Knievel's TT's (Twin Taito's)

[Knievel]

I got a couple of Taito cabinets given to me last fall and I've spent the last couple of weekends giving them the Knievel treatment. That being a total teardown and rebuild with what seems to be my signature blue t-mold/artwork.

They came out very nice. Lighted, functional coin doors are something I haven't bothered with before and I really like them. These cabinets came with wheels on the back as well, which I've discovered is a really nice feature.

Here's a look at cabinet #1. I'll post more pics when I get the second one finished off..

[leapinlew]

Looks good as always. 

[javeryh]

Looks good as always. 

Yup.  Very nice.  Is that 3 buttons per player?  Are there a lot of games that take advantage of 2 players at the same time that aren't fighters?

I love the layout of those cabs and the angle of the monitor...   

[superbigjay]

... I've spent the last couple of weekends giving them the Knievel treatment

Pfffff!I could do the same.....by spending a couple of months!!! 

Looking good as usual!!! 

[Kaytrim]

I love the layout of those cabs and the angle of the monitor...   

That would be sweet for Golden Tee

[Timoe]

I like the taitos because the coin door is up nice and high.

Please share the building pics if you have any.

[Apollo]

sweet job dude, another success

[leapinlew]

Heres a question for you:

Paint or paneling?

[Knievel]

Thanks guys, some answers..

-Yes 3 buttons per player. There are many non-fighter games that use 2 joys, 1943, Mario Bros, Joust, Contra, Metal Slug, etc

-Great for Golden Tee alright

-I did take some pics as I went along and will post them

-Black laminate all around, had to cover up all those unsightly bolt holes 

[leapinlew]

If it's black laminate - what size t-molding is it? Does the black laminate add much to the overall thickness of the cab?

While I'm asking - where do you get it? I think this might be the ideal finish for this latest bartop. The Sandeply I'm using isn't quite 3/4" anyhow.

[Knievel]

 
Not sure how thick it is Lew, maybe 1/32". Regular 3/4" t-mold was used.
It's just standard laminate, if you were really concerned about it I guess you could go with a thinner vertical grade.

It isn't completely covered by the t-mold but close. Luckily the edge of the laminate is pure black so you really don't notice it. I'll take a pic for you.

[leapinlew]

Thanks - this sounds like a great finish. I bet it's faster than priming and painting to.

Do you have an online source or do you just get it at Home Depot? When I looked previously it was around $80 for a 4x8 sheet.

[Timoe]

You can grab the formica laminate at your local homey D's or other hardware store usually.  $43/sheet

[javeryh]

You can grab the formica laminate at your local homey D's or other hardware store usually.  $43/sheet

How does it get applied?  Is there some sort of sticky backing or do you have to glue it on like a veneer?

[Kronos]

I have checked the Depot and lowes stoped selling laminate and the only colors they have left is this awfull looking white or a hunter green marble...still have not found a place to by laminate.

[leapinlew]

Knievel gave me the push I needed. I just purchased some laminate! 

[Knievel]

That was quick! Take note of my glue advise below.

Laminate is like veneer, it has to be glued on. I have seen some good tutorials here in the past on laminating.

I used to dread working with it because of the contact cement, which is always a horror show. Recently I tried water-based contact cement and that changed everything. Looks and goes on like white latex paint, no smell/mess and easy cleanup.

Up here in Canada you can get black laminate at Home Depot or Rona for around $50 a 4x8 sheet. I would try looking in the yellow pages as well, you can get it really cheap from a distributor.

[psychotech]

That cab looks awesome, again 

Just waiting for a picture of the black'n'blue arcade

Exit stage left ...

[leapinlew]

That was quick! Take note of my glue advise below.

Laminate is like veneer, it has to be glued on. I have seen some good tutorials here in the past on laminating.

I used to dread working with it because of the contact cement, which is always a horror show. Recently I tried water-based contact cement and that changed everything. Looks and goes on like white latex paint, no smell/mess and easy cleanup.

Up here in Canada you can get black laminate at Home Depot or Rona for around $50 a 4x8 sheet. I would try looking in the yellow pages as well, you can get it really cheap from a distributor.

Noted! Awesome and thanks.

[Knievel]

Let me know if you have questions as you're doing it.
Here's the cabinet edge, tough to get a good pic..



If you guys want a picture of anything specific build-wise let me know.
I didn't take that many pics of this one but I still have the other cabinet apart.

Really I didn't think anybody would be that interested, unless they owned the same type of cabinet. Guess I'll have to get some more finished pics up. 


Psycho..are you talking Black'n'Blue the band??

[psychotech]

 

Actually I was going to make the sentence like "Just waiting for a picture/video of the black'n'blue arcade with Black'n'blue on the background" ..

Yes, I meant the band (, too)

[Knievel]

Hah, you never know...maybe right after the RATT-cade

[psychotech]

..

Well, you made the Metal Station (Awesome) ..Just thought you "might" have the "necessary" soundtrack too

Keep up the good work!

Back to Jack..

[Knievel]

Pic moved to the top ^

[Anubis_au]

Knievel, fabulous cabinet as always... if I haven't said it yet, your cabinets are the primary reason for me wanting to make my own...

[bleargh]

Knievel, I'm always in awe when looking at your cabinets.

The only part of it all that pisses me off is that you make it look so easy! 

[karlpenney]

Did you laminate the inside of the side panels too, or is that part just painted?

[superbigjay]

Here's a look at the CP and the nifty admin panel I added..

Hello Knievel, would you mind telling where you got the "plastic" for the admin panel and how you did it?
I could use that info for the uroMAMEstyx...

[leapinlew]

Here's a look at the CP and the nifty admin panel I added..

Hello Knievel, would you mind telling where you got the "plastic" for the admin panel and how you did it?
I could use that info for the uroMAMEstyx...

Looks like laminate to me.

[blueznl]

Nice, those admin buttons. Where did you get the labels?

[Knievel]

Thanks for the praise.

-The cabinet insides are painted, they were in great shape.

-The admin panel in a piece of 1/2" MDF covered in Happ Pica vinyl. I had to route the edges of the panel down to 3/16" to get it to fit in the monitor glass tracks.

That vinyl is similar to the Parts Express stuff that seems to be the more popular choice, as it's cheaper. Either one is fine, the Happs is a little thicker though. I wasn't overly impressed with the stuff until I ran an iron over it. Tightens it up nice and makes an incredible bond.

-The labels are from MikeD, I bought them before he disappeared.

[javeryh]

What did you apply the laminate to?  MDF?  Plywood?  If it was plywood do you just by the cheapest you can find or do you still use cabinet-grade birch or something a little pricier (and smoother I guess for the laminate glue-up).  Do you ever watch "Wood Works?"  It's on the Home and Garden channel, I think - anyway, he veneers everything and he has a large vacuum press to glue the veneer on - everything goes in a plastic bag and then a compressor sucks the air out of the bag - it's pretty sweet.  I hate most of his projects though (arts and crafts is not my style).

I'm also curious as to what size and type of monitor you are using in there...

[Knievel]

These cabinets were made of pressboard, which I guess is an early version of MDF.

I would normally use MDF as the substrate, cheap and smooth. I'm in the process of redoing our kitchen and just got through laminating 22' of countertop and a 6' island. For that I used just regular particleboard, which is what the manufacturer recommends. I wouldn't use it for a cabinet though as it tends to break apart when you screw into it.

Haven't seen that show but that's how commercial countertops are made, tough to recreate at home.

I used 21" CRT PC monitors in these cabinets. Decased them, put them in a MDF frame and mounted them to rails in the cabinet. They can easily be slid out the back if required.

[Gamester]

I'd be interested in pics of your monitor decasing/framing/mounting...

Very nice work indeed, Brad!

[Cornchip]

  I like the look of the Tatio's, and the Knievel touch make's them look so new. I also like the paint you used for the wall behind the cabinet. Do you remember what you used? I really dig the new earth tones.

 Cornchip.

[arcadefever]

another "knievel" master piece ...

i love the way it look, simple, clean ....

[Kaytrim]

Could you take a pic of the back with it open?  I want to see how much empty space there is heading into the marque from the monitor area.  A pic at 45 degrees like the full cab pic you have above only of the back.

Thanks,
Kaytrim

p.s. Oh and how wide is the CP? Thanks

[squirrellydw]

very nice work.   I also use laminate, make sure you let the contact cement get tacky before you put the laminate down and use a laminate roller.  I used the vertical grade.

[Knievel]

Thanks guys. I will post all the requested pics when I get a chance, and add some more of the finished product. My wife is out of town right now and the kids are keeping me very, very busy.

Kaytrim the CP's are 22 3/4" wide. Getting the trackball in there was no small feat.

These cabinets are small but the controls are not low, perfect height actually. And the angled monitor puts the screen in a great spot. I have traced the side profile and I'm sure I will be scratch building these in the future.

[Knievel]

very nice work.   I also use laminate, make sure you let the contact cement get tacky before you put the laminate down and use a laminate roller.  I used the vertical grade.

Thanks. What did you think of the thinner vertical grade stuff? I expect you would have to get your glue very even so as to not have any bumps, etc transfer through.

The water-based contact cement goes on white and turns clear when it's ready, one more great thing about it.