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Examples of subtle, aesthetic, furniture-esque living room cabs?
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Martoon:
Okay, I'm an apartment dweller with a wife, and looking to build a cab.  The cab will be visible from most of the apartment, and needs to be subtle, tasteful, and blend.  So no garish orange and yellow side art, neon marquees, etc.  I'm thinking probably a natural wood finish.

One problem with some of the big wood finish uprights I've seen is they often have a kind of tacky 70's look to them.  I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about a big, wooden angular thing with plastic buttons.  Maybe having a cover that closes over the CP (kind of like a piano) would help?  I'm not sure.

I'm considering a cocktail, since they tend to be a little less intrusive.  I like a variety of games and this will be my only cab, so it would probably need to be a 3-sided cocktail to accomodate the controls (I need a trackball, spinner, and a couple sticks).

I have to admit, Com[Plex]'s giant kitchen-table cocktail (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,32551.0.html)  is incredibly cool, but would be a little overwhelming (to build and to have in the kitchen).

So, any ideas?  Tips?  Links to examples?

Thanks!
Flinkly:
i always thought that pixelhuggers cab was pretty nice to have in the living room.
DrewKaree:
Here's a tip for you then.

I believe a lot of the reason people don't like naturally finished wood cabs is the garish grain pattern usually evident in the wood they select.  This isn't something that you can't see until you stain it, it's readily visible the moment you step up to the pile of plywood. 

Get yourself a buttload of patience, first of all, because you're going to need it to sift through all the wood you'll look at to find a decent grain pattern.

Want an idea of what generally will look good?  A nice subdued grain pattern like you'll almost always find in Birch plywood.  Why is it that people use the radial-sliced plywood with the zig-zag grain patterns that evoke a psychadelic 70's poster?  COST!

Plain and simple, cost will be the difference between the two types you commonly find used here.  If you have found some patience, and are willing to use it, you can sift through the plywood pile to find a cheaper piece of wood that has a reasonably decent looking grain pattern, or you can skip spending your money on patience and instead buy Birch plywood for the visible pieces, and save money on the pieces not likely to be seen, such as the top, base, back, and anything you will be painting.

If you'd like an idea of the difference in grain patterns, check out the wood used in "The Gold Mine" (search project announcements) before he laminated it, and compare the grain to almost any other wood cab.  His plywood is an even higher-quality plywood, but the grain pattern is very similar to the standard Birch you'll find at HD or elsewhere.

To all of you who have built natural wood cabs:

I LIKE THE WOOD LOOK!  DO NOT TAKE THIS AS A SLAM ON YOUR CAB!  PLEASE REALIZE MANY MANY MANY PEOPLE DO NOT LIKE NATURAL WOOD CABS FOR THE REASONS I LAID OUT ABOVE, AND WON'T BUILD ONE DUE TO THOSE REASONS!  THE GRAIN IS A HIGHLY SUBJECTIVE ISSUE, AND THIS IS A BIG PROBLEM FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON THE FENCE WHO MAY DECIDE AGAINST A NATURAL WOOD FINISH!

SAVE YOUR "YOU SUCK"S FOR SOMEONE WHO TRULY HATES WOOD CABS!
DrewKaree:

--- Quote from: Flinkly on April 02, 2005, 06:16:19 pm ---
i always thought that pixelhuggers cab was pretty nice to have in the living room. 


--- End quote ---

Pixel is also supposedly using wood for the base (I'm not sure if he's actually doing so, since we have yet to see anything but photoshopped stuff and pictures of a garage and other assor....Pixel, put down the frying pan!  I was just sayi...OUCH!  KNOCK IT OFF!  BEAT ON SOME WOOD INSTE...OUCH!)

Pixel, IIRC, is doing a glue-up of individual boards to get the size of panel he needs.  No crazy grain pattern normally if you do it like that, as you are using pieces of wood with far less grain variance than a piece of plywood. 
Martoon:
Flinkly,

I love PixelHugger's cab (or I'm sure I will when it's actually built).  I've been watching his "progress" for a while, and it's the kind of thing I think would be great in a rec room with some space.  But it's not the look I'm looking for.  I'm looking for less center-of-the-room "Holy cow, look at that!  I gotta play it!" and more over-in-the-corner "You're apartment looks nice - very understated.  I don't even notice that innocuous piece of furniture, whatever it is."

DrewKaree,

That's a good point about the woodgrain.  I think that is part of what gives some cabs that tacky 70's look, now that I think about it.  That's not the only thing, but definitely a factor.  Thanks for pointing that out.

I think another thing could be plastic T-molding.  T-molding looks great on a lot of arcade cabs, because that shape around the edge is often like genuine arcade machines.  But for nice-looking wooden furniture (forgetting arcade machines for a moment), T-molding looks cheesy (IMHO).

My brother-in-law will be building it with me, and he's a former cabinet maker (e.g., kitchen cabinets, etc., not arcade).  I'm sure he'll keep me safe from bad wood choices.

So, any more ideas/examples?
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