javeryh's Woodgrain Cabaret Copy

[javeryh]

Your flush trim bit wasn’t set at the proper depth and ate into the material?

For the mistake I made?  Nope - I didn't actually make a mistake with the tools.  It was purely a brain fart on my end.  Imagine this panel but with the laminate on top - I laid out the holes for the marquee and speakers to be cut out of the laminate... but the marquee hole was laid out 3/4" lower than it should have been.  My cuts were perfect though!

This cab should be called the widowmaker.

Ha!  I read that as "windowmaker" at first glance... both would seem to work.

[Jimbo]

I'm a bit late to the party here, but looks great Javeryh

Shame you're not in the UK... I have a spare boxed NOS Hantarex Polo/3 17" that would be perfect! 

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out   I myself am in the process of making a Robotron Mini!

[arfink]

You planning specifically on a 15khz 17" monitor? Or is VGA an option?

[javeryh]

You planning specifically on a 15khz 17" monitor? Or is VGA an option?

VGA is fine.  I hadn't really thought about it other than wanting a CRT over LCD so it looks a little more authentic.  The guts of this cab will be an older Optiplex PC.  I'm sure there is software I can use to help the picture quality over VGA or maybe it will be fine out of the box.  I've only ever used an arcade monitor or LCDs in my cabs so I'm not really sure...

I've been looking at Dell, HP, etc. and they are all just standard computer monitors with VGA a connection.  If anyone has any opinions/guidance I'm open to it.

[javeryh]

I'm a bit late to the party here, but looks great Javeryh

Shame you're not in the UK... I have a spare boxed NOS Hantarex Polo/3 17" that would be perfect! 

Looking forward to seeing how this turns out   I myself am in the process of making a Robotron Mini!

Thanks Jimbo.  Too bad you aren't in NJ - I'd have taken that monitor off of your hands!

I'm looking forward to seeing your Robotron mini - love those cabs.

[UnclearHermit]

So... slight delay incoming...


4 stitches and out of commission. I’m so mad.

I still don’t get it! How do you cut that finger on your left hand with a knife held in the same hand?! Surely the blade has to always be below that finger! 

[javeryh]

I still don’t get it! How do you cut that finger on your left hand with a knife held in the same hand?! Surely the blade has to always be below that finger! 

LOL I honestly have no idea.  I was cutting through hardboard, which is... um... hard so I had to score it over and over and over and over again and it was going slow and I was trying to finish up so I was pressing down super hard and I guess the knife just slipped somehow.  It's kind of a blur from cutting my finger open to running to the sink trying to contain the spewing blood and then going to get the stitches.  The good news is that I had it out of the bandage this morning and I have full range of motion and the cut is healing.  I'm hoping to get the stitches out in the middle of next week and then be back at it the following weekend.  I am 100% going to the gym on Monday though - this week off is killing me.

[javeryh]

Alright... boring pic time.  I can paint so....

Anyone else think the appearance of the cabinet is just as important as the playability?  They are like works of art - to me, anyway - so I want this to look nice both inside and out.  Now that I had all (most?) of the panels cut, I had to figure out how to treat every surface.  Here's the plan:

- Visible Exterior Panels: wood grain laminate (outside) or black laminate (inside)
- Hidden Exterior Panels: black Duratex (textured) paint
- Visible Interior Panels: black laminate
- Hidden Interior Panels: black paint

The first thing I did was label everything with blue painter's tape and then put two coats of BIN Zinsser primer on the Hidden Interior Panels in anticipation of the black painted top coat.



This went on in all of 5 minutes.  Easy.  Once that dried, I sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to a fairly smooth surface and then applied the black topcoat.  I used Rustoleum Matte (or Flat) Black mixed with Floetrol so that it would dry smooth and hopefully eliminate roller marks.



Now I know, this is exciting stuff.  I mean you guys are probably sitting at work and browsing the forums thinking, "man what a boring day" and then BAM!  You open this project thread and see these sick pictures and then start thinking, "wow, my day can't get any better than this" - you're welcome.

 

[Mike A]

I was going to jump off the top of my warehouse today and end it all.

Your update saved my life.

Thanks.

[wp34]

Anyone else think the appearance of the cabinet is just as important as the playability?  They are like works of art - to me, anyway - so I want this to look nice both inside and out. 

I agree 100%.  I like to play my games but end up looking at them much more since they are in our family room. 

From the pictures your paint job looks great.   

[yotsuya]

Nice. Rustoleum Flat is a good paint. It still has a nice finish that doesn’t look chalky like other flat paints. It’s also not as shiny as a semi-gloss. Good choice!

[Arroyo]

When I saw the picture I thought that you had laminated it.  That paint job looks great, nice work!

[bperkins01]

Fine work 

[javeryh]

I was going to jump off the top of my warehouse today and end it all.

Your update saved my life.

No problem.  I'm just doing my part.

I agree 100%.  I like to play my games but end up looking at them much more since they are in our family room. 

From the pictures your paint job looks great.   

Thanks!  Part of the deal with the wife is that if it's staying in the house it has to look good so I put a lot of effort into the final product.  Sometimes it works and other times not so much...

Nice. Rustoleum Flat is a good paint. It still has a nice finish that doesn’t look chalky like other flat paints. It’s also not as shiny as a semi-gloss. Good choice!

yeah - it's my favorite paint for cabinet work. It goes on nice and even,

When I saw the picture I thought that you had laminated it.  That paint job looks great, nice work!

Thanks!  I almost wish I decided to paint the entire cabinet this way.  Laminating is what got my finger in this mess.

Fine work 

Thanks!

[javeryh]

Now for the fun stuff... There are 5 of the "Visible Exterior Panels" that will receive black laminate (the inside of each side panel, the coin door panel, the bottom of the top panel and the dynamic marquee panel).

I ordered one 4'x'8' Wilsonart Black Matte sheet of laminate from Home Depot.  I initially didn't want to spend the money but the results make me think it was worth it.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures of this process because I was rushing to finish in an afternoon while the wife was at work.  I also didn't want this to go longer than a day because of the mess I was making with the router as well as the awful fumes from the contact cement even though I was outside.

Anyway, the process was relatively straightforward but not what I would call easy for one person... well maybe easy in hindsight but I sure was cursing up a storm during the process.  Here's what I did:

- Cut out over-sized pieces of laminate for each surface with my razor
- Using a 3/8" nap roller, roll on a layer of contact cement to both surfaces (the back of the laminate and the MDF surface you want to laminate)
- Wait 25-30 minutes until the glue is tacky to the touch
- Place thin dowels across the MDF with the glue on it and then lay the laminate on top (do not let them touch just yet - the bond is instant)
- Remove the middle dowel (I had 5 of them) and then using a roller or bottle of wine or rolling pin, press the laminate to the MDF and apply pressure rolling the laminate on from the middle to each end (removing the other dowels as you go
- Trim the laminate flush to the edge of the panel using your router and a flush cutting bit.

After all of that for each panel, here is what I ended up with:



Easy!  Well, not really - I only have one table so I had to do each panel individually waiting the 30 minutes for the glue to dry for each piece so it took an entire afternoon.  The panels are really nice - way better than any paint job I could have done without considerable effort.

Also, you might have noticed that I did not laminate the front marquee panel because I had to set up for that due to the delicate nature of the panel.  I'll explain that next.

[Arroyo]

Ain’t it pretty when it’s done?  Actually my favorite part is probably how it feels more than how it looks.  So smooth and even.

That’s a lot of work for one day, nice job!

[Mike A]

Ain’t it pretty when it’s done?  Actually my favorite part is probably how it feels more than how it looks.  So smooth and even.

That’s a lot of work for one day, nice job!

"So lock up your daughter, lock up your wife. Lock up your arcade cab. Run for your life. Arroyo's back in town..."

[Arroyo]

[javeryh]

Ain’t it pretty when it’s done?  Actually my favorite part is probably how it feels more than how it looks.  So smooth and even.

That’s a lot of work for one day, nice job!

Thanks - yeah, it sure does look nice once it is finished.  Also, the blemish on the bottom of the coin door panel is actually contact cement.  It rubbed right off.

[leapinlew]

rubbed right off.

Whatever you're doing to earn money for your project - keep doing it! It's looking great.

[javeryh]

Whatever you're doing to earn money for your project - keep doing it! It's looking great.

Thanks lew - I already know I'm going to blow my budget (again) on this one.  Oh well.  There are worse hobbies.

After the glue dried on the front panel glue-up, I was able to laminate right over the top of the holes that were left for the speakers and marquee.  I scraped off the excess glue and gave the panel a light sanding before applying the contact cement.  I used the same laminating technique as the other panels (cut laminate oversized, contact cement on both surfaces, roll it on, trim excess).

The trickiest part was getting a flat surface due to all of the holes that I had cut out of the panel.  The first thing I did was wrap a piece of scrap hardboard in plastic wrap.  This would be used to fill the hole for the marquee cutout and allow me to apply even pressure across the panel during the lamination process but the contact cement would not stick to the plastic wrap.



Then, using various other pieces of scrap material, including the original cut out of the panel for the entire monitor, I was able to create a jig/template to lay the panel on top of so that the plastic wrapped panel was flush and every other section of the panel was supported.



And this is what it looked like right before I laminated the panel (I removed the label before applying the contact cement, obviously):



It seemed to have worked.  I applied contact cement to the laminate and the areas on this panel that the laminate was going to bond with.  It went on easily - nice and flat - and when I trimmed the excess with my router, it looked perfect:



A rectangle!  Yay!  Next up is cutting out the holes in this panel for the marquee and two speakers...

[yotsuya]

rubbed right off.

Whatever you're doing to earn money for your project - keep doing it! It's looking great.

I think that went over his head, Lew

[javeryh]

After laminating the front panel it was now time to cut the openings for the marquee and the speakers.  This was a little tricky and I made a huge mistake in the process, which I will explain.

The first thing I did was cover the panel in blue painter's tape where I thought I had to make my cuts to protect the laminate as well as to avoid chipping as I cut the holes.



Next, I laid out where I wanted the openings to go (in pencil).  I tried keeping everything proportional - I wanted the openings to look similar and the border all the way around to be consistent... this is what ended up causing the mistake.  I forgot to take the control panel into consideration - it will rest on top of this panel and is 3/4" thick.  So the border along the top should be 3/4" thinner than the border on the other sides to account for this.  But I didn't account for it.  I'm not sure it's a huge deal but I had originally thought of this and planned for it and when I went to cut the holes I just forgot.  Oh well.

After laying out the holes, I used some double sided tape to stick down some scrap wood along the lines to give the ball bearing on my router bit a guide.



And then I cut out the holes...



The lines are all very straight - perfect rectangles with rounded corners due to the router bit not being able to get all the way into the corners of my guide.  I'll probably leave the corners rounded because it's too easy to mess up if I tried squaring them up.  Plus, it looks good to me.  After taking these pics I spent some time cleaning up all of the edges of the laminate - they were covered in glue.

Here are some shots of the back of the panel.



The hardboard used to be 3/4" taller because when I originally planned everything I had meant to cut that opening 3/4" higher.  This ended up being a huge pain (literally) to fix.  I had to measure down 3/4" and then use a razor and score a line through the hardboard (but not the laminate) and peel it off so that I would be able to sandwich some plexiglas behind the laminate lip and in front of the monitor.  That's what I was doing when I almost cut my finger off (stitches came out a couple of days ago and by next week I should be able to have full use but I still have no feeling).



The plexiglas and speakers will go right up against the exposed laminate.  The plexiglas is the same thickness (1/8") as the brown hardboard so the monitor can be placed right on top.  I will be securing that from behind using the monitor's vesa mounting screws.

I think I'm finally at the part where I can start assembling all of these panels into something resembling a cabinet.  My goal this weekend is to put it together so it stands up and also figure out the monitor mount.

 

[wp34]

Nice.  Looking forward to seeing you put this together.

If I understand your "mistake" I made the same one on my Tron cabinet with my speaker openings.  I'm the only one that notices but I see it every...dang...time.   

[Arroyo]

Nice job Javery.  I see now how and why you got injured.  I’d have been cursing up a storm as well.  Looks like the net result though came out great.  Looking forward to seeing it put together.

[javeryh]

Nice.  Looking forward to seeing you put this together.

If I understand your "mistake" I made the same one on my Tron cabinet with my speaker openings.  I'm the only one that notices but I see it every...dang...time.   

Oh no I did not need to read this... I made a second panel because I'm slightly mad and just have to cut out the openings if I really want to get that 3/4" back. 

What do you guys think?  I'm sure you can picture it - the CP will rest on top of this panel (above the dynamic marquee) and add 3/4" due to the thickness of the panel BUT I am planning on rounding over that edge so it's not quite 3/4" at least to the eyes.  I could do a full roundover or a slight roundover or anything in between.  After effing it up I started rationalizing it in my head and I'm actually thinking it might look better with the even border all the way around on that panel with the rounded over piece sitting on top.  I will have that tough polycarbonite artwork for the CP so it can be any color I want - I could make it black to try and blend it or maybe white to highlight it (and it would make the uniformity of the front panel even more pronounced).  I keep going back and forth, which probably means it doesn't actually matter but this is the stuff I get hung up on all the time.

Nice job Javery.  I see now how and why you got injured.  I’d have been cursing up a storm as well.  Looks like the net result though came out great.  Looking forward to seeing it put together.

Thanks - I'm still pretty mad at myself.  You can see the blood stain in the upper left corner of the panel on the back.  I'm going to paint over it but I'm thinking about adding a drop of red paint to that location as a reminder.

[javeryh]

Well, I learned today that double sided tape is stronger than the contact cement bond.  Completely ruined the front panel and the panel I had glued up to it.  I think I'm going to take a break from this project for a while before redoing this for a third time.

[bperkins01]

oh boy...  Sorry to hear that..  I use it a lot.. its very strong stuff..  depending on what I'm holding..  I use a couple of small 1-2" pieces at most..   

[javeryh]

oh boy...  Sorry to hear that..  I use it a lot.. its very strong stuff..  depending on what I'm holding..  I use a couple of small 1-2" pieces at most..   

I should have known - thought I was being smart by adding a caul to the glue up so the clamps wouldn't dent the piece.  I used the tape for the bottom one... oh well.

[javeryh]

Ugh.

[wp34]

Oh man I feel your pain.   

[Arroyo]

Would obviously be a pain, but if you use the lifted areas and start applying Acetone in-between the laminate and the wood you could probably get the laminate off.

I’ve been using it extensively to clean off areas that have contact cement and it’s pretty incredible how well it works.

Bummer.

[javeryh]

Oh man I feel your pain.

yeah, this was rough.  I haven't been careful the last few times I've worked on this thing.  I'm rushing through everything because time is so limited.  My goal was to be finished by Memorial Day but that's arbitrary so I need to take a deep breath and just do things at my own glacial pace.

Although the more I think about it the more I think I like my "mistake" in where I cut the marquee opening so going forward that's what I'm going to do so there's some silver lining.

Would obviously be a pain, but if you use the lifted areas and start applying Acetone in-between the laminate and the wood you could probably get the laminate off.

I’ve been using it extensively to clean off areas that have contact cement and it’s pretty incredible how well it works.

Bummer.

You know, I didn't even think of trying to remove the laminate and try again.  The panel itself is fine underneath.  Wish I would have thought of that yesterday.  When I said I was taking a break it turns out I meant about 12 hours - I completely remade both panels yesterday but couldn't laminate because I'm out of contact cement.  I took my time and it ended up being fun again instead of just another task I was hurrying to finish.  I'm stopping at Home Depot at lunch today to pick some up and if they close my office, which I would expect in the next couple of days, I will be off to the races again.

[Arroyo]

which I would expect in the next couple of days, I will be off to the races again.

That’s funny you say that.  I was just thinking about how this virus crap has led to a slew of time for me to work on my project.  I was smiling all weekend.

[wp34]

I drilled through the back of a cabinet I was working on yesterday.  It won't be real noticeable but still pissed me off.  Had been working on it all day and decided that was my signal to take a break.

[Mike A]

which I would expect in the next couple of days, I will be off to the races again.

That’s funny you say that.  I was just thinking about how this virus crap has led to a slew of time for me to work on my project.  I was smiling all weekend.

So does that mean the completion date has been bumped back from early 2045?

[Arroyo]

So does that mean the completion date has been bumped back from early 2045?

Listen here sonny.

[javeryh]

Well, it is standing up.  What a huge pain.  That said, I'm really happy with the control panel height and overall dimensions.  It's going to be perfectly playable but not a huge hulking thing that requires a lot of real estate in my basement.



I had to cut the front panel and laminate it yet again - I guess third time's the charm.  I wasn't quite sure how to assemble everything accurately so I did it on its side but getting the 2 side panels to exactly line up took me forever and even still I'm off by 1mm in some spots.  Leg levelers should work out the kinks though.

Things should move a bit quicker from here.  I ordered the t-molding and vinyl for the side panels. I have an old PC but can't figure out the second monitor to save my life - like, I can't even get it to display anything never mind setting up the marquees.  My plan right now is to order a BigBox license - it looks like that will be the easiest way to get it working.

Tomorrow, I will take it all apart, remove the blue tape and reassemble it using glue.  Right now there are just a few screws holding it together.  Not sure what the glue will even do since most of the surfaces are laminated but it can't hurt (anyone have any thoughts on this?).  The screws seem to hold it together just fine.

I finally found some motivation in quarantine even though I'm going slightly crazy.  Haven't left my house since March other than to walk the dog and my daily run and evening bike ride.  I probably forgot how to drive at this point.  Anyway, work is really slow right now and I've been wanting to actually accomplish something so here we are...

[wp34]

That looks great.  Nice to see Bella again as well.   

Tomorrow, I will take it all apart, remove the blue tape and reassemble it using glue.  Right now there are just a few screws holding it together.  Not sure what the glue will even do since most of the surfaces are laminated but it can't hurt (anyone have any thoughts on this?).  The screws seem to hold it together just fine.

Do you have a pockethole jig?

[javeryh]

That looks great.  Nice to see Bella again as well.   

Thanks.  I'm quite pleased on how this is coming out - it's the same overall height as Bella's but I won't have to sit to play on it.  Now that my kids are older that one doesn't get as much play as it used to but I could never bring myself to get rid of it - too many good memories.  The computer died over last summer so I need to fix it too and there are a few improvements I want to make - a lot has happened with this hobby over the last 15 years!

Do you have a pockethole jig?

No - it's on my list.  I thought about buying one for this project specifically but never got around to it.  Is it easy to line stuff up using the jig?  It looks easy but I can't tell from videos.  I also thought about using biscuits for the joints but I am not confident I could put a biscuit EXACTLY where I would want it to go...  The offset on the interior panels from the side panels gave me quite a headache.  I used furring strips but even that was hard to line up exactly - I need to let go of things like being off by the thickness of a pencil line.  Drives me crazy in the moment, which is why I work at a glacier pace.