Verticle split cabinet???

[Darq]

I have a fairly narrow stairway leading to my basement.  Instead of building a full sized Mame cabinet that would have to be completely dismantled or destroyed to get it out I was wondering if anyone has tried or thought it possible to do a cabinet that splits vertically.  Probably a removeable monitor shelf and CP then have the 2 sides latch together some how.

Looking for ideas.

[Stingray]

How narrow is fairly narrow? Most classics are only about 24ish inches wide.

-S

[Mark70]

Anyone with a dolly can get a cabinet down a set of stairs, as wide as a the door at the top or bottom.

[Abomination]

As for your original question, I don't think it would be that easy to be honest with you.  Your biggest problem would be supporting the weight of the monitor with a piece of split or hinged MDF.  You could be supporting 100lbs + not to mention the abuse a cab takes during a heated session of SFII.  If you actually do this I would engineer it very very well.  But as long as you make it so your control panel can come off and only make the cab as wide as the skinniest door you need to move it through you will be fine.

[Mr. Bubblehead]

Anyone with a dolly can get a cabinet down a set of stairs...

I beg to differ.  I live in a turn-of-the-century home, and the stairs leading to my basement are only 18" wide!  Back in the day basements in older homes weren't utilized in the way they are today. (Fortunately for me I also have a cellar door that leads to my basement, so getting things like appliances and arcade games in there isn't a problem).

Darq, I would recommend building a cabinet in components, with a control panel, marquee assembly, and shelves that all bolt to front/rear/side panels to form the machine.  It wouldn't be hard to do, and it could be made just as sturdy as a one-piece cabinet.

[Darq]

I feel your pain Bubble.  My house was built in 1901.

[Mark70]

I do stand corrected.  I was thinking relatively modern housing.

Old houses can be both a blessing and a curse.  There's no beating the high ceilings from the days when lumber over 8' long was standard, not premium.  And houses were bilt with balloon framing instead of platform framing... but I digress.  Architectural talk is for work.. my wife is always whipping me about that.

I like the ambiance in old houses with serving stairs; notoriously narrow like your basement.  But is does cause some modern headaches.

[daywane]

Oh... I am not sure he could not take it apart.
Split the cab, use angle iron  and wood planks on the inside of the seam. bolt together. fill with wood puddy and sand, wood puddy some more, sand again,
paint. I think it could be made very strong.

My 1st cab has angle iron and 2x4's as a shelf for my T.V. I think way over kill but I had it around at the time

[unclet]

I think this could be done......

The monitor shelf does not have to be split but could be removed from the cabinet

[NiN^_^NiN]

Instead of making it thinner why not make it small from front to back?

so u turn it on its side and its thin enough to move out of the basement but looks the full size width ways