge


Right!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

So I had a bunch of 18mm spruce boards lying around from a furniture project:


(Initially, my plan was to use the spruce boards to build a working model, but I simply decided to go with the spruce - despite it being very soft. I figured that the t-molding would protect the wood where it really mattered, and since spruce is really light, the cab, when transported, will not develop such a momentum that banging into another object will result in any serious harm. Also, I will put vinyl on all the surfaces. Also, I'm easily bored and too lazy to do it all over again.)

First, I made a cardboard model; then, using my trusted handheld circular saw and a jigsaw I cut out the following pieces:



I wanted to attach the cp's to the main body with piano hinges, but alas, I forgot that screw heads do not have a height of zero:



Since I am a teacher by trade, I put my high-octane brain into overdrive and it took me a mere hour or so of intense pondering to find the solution: I'll just cut off the baseplate at an angle and therefore create space for the screwheads, like so:



Yup, looks like it could work:



And this is where I am now:

[SuperGojira2001]

This is going to look really cool when its done!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Cheers man, I sure hope so!




Haven't gotten much work done in the meantime, cut a couple of boards and semi-completed the cp...

[menace]

Whats the overall dimensions going to be?  Just curious..On piano hinges i get around the screw heads binding by using every other hole...

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

Son of a.... it's always the simple ideas that make the most sense! Cheers for the tip mate! As for overall dimensions, let me quickly get down the cellar and take some measurements...

Righto:
length: 51,5cm
width: 25,4cm
height: 22,5cm

I would have liked it even smaller (there's something about really small arcade machines that just speaks to me), but my goal of making this comfortable to play and the plates of the Sanwa JLFs I'm going to use forced me to make the cp's relatively big...

[mebronx2000]

i bought that mini cocktail from zak! i paid $800 and it was not well done!he sold a few!

[ChurchOfSolipsism]

That sure is a steep price for a cab of questionable quality... just out of curiosity: what didn't you like about it?