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Author Topic: Bella's Arcade [FINISHED]  (Read 131091 times)

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javeryh

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Bella's Arcade [FINISHED]
« on: November 05, 2006, 08:17:03 pm »
In the tradition of arcade cab builders everywhere I have begun work on my second cab and my first one is only 90% done (playable but there is a bit of work left on the cab and configuring everything).

This cab will be an 80% mini-cab following the Ms. Pac-man plans on Jakobud's site.  I am not going for 100% accuracy and I will be taking a few liberties in the details and especially the color scheme but the shape is definitely Ms. Pac-man.  I'm building this for my daughter so it's got to be super simple to operate and it's definitely going to be girly!  ;D

Details:
I'm not sure what type of joystick I'm going to use (Mag-Stik or Ultimarc 360) but I'm definitely settled on 3 action buttons and 4 admin buttons (start, coin, pause and exit to front end).  I'm going to use a 17" Dell LCD monitor and my somewhat old junker computer (Gateway PIII, 40GB HDD, 256MB RAM).  I'll be painting the entire thing a light pink on the outside and black on the interior.  I'm also going for a real shiny finish so it can be protected from juice spills and easy to clean but I don't know how to go about doing that yet.  The buttons and t-molding will be a darker pink from Dream Arcades.  As for artwork, right now I'm just planning on a bright colorful marquee - the CP will be black vinyl and I don't know what to put on the sides yet, if anything.

The entire cab is made out of MDF.  I've got a 18" flourescent light for the marquee and I'll be hooking everything into a Smart Strip for one-button power on and power off.  I'm undecided on a coin door but I'm leaning towards including a mini one.  Happs has one for $65 that's only 10" x 7-3/8" and it would really look nice.  The only issue is that I'm planning on hinging the panel that the coin door will be on for easy access to the computer so there might be a little problem with the wires.

Now for the good stuff - Pics!

So far I've just cut out the sides and routed the slots for the t-molding.  I also cut all of the interior support pieces so I can assemble everything next weekend.  Not a bad start for a few hours this weekend!

 

 

 
« Last Edit: December 08, 2010, 06:58:46 pm by javeryh »

johnm160

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2006, 08:37:57 pm »
Looks like a good start to me.

Hinging the panel with the coin door should present zero problems. Put the wires into some wire loom and attach it to the cab on the side and on the front panel. the loom should keep anything from getting pinched.

If you can't find wire loom at the auto parts store, bundle with tape.....not as pretty though.

Good luck.

John

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #2 on: November 07, 2006, 10:23:29 pm »
I found at Dick Smiths Electronics (Australia) a 7 core wire sheath. Used for wiring alarms/ electronics. It was very useful for a Joystick and 2 buttons. Will hunt out the photo I took at the time..From memory it was less than $1 per metre..There must be something similar in a shop close to you.
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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #3 on: November 07, 2006, 10:35:26 pm »
You could also go with phone wire.  It comes in 4, 10, and 50 conductor (2, 5, and 25 pair) cables.  In a previous life, my family had an electrical contractor business.  We had tons of wire scrap lying around. 

Good luck with the build.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #4 on: November 08, 2006, 10:54:35 pm »
Thanks for the suggestions on the coin door wires!  One of those methods is bound to work...

OK, I've taken the plunge and ordered some parts -  there's no turning back!  Here's what's coming:

I ordered the following, all from Dream Arcades:

3 pink pushbuttons (for the action buttons)


A pink balltop joystick - I am only ordering this for the actual pink balltop which I am going to switch out for the Ultimarc 360 (which only comes in red or black)


30 feet of pink t-molding:


I'm pretty psyched to get going - I can probably have a mock CP finished in a few hours once everything arrives!!  This thing is going to be pink!

AlanS17

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #5 on: November 08, 2006, 11:08:30 pm »
You can call it Pink LemonCade!  :laugh2:


sealslayer

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2006, 01:46:04 pm »
lol, same buttons, sticks and T-molding as mine, actually the sticks are quite good.
I have no idea what make they are but they can sure take a real beating when used in track and field instead of buttons.

Always remember my GF's Motto "You can never have too much pink "

 :laugh2:

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!!
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2006, 02:15:15 pm »
lol, same buttons, sticks and T-molding as mine, actually the sticks are quite good.
I have no idea what make they are but they can sure take a real beating when used in track and field instead of buttons.

Always remember my GF's Motto "You can never have too much pink "

 :laugh2:


So does the pink all match?  I can't tell from the pics on the Dream Arcade website but they look pretty close.  Also, is the balltop a big ball or a little one?

I'm actually not going to be using the joystick - I bought it just for the balltop.  I'm swapping it out with the one on the Ultimarc 360.  I only want 1 joystick on the CP and I want to be be able to play 4-way, 2-way and 8-way games without having to switch anything.  Since it's for my daughter it has to be as simple to use as possible...

sealslayer

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2006, 05:00:04 pm »
The buttons and the T-Molding are almost the same shade of pink and the Joysticks are ever so slightly darker, probably as the plastic seems to be a lot denser than the buttons, although you can't really tell any difference unless you really take a good close look.
The joysticks are just over over 1.25" wide

Timoe

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #9 on: November 10, 2006, 08:52:20 pm »
ponyboy sells the pink balltop, for like $5, that fits the sanwa shaft on the ultrastik360.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #10 on: November 10, 2006, 10:35:41 pm »
ponyboy sells the pink balltop, for like $5, that fits the sanwa shaft on the ultrastik360.

Crap.  Really?  I'm paying $14.19 for it... but it comes with a joystick,  I'll try and sell it with the red balltop that I don't use from the Ultimarc 360...

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #11 on: November 10, 2006, 10:41:44 pm »
Tomorrow morning (6 am!) I'm going to start the assembly of the cab.  I have to glue and screw down the battons - that is going to be the toughest part because they have to be exact to make everything level and square.  After I finish that (all the pieces are cut and the lines are drawn) I am going to rip a bunch of boards to 18" wide for the connecting pieces and try and glue everything up.  Some of the ends have to be angled so it might get tricky but I'm hoping I can have something in 3D by mid-morning.  Once the wife and kid are ready for the day my personal time is over...  :(

Would you recommend screwing everything for now so I can take it apart to paint everything flat or does it even matter?

Aurich

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #12 on: November 10, 2006, 11:41:43 pm »
Crap.  Really?  I'm paying $14.19 for it...

Should have been more patient, I already told you that in the thread where you asked about pink balltops.  ;)

theCoder

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #13 on: November 11, 2006, 02:10:24 am »
Most builds I have seen on this site paint after assembly.  I can think of two good reasons.  You reduce the chances of scratching the paint if you dont have to handle the individually painted pieces.  Also, the paint will seal your joints making them stronger and look better.  You probably reduce the chances for runs is everything is flat, but...


shardian

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #14 on: November 11, 2006, 03:23:16 am »
ponyboy sells the pink balltop, for like $5, that fits the sanwa shaft on the ultrastik360.

Crap.  Really?  I'm paying $14.19 for it... but it comes with a joystick,  I'll try and sell it with the red balltop that I don't use from the Ultimarc 360...

Ahh. I have a stupid pink balltop I would have totally traded you for the red one...

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #15 on: November 11, 2006, 11:16:44 pm »
Crap.  Really?  I'm paying $14.19 for it...

Should have been more patient, I already told you that in the thread where you asked about pink balltops.  ;)

Oh well...  It's not that big of a deal - at least I get an extra joystick out of it.  ;D

Most builds I have seen on this site paint after assembly.  I can think of two good reasons.  You reduce the chances of scratching the paint if you dont have to handle the individually painted pieces.  Also, the paint will seal your joints making them stronger and look better.  You probably reduce the chances for runs is everything is flat, but...

I think that's what I'm going to do even though runs are a big concern of mine...
« Last Edit: November 12, 2006, 07:40:28 am by javeryh »

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #16 on: November 12, 2006, 09:26:59 am »
Site is up and running.  http://bellasarcade.blogspot.com/

I'm ready to make the cab 3D today.  All the battons are installed and three of the interior support pieces are cut.  I'm hoping to get it looking like a real cabinet today!

Does anyone have any tips on how to assemble the cabinet?  It seems like it is going to be tough to get everything square.  I'm planning on laying one side flat and then installing the cross pieces perpendicular to that side.  The hard part is going to be getting the other side on there.  As soon as I get the three cross pieces in place I am going to cut and install the back panel - that should add strength and make it square (assuming I can cut a square panel).

Any help would be great!!
« Last Edit: November 12, 2006, 10:23:57 am by javeryh »

theCoder

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #17 on: November 12, 2006, 12:36:17 pm »
You might find a clean, square corner somewhere in your shop/garage.  Or you could make a half box (three sides) fixture out of plywood.  The advantage of making it with wood is you can temporarily tack your work to the fixture to hold it in place.  Check with a square, then check again, then just when you think your ready to commit with glue & screw, check one last time.  Having a second set of hands around also helps a lot.  Good luck with it.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Vertical Mini Cab!! Pink is the new hotness!!
« Reply #18 on: November 13, 2006, 11:55:36 am »
Marquee designs have been added to www.bellasarcade.blogspot.com!  Here's my favorite of the bunch so far:



If you've got any suggestions or comments or if you want to try and design my marquee yourself please do so!!

Thanks!
« Last Edit: November 14, 2006, 01:17:21 pm by javeryh »

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (11.13.2006: Marquee Design!)
« Reply #19 on: November 14, 2006, 01:16:16 pm »
OK, I think the marquee design is final.  megashock5 made this for me and he was patient enough to tweak it until it was perfect.  What do you think?  Any comments to the layout and/or color scheme?



Thanks!!

leapinlew

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I think it's perfect marquee. Hopefully the printer can do it justice.

I like the multi-color more than the green. I have a thing for the cabinet design... lookin good.

javeryh

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I think it's perfect marquee. Hopefully the printer can do it justice.

I like the multi-color more than the green. I have a thing for the cabinet design... lookin good.

Thanks.  I am really pleased with it and I think Bella will love it!  I'm probably not going to be adding side art or a CP overlay to this thing (unless I can think of something cool) so it will be the one place your eye is immediately drawn too.

Can anyone who has ordered from mamemarquees comment on whether I should order the marquee to size or should I order it a little large and trim it to size myself?  I guess I'm wondering if they make an exact cut or not because it comes with the two sheets of plexiglass too and if they can cut to size I'll just save myself the hassle.

Thanks!

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Final Marquee Design!)
« Reply #22 on: November 15, 2006, 06:00:16 pm »
I love the artwork!! Looking forward to seeing the cab! *wonders if own daughter will want one*
Project mega thread HERE

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Final Marquee Design!)
« Reply #23 on: November 18, 2006, 10:10:56 pm »
I love the artwork!! Looking forward to seeing the cab! *wonders if own daughter will want one*

Thanks!  I'm sure your daughter will want a personalized cab - who wouldn't?  :cheers:

I updated my site with some progress: www.bellasarcade.blogspot.com

I glued up all the panels but didn't use any screws because I don't want any screw holes to show on the outside/painted panels - will that be strong enough?  It seems like it but I really don't know...

leapinlew

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #24 on: November 19, 2006, 02:29:52 am »
Lookin Good lookin good! Did you need any help to do that?

If you screwed and glued some  L brackets inside, it would allow provide extra strength, allow you to rest easier, and not put any screw holes on the outside (just make sure the screws you use aren't too long).

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #25 on: November 19, 2006, 07:33:55 am »
Lookin Good lookin good! Did you need any help to do that?

If you screwed and glued some  L brackets inside, it would allow provide extra strength, allow you to rest easier, and not put any screw holes on the outside (just make sure the screws you use aren't too long).

Thanks!!  It's starting to come together.  I'm thinking the same thing about providing some extra strength... I'm going to go to Home Depot today and buy some L brackets for peace of mind. 

I did not have any help putting it together.  I had to think about it for a while though.  The wood strips helped me line everything up and after I glued and clamped the two end pieces to the side panel (marquee bottom panel and bottom computer shelf panel) it was surprisingly sturdy and I had no problems putting the other side panel on top.  Once that dried for about an hour I removed some clamps and glued the back panel in place.  I'm hoping when I tip it up it isn't leaning to one side and everything is level!

theCoder

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #26 on: November 19, 2006, 09:09:03 pm »
Wood blocks mounted on the inside will be much stronger than metal brackets.  The wood can be glued and screwed from the inside, providing a large surface area for the glue.  Some claim that wood glue is stronger than screws, but only if you have enough surface area.  You just need to measure out your wood screws and counter sink as necessary.  Good progress so far.

<Edit> - I forgot to mention, that marquee reeks of little girl sticky sweet.  It would make a 25 year old single guy want to puke, so it is probably great for your daughter.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #27 on: November 20, 2006, 12:19:41 pm »
Wood blocks mounted on the inside will be much stronger than metal brackets.  The wood can be glued and screwed from the inside, providing a large surface area for the glue.  Some claim that wood glue is stronger than screws, but only if you have enough surface area.  You just need to measure out your wood screws and counter sink as necessary.  Good progress so far.

<Edit> - I forgot to mention, that marquee reeks of little girl sticky sweet.  It would make a 25 year old single guy want to puke, so it is probably great for your daughter.

Thanks - it does seem quite strong now that the glue has dried.  The marquee is exactly what I'm going for with this thing and hopeully the paint job will only add to the girliness of the whole thing.  I am painting it pink and black and it looks like I'm going to have to do it in stages.  I'm going to tape and cover everything that isn't pink then paint, sand, paint, sant, paint until it's done.  Then I'll tape and cover the pink up and paint and sand the rest of it black.  The good thing is that I can prime the whole thing at once...

leapinlew

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #28 on: November 20, 2006, 12:42:35 pm »
<Edit> - I forgot to mention, that marquee reeks of little girl sticky sweet.  It would make a 25 year old single guy want to puke, so it is probably great for your daughter.

LoL! true... It's turning out to be a very cute cabinet.

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #29 on: November 20, 2006, 12:49:01 pm »
<Edit> - I forgot to mention, that marquee reeks of little girl sticky sweet.  It would make a 25 year old single guy want to puke, so it is probably great for your daughter.

LoL! true... It's turning out to be a very cute cabinet.

F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S

Thanks!!!  ;D 

More pics are coming as soon as I can load them up!

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #30 on: November 20, 2006, 12:52:39 pm »
OK, here it is looking all upright and arcade like.  The last pic is of the kickplate (sort of - I'm no photographer!)





Check it out at www.bellasarcade.blogspot.com
« Last Edit: November 20, 2006, 01:29:15 pm by javeryh »

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #31 on: November 20, 2006, 04:01:38 pm »
Very nice curves, how did you measure and cut those? I had real trouble just doing a small semicircle at each end of my CP let alone doing large curves like those.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #32 on: November 20, 2006, 04:29:31 pm »
Very nice curves, how did you measure and cut those? I had real trouble just doing a small semicircle at each end of my CP let alone doing large curves like those.

Thanks!  I hope this makes sense...  First, I used the plans on Jakobud's site to get the dimensions of the cabinet, including the radii of the curves.  I measured everything by 0.8 to shrink it down and make it a "mini" cab.  Once I had the "official" plans in front of me I laid out everything except for the curves with a ruler, t-square and pencil. 

Next, since I knew where each curve started and stopped and I knew the radius of each curve, the trick was to find the center point of the circle.  I actually used a pencil tied to a long piece of string to draw everything - from the pencil I measured the length of the radius along the string and then used my other hand to pinch off the string at that point.  Then I placed my pencil-less hand (with the string still in hand) on the point where the curve was going to start and drew a large arc roughly where I thought the center point of the circle should be.  I did the same thing from the other point where the curve was going to end.  The center point of my circle is where the two arcs intersected.  To finish drawing the curve I placed my pencil-less hand (with the string still in hand) at the intersection point and drew the curve, connecting each of the end points. 

Everything was very rough looking and approximate.  The pencil-on-a-string was by no means perfect (there were multiple lines from going over it a few times - kind of just roughed out) but it did the job.  The clean up came in the next step.

To cut it out of the MDF I went VERY slowly with a jigsaw making sure to leave the line and then I just sanded it smooth using a wood block.  It took a while but I think the results were worth it.  I used a pattern cutting bit to make a matching side.
« Last Edit: November 20, 2006, 04:32:45 pm by javeryh »

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (Glue-Up - It's 3D!)
« Reply #33 on: November 21, 2006, 09:39:14 am »
OK, I'm calling on help from the experts - this means you!  I wanted to do a little more work on the arcade cabinet when I got home from work yesterday but I am still trying to work out how the control panel and monitor bezel are going to interact with each other as well as how the bottom of the control panel is going to transition to the bottom portion of the cabinet (the top of the coin door panel). I ended up staring at the cabinet for a solid 45 minutes without doing a single thing because I want to make sure I do this right.

This is a picture of the problem area. 



Hopefully the pencil lines are viewable - they show where the control panel will go. Right now the control panel top/bezel is at a 90 degree angle to the control banel bottom. I should note that the small support piece in the middle of the cabinet (as shown in the picture) is not glued in place so it is moveable.

Here are the issues:

Issue #1. Should the control panel and bezel be made out of one sheet of MDF? I want them on the same plane because I think it will look slick except I run into problems when I start thinking about adding the smoked glass overlay (3/16" thick) and potentially a thin posterboard bezel to frame the monitor closely.

The monitor is going to be a 17" Dell LCD computer monitor. I plan to cut a hole in the MDF bezel panel the exact size of the outer circumference of the monitor case so I can have the LCD screen flush with the MDF bezel panel. The monitor will be supported from behind. I will probably need to add a thin piece of black posterboard on top to cover the edges of the monitor and make it look nice.

The control panel will be covered with Happs black vinyl so it will be able to withstand a little abuse from my daughter when she plays it.

Issue #2. How should the angled front of the control panel meet the middle support piece? The only reason this middle piece is there at all is to frame the hinged coin door panel on the top. I wanted a small lip on the top of the coin door panel so it didn't just butt up against the front of the control panel. This lip will also hide the fact that the coin door panel opens.

I think the second pic I attached is a nice solution but it also means I will have to get someone to manufacture the CP out of metal for me - I'm not sure how expensive that will be and I would really like to make the entire CP out of MDF but I do not know how - at the very least it would require cutting the pieces of MDF at some pretty odd angles to make everything flush.

Any thoughts no matter how crazy are more than welcome!!!  THANK YOU!!

leapinlew

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #34 on: November 21, 2006, 11:01:20 am »
Option 1: If your using a metal cp, just lay it over the bezel and wrap the happs vinyl over it. Thats how they are at the arcade.

It won't give you that single plane your looking for but it would be tons easier and more authentic.

Option 2: Don't create a metal CP and just use 1 big sheet of MDF to do both the CP and the Bezel. User your router and set the depth to 3/16" and drop in the smoked plexi in the hole you cut.

Thats all I could think of.

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #35 on: November 22, 2006, 07:29:55 am »
Option 1: If your using a metal cp, just lay it over the bezel and wrap the happs vinyl over it. Thats how they are at the arcade.

It won't give you that single plane your looking for but it would be tons easier and more authentic.

Option 2: Don't create a metal CP and just use 1 big sheet of MDF to do both the CP and the Bezel. User your router and set the depth to 3/16" and drop in the smoked plexi in the hole you cut.

Thats all I could think of.

Thanks!!!  You actually made me come up with this: 

I think I am going to try a modified version of your Option 2.  I'm going to use 3 pieces of MDF - one to frame the monitor and the two will be glued together at a right angle for the control panel.  I'm going to wrap the control panel in vinyl (including the top and bottom edges) and then butt it up against the MDF monitor frame but offset 1/4" (3/16" for the glass and 1/16" for the posterboard bezel.  I have a biscuit joiner so I am going to reinforce the butt joint with biscuits - I'll cut them right through the vinyl that I wrap around.

What do you think?  The only part that I think will be tough is the bottom panel of the CP - I'm going to have to cut it at a weird angle to meet the middle support piece nicely.

Thoughts anyone?

EDIT: Mock-up attached.  The CP and bezel panel/monitor frame are going to be offset by 1/4" - 5/16" to accomodate the thickness of the glass and posterboard.  Do you think the joint will hold?  I'm thinking I need to add some interior CP support pieces to brace everything...

Also, that "weird angled joint" is going to be extremely difficult for me to cut without a table saw.
« Last Edit: November 22, 2006, 09:26:53 am by javeryh »

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #36 on: November 22, 2006, 04:17:31 pm »
What if you went with one piece of MDF, routed a pocket for the glass, cut a large hole for the control panel, then router a pocket in the backside to drop a modular CP into.  Similar in nature to how you will be mounting the LCD, also mount the CP from the bottom.  Just an idea...

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #37 on: November 24, 2006, 08:20:33 am »
What if you went with one piece of MDF, routed a pocket for the glass, cut a large hole for the control panel, then router a pocket in the backside to drop a modular CP into.  Similar in nature to how you will be mounting the LCD, also mount the CP from the bottom.  Just an idea...

Hmmm... I'm not sure what you mean by routing a pocket for the CP.  I am going to be making a hole to frame the monitor but towards the front the CP is going to have to touch both sides.  Maybe a quick pic would make things clearer for me (I'm slow  ;D).

Thanks!

javeryh

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #38 on: November 25, 2006, 07:25:40 am »
I want to scream.  I spent 4 hours yesterday working on the cabinet and didn't glue a single piece in place.  I did cut a lot of pieces though and I am ready for a glue up today (I hope).  I cut the panels to frame the coin door opening and I cut the top marquee piece (which I can't install until I get the computer speakers and the marquee light in place because I won't be able to get my hands in there once the top pice is in place). 

I am having a bit of a problem regarding the coin door panel.  Here goes:

I am hinging the panel that my coin door is on.  I framed out the opening using .75" thick MDF so I can mount the hinges and so it has something to close up against.  I guess this is really a cabinet-making question but how wide should the door be?  I want to give the illusion as best as possible that the coin door panel does not move but if the door is as wide as the opening it will not pivot on the hinge (it is pretty snug right now).  How much is customary to shave off of each side?  The hinges I bought are the kind that you have to use a forstner bit to cut out a circle in the door in order to mount (so the panel opens the entire width of the opening)...

Any help would be great!  Thanks!!

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Re: Bella's Arcade: Pink Vertical Mini Cab (I NEED YOUR HELP!!!)
« Reply #39 on: November 25, 2006, 10:08:47 pm »
Cut the inside edge of the "knob end" at a bevel so that, when closed, the outside edge is flush, but while opening the inside edge doesn't bind.  A round-over or just a simple angle will accomplish this.