javeryh's Woodgrain Cabaret Copy

[wp34]

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.

The Kreg jig I have is super easy to use.  Lining it up is simple but clamping can be a bit tricky (but not impossible) on larger pieces.  If you have furring strips already in place I would think glue and screw would be fine.

[markc74]

Looking really good fella. I think the front panel caused me the most difficulty when I was making my cabaret. Definitely redid it at least once (I've blocked that part out!)

I used glue and screws with the laminate. Not sure if it added much strength but the thing was solid as a rock when done.

[javeryh]

Looking really good fella. I think the front panel caused me the most difficulty when I was making my cabaret. Definitely redid it at least once (I've blocked that part out!)

I used glue and screws with the laminate. Not sure if it added much strength but the thing was solid as a rock when done.

Thanks Mark - I'm trying to do your design justice.  It's a lot tougher than it looks!  It had been a while since I built something this size and getting the sides to line up and make sure everything is square was super tricky.  My favorite detail is how you broke up the front panel with that little curve going into the bottom half of the profile but that added a lot of complexity to the build.  If you go look at an old Asteroids it looks so plain in comparison even though it is roughly the same shape. 

[Arroyo]

Glad to see you working on this again javery.  I was worried you lost steam, but by the looks of it is turning out really nice.  What ultimate techniques/process did you go with for the front panel?  You've got my curiosity.  Nice work. 

[javeryh]

Glad to see you working on this again javery.  I was worried you lost steam, but by the looks of it is turning out really nice.  What ultimate techniques/process did you go with for the front panel?  You've got my curiosity.  Nice work. 

I live in the darkest colored state on the coronavirus map so I haven't been able to do much of anything for months.  Neighbors have it, friends have it and over 1,000 people have died in my county alone.  I haven't been able to go to Home Depot and honestly the whole thing has been pretty awful so I lost a lot of momentum.  Working from home took a lot of adjusting as well.  Things have calmed down over the last few weeks and with the nice weather finally here I decided I was going to finish this project.

For the front panel, I didn't really change anything up.  I routed out the area for the marquee monitor and the speakers and laminated over top of it and then cut out the holes in the laminate for everything to peek through.  There will be a 1/8" piece of plexi in front of the screen so I got it pretty close to the front instead of letting it sit back 1/2" (the thickness of the front panel).

Once the vinyl and t-molding arrive things should go relatively quick.  Since the cabinet is assembled, I can work on it a little at a time until I finish.  I still need to source a 17" CRT though.  I may use a LCD temporarily if I can't find anything in time but I'd prefer not to.  I also need to start thinking about the CP layout and the artwork.  I've got plenty to keep me busy!

[javeryh]

Minor update.  Got the cabinet disassembled and reassembled yesterday removing all of the blue tape (except where I drew guidelines for the angle of the CP and monitor).  I also installed the coin door and the power button under the front lip.







Today I will fill the 4 screw holes in the side panels with bondo and sand it smooth in anticipation of the vinyl.  I also need to order some stuff so I'll spend time on that today as well.

[wp34]

That looks stunning.  You have to be very happy with how this is turning out.

[bperkins01]

Nice clean work - I'm a fan of that 

[javeryh]

That looks stunning.  You have to be very happy with how this is turning out.

Thanks!  I am quite happy so far.  It will be nice to get this up and running if I can ever figure out the computer/monitor situation.

Nice clean work - I'm a fan of that 

Thanks - I try to make it look as clean as possible, which I guess everyone does... but if I want this to stay in the house, it can't look like it was slapped together in a weekend even if it does end up in the basement.  This is actually a big problem for me - I get so caught up in making it "perfect" that I get paralyzed from working on it.

 

[Arroyo]

I get so caught up in making it "perfect" that I get paralyzed from working on it.

I think we are twins.


Great job buddy, those lines are super clean, and the profile is very classy.  Don’t give up on that 17” CRT, that would be icing on the cake.  Keep it up.

[javeryh]

I get so caught up in making it "perfect" that I get paralyzed from working on it.

I think we are twins.


Great job buddy, those lines are super clean, and the profile is very classy.  Don’t give up on that 17” CRT, that would be icing on the cake.  Keep it up.

Thanks man.  I haven't given up on the CRT but I am getting discouraged.  I just don't think I should have to pay $100 for one...  I will keep looking!

I made a very small amount of progress today but any progress is good if you ask me.  Next up is mounting the marquee monitor in the front of the cabinet.  The first thing I did was run a Sharpie around the edge of the laminate to make sure it was black to match the front.



This was fairly easy even though I don't have the steadiest of hands any more.  Getting old is fun! 

The next thing I did was cut down a piece of 1/8" plexiglas to fit the area behind the laminate and in front of the monitor.  I cut it slightly oversized and then sanded down the edge so that it would be a tight fit and stay in place with just friction.  I glued a piece of 1/8" hardboard behind the laminate in the huge hole I cut out the exact size of the monitor in the 1/2" MDF panel.  This was to provide rigidity for the laminate and also to line up nicely with the plexiglas since they are the same thickness.



This is what it looks like with the plexiglas in place (obviously I will remove the protective paper before final installation of the monitor.



And this is a shot from the front because why not. I love the laminate but the laminate loves fingerprints.  I'll need to give this a good wipe down before final pics.



When I next get some free time I'm going to figure out the monitor mount.  I'm either going to (1) use the Vesa mounting brackets and one piece of MDF stretching to each inside wall of the cabinet or (2) use custom brackets made out of MDF or wood to hold down each corner of the monitor.  Not sure yet.

I ordered 2 Atari Volcano buttons yesterday and I'm still waiting on the wood vinyl to be shipped so I'm trying to think of stuff to do to keep things moving while I wait.  Control panel design is not final yet so maybe I can focus on that too...

 

[Arroyo]

As always looking good buddy!  Those are some clean cuts. 

Are you going to reinforce the laminate around the speakers with something?

[javeryh]

As always looking good buddy!  Those are some clean cuts. 

Are you going to reinforce the laminate around the speakers with something?

Not really... the front covers of the speakers fit perfectly into the cutouts.  They are molded plastic wrapped in speaker cloth so it should be sturdy enough.  I'll probably attach them with hot glue or something.  They have 4 screw holes on the back for the actual speaker so I think it is a good solution.

[wp34]

That looks great!  You are dead-on about laminate and fingerprints.  Especially black laminate.

I'm looking forward to seeing your CP. 

[javeryh]

That looks great!  You are dead-on about laminate and fingerprints.  Especially black laminate.

I'm looking forward to seeing your CP.

Thanks.  The fingerprints are making me a little nuts but some windex takes them right out...

I am also looking forward to seeing my CP.  Not 100% sure yet what I want the layout to look like other than a ServoStik with 3 "action" buttons and 2 atari volcano buttons for P1 start and P2 start.  I'm not sold on anything else but I'm also considering a volume knob and exit button.  A spinner would be nice since I have one laying around but I do not think there will be room.  The CP is only 18.5" wide so not a ton of space and I do not want any confusion on how it operates when people play it... and I also don't want people accidentally exiting a game if they don't mean to.  I'm still thinking about it.  Part of the inspiration for this cabinet is Minwah's cabaret and the CP on that thing is super simple and super elegant.

I just got an email saying the vinyl siding should arrive July 1.  The t-molding arrived today.  So next week it should really start to look like a finished cabinet!

[jennifer]

 

[Arroyo]

I would think a 100.00 CRT wouldn't be out of line for such a nicely built cab, a Lcd would give it a cheap look, like a 8 liner.

Agreed.   

[Jimbo]

Javeryh... I will slap you if you put an LCD in this... it deserves better!

[Laythe]

I love this build.  Great work!

I'm a big fan of this design, and you're doing it justice. 

[javeryh]

I would think a 100.00 CRT wouldn't be out of line for such a nicely built cab, a Lcd would give it a cheap look, like a 8 liner.

Agreed.   

Javeryh... I will slap you if you put an LCD in this... it deserves better!

LOL.  You guys are right... I need to find a 17" CRT for this build.  I went to the recycling place in town on Saturday and jumped into the electronics dumpster.  There was so much stuff in there but no 17" monitor.  There was a 17" TV but it just had a coax connector so I didn't take it.  I thought about it but that was right around the time I started getting yelled at by an employee to get out of the dumpster.  There were so many 4:3 LCDs in there and I am almost certain a majority of them worked.  Oh well. 

Any ideas other than eBay/craigslist to get my hands on an old monitor?

I love this build.  Great work!

I'm a big fan of this design, and you're doing it justice.

Thanks - appreciate the comments especially since your builds are the gold standard around here.   

My volcano buttons came over the weekend so this week I can start laying out the CP and when the vinyl wood grain gets here on Wednesday I should be off to the races (again). 

I'm still tinkering with the computer - I got Launchbox up and running, and MAME working just fine (.217) with about 150 games loaded up.  I will probably purchase the Bigbox license so I can use the marquee screen (and custom layouts), however, I learned that you cannot place the image wherever you want on the second screen - I have to PM a mod over at the forums and he will try and modify the xaml file, which places the image dead center as the default.  Bummer.  Hopefully I'll be able to see what he does with it so I can tweak it as necessary.

[Jimbo]

Are you 100% settled on 17".  You can probably find a 14" cocktail monitor far easier... and I don't think that would look too bad if you make a nice cardboard bezel.  17" are not very common.

Shame you're not in the UK... I have a 17" NOS Hantarex Polo you could have!

[Arroyo]

Are you 100% settled on 17".  You can probably find a 14" cocktail monitor far easier... and I don't think that would look too bad if you make a nice cardboard bezel.  17" are not very common.

Shame you're not in the UK... I have a 17" NOS Hantarex Polo you could have!

There’s a 14” for sale for $75 on KLOV, only problem is, you’d have to pay for shipping from Wisconsin.

[Gilrock]

Only $100?  buy it.  I paid $500 for a 19" CRT that had a rebuilt chassis and tube swap but it did include shipping across the country.  I don't regret it at all in fact I liked it so much I bought a second one...lol.

[Mike A]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Next time I go to AZ I think I will drive. I can load up my van with 19 inch CRTs and make a fortune.

[Gilrock]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Next time I go to AZ I think I will drive. I can load up my van with 19 inch CRTs and make a fortune.

LOL...  I did try to ask around on the AZ Collectors facebook group but when you're a brand new nobody asking for a CRT there wasn't any response.  I did have a guy buy a use MAME control panel from me last year and when he picked it up he said he was one of the repair guys at ZapCon.  He seemed impressed with how nice my CRT image was.  It looks brand new.

[javeryh]

Only $100?  buy it.  I paid $500 for a 19" CRT that had a rebuilt chassis and tube swap but it did include shipping across the country.  I don't regret it at all in fact I liked it so much I bought a second one...lol.

OK maybe $100 isn't so bad...  Now that I know this I will definitely talk myself into the $100 by the end of the week for sure haha.  I'm using an old PC in this build so I want something easy.  An old 17" Dell CRT should do the trick.

[Laythe]

I will probably purchase the Bigbox license so I can use the marquee screen (and custom layouts), however, I learned that you cannot place the image wherever you want on the second screen - I have to PM a mod over at the forums and he will try and modify the xaml file, which places the image dead center as the default.  Bummer.  Hopefully I'll be able to see what he does with it so I can tweak it as necessary.

Couldn't you just make all your marquees an image the native res of the panel, and then locate the visible part wherever the heck you want?

Like, if you're using a 1280x1024 panel, make a 1280x1024 black image with the 1280x300 (or whatever) marquee wherever you want.  To get good results you're going to be photoshopping the heck out of all the marquees to make them fit your aspect ratio anyway.  Bigbox can put that fullscreen image "centered" or at 0,0 or anything it wants, and you can have complete control over the result, no patch or config hackery required.

[bperkins01]

---steaming pile of meadow muffin---. Next time I go to AZ I think I will drive. I can load up my van with 19 inch CRTs and make a fortune.

Road trip?

[Mike A]

More like a traveling circus.

[jennifer]

 .

[Mike A]

Jennifer. Please stop cooking meth with no ventilation.

[Laythe]

Laythe...Omg you make that sound l little too easy...My local bigbox won't talk to Jenn, can't get me out of the shop fast enough, So over the years had to learn that the hard way...I just spent the last week trying to just get the scans for my new secret project (long story🙄).

Jennifer, or javeryh - Let me know if you want a hand formatting marquees for digital panels.  I did a bunch of it for Mimic, I can make up some examples of what I mean.  Send me a PM if you wanna take me up on it.

It could be scripted via imagemagick if you need many hundreds done, but a good game list for a mame cabinet shouldn't be that big.  Better to do a couple dozens of good games well, than a thousand games badly.

[javeryh]

Jennifer, or javeryh - Let me know if you want a hand formatting marquees for digital panels.  I did a bunch of it for Mimic, I can make up some examples of what I mean.  Send me a PM if you wanna take me up on it.

It could be scripted via imagemagick if you need many hundreds done, but a good game list for a mame cabinet shouldn't be that big.  Better to do a couple dozens of good games well, than a thousand games badly.

Thanks Laythe - this is very generous of you.  I'll let you know if I can't get it working when the time comes.

So the vinyl was delivered and one of the rolls was crushed during shipping.  The roll has some folds in it... I'm annoyed.  Can this be smoothed out during the application process or do I need to wait another month for a new shipment?

[Jimbo]

I don't know, but could you cut a spare bit off, fold it, and then see what happens on a spare bit of wood?

[javeryh]

I don't know, but could you cut a spare bit off, fold it, and then see what happens on a spare bit of wood?

Great idea.  I'll test it out. 

The folds are also somewhat close to the end of the roll and if I line it up all the way to the other side with the back of the cabinet there is only about 1" where it could be seen.  Assuming I can smooth it out decently I'll probably just go with it.  I just don't want this to sit for another month if I can avoid it.

[bperkins01]

Sometimes a little bit of heat (iron over a wet towel) will clean up the crease if its a real issue (again - test in some scrap)

[Jimbo]

I don't know, but could you cut a spare bit off, fold it, and then see what happens on a spare bit of wood?

Great idea.  I'll test it out. 

Just make sure you cut a spare bit and not the bit you need to use!

[javeryh]

What do you guys think about adding a base to the cabinet?  I'm thinking 1" max and painted black - just to get the side panels off of the ground  Right now, the side panels are supporting all of the weight and I had planned for the t-molding to wrap completely around the side panels... and that's not going to work if they are sitting on the ground. 

My other thought is to just add some blocking on the bottom for some leg levelers.  That would get it off of the ground as well but not sure how it will look.  I'm going for aesthetics here over functionality.  If they will both do the trick, I want to go with what will look better.  Also, something to consider is that the extra 1" would make the CP an even better height.

[bperkins01]

Blocking and levelers.

These are my favorite at the moment.
You can even get it 1/2" off the ground.  If the floor is slightly uneven - it will rock around.. Put some feet on it and protect your woodworking.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081PR4DDH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[javeryh]

Blocking and levelers.

These are my favorite at the moment.
You can even get it 1/2" off the ground.  If the floor is slightly uneven - it will rock around.. Put some feet on it and protect your woodworking.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081PR4DDH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

OK... I'll give the blocking a shot.  It's easiest.  I have some leg levelers but they aren't heavy duty or anything.  They have a threaded insert but not sure how high I can go with them.  I'm guessing they will work though.  I'll cut 4 square blocks for the corners and drill a hole in the center and see what happens.  I'll mount them with double sided tape, which should hold for testing purposes, before I glue the blocks in place permanently.