Project BlueShift

[Zebidee]

A glass screen in front of the monitor and bezel gives a cabinet a really nice finish. Clear acrylic is an option too, but I decided glass would be more durable and not prone to flexing. I spent a bit of time reading about tint levels, but eventually decided on 5mm thick untinted tempered glass. I don't really need to hide anything behind a tint, and it means I can run the monitor at lower brightness.

Glass definitely looks better than acrylic. Tempered/tinted glass is not necessary for most cabs, costs more, and come with cons as well as pros.

[yotsuya]

Nice job on this cabinet - clean lines, classic look - I’m a sucker for these kind of builds.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Lexiq]

Marquee Light box

I didn't have marquee graphics at this point, but I wanted to make some progress in this area. Building a light box is not too difficult and I wanted to keep it simple. The main components are the marquee retainers, the transparent acrylic that will hold the marquee graphic, and the light source and mounting.

In some cases, it may also be necessary to take measures to isolate the light source from the rest of the cabinet to prevent light bleed, but I wanted to see if I could get away without that, before doing the extra work involved. When I first tested the light box in a darkened room, I noticed that my speaker cones were not completely opaque, and glowed with the back lighting. I liked the effect - it was fairly subtle so I decided to leave it.

Retainers

You can buy plastic retainers for this purpose, but I didn't think they'd match the look that I wanted for my cabinet. Angle aluminium is more understated and also perfectly fits the slot in the speaker panel. Cutting the aluminium is fairly easy, but not as easy as wood. I used the jig saw with a metal cutting blade, but it might have been easier to do it by hand with a hack saw. I used a metal file to clean up the burring and to take off a little extra to get the fit just right.

The two retainers will be positioned such that their front surfaces are inset the same 12mm from the edge of the cabinet, and form a ~6mm slot with the leading edges of the top and speaker panels. This is where the two 3mm thick acrylic panels will sit, with the much thinner marquee graphic in between.

The bottom retainer is a pressure fit in the speaker panel slot, and also held in place by the cabinet sides. The top retainer is attached with 4 countersunk wood screws to the top of the top panel. I didn't really want to have visible screws on the outside of the cabinet, but the top is difficult to see, and the screws are the same colour as the retainer that will eventually be painted black.




Acrylic Panels

This size of these panels is determined by the internal width of the cabinet, and by the internal distance between the retainers. The top and bottom edges will be hidden by the retainers so it doesn't matter if the height isn't perfect, as long as it's not too high.

Fortunately, the acrylic that I bought was already the correct width, so I only had to cut it in one direction. Cutting the acrylic was a lot easier than I thought it would be after my experience with the screen bezel. For this type of straight cut, the trick is to weaken the material along the axis you want to cut, similar to cutting glass. I did this by scoring along the line I wanted to cut with a box cutter. I made 3 or 4 passes, pressing firmly. Some sources suggest using the back of the blade, which may be better, but regular cutting worked well for me.

The next step is to clamp the acrylic along a straight edge, with the cut line very close to the edge, but overhanging slightly. Now, you can just hit the acrylic and it will fracture cleanly along the cut line. I just used my hand, but a rubber mallet would probably be a safer option. The important thing is to hit it hard enough that the whole piece breaks off. I put a cushion on the floor to ensure a soft landing.



Light Source

I believe fluorescent tubes were generally used for this purpose, but more recently, some form of LED lighting has become standard. I originally purchased a flexible strip of LEDs that I was planning to wire up and mount, but then I found an LED light bar with mounting points and electrical connectors that exactly fit my requirements. A dimmer attachment was also available, allowing the brightness to be adjusted. It uses a 12V power source, so it can be connected to the PC's PSU. This also means that it will turn on and off at the same time as everything else.

To mount the light bar, I used a piece of 18mm plywood cut to size and attached to the top panel with angle brackets. I positioned the mounting as far back as possible so the light is more diffuse. This is also aided by the frosted diffuser on the light bar, and by the marquee itself. Additionally, the ledger boards for the top and speaker panels are set back from the marquee to avoid casting ambient shadows.

Another thing to note here is that with the light bar mounted and the marquee in place, it's more difficult to reach the bolts used to attach the top panel to the cabinet. Fortunately there's enough room to access the light box area from the rear of the cabinet and tighten the bolts by feel.

[Zebidee]

Nice work Lexiq, I'm always impressed with your attention to details.

Three ideas for you.

1) Instead of "hitting" the plexi, gently push down, keep doing it and moving along the entire piece. Then go back and do it again, but more firmly. Keep going until the whole piece starts to crack along the line you made.

2) Leave the protective paper on until after you have finished cracking your piece out. Makes it easier to draw and cut your lines, prevents surface scratching while you are working with it.

3) Paint the inside of the light box with some white paint. This will reflect the light fully and evenly, making your art look better and brighter.

You'll probably want another piece of 90 degree angled metal to fit at the top, to lock down the marquee. I suggest that you secure it from top side with two M5 or M6 buttonhead screws (mostly hex heads, available in black and silvered finish) and matching T-nuts. You won't even notice the screw heads up there but, even when you do, they will still look good.

[Lexiq]

1) Instead of "hitting" the plexi, gently push down, keep doing it and moving along the entire piece. Then go back and do it again, but more firmly. Keep going until the whole piece starts to crack along the line you made.

This does sound like a better approach.

2) Leave the protective paper on until after you have finished cracking your piece out. Makes it easier to draw and cut your lines, prevents surface scratching while you are working with it.

Agreed - I always leave the protective layer on until everything's done. My acrylic had film rather than paper, so what you see in the photos still has the film on it.

3) Paint the inside of the light box with some white paint. This will reflect the light fully and evenly, making your art look better and brighter.

Yeah, I should probably do this, but it's okay for now.

You'll probably want another piece of 90 degree angled metal to fit at the top, to lock down the marquee. I suggest that you secure it from top side with two M5 or M6 buttonhead screws (mostly hex heads, available in black and silvered finish) and matching T-nuts. You won't even notice the screw heads up there but, even when you do, they will still look good.

Looking back at my photos, I can see it's missing from most of them, but I do have a piece at the top as well. The first photo shows it, but the lighting and angle makes it less clear.

I opted for 4 countersunk wood screws to attach it, but T-nuts would have been a bit nicer. I'll update my post to include these details, thanks!

[Zebidee]

You'll probably want another piece of 90 degree angled metal to fit at the top, to lock down the marquee. I suggest that you secure it from top side with two M5 or M6 buttonhead screws (mostly hex heads, available in black and silvered finish) and matching T-nuts. You won't even notice the screw heads up there but, even when you do, they will still look good.

Looking back at my photos, I can see it's missing from most of them, but I do have a piece at the top as well. The first photo shows it, but the lighting and angle makes it less clear.

I opted for 4 countersunk wood screws to attach it, but T-nuts would have been a bit nicer. I'll update my post to include these details, thanks!

Oh, I see the pic clearly now, somehow missed it before. Not sure exactly why, but countersinking screws seems to work really well with aluminium, so long as it is done neatly   It looks good, and in any case nobody will be up there checking it out.

[Alejo I]

I get my plexi cut to size from the shop because I *hate* plastic chips, but I've read that a track saw provides excellent results with a decent blade or even a special one for acrylic.

[Zebidee]

I get my plexi cut to size from the shop because I *hate* plastic chips, but I've read that a track saw provides excellent results with a decent blade or even a special one for acrylic.

With the score-snap technique there is no need to use a saw to cut! It generates no plastic chips and virtually no loose particles/dust! Less microplastic! All you need are a sharp box-cutter/art knife and a couple of straight edges, like side of a workbench and a good piece of wood, maybe a couple of clamps to hold it all steady.

Lexiq's pics below. He is even cutting it inside the home/kitchen area, because it generates almost zero waste.




I use the same technique for cutting fibre-cement sheets to size, and even bathroom/kitchen ceramic tiles.

But yeah, the shop will usually cut it for free if you have the dimensions, so why not?

[Lexiq]

Controls

With the control panel already cut, it was time to decide which controls I wanted, and how to arrange them. The main goals were:

• Support a variety of games.
• Relatively compact.
• Balanced / symmetrical.
• Not a Frankenpanel^TM.

Selecting Controls

I already had some idea of what I wanted at this point and had built the control panel and box just large enough that it should meet my requirements. Now I had to choose specific controls. Ultimarc is often recommended on these forums, so I started there.

Joysticks

After a lot of research, I settled on the Ultimarc UltraStik 360 Ball Top. These are analog sticks and are sometimes critisized for their lack of 'clickiness', but I haven't found it to be an issue. I also opted for the longer handles due to the thickness of my control panel, the stiffer spring, and the reduced travel restrictor because most people recommend them. The spring and restrictor make the resistance and throw much closer to a standard arcade stick and are definitely worth it.

These sticks will function in analog mode if a game supports it, or map analog inputs to specific directions if the game is designed for a switch based stick. MAME will do this automatically and can be fine tuned if necessary. The supplied software also allows for custom mapped modes. They may not provide the most authentic experience possible in all cases, but they're incredibly versatile, very well build, and are a perfect fit for my cabinet.

Buttons

Sticking with Ultimarc, I decided to go with the GoldLeaf Pushbuttons. Being gold leaf, the lack the click that some people prefer, but they're very responsive and feel nice to press. Additionally, they're also available with RGB lighting.

With a goal of keeping the cabinet relatively understated, RGB lighting wasn't a priority, but it appeared to be the easiest way to have labelled system buttons, which is something I did want. Ultimarc have a pack of logo inserts available that sit under the transparent surface of the RGB buttons. I decided that this could look good if I lit the buttons in a way that was in-keeping with the rest of the theme.

At this point, I'd decided on a Yellow / Blue / Black theme for the cabinet, so I chose buttons in those colours (black for the pinball buttons on the side of the control box), and 6 RGB buttons and logo inserts for the system buttons.

Trackball

Again, continuing with Ultimarc, I chose the U-Trak flush mounted track ball. In reality, I probably won't use it that much, but I like the way it looks, and the blue colour option matches my theme nicely. Admittedly, I haven't used trackballs much in the past, and I find it to be a little bit clunky, especially spinning in certain directions. Apparently this is normal and there's a bedding in period that I likely haven't reached yet. In any case, it looks good, works well enough and I'm happy with it.

Spinners

Similar to the trackball, these may not see much use, but again, they look really nice on the panel so I had to have them. To maintain balance, I decided to have two instead of one. Like the trackball, these map to mouse axes by default - the left spinner is the horizontal axis and the right is the vertical. MAME can distinguish between the two axes so they can be used for two player games.

At the time when I was purchasing controls, Ultimarc didn't have spinners in stock, so I chose the TurboTwist 2 from Groovy Game Gear, with the Blue Inset knob. I probably would have chosen these anyway because I prefer the way they look, and the shade of blue is a better match.

Control Interface

With the number of buttons, range of controls, and RGB lighting, I chose the Ultimarc I-PAC Ultimate I/O, as well as the wiring harness for the gold leaf buttons. I wasn't confident about connecting the TurboTwist 2 spinners from GGG to the I-PAC, so I also got the dedicated Opti-Wiz board, which is very small.

With this configuration, I will have 4 USB cables to the control panel - one for each interface board, and one for each joystick. There are a number of ways to connect the UltraStiks with the I-PAC and buttons, but this seemed like the simplest approach and has so far worked well.

Ultimarc and Groovy Game Gear have been great to deal with and I highly recommend them both.

Layout

Like most others here, I found my way to the slagcoin panel layout page. I ended up settling on something very close to the standard Capcom USA Street Flighter 6 button layout, with the joystick moved slightly closer to the buttons to fit within my space constraints. I also moved the buttons slightly closer together so they are the same distance horizontally and vertically. I prefer the way the square layout looks, as opposed to curved or offset layouts, and don't find it uncomfortable. I also added a 7th diagonally offset button on the left because I liked how it looked and also because a row of 4 buttons can be useful for some games.

For the goal of balance and symmetry, I wanted the Player 1 and Player 2 controls to be identical, so the joystick, spinner, and buttons are positioned exactly the same for both. In addition to this, I wanted the over-all layout to be balanced horizontally, so each spinner is the same distance from the center of the panel, with the system buttons arranged evenly in between. Everything is arranged around the trackball, which is in the center of the panel. Because the trackball housing is quite large, the layout also has to account for this space, which is not apparent when looking at the panel from the top.

I was able to find SketchUp models for my controls, so I could test the layout and fit before committing to anything. In the end, it was fairly close, but everything fit well. It was now time to test everything together.




Test Panel

Following the advice here, I translated my layout to a piece of scrap plywood and cut some holes using the 1-1/8" Forstner bit. I knew from testing the layout in SketchUp that I wouldn't have room to mount the interface boards directly on the control panel. To solve this problem, I built a small platform (shown in plywood here, but will eventually be acrylic) for the boards to sit above the system buttons. This central location allows the wires in the standard loom to reach almost all the buttons (I had to make extensions for the pinball buttons), and also positions the USB and power connectors right behind the hole at the back of the panel for the wiring harness. With everything attached to the underside of the control panel, it's very easy to remove the control box for maintenance once the harness has been disconnected from the PC.





After connecting the controls, getting a few games working under MAME, and configuring the necessary software, I was able to test everything together. It wasn't quite perfect - the trackball was inverted because I had to install it upside down due to the cable length, and I hadn't modified the joysticks yet, but over all, I was happy with the layout and ready to cut the real panel.

[Lexiq]

Control Panel

Now that I've settled on a layout for the controls, and decided exactly which controls to use, I can cut the real control panel. This will require cutting the button, spinner, and trackball holes, as well as routing the back side of the panel to ensure the trackball is mounted at the correct depth.

Cutting the Holes

As with the test panel, all the button, joystick, and spinner holes were cut with the 1-1/8" Forstner bit. A Forstner bit cuts by removing thin layers and produces shavings similar to sharpening a pencil, rather than sawdust. With a large number of holes, and 18mm plywood, this results in a lot of shavings, so it's good to have the vacuum handy.

The hole for the track ball is much larger and requires a hole saw. I needed a very specific size to match the radius of the track ball trim bezel, and because this is the only hole of this size, I used a cheaper saw. It took a long time to cut all the way through, switching sides half way. It produced a lot of friction and heat at any drill speed, and caused some burn. It did cut a hole exactly the right size though, so the end result was good.



Cutting the Acrylic

The acrylic panel sits over the control panel artwork, and is held in place by the controls and T-molding. It protects the artwork and creates a nice finish for the panel. Cutting the acrylic can be done in a similar way to cutting the second side of the cabinet - with the flush trim router bit, using the control panel as a template.

The first step is to cut the acrylic to roughly the same size and shape as the control panel with the jig saw, leaving a small amount of material all around the edge. Clamp the acrylic to the control panel and drill pilot holes for each of the buttons, and the trackball. The pilot holes need to be large enough to fit the flush trim bit through. Acrylic is fairly brittle, so these need to be cut carefully - I used an 18mm slot router bit, plunging straight down, which worked well, but did result in some melted plastic smell.

With the acrylic clamped in place, the router with flush trim bit can now be used to cut around the outside of the panel, and around the inside of all the holes. The end result is an acrylic panel that perfectly matches the control panel.



Routing the Back

For the trackball to sit with the top surface flush with the trim bezel, it has to be inset a very precise distance into the back of the control panel. This distance can be calculated by accounting for the thickness of the bezel, acrylic, and laminate (the control panel will have a laminate surface), the thickness of the control panel wood, and the depth of the trackball casing.

The shape of the trackball enclosure is unusual. I routed the shape in sections, using an 18mm slot cutting bit, setting up guides for each section, taking care not to cut outside the area constrained by the current guide. This worked well and saved building a complicated router jig for this specific shape. With the inset cut, I could now test the trackball position with the acrylic, laminate samples, and bezel in place to ensure the correct alignment.

At this point, I decided to route some shallow insets for the joysticks as well. At only 2mm, these are aren't really necessary, but give a little more length to the joystick handles. Being rectangular and shallow, these were significantly easier to cut.





Threaded Inserts

The trackball and joysticks come with threaded inserts for mounting to the back of wooden control panels. These are relatively easy to install, but care needs to be taken not to go too far through the panel when drilling the holes. Additionally, the trackball inserts are the 'tap in' rather than 'screw in' type, and I found that they were slightly compressed after tapping them all the way in, meaning the mounting bolts were quite hard to do up all the way. I think this would be less of a problem in MDF, and I probably should have made the holes slightly bigger.




Control Interface Mounting

As previously mentioned, I need to mount the control interface boards above my system buttons. To do this, I cut some lengths of dowel and drilled holes of the same radius in the back of the panel. The dowels are a pressure fit in the holes and can be removed relatively easily, but are otherwise secure.

A small acrylic panel is mounted to the dowels with screws, and the boards are then mounted on the acrylic panel, with a layer of EVA foam as a stand-off.

I discovered later that the height of the control interface mounting, combined with the height of the wires coming off the interface board meant that the wires would be compressed against the control box base when everything was assembled. To alleviate this, I ended up routing a section out of the control box base to create some extra room.

[Zebidee]

Nice work with the router 

[firedance]

Nice work on the control panel, my router work is very sloppy sometimes 

[Lexiq]

Nice work with the router 

Nice work on the control panel, my router work is very sloppy sometimes 

Thanks

[javeryh]

I continue to be impressed by this project. Everything is so clean and well thought out.

What kind of PC is in there? Do you still like the U360s? Do you play games other than MAME?   

[Lexiq]

What kind of PC is in there? Do you still like the U360s? Do you play games other than MAME?   

I originally repurposed an old desktop with an Intel 2700k and Nvidia GTX 570, both well over 10 years old now. It actually worked fine for everything, even more recent 3D games at lower settings. Unfortunately, it stopped working a few months in, so I had to replace it. I ended up going with a Ryzen 5600X and a Radeon RX 6650 XT - good balance of price / performance and enough head room for newer games at high settings.

The U360s are great. I don't mind the lack of click, and I also installed the circular restrictor plates, stiffer springs, and longer handles, so everything feels right. The software mapping from analog to directions works really well too. The default MAME mapping is fine for most games, but I did need to create a custom map for Tetris to prevent hitting the wrong direction by accident. For games that support it, analog input is automatically used, and is effective even with the shorter throw.

Other than MAME, I have a variety of emulators installed with a few games each, mostly just to try them. I also have a couple of pinball games via Steam, as well as many DOS games that I played growing up. For the emulators and DOS, I ended up using Retroarch in Launchbox as it provides the most seamless install / config path, as well as universal support for scanline shaders, which greatly improve the experience on LCD.

[Lexiq]

Ventilation

Another consideration when building an arcade cabinet is airflow. PCs in particular generate quite a lot of heat, which needs to have somewhere to go. Currently, with the exception of the gap under the drawer, the cabinet is a nearly completely sealed box, so some ventilation is required.

Size and Location

Both the PC and the monitor generate heat, and the upper and lower compartments are fairly isolated from each other, so I decided that I'd need two sets of vents, which is also consistent with many other builds. For the lower compartment, a vent directly behind the PC exhaust fan is ideal, and for the upper compartment, a vent on the angled rear top panel allows rising heat to escape. Additionally, neither of these locations are visible from the front of the cabinet.

Instead of a single large opening for each vent, or a series of slots, I chose square openings which provide good airflow without compromising the strength of the panel too much. The square openings are sized so that they can accomodate a standard 120mm fan if the passive airflow isn't sufficient. I haven't needed to do this so far, but it's nice to have the option.



Cutting the Vents

Cutting the vent openings was done using the same technique as the coin door - cut the four corners for each vent with a small hole saw, then cut between the holes with the jig saw and tidy with the router. On the interior side of the panel, I routed an extra 4mm around the edge to a depth of 10mm, and chiseled out the corners so they are square (not shown in the photos). The 120mm fan fits inside the interior opening and sits against the 4mm ledge.




Grills

As a finishing touch, I wanted to add some grills or mesh to the vents so they're not just empty holes. I found some perforated steel that I cut to size with side cutters and installed using small countersunk wood screws, screwed in at an angle into the corners. I primed and painted the grills black to match the rest of the cabinet. Dust protectors can also be fitted.

[Zebidee]

Being in a tropical climate, I like to put some mosquito screen/mesh to put over fan/vent holes. This mostly prevents things like geckos from getting inside and causing havok. It is cheap, even free because I mostly just keep some offcuts from when the tradie does other stuff at the house.

[Lexiq]

USB and Power Button

I wanted to have external USB ports for peripherals such as light guns, controllers, or flash drives, and also an externally mounted power button. This way, once everything's working, I shouldn't need to access the PC during normal use.

USB Ports

These should be conveniently located, but discreet enough that they're not too noticeable. I decided to position them in the center of the front panel located above the cupboard door and below the drawer. I used two surface mounted USB sockets for a total of 4 ports. They also came with black rubber caps which can be closed when not in use. The sockets are designed to be mounted to thinner material that the 18mm plywood used for the cabinet, so it was necessary to route a small surrounding area to a depth of around 12mm. This leave enough thread for the plastic nuts on the back of the sockets.

The sockets are connected to the PC USB ports. The cable length wasn't quite long enough to stretch to the back of the PC case, so I opted to plug them in to the case mounted ports at the front. On the case I ended up using, I only had one USB-A and one USB-C port available, so I used a hub to extend the Type A, and an adapter to connect to the Type C. I could have connected them all to the single Type A port, but some peripherals, in particular, the Sinden light guns, require each device to be connected to a separate USB controller, so this gives more flexibility.

Power Button

The power button is used to turn the cabinet on and off. I wanted it to be easy to reach, but not visible. Mounting it on the back of the cabinet makes sense, positioned within a finger span of the edge. There weren't too many options for this and the rear panel above the upper removable panel was the most suitable.

The button is one of the gold leaf buttons used for the rest of the controls, in black to match the cabinet. It is connected to the PC motherboard power header using a length of wire and a two pin DuPont connector to match the pins on the motherboard. I also added an extra connector to allow the PC case power button to be plugged in at the same time.

[Zebidee]

The main trick with external USB ports on cabs, is to make sure that cables won't get broken off, or USB ports ripped out, by knees etc.

<3 wireless controllers

[EvilNuff]

Appreciate you sharing the build process, it is fun to follow along.  Reminds me of the old Knievel cabs on here.

[Alejo I]

Your router work continues to be so smooth.

[Lexiq]

Appreciate you sharing the build process, it is fun to follow along.  Reminds me of the old Knievel cabs on here.

Thanks! And appreciate the comparison - Knievel's cabinets were some of my early inspiration. It's a shame all the photo links are broken on his build threads. I did manage to find some here though.

Your router work continues to be so smooth.

Thanks - the main thing I found was to always have a solid jig to stop the router going out of bounds. I only used wood and clamps, and it does take a while to prepare, but the results are worth it. Choosing the right speed seems fairly important too - as you can see, I wasn't always able to avoid scorching the wood. I nearly started a fire with a glowing ember once, so I'd advise always having some water or an extinguisher nearby when routing. I used a vacuum attachment, but it wasn't powerful enough and there was always some stray dust.

[Lexiq]

Laminating

Now that all the plywood panels are complete, it's time to finish the exterior. I considered painting, but decided that laminating would be easier and result in a better finish, especially for the larger pieces. The only thing that I won't be able to laminate is the control box, due to the rounded corners. Some laminate can flex enough to go around corners, but it usually requires heat, and a larger radius, so painting is the safer option.

After comparing many samples, I chose 3 sheets of 2440 x 1220mm Black Velvet Soft-Matt Prime Laminate. It has a really nice finish and matches very closely to readily available matt black enamel paint. 2 sheets would have been enough, but I wanted to have room for mistakes without having to re-order.

Cutting the Laminate

I started by unrolling a sheet and lying it flat on the floor, then placing the largest panel (one of the sides) in one corner. With a builder's pencil and ruler, I drew an outline around the panel, leaving 15-20mm margin all round. This margin mean the panel doesn't have to be too precisely aligned when glueing, and will be trimmed off at the end.

The next step was to remove the panel and cut around the outline. Laminate is tough, but at 0.7mm thick, it's relatively easy to cut with a good pair of scissors. It is quite brittle though, so care needs to be take to keep the laminate flat when cutting to avoid cracks.

Cutting around corners is difficult, so it's best to make straight cuts, and think about the sizes of the resulting offcuts and how they can be fit to the other panels.




Panel Preparation

The side of the panel that the laminate will be glued to needs to be smooth (in terms of any surface defects), and slightly rough to help the adhesive stick. This can be done with a coarser grit sand paper. It also needs to be clean, so after sanding, wipe it with a tac cloth to remove any dust. Take care with using the tac cloth on the corners, especially when going with the grain of the plywood surface - it can easily snag and remove a splinter, damaging the finish. Additionally, I also masked off the panel edges so the adhesive is applied only to the top surface.

It's a good idea to cut all the laminate and prepare the panels first, then the glueing can be done all at once. An advantage of constructing the cabinet in a way that's easy to disassemble means that it's easy to laminate or paint individual panels separately, which greatly simplifies the process.

Adhesive

For laminate, a contact adhesive is best. This means applying the adhesive to both the laminate and the wood, letting it dry for a while, then joining the two surfaces. There are many types of contact adhesive - I ended up choosing Cantac HSE-Tac Clear Aerosol because it's very strong and non-toxic. I calculated that I'd need 3 cans based on the product specification, but I think it ended up closer to 4 and a half.

This type of adhesive is sprayed on to the surface and comes out almost like a web instead of a liquid and should be applied in even strokes with as little overlap as possible. Laminate is very sensitive to small variations in the surface that it's applied to and even differences in the adhesive thickness can be seen under certain conditions. Fortunately, matt finish alleviates almost all of this, although it can be seen in some of the photos where the glossy protective film hasn't been removed yet - especially where I sprayed the laminate and panel at right angles to each other.

Glueing

Glueing laminate is both fun and scary because there are points where there's a lot at stake and not much margin for error. The first step, as mentioned above is to apply the adhesive to both the laminate and the panel. I did this in the garage, with a plastic sheet to catch overspray. With the adhesive applied, I moved the panel and laminate to a drop sheet on the other side of the garage and left them to dry for around 15 minutes (within the drying window for this specific adhesive). While waiting for the pieces to dry, I applied adhesive to the next batch to avoid down time.

Joining the two surfaces is the most difficult step. I've read that the safest approach is to place thin battens on the laminate (the adhesive won't stick to anything that doesn't also have adhesive on it), then place the panel on the battens. The battens can then be removed one by one, lowering the panel on to the laminate.

I tried this, but found it time consuming and error prone, so I tried a different approach which worked a lot better. With the laminate lying flat, I positioned the edge of the panel along the edge of the laminate, sitting just over the margin that was left when cutting. It doesn't stick because the edge of the panel doesn't have adhesive. I then gently lowered the panel onto the laminate, rotating about the corner of the initial edge. This works because the laminate is fairly rigid and doesn't bubble or kink like thinner materials such as vinyl.




Rolling

With the surfaces joined, the laminate should be rolled flat so that it's as smooth as possible and to improve the bond. Turn the piece over so the laminate is on the top, and use a laminate roller over the entire surface, pressing firmly and evenly. Extra care needs to be taken around the edges and corners. Because the laminate is brittle, rolling over a corner or edge while applying too much pressure will cause it to crack. If it cracks within the surface of the panel, it will spoil the finish. Even being careful, I managed to do this twice, once badly enough that I decided to redo the piece. Removing glued laminate is difficult, and re-sanding the panel to remove the adhesive is also not easy.



Trimming

Trimming is done with the router and the same flush trim bit used to cut the second side. Trim around the outside of the panel (and inside for any holes), moving smoothly and fairly quickly. If the router bit slows down too much, it can result in burring on the edge of the laminate. I ended up with some perfect cuts, and some with a little burring that I had to carefully tidy up with fine sandpaper later.

Trimming can be done immediately once rolling is complete, although it may be better to wait a few hours for the adhesive to cure more, as it can gum up the router bit, causing it to slow down.

For any places where the laminate needs to be trimmed, but the router can't be used, for example, the drawer base, where bare wood is left at each end to fit into the slots, a sharp knife can be used in multiple passes.



Finishing

Laminating is now complete, and the protective coating can be removed. The result is a perfect, durable finish that would be nearly impossible to achieve with paint in a similar amount of time.

[Lexiq]

Painting

Some areas of the cabinet can't easily be laminated. These areas are either too narrow, such as the inner faces of the side panels where the other panels are inset by 12mm, or curved, such as the sides of the control box.

Masking

Masking is important to protect the areas that don't need to be painted. For this, I used painter's masking tape, and newspaper to fill the larger gaps in between. Masking can take almost as long as painting, but it's worth taking some time to do it well if you care about the appearance of the interior of the cabinet.



Paint Selection

After a lot of research, I chose Rust-Oleum 2X matt black enamel paint, as well as a good etching primer for the few metal surfaces that I would need to paint. The matt black finish is almost an exact match for the matt black laminate. I tested a satin black finish as well as I'd seen a lot of people recommend it as a good balance between gloss and matt, but it was too glossy when matched with my laminate.

Control Box

This was the most challenging to paint because it has the most surface area, and is the most visible, so the finish needs to be good. The general consensus is that surface preparation is very important for achieving a good result, so I spent a long time on this step. Because I used finger joints for the corners, without a jig, I had some small gaps that needed to be filled. I used a fast drying spackle in and around these gaps, as well as anywhere else where the surface had minor voids. Sanding once dry resulted in a smooth, even finish. I used a relatively fine grit sandpaper, but left enough roughness that the paint would adhere well to the surface, then removed the dust with a tack cloth. I repeated this a couple of times until I was happy with the result.

The other prevailing advice for achieving a good finish is that many light coats are required, with sanding in between. This is good advice, and even though the process is time consuming, it's well worth it, and the down time between coats, waiting for the paint to dry can be used to work on other areas. I think I ended up with at least 5 or 6 iterations before I was satisfied with the result.



Monitor Bezel

This could potentially have been laminated, but I didn't want the edge of the laminate to be visible on the inside of the cutout area. The bezel is fairly thin, so it was relatively easy to paint and sand smooth, using the same process as for the control box.

Inner Surfaces

These are the 12mm inset areas around the edge of the inner surfaces of the cabinet sides, the underside of the control panel where it extends beyond the sides of the control box, and the underside of the control box where it extends beyond the sides of the cabinet. These areas are less visible, so I didn't spend as much time on surface preparation or use as many coats. When masking the extents of these areas, I made sure to leave enough overlap so there would be no visible bare wood, but not so much that paint would be visible inside the cabinet.




Metallic Surfaces

I had a few metal components that needed painting. These were the aluminium marquee retainers, the steel mesh vent grilles, and any bolts that would be visible from outside the cabinet. For painting metal, it's a good idea to roughen the surface slightly with sandpaper, and then apply an etching primer to ensure the paint doesn't peel. For these pieces of trim, I decided to use a gloss black to provide a bit of contrast to the matt finish everywhere else.



Varnishing

For the edges of panels that would sometimes be visible, such as the drawer and cupboard door, I decided to use a spray on varnish. This is a nicer finish than bare wood, and also highlights the end-grain, which can be considered a feature of cabinet grade plywood. It also helps to seal in any splinters that might be present. I also varnished the inner surface of the drawer front panel as it's quite prominent when the drawer is open.



Marker Pen

For even smaller areas where bare wood may be visible, such as the edges of the cupboard door, that can just be seen through the panel gaps, a permanent marker pen can be used along the outer edge. While it may not seem significant, doing this will improve the overall appearance of the cabinet and help to hide the panel gaps.

[Pixelstreamers]

I have been reading over these 2 pages for the last couple of weeks over and over again, and admire your skill level in producing such a high quality cabinet. Very nicely done ! Especially the laminated sidewalls give this cabinet the professional finish it deserves.  Also i really like the global aesthetic this cabinet showcases, everything seems to be very well thought out and matches the overall theme. Again, nicely done !   

[Lexiq]

I have been reading over these 2 pages for the last couple of weeks over and over again, and admire your skill level in producing such a high quality cabinet. Very nicely done ! Especially the laminated sidewalls give this cabinet the professional finish it deserves.  Also i really like the global aesthetic this cabinet showcases, everything seems to be very well thought out and matches the overall theme. Again, nicely done !   

Thank you Pixelstreamers. I'm happy you're enjoying the posts! 

[Lexiq]

T-Molding

T-Molding is very often used to protect the edges of arcade cabinet sides, and any other exposed panel edges. It is applied using a pressure fit, with the stem of the T in a slot, and the top of the T lying flat against the panel edge. I chose to use dark blue for the sides and control panel, matching the blue / yellow theme, and black for the less exposed areas.

I purchased my T-Molding from T-Molding.com after calculating how much I would need of each colour, and then adding some extra to allow for mistakes. I also included in my order a slot cutting router bit and accessories for cutting and trimming.

Cutting the Slot

T-Molding is fastened with a pressure fit into a slot cut in the center of the panel edge. This is cut with a router using the slot cutting bit mentioned above. To ensure the slot is cut exactly in the middle of the edge, I adjusted the router depth to the approximate center and then rotated the bit by hand so that it scratched a shallow groove in the wood, then turned the piece over and did the same from the other side. I adjusted the depth until the grooves from each side lined up exactly. This method guarantees the slot will be in the center of the edge, taking the thickness of the laminate into account.

To keep the bit speed high and to avoid binding, the slot should be cut in several shallow passes, and in several sections for the larger pieces so that you're balanced and not stretching.

Kick Board and Access Panel

The lower edges of the kick board and lower rear access panel are currently unfinished plywood end grain, and don't adjoin any other panels. They face the ground and aren't visible from above, but it makes sense to protect them, and they proved an opportunity to practice applying T-Molding before attempting the cabinet sides. These panels are finished in black.



Cabinet Sides

These are the largest panels and as mentioned above, I cut the slots in sections with multiple passes for each section. With this design, each side has a single slot running from under the control box all the way around the bottom edge, up the back, around the top, and finishing at the lower edge of the screen just behind the control panel. This method has the advantage of protecting the lower edges of the cabinet sides, and also means that there are only two places where the slot terminates, both of which are hidden by the control panel and box.





Control Panel
 
The control panel is more difficult than the other panels for two reasons. The first is that the molding needs to cover the edge of the acrylic sheet that forms the surface of the control panel, so the slot must be offset up from the center of the panel edge. The second is that the molding will run all the way around the panel, finishing where it starts, so the length needs to be precise.

The first problem is solved by using the already established router depth calculated for the other panels, and then cutting the slot with the acrylic clamped in place. This means that the edge of the molding will be flush with the surface of the acrylic, and slighting offset from the bottom of the panel. I rounded over the lower edge of the control panel by sanding, and it is painted black, so this is barely noticeable.

The second problem is solved after applying the molding. Once the end is reached, the excess can be progressively trimmed until there's only a small overlap between the beginning and end. This can then be finished with a utility knife so the ends are touching. Because this is on the back edge of the panel, the join is almost invisible during use.

Control panel molding needs to be done as a final step after applying graphics and securing the acrylic in place. Combined with the controls themselves, the molding will keep the acrylic in place and no additional fastening is required.



Applying the T-Molding

The T-Molding is applied using a rubber mallet. I also wrapped the mallet it in some spare EVA foam sheet to avoid leaving indentations in the molding, but I'm not sure this was necessary. Avoid using fabric for this purpose as it will leave an imprint of the weave on the molding.

To begin, gently tap the stem of the molding into the slot until it's all the way in. After that, a little more force can be used and the surface of the molding will flatten out slightly. With a start made, continue along the slot. I found that to ensure the molding fits consistently into the slot without kinking, it helps to bend it away from the slot so you're only working on a very small section at a time, as well as keeping it under slight tension.

Corners

When nearing a corner, work out which part of the molding will coincide with the corner radius. I did this by bending the molding around the corner and marking the start and end of the curve on the molding. To allow the molding to follow the curve, it must be cut, and the cuts need to be different depending on whether the corner is convex or concave.

For convex corners (e.g. the top or bottom of the sides, or any corner on the control panel), small V shapes must be cut from the stem that fits into the slot. For larger radius corners, the V shapes can be quite narrow, and wider for smaller ones. These cuts allow the molding to bend without intersecting and compressing itself.

For concave corners (under the speaker panel and under the drawer), only a series of single cuts are required. These cuts allow the stem to spread apart around the outside of the radius.

Trimming

Once complete, the ends can be trimmed using a utility knife. Keeping the blade flat to the edge of the panel and cutting slowly ensures a clean, flush cut. If the T-molding is wider than the panel thickness and overlaps slightly, you may want to trim it. This can be done with a trimmer tool designed for this purpose, or very carefully with a razor blade, taking care not to scratch the surface of the panel. In most cases, any overlap was minimal, so I decided not to trim, but it was necessary on the inner back edges of the sides because even a small amount of overlap made it difficult to remove the rear access panels.

Finishing

T-molding may have blemishes in the surface, either from the factory or later from wear and tear. I found that in most cases, these can be healed by rubbing with a microfibre cloth. The heat generated by friction and the polishing action of the cloth result in a smooth finish.

[Zebidee]

Thanks for the detailed account of the T-molding process 

What width slotting bit/cutter did you use?

[Lexiq]

Thanks for the detailed account of the T-molding process 

What width slotting bit/cutter did you use?

I used the 1/16" 3-Wing from T-molding.com to match the 3/4" molding. I also had to get a 1/4" arbor to fit my router.

The 3/4" T-molding isn't an exact match for 18mm plywood, but with the 0.7mm laminate applied, it's almost perfect.

[Zebidee]

Thanks - I once used 3/32 and it was mostly OK, but in some places I had to put some "packing" into the slot.

I couldn't find my rubber mallet that time, and used a normal hammer with an offcut piece of hardwood, about 1 inch x 1 inch x 4-5 inches. That was really useful for transferring the energy to where it was needed.

Think that T-molding is designed to have a tiny bit of excess - is easy to trim off with a craft knife. If the T-molding was a little too narrow, then that would be the much bigger issue.

[Lexiq]

Assembly

This post will be a bit shorter than usual as the photos tell most of the story. The control panel is not yet complete, but I've now reached a point where all the components can be assembled. In some of the photos, the T-molding on the control panel can be seen. I was hoping to be able to fit the art and acrylic with the molding in place, but this turned out not to be practical, so I had to remove it after the photos were taken.

Other details worth mentioning are the stainless steel handles on the rear panels, and the finish around the cable ducting holes. The handles came from a local hardware store and make the relatively heavy panels easier to hold and move - especially the top one where there's no other way to remove it once it's in place. The cable ducting holes are located in the monitor shelf (to run cables between the top and bottom compartments, and in the lower rear panel as an easy way to run the power cable from the internal power strip without needing to install a power socket in the cabinet. I can also run an ethernet cable through here for wired networking. The power strip is attached to the base panel just behind the hole by its mounting holes and two screws. The holes are finished with  standard 60mm office desk cable grommets with the rotating center sections removed.

Installing the monitor bezel and glass was probably the most difficult part of the assembly. This was mainly due to how hard it is to keep both surfaces clear of dust. I still don't really have a good solution for this, except to say that at some point, it's 'good enough'. Even after assembly some specks may work their way in there, but they're not noticeable unless you're really looking for them.

[firedance]

Awesome job so far, very professional

[Zebidee]

How about one of these instead of that hole? IEC-320 power socket, comes in different forms but this one has a fuse, switch and LED. Use with a spare PC power cable. Right-angle power cords are available too (sleek, can push cab back to a wall).

Loved seeing all the parts neatly laid out on the floor!

[Lexiq]

How about one of these instead of that hole? IEC-320 power socket, comes in different forms but this one has a fuse, switch and LED. Use with a spare PC power cable. Right-angle power cords are available too (sleek, can push cab back to a wall).

I considered using a socket like this, but after weighing the pros and cons, ended up deciding against it. The cons were mainly due to my cabinet design (I can't mount it to the removable panel, so I'd have needed to add another fixed panel along the bottom), and a mild aversion to working with high voltage wiring.

The main pro was simplicity - I can use the power strip cable directly, run ethernet, and it works with the removable panel. I do agree though, this type of socket is ideal for many applications.

[Zebidee]

I considered using a socket like this, but after weighing the pros and cons, ended up deciding against it. The cons were mainly due to my cabinet design (I can't mount it to the removable panel, so I'd have needed to add another fixed panel along the bottom) and a mild aversion to working with high voltage wiring.

The main pro was simplicity - I can use the power strip cable directly, run ethernet, and it works with the removable panel. I do agree though, this type of socket is ideal for many applications.

This is all fair enough. I'm sure you've got the skills. We should all be scared of high voltage.

It's a small leap of faith.

If you change your mind - There are only three wires, it is intuitive and there are wiring guides. That picture I added above is actually pretty good. Chop up an old power strip, solder or use female crimps, add heatshrink to taste. Then test it with something like a lamp.

[mourix]

Good job so far

With the incredible woodworking skills demonstrated here, I can recommend learning basic electric work for a next product as I'm sure you will beat that hurdle fast.