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Plywood Load bearing
mp2526:
--- Quote from: paigeoliver on August 21, 2004, 05:44:31 pm ---
That would be almost all scratchbuilt cabinets. I have owned well over 100 factory made arcade cabinets and not a single one of them was made out of MDF. In fact I am still unaware of an MDF cabinet ever being made by a real arcade manufacturer, unless Dynamo uses MDF now?
--- End quote ---
Nintendo cabinets?
Midways cabinets (ie some galaga I've seen)?
I have an Atari Cyberball cabinet that the majority of which is MDF.
Or are those not MDF but rather particle board? I always forget the differences. Either way, they are not made of plywood.
NoOne=NBA=:
To the best of my knowledge all the arcade cabs that DIDN'T use plywood used particle board.
Particle board is not as dense as MDF, is more susceptible to just rotting for no reason, and doesn't last as long.
Alot of the early cabs (notably Space Invaders Deluxe) were built from plywood.
Space Invaders Deluxe actually used marine grade plywood.
I have yet to see one that was in "bad" shape, even after 20+ years.
I am defining bad shape as a cabinet that is all swollen and rotten, and needs MAJOR repair; not one that needs some putty/paint to fix it.
shadowdrak:
I am not interested in using MDF as it doesn't hold screws properly and it is as heavy as all hell. As for my question, I wanted to know if it was for asthetic reasons. Mostly want to know if it would be wobbly if I used 1/2 plywood. My Insticts tell my that 1/2 plywood should be enough to support its own weight satisfactorily and also a 27" monitor with proper bracing and no framing besides the base and the monitor shelf. Specifically, has anyone tried to do this? Just trying to clarify.
Ghoward:
It's strong and lets face it there is a great deal of weight in a cab mine comes in a 412 pounds so you best use something that can hold the weight.
Gary
Mameotron:
Really, the 1/2" plywood is structurally sound all by itself without any additional bracing. But it really does flex and bend a lot. Go to the hardware store and you'll see how easily it bends, then try and bend a sheet of 3/4"plywood. I don't know your playing style, but I beat the crap out of my cab when I play on it. When we get a good game of Street Fighter going that thing really takes a beating. I don't think you'd have to worry about it falling apart, just bouncing all over the room. Also, 3/4" gives you more "meat" for your screws (nails, glue, fasteners?!?) to hold on to.
Personally, Ive built 3 cabs - the 1st with 3/4" plywood, the last two with full 2x4 framing and 1/2" plywood for the "carcass". The cabs with the 2x4 framing and the 1/2" plywood are lighter than the 3/4" cabinet.