Author Topic: What have you learned building your cabinet??? (Read 6709 times)

lordtodd75 · « **on:** February 16, 2007, 02:33:32 pm »

I was just thinking of everything I have gone through in the past 2 years building my cab. Suddenly, it dawned on me, the amount of stuff I learned during this project. I guess if I were to make a list it would look something like this.

1. MDF is evil
MDF is a pain in the ass. Sure it is cheap and nice for painting but it is extremely messy when cut and the dust will make you sick.

2. cabinet - glue = pile of wood
I learned that glue is a good thing. I had about half of my cab put together when I realized I hadn't been using any glue. The cab was really flimsy. So I made sure to glue the rest and I added some extra support and it is ok now.

3. crack kills
Wood filler will crack if you use it in a structural area. What I mean by that is, the parts of my cab that have wood filler and have taken any kind of stress have cracked. Use bondo if you need structural integrity.

4. painting is not fun
A lot of my cab is finished in adhesive vinyl and some of my cab is painted. The vinyl is so much easier then painting, but watch out for air bubbles anywhere where the vinyl is folded over. If I do another cab I will use only vinyl.

5. frankenpanels
There is no need to put every control you can on the panel. How many 4 player simultaneous games are there. Do you really need a 4 player panel. I found out after my 5th cp revision that you should understand all of the different possible layouts for the controls of a game. Then you should find out what games use what configurations. If you don't like any of the 4player simultaneous games then don't build a 4 player panel.

6. im not done, but im finished
Make sure you don't put the finishing touches on the cab until the end. Don't paint your entire cab to a perfect finish only to find out that you need to put 2 more screws through the side panels. Plan ahead or you will be doing a lot of patchwork and your cab will take a lot longer then you thought.

7. goggles work better on your face then on your toolbox
It sounds stupid but make sure you wear the proper safety equipment. If your cutting, drilling, routing wear googles. If your working with MDF, Kilz, paint make sure you wear a dust mask made to block out those fumes. Last but not least, never use a router with one hand. I almost found this one out the hard way when my router kicked out and nearly gutted me when I was cutting a tmolding slot.

8. terminology
t-molding, CP, mamewah, cherry switch, encoder, 49 way joystick....Yeah I know what all that means

9. windows xp is bloated
I learned how to hack, chop, hide, and manipulate widows xp.

10. no talent hack to slightly talented hack
I found some hidden talents through the use of photoshop. Before this hobby I had never used photoshop and now I can pen tool, gradient and gaussian blur with the best of them. Well maybe not, but I can use the program proficiently and get results.

11. Harpal is a pseudonym used by satan. I also like to use it as a verb. "Don't try and Harpal me" or noun "What is with all this Harpal" or my favorite, an adjective "well color me harpal, did I just eat your sandwich"

Well that is all I can think of for now but I know there is quite a bit more I am forgetting. All in all this hobby has been good to me and along with this great community, has taught me quite a bit. What have you learned?

Chris · « **Reply #1 on:** February 16, 2007, 02:54:41 pm »

Trying to save a little bit of money now could cost a lot in the long run. For example, I went through three PC trackballs before I broke down and bought an arcade ball.

Try to plan and order everything you need at once. Shipping adds up in a hurry when you have to place multiple orders.

Hurray Banana · « **Reply #2 on:** February 16, 2007, 03:54:30 pm »

I learnt that one cab is never enough

ChadTower · « **Reply #3 on:** February 16, 2007, 03:58:13 pm »

Hurray Banana?

Tailgunner · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2007, 01:29:42 am »

Quote from: lordtodd75 on February 16, 2007, 02:33:32 pm

5. frankenpanels
There is no need to put every control you can on the panel.

Quote from: HB

I learnt that one cab is never enough

If you plan ahead you can use this to solve the frankenpanel delemma.

RTSDaddy2 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2007, 05:13:03 am »

Memories - especially if there are people in your family who want to help. Helping with this cabinet was the last project my dad did before he began succumbing to Alzheimer's. He is now in a nursing home, permanently living out his days, and not meaning to be over dramatic here - is but a shell of the person I knew. It is a treasured memory, ironically, in that dad and I were never very close until I built this cabinet.

Yes, life is strange...

sodapopinski · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2007, 09:01:01 am »

this can be an expensive hobby(nevermind chris wrote that)

the anticipation of playing it is more fun than actually playing it. its almost dissapointing when its all done. I guess thats where the urge to build more kicks in

Howard_Casto · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2007, 09:34:33 am »

Jiggsaws are very useful for making tvs fit.

It's worth the minimum price order to get a nice bezel from happs.

Routers kick up a lot of dust.

Every part you've ever wanted or will ever need you can find cheaper on ebay.

Parts express black vinyl is your friend.

Side art is too expensive to bother with.

Door jams need to be at least 4 inches wider than they make em now.

Coin doors are worth the money.

Optical joysticks are NOT worth the money.

There are two arcade part companies... happs and happs!

The ipac is your friend.

Hammers are great for fixing problems.

Keyboard drawers are useless.

The software takes forever.

Mdf is crap, but people like smooth stuff... so crappy yet smooth it is apparently.

Jouster · « **Reply #8 on:** February 18, 2007, 12:53:33 am »

Apparently I can cut about as straight as Ron White can walk.

Jouster

horseboy · « **Reply #9 on:** February 18, 2007, 01:57:28 am »

I'll let you know when I actually start... or finish...or whatever.

vorghagen · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2007, 06:40:28 am »

The saying "Measure twice, cut once." is good.
but...
The saying" Keep measuring until you get the same result 3 times in a row, then cut." Is better.

Loki · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2007, 07:53:32 am »

I've learned that I'm probably too lazy and too broke to start building one.

*sigh* ^^;

shardian · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2007, 09:44:42 am »

Quote from: vorghagen on February 18, 2007, 06:40:28 am

The saying "Measure twice, cut once." is good.
but...
The saying" Keep measuring until you get the same result 3 times in a row, then cut." Is better.

I do that, but my pieces still never fit together right. A belt sander is my good workshop friend though.

crashwg · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2007, 12:24:07 pm »

Plan the the whole thing out in advance.

I decided to "wing it" and 2 years later it's still sitting in the corner until I take the time to figure some stuff out that should have been drawn out at the beginning.

Donkey_Kong · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2007, 01:07:12 pm »

What have you learned building your cabinet???
Two things:
1. Every hour spent playing cab = about 2 hours of fixing cab.
2. If I'm not real close by with my tools the cab will disintegrate at a VERY rapid pace.

madgammer · « **Reply #15 on:** February 20, 2007, 04:00:28 pm »

Just started this weekend, but I learned a good lesson!

Never plug in the AC adaptor that goes to the weird black box that has a horn plugged into it

Apparently it was some type of car alarm and as soon as I plugged it in it nearly burst my ear drum and I hit my head on the monitor after I jumped up!!

ChadTower · « **Reply #16 on:** February 20, 2007, 04:23:27 pm »

That's the antitheft horn. It's loud.

SNAAKE · « **Reply #17 on:** February 20, 2007, 04:31:03 pm »

Quote from: Loki on February 18, 2007, 07:53:32 am

I've learned that I'm probably too lazy and too broke to start building one.

*sigh* ^^;

FIND A JOB ! when I first started and didnt have any $ at all...
my first job was at a laundry place

but anything for arcade...AT HOME !

I learn :

- wood working from scratch
- how to use power tools
- how to paint
- basic electronics and wiring
- building computers
- modding all consoles
- soldering
- photoshop
- and much much more

ChadTower · « **Reply #18 on:** February 20, 2007, 04:35:52 pm »

He was a caveman before MAME, I guess.

SNAAKE · « **Reply #19 on:** February 20, 2007, 10:27:41 pm »

pretty much..I didnt have any reason to start messing with power tools,soldering iron,photoshop,etc

johnm160 · « **Reply #20 on:** February 20, 2007, 10:32:57 pm »

There's your new slogan.

Building and arcade machine, so easy even a caveman can do it.

johnm160 · « **Reply #21 on:** February 20, 2007, 10:34:52 pm »

I've learned that I have yet another expensive hobby.

I have also learned how much I missed wood working.

and that now I am the "cool" dad

xmenxmen · « **Reply #22 on:** February 21, 2007, 02:36:46 pm »

There are other router beside the one made by Linksys. 1st time router user and keep smacking myself on how many other project I could have done better if I know the router would do it better, not to mention easier.

I can have the games I want on real control without needing to know how to a arcade manchine work. And still don't know much about pcb, rom ,etc. MAME is a savor.

I can actually do other thing with wood beside hammering a few 2x4 together.

And lastly, there is no end to this......

lordtodd75 · « **Reply #23 on:** February 21, 2007, 04:22:47 pm »

12. Some peoples post are incoherent mumbo jumbo.

You sir are my savor!!!

jbox · « **Reply #24 on:** February 21, 2007, 08:51:56 pm »

Quote from: xmenxmen on February 21, 2007, 02:36:46 pm

There are other router beside the one made by Linksys.

Cisco?

ChadTower · « **Reply #25 on:** February 21, 2007, 09:29:29 pm »

Quote from: lordtodd75 on February 21, 2007, 04:22:47 pm

12. Some peoples post are incoherent mumbo jumbo.

You sir are my savor!!!

You savor his incoherent mumbo jumbo? Or yours?

Chris G · « **Reply #26 on:** February 21, 2007, 09:32:42 pm »

Learned (or shall I say trying to learn) patience... for some reason I keep underestimating how long it takes to learn/design/order/build/etc every single aspect of building a cabinet...

lordtodd75 · « **Reply #27 on:** February 22, 2007, 11:31:30 am »

Quote from: xmenxmen on February 21, 2007, 02:36:46 pm

There are other router beside the one made by Linksys. 1st time router user and keep smacking myself on how many other project I could have done better if I know the router would do it better, not to mention easier.

I can have the games I want on real control without needing to know how to a arcade manchine work. And still don't know much about pcb, rom ,etc. MAME is a savor

I can actually do other thing with wood beside hammering a few 2x4 together.

And lastly, there is no end to this......

I was referring to his use of savor instead of savior. Apparently his cab is some weird amalgam of man and machine as well

13. Chad has an obscene amount of posts, I suppose I would too if I replied with snappy quips such as "that is the antitheft horn, it's loud." You are a font of knowledge.

I joke because I love

RyoriNoTetsujin · « **Reply #28 on:** February 24, 2007, 07:27:41 pm »

Quote from: Donkey_Kong on February 18, 2007, 01:07:12 pm

What have you learned building your cabinet???
Two things:
1. Every hour spent playing cab = about 2 hours of fixing cab.
2. If I'm not real close by with my tools the cab will disintegrate at a VERY rapid pace.

Number 1 in particular... too true.

As for myself, I've learned that you must get the right tool for the job. Don't try to wing it with whatever is on hand. Cutting large panels with a jigsaw, no matter how good your edge guide, and no matter how good your freehand skill, will come back to bite you on the behind.

patrickl · « **Reply #29 on:** February 25, 2007, 12:50:06 pm »

I don't get it. Your cabinet breaks down from playing on it? How?

skim36 · « **Reply #30 on:** February 25, 2007, 01:30:59 pm »

Wow....ok...

I learned buying an old cab is cheaper than the wood to build one.

Software=Headaches

Wives don't like large pieces of delapitated structures in their living room for over 2 months.

I'm "cool" for building one. (Some people think I invented such a thing....lol)

A 3" Happs trackball will JUST fit in the middle of a dynamo cab control panel.

Theme lighting really catches the eye.

Wives will eventually stop bitchin' and start kickin' ur arse at Centipede javascript:replaceText('

', document.forms.postmodify.message);
Tongue

RyoriNoTetsujin · « **Reply #31 on:** February 25, 2007, 05:41:22 pm »

Quote from: patrickl on February 25, 2007, 12:50:06 pm

I don't get it. Your cabinet breaks down from playing on it? How?

I think of it as a "karmic debt" sort of thing. For example; I have yet to play a game on my cabinet. Given the number of hours I have worked on building/re-building/troubleshooting it... I have about half that amount of time to actually PLAY it before something will go hideously wrong... and I'll have to fix something else I missed!

grapeape · « **Reply #32 on:** March 04, 2007, 06:48:28 pm »

Things i have learned so far...

router the mfb before assembly...otherwise yuou might be routering inside your house - and completely ruin your house with dust.

check these boards before ordering anything...(t-mold.com stole my money)....should have went with t-molding.com

before checking the boards you usually don't know where to start....after checking the boards you will still have 8 opinions....but atleast they are 8 good opinions.

haven't begun wiring or finish painting it so i am sure i will come up with a few more.

kkingsto · « **Reply #33 on:** March 04, 2007, 07:49:21 pm »

When routing for the T-molding, make sure:

1) the piece to be routed isn't high up (I had my cab together and on sawhorses when I decided the t-molding slot wasn't wide enough

2) Wear long sleeve shirts when routing (see above!)

TOK · « **Reply #34 on:** March 04, 2007, 08:25:13 pm »

If you calculate your build shouldn't cost more than $250, it won't cost less than $850.

Donkey_Kong · « **Reply #35 on:** March 04, 2007, 09:06:00 pm »

Quote from: patrickl on February 25, 2007, 12:50:06 pm

I don't get it. Your cabinet breaks down from playing on it? How?

Well first of all it was kind of a joke, much like many of my other posts. I believe in having fun around here and that the edge should be taken off now and then. After all we are dealing with video games and that should focus on fun.

But to honestly answer your question...my cabinet, much like myself can become quite unstable. For instance "playing" my cab, like attempting advanced software moves and coming up short and totally screwing something up. Also, there is the time I was playing robotron and I forgot my monitor was just floating on a shelf in there and BLAM! She smacks the wall behind her. Building my cab and taking forever to do it...I learn tons of stuff along the way.

1. 'Biggest actual lesson': Finish cab before playing.

Will I follow 'biggest actual lesson' ever: Probably not. Would take some of the fun out of the process...

Dmod · « **Reply #36 on:** March 05, 2007, 01:33:18 pm »

Quote from: Donkey_Kong on March 04, 2007, 09:06:00 pm

Quote from: patrickl on February 25, 2007, 12:50:06 pm
I don't get it. Your cabinet breaks down from playing on it? How?

Well first of all it was kind of a joke, much like many of my other posts. I believe in having fun around here and that the edge should be taken off now and then. After all we are dealing with video games and that should focus on fun.

But to honestly answer your question...my cabinet, much like myself can become quite unstable. For instance "playing" my cab, like attempting advanced software moves and coming up short and totally screwing something up. Also, there is the time I was playing robotron and I forgot my monitor was just floating on a shelf in there and BLAM! She smacks the wall behind her. Building my cab and taking forever to do it...I learn tons of stuff along the way.

1. 'Biggest actual lesson': Finish cab before playing.

Will I follow 'biggest actual lesson' ever: Probably not. Would take some of the fun out of the process...

I learned not to take safety advice from a smoking baby.

mountain · « **Reply #37 on:** March 05, 2007, 01:56:28 pm »

Read the BYOAC forums as much as possible before buying anything.

grapeape · « **Reply #38 on:** March 12, 2007, 09:36:23 pm »

word...

AMDman13 · « **Reply #39 on:** March 12, 2007, 10:49:55 pm »

1. Use the white (dense) foam roller.
2.Painting to achieve a perfect finish is almost impossible with a foam roller.
3. Next time use Wilson Art Black Laminate on both sides of MDF. For a perfect finish every time.


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