Why in the HELL would anyone build a 2 x 4 FRAME in their cabinet?!?
Keep up the good work!
Good question.
If I had to do thing all over I would go a different route. However, when I first stared doing research on Cabinets early 2005 I had absolutely no idea what was involved in making one. I checked out all the designs I could find and liked Scott's over all look of his cab the most. I ran across a track and field clone cab at a local business and grabbed it hoping that I could make the cab work for a mame machine. It turned out to be too small for the monitor I wanted and making the CP I wanted would have looked bad. Real bad. It was good to see how a cab was constructed and I was able to pull a bunch of hardware out of it.
So, I was back to Scotts cab and just go for it. The frame adds 50-60 pounds and makes it real sturdy. Is it necessary? Probably not knowing what I know now about MDF construction. It does make it nice to bolt the monitor and PC to real wood and it hides the casters nicely. All my components are screwed into the frame not MDF- not essential but nice.
If I had to do at all over I would go with a simple 2X4 base frame and find a cab at a local arcade to measure it out to make my sides, back and CP based on those measurements and the width of my doors. I would then bolt the monitor to the top of the frame using what ever angle I needed. Hind sight is as they say 20-20.
Don