javeryh's Small-ish Bartop ["Jack Attack!"]

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javeryh:

--- Quote from: vertexguy on February 06, 2021, 09:58:43 pm ---Nice. Thanks for the details. 8) That's an interesting solution and I'm surprised the hair tie is strong enough. Be curious when you get it back together if the CP moves any with rough joystick play.

--- End quote ---

It looks janky but it actually seems solid now. I haven’t really pulled on it yet because I’m still messing with the wiring but I think it will work.

--- Quote from: Richie_jones on February 07, 2021, 01:24:45 am ---Yet its still not fixed properly with a hair tie!!

--- End quote ---

It’s more like a mini bungee cord than a hair tie. It’s not coming apart and it can withstand quite a bit of tension - and I pulled that sucker as tight as I could. As long as the CP stays in place I’ll be happy. No one can see the hair tie or will ever know it is there unless they need to open it up. I’m going to print out an instruction card for the inside of the back door that explains how it works in case I’m not around and Jack wants to fix something.

--- Quote from: Arroyo on February 07, 2021, 01:56:42 am ---Javery, I was confused by this problem until now as I didn’t realize your bottom panel was glued in place (at least I assume it is). Why not drill through your two 3/4” braces from the top and through the bottom of your panel. From the bottom either simply get a long screw to screw in the CP from its underside, or better yet use said screw to mark the location on the CP underside and then install a threaded insert in the CP underside and machine screw from the bottom into the threaded insert. Make sense?

--- End quote ---

This does make sense (I think). I’d have to drill through 2 rails on each side though - the one the CP rests on and the one below it that is holding the bottom panel in place. They are 1/2” not 3/4” so not a lot of room for error. There’s also the issue of the CP sitting at an 11 degree angle. I think this is what markc74 was getting at with his drawing as well, which is what made me think of my current solution.

I do not think I have the ability to drill two holes that precise on the assembled cabinet for a screw and a threaded insert, although that would be the best solution. Getting a screw the correct length might also be tough to find. I’m hoping I have it sorted out - I’ll know more today if I can get it up and running and let the kids play on it for a bit.

javeryh:
I can't tell. It's working for me but if I pull REALLY hard I can still pop the CP off. I don't see how it could come off during "normal" play but I'm also not a savage when I'm using my cabinets like other people are. I really want to put the t-molding on, which could kind of make the CP not removable without considerable effort (the 1/32" overhang on the t-molding would be very tough to squeeze by. I guess I'll sit on it for a few days before making any decisions.

If it wasn't snowing every day I could get out to the chop saw and make a few 11 degree wedges and really see how hard it would be to implement markc74's idea. Another thought was to just cover the rails with double sided tape. That much surface area should ensure the CP wouldn't move - it would just be a huge pain to get off if I had to.

Anyway, the zero-delay encoder works but I have no idea how to properly set up controls. I have the 6 buttons set to:

Y X L
B A R

And the front 4 buttons mapped to:

L2 --- Select-Start --- R2

The "Hot Key" is Select. The way to exit games is Select+Start (not obvious). Ideally I''d like it to be L2 (hold down for 1500 milliseconds) but I'm not sure how to reconfigure things. I guess I have a lot of reading ahead of me.

Also, on a per emulator or even per game basis I'd like the controls to be different. I was just playing Super Punch-Out!! and Y is left punch and B is right punch, which is dumb - it should be B for left punch, A for right punch and R for the super punch (with the top row of buttons not being used). I assume once I learn how to change things it will just be time consuming to get all the games set up, which I can live with.

:cheers:

vertexguy:
OK.... here's a more detailed explanation of what I think will solve this issue for you (hopefully). I don't have all your exact measurements but hopefully the concept is sound enough that you can adapt as needed.

A) This is that small area where you put the tape above your button. It looks like maybe 1/2 inch tall by an inch or more wide. I would route this area by 2 or 3/16ths and glue the wood pillar to that. This way you're getting more strength than just a butt joint since you'll have some side area to glue to, making it more of a rabbet joint.

B) This is the pillar. Conceptually it could be made of anything strong. The idea is you want it stiff and straight though so it's always perfectly aligned. I thought about metal for this which could be screwed in at the top and bottom, or perhaps super glued. I like this better than the wedge at the top and a long bolt because it eliminates the problem of exact bolt length and awkwardly trying to get a really long bolt lined up from the bottom.

c) This is a 1.5x1.5x.75 block of wood (pine). I'm using these everywhere in my build with threaded inserts. Gives you plenty of room to accurately drill a center hole for the insert. The bolt length isn't critical because excess can just stick up beyond the threaded insert a bit. This is glued to the pillar, again ideally with more of a rabbet joint.

D) I couldn't tell how the front was anchored down, if at all, so this is an addition to add a single support for the front and an additional force to help the top from popping off. Again I would inset it with a router 3/16 to make a rabbet joint for extra strength.

E) Under your cab, you inset 2 holes that are big enough for the bolt and a washer. Keeps the bottom of the cab flush.

F) I think this might be an even better option if possible. I moved the concept to the sides and simply cut out rectangle areas from your side braces to make room. Then you have anchors on both sides that should keep it nice and snug.

You might also be able to make a slide in catch on the lower front to hold that part down instead of another threaded insert. Anyway... hope this helps get this project wrapped up for you. :cheers:

javeryh:
WOW. Thanks for the write up and the pics. I hadn't even considered the offset block on the bottom to thread through (making the length of the screw not matter). That's a great idea. The scale is a bit smaller though - the entire interior space is only ~2.25" tall (at the tallest spot in the front of the CP). I'll have to check the sides and see if it would work there (2 posts would be stronger than 1). I'm pretty sure the rails are in the way but maybe it's not a huge deal to remove some material there.

I will not have room in the front ("D") for anything. It's so tight inside. Especially with all 28 wires coming from under there (14 connections x2). There should be enough room to maneuver around a single post though. Now... how do I measure for it? I'm reasonably sure the CP is at an 11 degree angle. I measured it like 10 times with a protractor and it's not exact but it's the best I could do. The issue will be cutting it the exact length so the CP sits exactly flush on the rails and the bottom of the post sits exactly on the base of the cabinet.

I would also have to take it apart again (I wired it up and it's working) but I suppose that's not the biggest deal in the world.

:cheers:

vertexguy:
Here's what I was hoping to find.

https://www.newark.com/keystone/634/mounting-bracket/dp/62W5720?gclid=Cj0KCQiA34OBBhCcARIsAG32uvPJ8rkIedJon5Lbr8pmX3NXJmX5ov2YWhg1R2lBi2NFrVY4AqjV_7EaAunDEALw_wcB&mckv=smmmS7SRR_dc|pcrid|495146202943|plid||kword||match||slid||product|62W5720|pgrid|108905519010|ptaid|aud-900629626920:pla-938983769740|&CMP=KNC-GUSA-GEN-Shopping-NewStructure-Gen-Fasteners-Mechanical#

They do make threaded L brackets. This is probably as small as you can get and still strong. It looked like you had a fair amount of space in between the buttons on the front so that's where I was thinking you could attach a connection with an insert. Hopefully there's enough space for something like this? If it's a no go for bolts maybe there's enough room to have an L sticking out from the front of the CP and it can slide under a metal strip on the base to just provide upward pull protection? With something like this your pillar could be metal to keep it small too. You would just use something like a wing nut to attach it to the L brackets on either end. The trick there is cutting your metal to the correct length and punching holes where needed.

As far as the angle of the CP, you could pick up an angle finder from harbor freight for under 5 bucks. Alternatively, just use a factory 1 by board as your straight edge. Put it flush against the bottom angle of the CP and let it stick out a ways. Ideally double stick tape it for convenience. Now you just need a reliable right angle to go up from the ground to that point to draw your straight line on that board and you have your exact angle. You could even cut that board and use it for your top angle connection point or make a template from it to cut whatever you end up using.

I would make your pillar a little long at first...by 1/16th or so. Then hand sand it down until it's a perfect fit. Even that doesn't have to be absolutely precise because your bolt will pull it down the rest of the way. It will just be stronger if it's flush.

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