Someone name a different material other than MDF to build a cabinet out of

[Jakobud]

I think i have decided to go with.....drumroll please....Plexiglass!!!

Sorry but nothing new...

[eightbit]

MDF is heavy and not very strong. It is easy to machine and has a smooth finish its also probably the cheapest of the sheet goods.

Plywood is much lighter and much stronger. It goes from being slightly more to being a whole lot more expensive depending on the quality that you want.

If your concerned about weight considering building a 2 peice.

I recently did this 2 peice in oak plywood, it has wheels under the bottom at the back so it can still be moved around when assembled-

[egomaniacal1]

Eightbit: Nice lookin cab man!! If i can find some of that around here i just might consider using it. Did it have that oak look to it when you bought it?

Jakobud: I never said the plex cab would be original but in all honesty that ms. pac-man cab. looks terrible. I can most definitely can improve on that. But thanks for the pic....cuz that thing looks like it is made from 3/4 plexi and i didn't know it came that thick. I'll have to see if i can find some of that.

[GroovyTuesdaY]

MDF is heavy and not very strong. It is easy to machine and has a smooth finish its also probably the cheapest of the sheet goods.

Plywood is much lighter and much stronger. It goes from being slightly more to being a whole lot more expensive depending on the quality that you want.

If your concerned about weight considering building a 2 peice.

I recently did this 2 peice in oak plywood, it has wheels under the bottom at the back so it can still be moved around when assembled-

I'll have to disagree with you eightbit, i think MDF is more then strong enough to handle the demands of any cab out there. If it really sucked that bad, i doubt they would even bother selling the stuff.  Truthfully , i have made shelves, bookstands, tables and generic coffetables that people put their feet on DAILY out of mdf and it has stood up remarkably well. So, in my oppinion, MDF is a very reasonable choice to make a cab from. Its all in how you would build the frame that would make all the difference. Just my oppinion

groovy~

[Le Chuck]

Schedule 40 1" PCV covered in chicken wire and sprayed with expanding foam.  Sand, file, prime, paint and you'd never know.  Whole cab would weigh maybe 15lbs without the monitor.  You could always take the guts out and use it as a box kite in the spring.   

[Necro]

I'm suprised no one has mentioned cardboard boxes and duct-tape. C'mon just look how beautiful the TrashCade is!!!!!

-PMF

Just duct-tape and nothing else.  THAT would be a sight to behold.

[codefenix]

This thread is older than my children...

[Necro]

Dammit.  I've been necro-had.  

(It came up as new posts, replied based on that...who the hell checks the post dates).

Le Chuck...WTF?  How did you even FIND this thread?


And this thread, I now realize, is older then my son AND my damn marriage....

[JODY]

It is an old thread.  For those that built MDF cabs back when this thread started, how are they holding up?

I have some cabs from the early 80's that are plywood.  E.g. Joust, Sinistar, and Stargate.  They have held up very well.  The Joust has more sidearts issues as it seems the plywood separated more but it still looks OK.  As far as corner damage, damage around the control panel, etc. they have held up very well.

I was in a hurry when I first did this so made some changes.  Earlier I referred to MDF but really in some cases it is particle board.  Cabinets I have from the early 80's made of MDF or particle board have missing corners in some cases.  Particle board cabinets such as Space Duel often have major breakage around the control panel.  Particle board tends to start to disentegrate at the corners, the groove for the t-molding, etc. while the plywood does not.  If plywood starts to separate it can be easily glued back.  Particle board turns to powder.  MDF seems to be somewhere in between.
 

[saint]

Project Arcade 1, made back in 2004, is holding up fine. I don't move it around much though. 

[EightBySix]

Let me save you some time and just tell you to stop looking at Poplar.  If you were at Lowes pricing tools, you don't have the tools needed to build a cab from solid Poplar.  At a minimum, you would need a joiner and planer, about six 4 foot bar clamps, and some experience doing a glue up (a six foot board is not easy).  I give you credit for picking the right wood though, Poplar is the right choice for a solid wood that you are going to paint.  It's just not practical unless can glue up panels in your sleep.

Most diy sheds over here sell pre laminated sheets of poplar...

[lilshawn]

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!

BRRAAAAIIINNNSSSS!!!!

[Gray_Area]

Being that I'm no carpenter by any means, but feel comfortable doing metal work, I seriously considered building a cab entirely out of sheet metal with a tubing frame. After I realised that I'd need a forklift to move it, I changed my mind and just bought an old cab and converted it.

-S

Sheet metal with ABS/PVC frame, yo.

[dandare]

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/the-lego-pac-man-arcade-machine-is-really-exciting/

[Le Chuck]

I do apologize for the necro  .  I didn't even notice the date until that little warning came up... but who reads those things anyway.  I do now.  As for holding up, I had a stargate refurb that I reglued and stapled in 2004 that help up great until I moved to Germany in 2008 and the movers didn't crate it right.  It was in pieces.  Aparantly those things don't like being dropped.   

[wizkid32]

I'm not much of a carpenter, but I built my cab. out of Pine Boards.  Not a particularly good choice, though.  It turned out looking pretty good, but took entirely to much sanding and we'll see if it paints up well...

[Cynicaster]

I went with 5/8” MDF. 

Pros:

-   Reasonable price
-   Fairly easy to cut
-   Nice smooth surface for painting

Cons:

-   Heavy as all living ---fudgesicle---
-   Dust EVERYWHERE IN MY GARAGE (and presumably, my lungs) after cabinet project
-   Screws pull out of it too easily
-   Susceptibility to water damage


I nearly killed myself trying to get 4x8 sheets up onto the sawhorses by myself.  It took 4 guys to get my damn cabinet from my garage to my basement.  On the flip-side, the large mass is a good thing when you have two full grown men playing an intense round of co-op DoDonPachi because it keeps the cabinet stable. 

[bkenobi]

Butter.  No, wait: goldfish.  Not the cracker kind, real goldfish.  No wait...Coke cans.

I prototyped a fortress wall in my office a while back based on pop cans.  My research showed that when the cans are interlinked and stacked closely, they do a venerable job at providing a physical/visual barrier.  However, they do not provide sufficient protection from rubber band attacks.  I suspect that performance could be improved with the addition of a fastening mechanism between adjoining cans, but that was out of the scope of my research.  I suspect that this building material may be prone to failure given the stresses imposed during an intense SF session.

[RandyT]

I went with 5/8” MDF. 

MDF is a very good choice for cabinets and panels, for all of the reasons you note.  5/8" is good to keep weight down, but may not be as easy to find as 3/4". 

Some tips I have found while using the stuff:

ALWAYS wear a dust mask.  The dust generated is very fine and it's very bad for you.

Cover anything in the room you don't want to get coated with dust.  It goes everywhere.

Seal all of the surfaces and edges with at least two coats of a quality sealer, such as Kilz primer, and sand between coats.  This is especially important if it's going someplace where it will be damp.

Never screw directly into the edges of the stuff.  If you must make an edge connection, consider using the special cabinet hardware one usually sees supplied with ready-to-assemble furniture.  Even with special hardware, you never want to make an edge connection on any panel which needs to bear any significant load.  MDF is very weak in that direction, and will split easily.  Always better to use a framework, or blocks, and screw directly in the face of the panels.

Consider using edge or corner protectors on any panel likely to get banged around, particularly the bottom.  Little is more heartbreaking than having a corner break off (and it will) when you accidentally bang your freshly built project on something while moving it into it's final resting place.

RandyT

[yaksplat]

Consider using edge or corner protectors on any panel likely to get banged around, particularly the bottom.  Little is more heartbreaking than having a corner break off (and it will) when you accidentally bang your freshly built project on something while moving it into it's final resting place.

That right there is enough of a reason for me to use plywood.  And the dust...the dust is so bad.  It gets everywhere, and then it gets tracked everywhere.  You can brush plywood sawdust off your shirt.  MDF dust leaves a brown streak since it's so fine.  I'm sure i'll move a tool in 10 years and still find some MDF dust.

+10,000 for Plywood

[RandyT]

That right there is enough of a reason for me to use plywood.  And the dust...the dust is so bad.  It gets everywhere, and then it gets tracked everywhere.  You can brush plywood sawdust off your shirt.  MDF dust leaves a brown streak since it's so fine.  I'm sure i'll move a tool in 10 years and still find some MDF dust.

+10,000 for Plywood

Everything is a tradeoff.  Plywood is lighter, but harder to get a nice finish on.  MDO plywood is the best material you can use, but very pricey.  The face of that can also still chip, but not as badly.  MDF will have a nicer edge, if cut well, and looks good after sanding and painting, even without molding.  The best material will really depend on the application, budget and build methods.  MDF can cover most of what folks will come up with there, as long as the project takes the material into consideration.

[Gray_Area]

Unless I had a dedicated wood shop, I wouldn't cut/etc any kind of wood inside. Of course, if I had a dedicated shop, I would also have an exhaust fan - something pretty easy to do if you're dedicated enough to have a shop.

I vote MDF, but I think half-inch is fine, especially if you're using an LCD. I know....weight....I don't monkey-wrench on my panels that I would need that kind of weight. If placed on a hard floor, I would use rubber, locking (or blocked) wheels.

[ARTIFACT]

3/4" Birch Plywood was used to build the ARTIFACT GAME MUSEUM cab.
It's super sturdy and survived a recent move across the USA