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Author Topic: 4 Player Pedestal Build  (Read 17597 times)

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Shookie

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4 Player Pedestal Build
« on: December 28, 2020, 11:13:37 pm »
New member of the site.. getting started on my 1st build and have my 14 year old son helping me out.  He's been asking for an old school system for a while and I told him I wasn't going out and spending $5K to buy one.  If he wanted one, he had to help me build it so here we are.....  I'm a pretty handy guy (mid-40's) but have never built an arcade before, so I have some stuff to learn.  Have been reading and researching for a few weeks now.  Already have the panel partially designed in Fusion 360.

Key items in the build are:

  - 4 Players (pedestal style with a big TV mounted on a wall)
  - Servo Stick joysticks with LED balls
  - 7 buttons for P1 and P2, all LED
  - 4 buttons for P3 and P4, all LED
  - 4 buttons on sides for pinball style games, all LED
  - Trackball with RGB lighting
  - Separate player and coin buttons for all 4 players, all LED
  - Admin buttons including Play, Start, Stop/Exit, Volume Up, Volume Down and 2 Mouse buttons (left/right), all LED
  - Spinner with 2 separate buttons, LED
  - 4 cup holders

I am looking at Ultimarc for most of the hardware.  Was originally going to install a 5th joystick dedicated for 4-way games.  Decided against it and think I'm going to us Servo Stick joysticks and set it up to automatically switch to the right mode for each game.  I want the system to be as easy to use as possible for my wife, kids, friends, etc.  I'm welcome to other ideas here.

Ultralux buttons (with chrome) for everything except Admin, will use Gold Leaf for them.  I like the inserts on the Ultimarc site for $, players, start, pause, etc.....  I think 2 - I-Pac Ultimates should handle all of the joysticks, buttons and LED's.

Will add some USB connections, fans, etc.  Debating on adding speakers to the sides of the panel vs on the lower portion of the pedestal.  Haven't thought a ton about that yet.  Definitely don't want to rely on crap TV speakers.

For graphics, my son is working on designing something with all old school game characters.  A big collage of stuff on top of the panel.  Everything else will probably be black paint.  Maybe some random stickers on the sides.

For electronics, thinking a PC right now.  Love the simplicity of the PI 4 but think I want a little more horsepower.  Liking the Launchbox/BigBox interface and am leaning that way.  Haven't spent a ton of time looking at options there yet since I'm haven't even bought parts or started building yet.

Here's a pic of my son and I drawing out some different designs.  Helped a lot with spacing things right and translating that to Fusion.  It seems OK this way, but I've read some criticism of this shape.... will keep looking more.

The panel so far..... 48 inches wide, 6 inches tall and around 20 inches deep.

I'm open to any and all suggestions.  Looking forward to this!


« Last Edit: December 30, 2020, 04:35:15 pm by Shookie »

BadMouth

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #1 on: December 29, 2020, 06:09:21 pm »
Link no worky.  At least not on tapatalk.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #2 on: December 30, 2020, 01:13:44 pm »
Link no worky.  At least not on tapatalk.
Realized I could put pictures right into the post.... hope that works better.
« Last Edit: December 30, 2020, 04:36:01 pm by Shookie »

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2021, 12:14:17 am »
Looks like a good start Shookie!  I definetly recommend prototyping the panel before committing

For me personally, I wouldn't put cup holders anywhere on it.  If you can't live without them I would put them on the sides or maybe even slightly under the cp. Putting them right up by the front is going to cause a number of distractions.   I would also reconsider some of your dedicated buttons.  How often will you need a mouse L and R button?  Assuming its for rare maintenance situations, leave that to a regular mouse inside the cab or use any of the buttons from the player controls.  I would also reconsider the outer player control layout.   You're going to all this trouble to make a 4 player cab, so make sure those outer players have just as good an experience as the inner.  Think about the type of 4 player games you want to play and how important wrist rests and elbow room are to you.  Good luck!
« Last Edit: January 04, 2021, 01:56:54 am by vertexguy »

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2021, 08:31:19 am »
Looks like a good start Shookie!  I definetly recommend prototyping the panel before committing

For me personally, I wouldn't put cup holders anywhere on it.  If you can't live without them I would put them on the sides or maybe even slightly under the cp. Putting them right up by the front is going to cause a number of distractions.   I would also reconsider some of your dedicated buttons.  How often will you need a mouse L and R button?  Assuming its for rare maintenance situations, leave that to a regular mouse inside the cab or use any of the buttons from the player controls.  I would also reconsider the outer player control layout.   You're going to all this trouble to make a 4 player cab, so make sure those outer players have just as good an experience as the inner.  Think about the type of 4 player games you want to play and how important wrist rests and elbow room are to you.  Good luck!

Thanks!

I can understand about the cup holders.  I kinda want them there and my son does as well so will keep them in the plan right now.  I'm sure at some point there will be a spill and I'll be annoyed, but I'll deal with it. 

About the mouse buttons, I've seen some other layouts with them and felt it was a nice idea to use in conjunction with the trackball.  You make a good point though.  Having a mouse below with the computer is easy and saves a few buttons, wiring, clutter, etc.

Regarding P3 and P4, We drew it out a few times and think what we have works.  That said, won't really know till I actually build a mockup of it.  Either cardboard or a thin sheet pf plywood or something.... will definitely build a test version and make sure the layout works.  We put the P4 joystick further forward so that persons elbow is far enough in front of P2's elbow.  Seems to make sense, but we will see.

Ultimarc has been out of stock on the trackball and spinner.  I think they are back in stock beginning of next week and I plan on placing my order for all the parts then.  Once I have everything, then I can mockup the CP and see how everything looks.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2021, 12:09:51 pm »
Just placed my order with Ultimarc!  Exciting times!!!

  - 4 Servo Sticks
  - 4 Illuminated Handles
  - 2 ServoStick Control Boards
  - Mounting Kits for Joysticks
  - 25 Goldleaf Buttons
  - 14 Ultralux buttons with inserts
  - 2 I-Pac Ultimate I/O's
  - Trackball with RGB lighting
  - SpinTrak Spinner
 
Read a bunch more about buttons and also emailed Andy back and forth.  Decided to use their Goldleaf buttons for the main player buttons and Ultralux for player select, coin, admin, etc.  Decided to eliminate extra buttons for pinball and mouse.  Ordered 1 extra of each just in case I break 1 or something.  Always nice to have a local spare instead of ordering again.

Once I get these, will work up some cardboard mockups and settle on a CP layout.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #6 on: February 01, 2021, 01:50:45 pm »
Giddy Up!

javeryh

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #7 on: February 01, 2021, 02:07:29 pm »
Better than Christmas morning!

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2021, 02:23:01 pm »
Isn't that so fun?...It takes awhile to put a list like that together, but guessing you are missing a few things, best to do what you got, and keep a list for the next order as to save on shipping a piece at a time...I would have to agree on the no cup holder controversy however, it seems cluttered and in the way...Want a drink? Kitchen is down the hall on the left.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #9 on: December 21, 2021, 10:40:56 am »
Life comes along and somehow slows things down.....  All of that hardware I bought has been collecting dust since January.  Have some time off now for the holidays and I'm finally getting back to this.  First thing is to get the CP mockup done to confirm all the joystick and button locations.

pbj

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #10 on: December 21, 2021, 02:55:38 pm »
I'll give you $50 for it when you throw in the towel.


bobbyb13

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #11 on: December 21, 2021, 11:38:06 pm »
You have even less time than I do it appears.

Don't weaken.

And please ditch the cupholders.
 :)
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #12 on: December 22, 2021, 08:52:56 am »
I'll give you $50 for it when you throw in the towel.
Ha, $50 for $1,000 worth of joysticks, buttons, trackball, LED's, etc....  I'll save you $50, keep it, and finish this thing at some point.  Would love to be done in 6 months, but I'll realistically say a year.  I finished my entire basement on my own and that took about 2 years.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #13 on: December 22, 2021, 08:56:12 am »
You have even less time than I do it appears.

Don't weaken.

And please ditch the cupholders.
 :)
Just kept putting it off.... between work, vacation, kids, life, etc, just didn't make it a priority.  Now, it is.

Been thinking more about the cupholders.  Will probably take them out.  Have been thinking about something that would bolt onto the side of the CP perhaps???  I dunno, still thinking about it.

My first order of business is to get a CP mockup made and starting drawing the base of the pedestal.  I'm not sure how wide I want to make it.  For sure, has to be wide enough to be stable.

bobbyb13

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #14 on: December 23, 2021, 12:07:35 am »
I'm looking forward to building a pedestal at some point myself too.

Dr. Zero posted this a while back which is really valuable if you want a proven design.

http://www.drzero.org/videogames/dynamo/

HS-15 model is what I'll be building for myself.
There are plan and profile drawings in the pdf there to help with dimensions, and the control panel width for that is 36".

Looks really easy to build as 2 or maybe even 3 modular pieces to be managable when apart and really stable when bolted together.

No need to reinvent the wheel (unless you want to have to put 3 concrete blocks inside your pedestal to keep it stable!)

Which would be fine if it works of course!


Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #15 on: December 23, 2021, 03:24:31 am »
If I was building a pedestal again, I would delete the 7th button for player one and two.  I would also delete the trackball. 

Keep going with the build.  You'll get there.
My previous projects:

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #16 on: December 23, 2021, 08:25:49 am »
If I was building a pedestal again, I would delete the 7th button for player one and two.  I would also delete the trackball. 

Keep going with the build.  You'll get there.


I'm curious as to why?  Mortal Kombat gets a lot of play in my cabs, and so does NeoGeo.  I have a straight 6-pack with the 7th offset and I've found that to be the most useful for me.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #17 on: December 23, 2021, 03:21:52 pm »
I'm looking forward to building a pedestal at some point myself too.

Dr. Zero posted this a while back which is really valuable if you want a proven design.

http://www.drzero.org/videogames/dynamo/

HS-15 model is what I'll be building for myself.
There are plan and profile drawings in the pdf there to help with dimensions, and the control panel width for that is 36".

Looks really easy to build as 2 or maybe even 3 modular pieces to be managable when apart and really stable when bolted together.

No need to reinvent the wheel (unless you want to have to put 3 concrete blocks inside your pedestal to keep it stable!)

Which would be fine if it works of course!

Thanks for that, I'll give it a more detailed look.  For my design, I'm going as minimal as possible.  I'm going to hang a big TV on the wall and just have the pedestals/CP with the PC and that kind of stuff on board.  Much easier to move around with no disassembly....  I've been thinking of putting speakers into it somewhere, but might just get a soundbar instead.  I have an old sub I can use as well.  Plenty of time to change my mind on all that!

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #18 on: December 23, 2021, 03:23:42 pm »
If I was building a pedestal again, I would delete the 7th button for player one and two.  I would also delete the trackball. 

Keep going with the build.  You'll get there.

Already bought all of the buttons and the trackball so those are going to remain.  Mainly want the trackball hoping I can play some golden tee on it.... even if it's an old version.  I'm sure there are plenty of other games to use it for.

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #19 on: December 25, 2021, 08:30:44 pm »
Mortal Kombat uses just the six buttons.  I just found I never used the 7th as I have not really played neo goo games on the original back in the day and therefore haven't sought four buttons in a row.  I also found a trackball is a waste of space on my rig.  Just a personal preference.  I was warned about it before my build and didn't listen either.  But I now regret it.  Just a personal choice.  Keep building!! We're watching!
My previous projects:

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #20 on: December 27, 2021, 12:09:25 pm »
Have the mockup done.  Pics below....  think I'm going to adjust the position of the P1 and P2 buttons.

Started drilling holes.  They are perfectly round!


Thinking about the spinner location.  Want to keep it out of the path of hands using the trackball


Finished


The back before the fun starts....


Thinking I might move the P1 and P2 buttons a bit higher up.... Perhaps the trackball down a bit.


Wondering about P4 button positions.  Move more to the left so players palm is on the wood?

« Last Edit: December 27, 2021, 08:34:52 pm by Shookie »

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #21 on: December 27, 2021, 06:46:33 pm »
Have been trying to post pictures in the thread for posting images but I keep getting a failed security check tried posting in this thread too and no luck.... oh well. 

It"a the size of the images you are trying to post. Downscale your picture a bit, and they'll post just fine.

bobbyb13

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #22 on: December 27, 2021, 07:51:31 pm »
I design all of my control panels to ensure the heel of the player's palm has a place to rest on the top during play.

Far more comfortable, if a bit deeper of a panel.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #23 on: December 27, 2021, 08:31:01 pm »
Have been trying to post pictures in the thread for posting images but I keep getting a failed security check tried posting in this thread too and no luck.... oh well. 

It"a the size of the images you are trying to post. Downscale your picture a bit, and they'll post just fine.

Thanks!  Went down to 1024x768 and that worked.  I didn't realize size (other than file size) mattered.

pbj

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #24 on: December 27, 2021, 09:23:20 pm »
How in the hell did you spend over $1,000 on that control panel?


Zebidee

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #25 on: December 27, 2021, 10:00:17 pm »
How in the hell did you spend over $1,000 on that control panel?

That sheet of plywood, pretty expensive these days I hear :D
Check out my completed projects!


bobbyb13

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #26 on: December 27, 2021, 11:13:23 pm »
Any cabinet ply worth using is still over $100 per 4x8 sheet in my neighborhood.

Home Cheapo stopped carrying the Purebond stuff that was so nice to work with (at $65/sheet too) for some Araucaria stuff from Peru that is nowhere near as nice- for even more $$.

PLEASE spend the money on a few proper hole saws.
That will be awful to continue with.

And you do yourself a huge disservice if not using 3/4" plywood.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2021, 11:15:43 pm by bobbyb13 »
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #27 on: December 28, 2021, 09:12:02 am »
How in the hell did you spend over $1,000 on that control panel?

With shipping, the order was $1,073.  2 iPac's, lots of buttons, spinner, trackball, etc....  it adds up.  Doesn't even include the wood  ;)
« Last Edit: December 28, 2021, 09:19:32 am by Shookie »

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #28 on: December 28, 2021, 09:14:56 am »
How in the hell did you spend over $1,000 on that control panel?

That sheet of plywood, pretty expensive these days I hear :D

Bought wood yesterday and started cutting. I got 2 sheets of 3/4" maple plywood.  $66 a sheet.  I'll get more pictures up today.  Can't find a slot cutter for my router locally so looks like I have to order it.  That will slow things down a little....

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #29 on: December 28, 2021, 09:18:40 am »
Any cabinet ply worth using is still over $100 per 4x8 sheet in my neighborhood.

Home Cheapo stopped carrying the Purebond stuff that was so nice to work with (at $65/sheet too) for some Araucaria stuff from Peru that is nowhere near as nice- for even more $$.

PLEASE spend the money on a few proper hole saws.
That will be awful to continue with.

And you do yourself a huge disservice if not using 3/4" plywood.

Posted above, got 3/4" ply for $66 a sheet.  Have a Forsner bit for the real holes, just bought it yesterday.  For my mockup I used what I had (cheapo wood bit).  Didn't care what it looked like as long as it made holes the right size.

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #30 on: December 28, 2021, 10:02:50 am »
That's a relief!

Scared me for a minute there.
Relax, all right? My old man is a television repairman, he's got this ultimate set of tools! I can fix it.

Shookie

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #31 on: December 28, 2021, 10:22:01 am »
Are most people using Lexan for the top of the CP?
https://www.lowes.com/pd/LEXAN-Polycarbonate-0-118-in-T-x-24-in-W-x-48-in-L-Clear-Polycarbonate-Sheet/1001579324

Found this stuff called Optix.... says it's acrylic and I wonder if that might chip a little easier when drilling holes and routing the edge...????
https://www.lowes.com/pd/OPTIX-0-22-in-T-x-24-in-W-x-48-in-L-Clear-Acrylic-Sheet/3502046

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #32 on: December 28, 2021, 02:49:53 pm »
Can't find a slot cutter for my router locally so looks like I have to order it. 

Harbor Freight has what you need for super cheap... if you have one in the area.

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #33 on: December 28, 2021, 05:58:29 pm »
Bought wood yesterday and started cutting. I got 2 sheets of 3/4" maple plywood.  $66 a sheet.  I'll get more pictures up today.  Can't find a slot cutter for my router locally so looks like I have to order it.  That will slow things down a little....

Wow I was half-kidding before obviously, but $66 for a sheet of 3/4" ply, simply WoW  :o

I order most of my hardware & electronics stuff online now, most of the local hardware stores don't have much that's useful beyond common stuff for building houses. Trouble is, by the time a project's essential things arrive I've often moved onto something else or implemented a work-around.

If you don't have a lot of experience using a slot-cutter or a router, I suggest you practice first on a cheaper offcut as people often have a tendency to wander off centre the first few times. Would hate for you to mess up that pricey plywood ;)
Check out my completed projects!


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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #34 on: December 28, 2021, 07:01:12 pm »
Can't find a slot cutter for my router locally so looks like I have to order it. 

Harbor Freight has what you need for super cheap... if you have one in the area.

Ordered on Amazon.  Read reviews for a bunch of garbage bits.... Seems like the brand Freud is good though, so I ordered one of those (1/16" slot) and an arbor.  Same brand as the Forsner bit I got at Lowe's yesterday.


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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #35 on: December 28, 2021, 07:02:45 pm »
Bought wood yesterday and started cutting. I got 2 sheets of 3/4" maple plywood.  $66 a sheet.  I'll get more pictures up today.  Can't find a slot cutter for my router locally so looks like I have to order it.  That will slow things down a little....

Wow I was half-kidding before obviously, but $66 for a sheet of 3/4" ply, simply WoW  :o

I order most of my hardware & electronics stuff online now, most of the local hardware stores don't have much that's useful beyond common stuff for building houses. Trouble is, by the time a project's essential things arrive I've often moved onto something else or implemented a work-around.

If you don't have a lot of experience using a slot-cutter or a router, I suggest you practice first on a cheaper offcut as people often have a tendency to wander off centre the first few times. Would hate for you to mess up that pricey plywood ;)

Absolutely!  I've had a router for at least 10 years and I've used it 3 times so I'm definitely a beginner with it.  Plan on doing some testing with it for sure.

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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #36 on: December 28, 2021, 07:10:59 pm »
Made a TON of progress today.  Got the base finished except for the door and I have to go back over the edges to cut the slots for T-molding.  I realize a lot of people do this before gluing and screwing everything together but I did not.  I'll be able to go back and cut the slots no problem.

Here's the front and the sides.


Starting the base.  Just used 2x4's for this.


The 2x4's on the right are just propping things up at this point.  I decided to use them on the top and will both the control panel to them.  I saw a couple other designers where guys used smaller wood.




You will see some screws in the base 2x4.  I put glue on the back side and then used 2" screws thru the 2x4 into the plywood.  I was careful to not drive them too far!


With the 1x2's going up the sides, glued them as well and then used 1 1/4" screws.


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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #37 on: December 28, 2021, 07:21:49 pm »
Here's the top of the base.  I drilled pilot holes with a countersink bit here and used 3" screws to hold theses 2x4's.  These holes are directly under the control panel so I'm not as worried about the finish there.  I filled them with wood filler and will sand before painting.


The plywood on the sides was slightly bowed so I took a scrap piece of plywood and used it to pull the sides in a little bit.  It was about 3/16" out and while you would never notice, I wanted to square it up....


I glued and screwed it to the 1x2's while pulling the sides in a bit. You can see the wood filler.  Also put the upper back section in.  Used my brad nailer and filled the holes.


On the back of the front panel, I took some scrap 1x2's and glued them on, screwed each layer to each other.


This touches the front support I put on so more glue and screws.  This will help hold the front panel in place.


Used some 2" screws along the bottom of the front panel.


Here's the view from the back where you can the front panel and supports.



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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #38 on: December 28, 2021, 07:28:02 pm »
I have the top and bottom of the CP cut and ready to go.





So, last night while I was getting the plywood cut and ready, had a bit of an accident.  The edge of the plywood was so sharp, it slices right through all 4 fingers.  This is after I quickly sanded the edges.  I was just wiping the sawdust off the wood and it got me.  Got things cleaned up and put bandaids on last night.  Really cheapo bandaids....  There wasn't much left at the end of the day.


I normally wear gloves when handling but didn't while I was sanding....


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Re: 4 Player Pedestal Build
« Reply #39 on: December 28, 2021, 08:03:26 pm »
Done with things until next week.... off to Tampa with the family tomorrow for a few days and the Outback Bowl on Saturday.  When I get back, I plan to the the CP built, and start wiring.