Good deal on cabinet? Cabinet vs. Freak sawing accident (owner unharmed)

[Goz]

 Today while making a quick cut to accomodate my CP, I had a freak accident with the power saw and lopped off a chunk of the right hand side of my cabinet.  Yeah a real bonehead move.

Anyways I guess I should get to the topic.  Does anyone happen to have any leads on a decent cabinet in California? I see quite a few on ebay and a couple straglers on craigslist.

The wifes gunna nag me if I can't find a sweet deal.

Thanks,

[APFelon]

Before the pic loaded, I saw "freak accident" "power saw" and "lopped off a chunk". Usually when I read this, I expect to read about a dismemberment.

It could have been worse, huh?

APf

[Random24]

That's kind of what I saw when I first read it.

I read it as:

"I had a freak accident with the power saw and lopped off a chunk of my right hand"

Needless to say, I was a bit worried about him for a second.  Until I re-read the post and realized what he said.

[Goz]

I changed the subject so as not to freak anyone. I figured I needed to do this or dig up some dismemered pictures on the net to satisfy everyones morbid curiosity.

[hyiu]

can it be fixed ??

how big of a chunk are we talking about ??

you know... some support screws (extra piece of wood) from the inside... and some bondo.... sanding.. repaint...

waa laaa..... it looks like 1 piece again !!!...

[shmokes]

Yeah, I was thinking of repair.

do all that stuff that hyiu said and the voila,.....it looks like 1 piece again

[Goz]

This thread was moved here, but what i was after was if anyone has or knows of any cabinets I can acquire in California. I've found tons of decent replacements in the mid west, etc. but shipping would be a killer.

The cabinet might be able to be saved with the chunk and some bondo and covering that side with hard laminate. But after starting the project, I've been almost regretting the choice of cabinet. I chose the cabinet because it was structurally sound and had the right price $20. But have since been looking back thinking I should switch cabinets.

I know that the auctions are coming mid next month, but damn thats a whole month away...

Anyways if anyone knows of a decent cab... through this dog a bone.

Thanks

[greven grevs]

where about in california are you? if your close to monterey you could call jim gates. he is about the only arcade guy in the area with a warehouse full of cabs and crap. nice guy too.

[flampoo]

http://www.arcadesforsale.com

I've worked with this guy. He's a former tech who currently rebuilds and sells out of San Diego. He's got GREAT prices.

[paigeoliver]

I guess this is where I should chime in and say that you aren't SUPPOSED to chop up your cabinets to put on larger control panels.

Another game dies.  

[Wienerdog]

"Re:Good deal on cabinet? Cabinet vs. Freak sawing accident (owner unharmed)"

I don't think there is any way to make "freak sawing accident" sound like it wasn't an injury.  Freak sawing accident, owner unhanded.

[APFelon]

I guess this is where I should chime in and say that you aren't SUPPOSED to chop up your cabinets to put on larger control panels.

Another game dies.  

Did he mention somewhere what cab it was...? I must have missed it.

APf

[Stingray]

I assumed that it was a home-built cab, but I may have misread.

-S

[Goz]

It is / was a pole position cabinet. I had picked it up as an empty shell for $20. I am trying to repair her first, but hey I posted to see if there was something that I could acquire.

 The more I think of it, I'm not sure I want to be limited to the 19" monitor that will fit in this cab. So I could restore this one as a Pole Position and MAME something else.

[APFelon]

Just keep the cost to value ratio in mind. Pole Positions are usually pretty cheap, as they are pretty common. But if you were to buy a steering wheel assembly and control panel, the PCB, the marquee, the power supply, paint, etc and THEN spend 50+ hours of your time restoring it (depending on the condition it is in now... with that piece lopped off, I would probably categorize it as "poor condition" without seeing the rest of the cab), you may not see that money back if/when you decide to sell it...

BUT, some people find value in the restoration itself. It builds experience and damn if the fruits of the labor doesn't feel good. I LOVE the feeling of a completed project, despite the value of the cab after I am done.

So, I guess all I am really saying is... Is the time, money and effort worth it to you personally?

Good luck on your project! If you DO decide to restore it, keep us updated on your progress!

APf

**Edited because I can't write a sentence properly

[paigeoliver]

Oh, good, I am glad it was a Pole Position. Not that I have anything against them, but they have defective PCBs to begin with, very few shops will even work on the boards, and they are so unreliable that they don't sell for much even when they do work. I hear of bulk buy after bulk buy and warehouse find after warehouse find that include 1,2,6,14 or more Pole Positions, all of which will be dead, and most of which will be missing their circuit boards (Pole boards tended to find their way out of the cabinets because past warehouse raiders will have snagged them all looking for working ones, and the OP himself probably snagged some long ago in an attempt to get one of his "location" Pole's working with parts from one sitting in the warehouse).

So yeah, Pole's make great Mame cabinets, driving ones at least. They don't make the best joystick cabinets.