Complete novice first build with basic tools

[Deek069]

I have just completed my first ever build. Not just my first arcade cabinet - but my first build of anything!

It all came about because I moved into a house with lots of fitted wardrobes which I didn't want. After ripping them out I had lots of panels of wood so decided to fulfil a long time fantasy of building my own arcade machine.

I watched a few videos on YouTube and downloaded some plans, then had a trip to Screwfix and bought a circular saw (£39.99) and jigsaw (£24.99) and two saw horses (£19.99) and started building - the first stage went very well:

[Deek069]

So next was the controls. I had decided I wanted to be able to change out the controls in the future which is why I decided to try and build them completely separately.

I bought some buttons and sticks with a USB controller from Amazon (£40). I built a box and drilled the holes matching a 6 button per player template I downloaded.

Then I covered the box in plastic vinyl wrap from B & Q (£6) which actually resulted in a very nice effect.

I wired everything up, which was a simple plug in, no soldering required and then tested on my PC. Everything worked well with 2 controllers being detected. Happy days!

[Deek069]

The next step was to figure out all the internals so I could build the rest of the cabinet around them.

I bought a Logitech 2.1 speaker set from Amazon (£26.99 on sale) after having good experience with them on my PC.

I had decided to run a Raspberry Pie setup so bought a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ kit from Amazon (£64.99). I decided not to wait for the model 4 to settle down and be supported by RetroPie as I was far too excited to progress with the project!

I had a spare old Dell monitor laying around.

I installed RetroPie on the Pi, connected everything up and everything worked a treat.

[Deek069]

The next stage was fitting the screen to the cabinet. I cut a piece to size to go in front on the monitor and cut a hole in it for the screen. My inexperience using a jigsaw really showed here and this wasn't as neat as I'd hoped. A lot of sanding helped improve the end result.

Luckily the Dell monitor had a removable bracket on the back that attached to the monitor stand. I was able to remove the bracket and screw it to a piece of wood.

I initially screwed this piece of wood into the cabinet, but then decided I needed to be able to remove the monitor at will, so I added some support pieces so the piece of wood holding the monitor could slid in and out of the cabinet and then filled the holes I'd previously drilled.

[Deek069]

Speakers came next. I bought a 102mm holesaw from Screwfix (£11.49) with a Arbor (£8.99) so I could use it with my drill.

Using these turned out to be much harder than I was expecting as the Arbor was too big for my cheap Black and Decker drill I'd had for years. I managed to bodge it by having a long drill bit through the Arbor and securing the drill bit in the drill rather than the Arbor. It worked but if I do another I'll have to come up with a better solution.

I'd decided I wanted two speakers on the top and the subwoofer in the base. I fitted a shelf in the base for the subwoofer and Pi to sit on. At this point I couldn't resist putting everything in and firing it up. I played for quite a while that night!

[Deek069]

Now on to the painting. As I mentioned at the beginning I've never built anything before and now it really began to show. I bought some black spray paint (£5.49) which said on the can didn't require an undercoat. I surrounded the cabinet with plastic sheeting to protect it and everything else in the garage and then sprayed the cabinet.

It was a complete disaster. I did a terrible job of spraying and the paint ran. The sheet was blowing in the light breeze and stuck to the cabinet and there was not nearly enough ventilation in the garage and while I had a face mask it wasn't suitable for painting so I nearly gassed myself.

I gave up after not very long. The cabinet actually looked a LOT worse than it does in these pictures!

[Deek069]

So I scrapped the painting idea. I sanded the cabinet back to remove as much paint as possible.

Play to your strengths I thought, so I went back to B & Q and bought 3 rolls of plain plastic vinyl wrap (£9 each). I fitted these to the marquee panel, speaker panel, front and sides. I covered the screen bezel with left over vinyl wrap from the controller box. I personally think the end result was actually very good.

I bought 3 speaker covers from Arcade World UK (£4 each including P + P) and covered the speaker holes. I bought a Marquee sticker from Rock Star Print (£12 including P + P).

And that's it. It's not perfect and I made lots of mistakes, but it looks like an arcade machine and plays well, so I'm very happy with the end result.

I also had so much fun building it.

I am having trouble getting the 2nd players controls working but I'm sure I'll figure that out in time.

[Mike A]

To go from buying your first tools to building a functional cab is a nice baptism by fire.

When (not if) you build your next cab, start posting ideas here before you start. Some of us can help you with things we learned over the years.

Congratulations on starting and more importantly finishing your project.

You will have tons of fun playing games the way they were meant to be played.

There is nothing like a full sized cab if you grew up in the '80s or '90s.

 

[Arroyo]

+1 on the above.  Congratulations.  In the process of building I've made a ton of changes having read through these forums and consulted with the veterans on this site.  Post your plans for the next one, and continue posting as you make progress.   I for one will be watching.

[Howard_Casto]

Heh, I haven't seen the old marble contact paper in a while.... It's like it's 1999 all over again. 

Looks good man.  Here are some suggested tools you need to invest in for future projects... many are useful around the house as well: 

1.  Kregg pocket hole jigg.  This allows you to screw boards/panels at a 90 degree without any visible screw heads on the face.  They are a mere 50 bucks and will also allow you to repair warn out drawers, ect…  They come with everything you need but I would suggest you do NOT use kregg screws... they are overpriced and a pain to take out unless you just happen to have a security bit set nearby.... normal phillips screws with a long bit for your drill will work fine.  Just don't lose the little chart that came with the instructions.... those screw lengths are important. 

2.  A Router with a slot cutting bit for t-molding.  T-molding makes everything look better and there's no getting around it... if you want to cut that slot easily you need a router.  This one is going to be pricey, but it's well worth it. 

3.  Battery powered drill.  You might already have this... most people do, but if you don't run to the hardware store now!  They are worth their weight in gold around the house.  At this point I only buy craftsman drills.  They often have a little kit that comes with a drill, circular saw and stud saw... highly recommended. 

If you want to go beyond that, your three basic tools for any decent shop are a chop saw, a drill press and a table saw.   These days they don't cost a whole lot so if you have the room and budget go for it. 

[yotsuya]

I like this better than some of the over-engineered stuff we’ve been seeing. Kudos to you man!

[pbj]

Nice job, looks fun as hell.

 

[Deek069]

Thanks everybody 

and thanks Howard_Casto for the tool tips 

[Mr. Peabody]

Yes, quite industrious of you.

Painting from a can takes a long time, because it will run if you don't do a hundred thin coats. And then it needs to be buffed and clear-coated anyways.....

The marquee 'head' looks like hair out of the 50s. A little big and top-heavy....

How did you clamp the pieces down to cut such straight lines? How did the laminate not chip?

[Deek069]

Painting from a can takes a long time, because it will run if you don't do a hundred thin coats. And then it needs to be buffed and clear-coated anyways.....

Yep - found out taking shortcuts doesn't work!

The marquee 'head' looks like hair out of the 50s. A little big and top-heavy....

I know what you mean - but I'm happy with the look

How did you clamp the pieces down to cut such straight lines? How did the laminate not chip?

I didn't clamp it - I put the boards on my saw horses and held it down with one hand while I ran the circular saw up with the other. Not sure if this is the right way or not but it worked for me!

I have no idea why the laminate didn't chip, didn't even consider it to be honest.

I certainly would not have used laminated chip board if I had a choice on materials, but I had (and still have) loads of the stuff so it didn't matter if I messed up - the wood was costing me nothing