UK Supplier/Materials - The Definitive List?

[darthbane2k]

Admins, I would appreciate if you could make this a sticky.

I am a pissed off digruntled UK Mame'r who is held off from completing his cabinet because of the lack of parts/tools available in the UK.

There are plenty of Cab Plans around, many of which can be downloaded for free. But almost all of these refer to tools/parts/materials ONLY available in the USA or available in the UK under a different name/branding.

So can we use this thread to make reccomendations as to where we UK people can buy such materials at a decent price. Im talking about easy to find places such as Focus , B&Q and Homebase and NOT suppliers such as swallow or happ who have minimum order terms and charge almost the amount of my mortgage for shipping.

So i'll start things off.

Does anyone know the alternative name/where to get the following in the UK:

Clear Plexi
Smoked Plexi
Marquee Retainers
Marquee Light / mounting kit

Speaker Grilles - Can be bought cheaply from Maplin

[Minwah]

You can get anything you need, it just takes a bit of research/time...

Check this page, some work has already been done:

http://www.silverfoxy.plus.com/UKinfo.html

Plexi is generally called 'perspex' in the UK, and you can get it (clear at least) from many DIY stores (my local Focus has it, so should B&Q, Homebase etc.).

For a marquee light you can just use a flourescent tube light, ~15w is fine.

I've used Happ before but apparently they now have a

[darthbane2k]

I think it would be more beneficial if all of the info is kept in a single thread.

Eg Plexi = Perspex
     Edge Banding = Fablon

Etc.. it can get confusing for 1st time cab builders.

As for the independant suppliers - they do tend to be a rip off. Maybe we should suggest hight street vendors, where people can obtain these materials without paying a small fortune for shipping.

[ultramagnus]

homebase sell plexi IIRC

also, yes, the lack of UK supplies really pisses me off, gah, especially when stupid american postage is allmost as twice as expensive as sending stuff to the states 

as for marquee lights, hmm, dont really know what that is, would a CCFL (cold cathod flurecent light, aka neon light) (like are used for car underlighting) be right?

dont use maplins... they are overpriced.... and their customer service sucks badly...

for stuff like that i use www.cpc.co.uk or www.farnell.co.uk

[Silver]

as posted above I've got a few basic places listed on my site.... although not really for the "basics" like mdf/smoked glass/plexi...

I've not updated it in ages, and I'm sure theres a couple more places I've got which do 2nd hand parts I could add.

Happs UK is basically dead (they used to do stuff ok, without a

[rchadd]

coin.demon.co.uk

[darthbane2k]

Surprise surprise, Homebase's website brings up nothing.

Anyone know how much the sheets of perspex/plexi cost and whether they do the smoked variety?

[ultramagnus]

Surprise surprise, Homebase's website brings up nothing.

Anyone know how much the sheets of perspex/plexi cost and whether they do the smoked variety?

yeah homebases website is teh shitz, hmm, i diddent check how much their plexi is, but i dont think i saw smoked plexi in there, although i diddent really look...

and rchadd i just pasted that into firefox and it timed out twice, so i guess its bwoke

as posted above I've got a few basic places listed on my site.... although not really for the "basics" like mdf/smoked glass/plexi...

I've not updated it in ages, and I'm sure theres a couple more places I've got which do 2nd hand parts I could add.

Happs UK is basically dead (they used to do stuff ok, without a

[darthbane2k]

Guys if you check out this thread:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=6567.0

You will see that aluminium angles are a good alternative as a MARQUEE RETAINER.
Why pay around

[Grasshopper]

Unfortunately Happ and Suzo have merged and I think Happ's ridiculous minimum order amount was brought in as a result of the merger.

[darthbane2k]

Just called Homebase and Focus AND Wickes - They dont sell tinted perspex , only the clear kind, which kind of sucks for an arcade cabinet.

Does anyone have any other tips/suggestions where UK cab builders can find this?

[teef two]

You could try this site

http://www.adventplastics.co.uk/pages/sales.htm

or I have seen references to Stockline Plastics in Glasgow.

Lexan is readliy available in B&Q and cheap enough (around

[darthbane2k]

You could try this site

http://www.adventplastics.co.uk/pages/sales.htm

or I have seen references to Stockline Plastics in Glasgow.

Lexan is readliy available in B&Q and cheap enough (around

[Minwah]

I need the tinted perspex for my monitor.

Use glass instead.  You'll find it at most local glass/window places and it pisses on perspex IMHO.

[Silver]

Yes was going to say perspex is often used to cover a CP, but possibly not best choice to go in front of a monitor - its almost impossible not to have tiny tiny scratches on perspex as its quite soft, and may vibrate more easily than glass as its lighter and more pliable.....

I'm planning to use glass....

[darthbane2k]

I need the tinted perspex for my monitor.

Use glass instead.

[Minwah]

Okay - What type should I ask for. I want it tinted to hide the PC monitor but I want the light from the screen to shine brightly through.

I just asked for 'tinted' and they showed me some and I said 'ok'.  Since then I gather you can get different gradients of tints.  I would make some enquiries and see what is on offer locally to save you shipping.

BTW I called a local supplier for a quote on smoked perspex -  1m by 50m quoted me

[darthbane2k]

I meant CM!

50cm by 100cm
He quoted me an outrageous price.

Anyhow, minwah, how much did you glass cost - just need to get to grips with common prices etc..

Last resort will be to use a bezel if I cannot source any perspex.

[teef two]

If you can afford it go for toughened tinted glass. Usually any place that does windows/double glazing etc. will be happy to help and can cut and bevel the glass for you.

You won't want too deep a tint but the colour I suspect you'd go for would be more of a brownish tint.

The tinted glass on my old upright (R.I.P) was a very dark tint but the monitor shone through with no problem whatsoever. Remember you can always up the brightness on the monitor anyway.

[Minwah]

I meant CM!

50cm by 100cm
He quoted me an outrageous price.

Anyhow, minwah, how much did you glass cost - just need to get to grips with common prices etc..

LOL, I thought it might have been a mistake

I got mine for

[Minwah]

If you can afford it go for toughened tinted glass. Usually any place that does windows/double glazing etc. will be happy to help and can cut and bevel the glass for you.

You won't want too deep a tint but the colour I suspect you'd go for would be more of a brownish tint.

Agreed, get toughened if poss.  I think brown coloured glass is usually called 'smoked', and grey is tinted.

[Bursar]

Don't forget that you can buy that tinted plastic coating to apply to car windows.

So maybe some clear perspex/glass and a roll of tint will do the trick

[darthbane2k]

Is it worth getting the edges polished?

by the way I was quoted

[Minwah]

Is it worth getting the edges polished?

by the way I was quoted

[darthbane2k]

Okay how about painting on clear glass as a solution?

ala

http://mtrello1.tripod.com/MonitorBezel.htm

Anyone used this method/can reccomend it?

[Minwah]

Okay how about painting on clear glass as a solution?

For a bezel you mean?  I think it's a good idea, but in the example you gave the guy had a monitor case too.  If you have an arcade monitor or de-cased screen from the side you would probably be able to see the monitor chassis/mounting.  Combined with a bezel of some kind (or just use a bezel on it's own) would be fine.

[darthbane2k]

Okay how about painting on clear glass as a solution?

For a bezel you mean?

[Shep]

Last resort will be to use a bezel if I cannot source any perspex.

I got my perspex from a guy on ebay.co.uk who I noticed regularly advertising a cutting service - he has a website at esheets.co.uk. Dunno what he's like now, but his pricing was competitive at the time; measurements were spot on what I ordered, and the edges were ground/polished... saved me a lot of time/hassle cutting it myself

[darthbane2k]

Another contribution from me, this time regarding MARQUEE PRINTING

Why spend

[Silver]

That's a good one...

anyone got tips for CP overlay/art? A lot of people have used mamemarquees and got very good results I think...

[Minwah]

Colour Printing service up to A3 =

[Grasshopper]

Another contribution from me, this time regarding MARQUEE PRINTING

Why spend

[Minwah]

Also, you need to bear in mind that A3 isn't really big enough for a marquee. In my experience prices go up dramatically if you want anything larger that A3.

Good point.  A3 is only 420mm wide.  From the price it sounds like it is done on a normal printer.  You could do that at home/work if you have the material to print on, but I wouldn't think the quality would be very good.

Edit: bad grammar

[darthbane2k]

Another contribution from me, this time regarding MARQUEE PRINTING

Why spend

[darthbane2k]

Also, you need to bear in mind that A3 isn't really big enough for a marquee. In my experience prices go up dramatically if you want anything larger that A3.

Good point.

[darthbane2k]

question for those in the know,

would something like this  http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=22907&doy=24m8D do for my marquee light?

How would I go about mounting one of these things

[rchadd]

you can get flourescent strip lights in homebase  which would be good for marquee

[Minwah]

Anyway how long does it normally take mame marquees to ship to the UK - if its gonna be weeks and weeks I may as well order now

They were quick when I ordered from them (maybe a week).  Email 'em and ask.

[Minwah]

would something like this  http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=22907&doy=24m8D do for my marquee light?

How would I go about mounting one of these things

That looks like it should be ok.  12v is probably a good idea because I had problems with several 240v ones interfering with my monitor.

Mounting is usually just a couple of screws.

[Calathea]

Sorry to bring this topic back to life but does anywhere in the UK do leaf buttons and joysticks?