Bezel for 19" rotating computer monitor ideas

[telengard]

At this point (maybe 4+ years after starting) my cabinet is pretty much done other than adding new control modules.  The *one* thing I for the life of me can't looking good is a bezel.  I've tried making them out of construction paper and they come out awful.  I bought a 19" Happs bezel but it's made for an 19" arcade monitor.  I'm currently using black foam core and double sided tape.  It works, but it ain't pretty.

The rotating part isn't a big deal except that it needs to be low profile so it doesn't rub up against the front glass.

Any ideas/pointers/examples?

~telengard

[Angry_Radish]

How about just throwing some greylite over everything?

[TOK]

You can get black foamboard at most craft stores. There are a couple different thicknesses, and you can also get it in black. I've wound up using that on all of my cabs. Cheap, easy to cut, and disappears under tinted glass/plexi.

[telengard]

You can get black foamboard at most craft stores. There are a couple different thicknesses, and you can also get it in black. I've wound up using that on all of my cabs. Cheap, easy to cut, and disappears under tinted glass/plexi.

That's what I'm doing now.  I use black foam core and I have tinted glass.  I guess I don't like that it doesn't come forward towards the glass like a cardboard bezel does.  Ideally I could use something like my Happ's bezel but it doesn't fit a std PC 19" monitor.

How do you attach yours to your monitor?  I used double sided tape since I wanted to cover up the black strip around the CRT tube.

~telengard

[TOK]

I used velcro so I can easily remove it from the monitor to work on the cab, etc.

[ARTIFACT]

27" Sony TV here

Black foam core + velcro + grey smoked plexiglass = looks fine.

Works OK... I saw some sheets of black vinyl/plastic where I got my smoked plexi and marquee plexi...
They were huge and cheap (6x3 feet = ~$5!) and looked like they could be used for making bezels.

One thing is that foam core doesn't bend lightly ... if your monitor/TV is curved a bit, you'll have a hard time keeping it snug to the screen.

[telengard]

27" Sony TV here

Black foam core + velcro + grey smoked plexiglass = looks fine.

Works OK... I saw some sheets of black vinyl/plastic where I got my smoked plexi and marquee plexi...
They were huge and cheap (6x3 feet = ~$5!) and looked like they could be used for making bezels.

One thing is that foam core doesn't bend lightly ... if your monitor/TV is curved a bit, you'll have a hard time keeping it snug to the screen.

Yeah, I just went and tried tweaking mine a little and on some parts it sits high above the monitor, some snug.  Also, with just a little pressure it gets these cracks in it.   

I hope I can figure out something a little nicer.  The cabinet is like 95% of the way there.  The bezel is about the only thing I don't like at the moment.

~telengard

[severdhed]

i dont know how this would work out with the rotating monitor, but i used regular plexiglass, and spraypainted the back side of it black (after masking out where the monitor would be with painters tape).  i was a bit skeptical, but i tested it on a scrap of plexiglass and was very happy with the result.  it looks really nice from the front, and it is cheap.  the only downside is that if you change monitors or something, you have to do it all over again with a new piece of plexi.

i used  a can of flat black spraypaint from wallmart, the cheap stuff that is only  $1, and it worked great.

[telengard]

i dont know how this would work out with the rotating monitor, but i used regular plexiglass, and spraypainted the back side of it black (after masking out where the monitor would be with painters tape).  i was a bit skeptical, but i tested it on a scrap of plexiglass and was very happy with the result.  it looks really nice from the front, and it is cheap.  the only downside is that if you change monitors or something, you have to do it all over again with a new piece of plexi.

i used  a can of flat black spraypaint from wallmart, the cheap stuff that is only  $1, and it worked great.

I pretty much have that with the vinyl bezel sandwiched between two panes of glass.  The issue is though that with a rotating monitor you need to have cut outs for the horizontal *and* the vertical position.  So when the monitor is in the vertical position there are these yucky bands on the side (to accommodate when in the horizontal position).

I just tried cutting down the happs bezel I bought years ago and the inside is too dang small.  It's supposed to be for a 19" arcade monitor but it's at least 1/2" too short in each direction.  What's up with that??

I may have to use the foam core on the arcade monitor too although this monitor has such a large curve I'm not sure how that will work.  It doesn't bend well.

Thanks for all the ideas!

~telengard

[csa3d]

I'm gonna do this on my project, and I've found a place which can take an Adobe Illustrator file and laser cut any shape into black "plexiglass".  I'm thinking of having a perfect circle cut, with a rectangle cut of of the middle of that circle, which will be glued to the monitor's bezel , essentially making my monitor appear "rounded".  I'll then take the exterior piece of plastic from which the circle was originally laser cut out (which will be a perfect match), have them trim it to size, and float it on a tiny ledge I will construct around the cab interior so that it is level with the mounted monitor.  Make sense?

Here's the link to the site I'm considering.  I have yet to price this out, and will likely go with framing matt board to test this out first.  http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html#overview

I just got the LCD mounted in my cab last weekend and have yet to update my Galaxian project thread.

Please do post your results so I can see how yours turns out.

-csa

[telengard]

I'm gonna do this on my project, and I've found a place which can take an Adobe Illustrator file and laser cut any shape into black "plexiglass".  I'm thinking of having a perfect circle cut, with a rectangle cut of of the middle of that circle, which will be glued to the monitor's bezel , essentially making my monitor appear "rounded".  I'll then take the exterior piece of plastic from which the circle was originally laser cut out (which will be a perfect match), have them trim it to size, and float it on a tiny ledge I will construct around the cab interior so that it is level with the mounted monitor.  Make sense?

Here's the link to the site I'm considering.  I have yet to price this out, and will likely go with framing matt board to test this out first.  http://www.pololu.com/laser_cutting.html#overview

I just got the LCD mounted in my cab last weekend and have yet to update my Galaxian project thread.

Please do post your results so I can see how yours turns out.

-csa

Sounds like a cool idea!

I just figured out I could score the happs bezel rather than cut it with scissors or my tin snips and I was able to cut out some of the interior part so it fits now.  A little filing and it looks decent.

Next up is to figure out how to get it to stay in place since there is very little flat material now around the monitor to stick it too.   Hmmm

EDIT: Unfortunately there is *no* way for me to have the bezel stay on and rotate.  The newer monitor is too big and a bezel to fit around it when at it's most extreme length from top to bottom (corner to corner) actually goes up behind the speakers.  No bezel will work.

What I think I'm going to do is put 4 pieces of velcro on the outside of the monitor and on the inside of the bezel and when I rotate I'll just have to swap it around.  I was hoping to not have to resort to that, but I have no choice.   

It's either that or rig something up to hide the black bars.

~telengard

[shock_]

Bezels are the rotating monitor's worst nightmare.

My approach - as yet unbuilt - doesn't involve any plastic traditional bezel at all.  Which may yet make it look like garbage, but wish me luck.

[xmenxmen]

There was this idea that I thought of when I was going to make one that rotate, but the rotating monitor idea went away.

Basically have 2 piece of foam core.  The outside one squared and covers from the side of the cab to about 2in before the widest part of the monitor.  On the inside piece, make it like the usual one covering the monitor, but cutting the side into a circle big enough to overlap the other piece.  The outside piece will be fixed and the inside piece stays attached to the monitor and rotate when the monitor rotates.

That way, no matter where you rotate, all you see is a frame inside another frame.

[csa3d]

You will never, ever, rotate your monitor after the first week of play on your machine.

Set it up horizontal and be happy you can still play Pac-Man.



I have to admit, though, the bezel seems to be the biggest PITA when it comes to finishing a cabinet.

... pessimist

[telengard]

You will never, ever, rotate your monitor after the first week of play on your machine.

Set it up horizontal and be happy you can still play Pac-Man.



I have to admit, though, the bezel seems to be the biggest PITA when it comes to finishing a cabinet.

Well I'm on week, um, 267 or something like that.   

I probably do about 50/50 and I do rotate it a lot since it's quite easy to do.  The bezel thing though is one more step to rotate now and given how lazy I am I hope I don't start playing vertical games in the horizontal position.

Nothing beats centipede on a vertical 19" monitor.   Nuthin'.    Ok, well the real thing beats it.     

~telengard

[shock_]

There was this idea that I thought of...
2 piece of foam core.  The outside one squared... the inside piece ... to overlap the other piece.
...The outside piece will be fixed and the inside piece stays attached to the monitor and rotate when the monitor rotates.

Yep that's basically my solution too.

[DaOld Man]

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but since I am thinking of building a rotating monitor myself, I thought I would put in my 2 cents worth.
On my last 3 arcades, I used the black foam poster board, covered with plexi-glass.
This works real well for me, only problem I see is the mirror-like reflectivity in certain ambient light situations. I have not tried smoked plexi, maybe this would cure the problem, but the black behind the clear plexi is very close to a mirror.
The arcades I have done so far have fixed monitors, so making a bezel for a rotating one is going to be a challenge.
I will be following this thread.