Cocktail cab access?

[greenacarina]

Question- you guys that have built cocktail cabs....how did you attach the top? I am envisioning a hinged side so the thing can be lifted and propped up (like the hood of your car) for internal access. What did you use for hinges and latches (if at all)
TIA

Chris

[Lilwolf]

Most people use clips around the outside.  If you have 3/4 wood and a 3/4 glass, you can use (I believe) the standard cocktail clips... otherwise you have to have them special ordered.

[Jakobud]

Most people use clips around the outside.  If you have 3/4 wood and a 3/4 glass, you can use (I believe) the standard cocktail clips... otherwise you have to have them special ordered.

3/4" glass!?! wowzers!~

[Lilwolf]

I thought it was 3/4 (might be wrong... might be 1/2 inch)  but it's thick.  Thick enough not to break when someone hits it because the !@#$%% ship didn't move to the left when the game new perfectly well that you had the joystick all the way over.... hate that...

[OSCAR]

I believe the original poster is asking how the plywood attaches to the cabinet.  The old Midway cocktails (Pac, Ms. Pac) had the top rigidly connected to the monitor side of the cab, and the entire side flipped down.  See Kyle Lindstrom's plans available on this site for an example.

These style cabs also used 1" plywood and 1/4" glass.  If you purchase cocktail glass clips from someplace like www.arcadeshop.com, then they are designed for a total thickness of 1.25".

[Polecat]

The way I did it was to hind the top to the coindoor side of cabinet.  I still need to add a locking mechanism to keep it from being opened when the access door is closed and locked.

[JLR2000]

I'm about 90% done and have yet to attach the top, but here's my idea:

I was going to do the "Midway" method mentioned above, but since I used a piano-wire like system to attach (suspend) the monitor from the top, I'm thinking now to leave the back panel unconnected so I can use it as an "access" panel with the keyboard and floppy/cd drives attached to it.  I'm thinking of attaching 1x2s to the top so that it fits nicely into the cabinet, and then using something like screen door locks(latches) and connecting by reaching in thru the coin-door in the front and thru the access panel mentioned above for the back.  The weight of the monitor and wood guides should keep the top from moving, the latches are just there in case someone were to lift the table top.  I don't think it would support the weight, but it should keep the top from coming off unless someone was trying to move it, which they shouldn't be doing!  

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth......