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| Yet Another Briefcase Build |
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| Semper Why:
Greetings and salutations! First, thank you all for this amazing resource. I am certainly not in your league but I had a need for your wisdom and it is all over this forum. I have a good friend who just turned 50 and I am making a briefcase arcade for him as a belated birthday gift. It's belated because he already got a Magic Mirror for Christmas and I only work so fast. Anyhow, a lot of this build is inspired by adrktemplar's briefcase build and an Instructable that I have been using for ideas. It's been a lot of fun so far. The plan is to give my friend the initial creation and then make one for myself that will incorporate the lessons learned. I might actually play it after I get through my Steam catalog, currently scheduled for half past "never" and just before "the end of time". :D But first... I need a case. I can build a box (badly) but why do that when your father no longer needs the briefcase that he carried for 20 years? A little leather conditioner and it'll be fine. And after you have the leather treated and no longer in danger of cracking when you touch it, you can work on the interior. And by "work on" I mean "gut with a razor blade". |
| Semper Why:
Now that we have a work area, it's time to add the divider. This is the basic structure of the chambers, with two speakers in the corners and an open receptacle for the power cord. The speaker chambers are a bit oversized so I can route the video cable to the top. I considered making this a 2-up arcade, but after some experiments with my wife I decided that the briefcase just isn't large enough. You would be bumping shoulders with anyone you were playing against/with and it would be a mess. My friend has three kids and I expect that they wouldn't play well together if they were running into each other. I sketched out the pattern for the controls and the power plug on my laser cutter and burned some guide marks. The perimeter was cut out using the laser, which saved me having to break out the saws. Quick test fit with the brace, the plywood and some spacers to keep it level. |
| Semper Why:
Quick check for fitment on the buttons and power socket. I considered putting the power socket in the side of the briefcase, but I am not confident in my leatherwork skills to make it look good. Besides, this placement will encourage the users to shut down the arcade properly before closing the lid. One of my biggest fears with this thing is someone slamming the lid closed and driving the joystick into the screen. The laser cutter makes labeling the buttons easy. A close up of the power plug and the shutdown button with Molly Guard. I was pleasantly surprised to find the Molly Guard available on Amazon in the proper size. Silly me put the pattern on the board before the guard arrived, so the perimeter line doesn't quite match up. It's not worth doing over. |
| lomoverde:
Loving that flip up power button guard,never seen that before. What thickness is that control panel material?Is it a test piece? looks very thin. The joystick hole looks very small. |
| Zebidee:
--- Quote from: lomoverde on March 20, 2022, 06:51:54 am ---Loving that flip up power button guard,never seen that before. --- End quote --- They are somewhat important for, say, nuclear missile launch and self-destruct buttons :D |
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