where to start...

[crashdmj]

In anticipation of me building a cab I have come to the conclusion that I don't know where to start...here's my guess.

Clean and gut the cab
-sand, wood-puty and stuff
-paint or coat surface with whatever
Throw in computer
Build controll panel
Marquee
Any side art
T-molding

Just wondering if anyone had any bad experiences or "you should do this first" type of thing....I am getting ahead of myself but I like to check this site frequently and learn

By the way this is one of the most helpful and friendly boards I have ever been on
Thanks as always

[Jakobud]

See the sidebar to your left?  See up top, the 'Step by Step Newbie Guide'?  Please go there first.  All those topics on the left are for people like you who don't know the answers  Please feel free to come back and post questions though, if you don't get them answered in the FAQ. Good luck!

[u_rebelscum]

See the sidebar to your left?...

If you don't see a side bar, goto this forum's main site, http://www.arcadecontrols.com/arcade.htm to get the side bar.

(some people, like me, read the forum outside of frames.  I do it so I have more free deskspace to fill with other stuff)

[Smittydc]

crash -- do whatever is funnest at that particular moment.  Some parts of the cabinet will take longer or be more troublesome than others.  There's no real order to follow besides making sure all the parts fit together in the end.  It's a hobby, so enjoy yourself.

Tired of sanding the cabinet? Go design your panel for a while.  Tired of stripping wires?  Go test out some mame front ends.  You'll learn things as you go that will change your initial design a lot. Doing it this way I ended up with a much cooler machine than if I had planned out everything precisely at the beginning.

[mahuti]

A lot of people paint & clean the cabinet first. I think from my experience, though, taking care of some of the mechanics first is a good way to go. If you make the cab all clean and shiny, you might ding it up while installing the i-pac, control panel, etc. Build a control panel, test it on a computer. When you are satisfied, start cleaning the cab.

[Brad Lee]

If at all possible, I'd do the side-art before adding the guts(monitor, pc, controls) while you've still got basically jsut a empty box you can roll around

[HeadRusch]

Since I had a cab to work with, I began by gutting it and taking out its internal framework....knocking out the monitor supports, etc, etc....as I was reconfiguring it.

Then, I CLEANED IT.  Washed it, vaccumed it, etc.  

Then, I sanded it down..but not to the bare wood, if you use a heavier oil based paint you wont need to prime it..or if you want, you can prime it if you so choose.  Up to you, depends on what paint and finish you are trying to achieve.

I puttied up the holes and nicks and then sanded them down.

In the mean time, take it slow.  I cut my base-boards for my new control box one day, did the top another.  

here's the most important piece of advice I can give:
TAKE YOUR TIME, DO NOT RUSH THE PROJECT
Take it slow and do it right the first time.  You wont have a MAME Cab to play in a day, or sometimes even a week or a month, depending on how much time you can devote.

Just take your time and do what you like, when you want to....there is no right way.

[M-80]

... Hmmm... I never thought of that... A built in computer in a desktop CP... HDs and all...

Sorry, somebody here said something that flipped on a lightswitch in my mind. LOL I know you're talking about full sized standup cabs, but...

That's the thing too. Always look for inspiration on design. It is (as I'm starting to realize) an open ended hobby, non-linear or whatever. And most people do this over a length of time sometimes not looking at a set deadline for finishing. As most any hobby is.

[Mike]

Cleaning and painting first is nice but you will probably have to touch it up later on. If you build the control panel first make sure you cut it to leave additional clearance for when you paint the cab. Me personally i'd clean the thing off if it's dirty but then I'd do the control panel. I like instant satisfaction. I would probably do a quick and dirty control panel and not spend too much time on it. Just get something together that will work. Then move on to cleaning up the rest of the cabinet and loading software and what not. Along the way since you have a control panel done you can play some games and see how the control panel works for you and any additional controls you'd like added. Then build a new one after you've used the thing and know how you want it. Thats my two cents.