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Carriage Bolts On your CP: Tacky, or Tasteful?
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ErikRuud:
I'll try and get this back on track, at least for a moment.

Visible bolt heads do not contribute to the playability of the games.  That pretty much means it comes done to an aesthetic choice without a really wrong or right answer.

Personally I prefer to have the CP as clean as possible.  I just think it looks better.

I don't remember how many arcade games had visible bolts when I was hanging out in arcades in the early 80's.

I do remember that Warrior had carriage bolts for the joysticks.  At the local arcade the Warrior machine was right next to a pinball game.  If you accidentally  made contact with one of the bolt heads and he chrome trim of the pinball game, you got a nasty shock!
patrickl:

--- Quote from: CheffoJeffo on January 27, 2008, 07:54:44 pm ---
--- Quote from: Sir Auros on January 27, 2008, 07:49:47 pm ---I haven't seen a tommy-is-wrong thread in a while.  :cheers:

--- End quote ---

As opposed to the solitary "tommy-is-right" thread ?

 ;)

--- End quote ---
Has Tommy ever been right about anything? Or is that only in his mind?

Tommy: "All original cabinets used bolts to hold the joysticks"
BYOAC: "No Tommy you're wrong. A lot maybe but certainly not all"
Tommy: "OK then, a lot of them used bolts."
Tommy: "Ha, see I'm right"
BYOAC:  *mumble* I wish there was an ignore filter *mumble*
shardian:
Main point, OEM metal panels is pretty much guaranteed to be bolts. OEM wood panels (Mortal kombat, etc) are mostly not bolted. Now you have to also take into consideration the fact that most machines have been converted at one point or another. For conversions, it is much easier for the op to just use bolts.

I have 4 games that all have metal panels, and they all of course have bolts.
patrickl:
Not sure how it matters either way how many cabinets had bolts showing or not. Maybe it matters if you are creating an exact replica of a certain cabinet, but for most of us we just make something that we feel looks best.

Personally I'll just take a bit more effort to design and build the CP so the bolts and the washers are hidden. I don't like how they (bolts and dust washers) interfere with the artwork. Other people design their artwork to incorporate the bolts and or washers or they just don't care at all. Seems like finding out where people stand is what this poll is about.
RandyT:

--- Quote from: shardian on January 28, 2008, 09:50:25 am ---Main point, OEM metal panels is pretty much guaranteed to be bolts.

--- End quote ---

That's just not true.  I have a ROMSTAR Twin Cobra conversion in front of me that has a clean OEM metal panel with welded studs and a bolt-head-free top.

I don't think it's possible to make accurate generalizations regarding this, other than the bolts were definitely added by operators later in the machine's life.  How many came that way direct from the manufacturer is anyone's guess.  Maybe they started doing it when it was important to get games out the door as quickly and cheaply as possible.  I.e. toward the end of the "boom".

I was an arcade junkie at the time.  I noticed these types of things, and do specifically recall the recoil when I saw machines that had carriage bolts (for the sticks) and plastic on them.

This one really can go on forever, but I'll bounce out a guideline (take it for what you will);  If you have a clean panel will no artwork, or bland patterned generic artwork, then bolt heads won't hurt much aesthetically.  The end result will look like an operator conversion that you probably remember.  But why would one want to go through the trouble and expense of creating a fantastic looking piece of artwork for a panel, and then pepper it with bolt heads?   :banghead:

RandyT
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