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paigeoliver:
Guys, I wasn't giving advice from a vacuum, I have done over 30 conversions and several scratchbuilts and I do have woodworking skills (and tools).

The conversions almost always come out better looking. Even starting with a crappy cab I can usually get better results than a scratchbuilt. Yes, there are a few woodworking guru's out there that can produce factory quality cabinets in their garage, but that isn't most people. Also, realize that those amazing looking scratchbuilt cabinets you see in the project announcement threads don't always look so perfect in person (I have seen plenty of scratchbuilt cabs in person).

A lack of arcade distributors in your area is MEANINGLESS. Distributors haven't been a good source of cabinets for over a decade now (despite what the FAQ say, all of those FAQ about ops and distributors were written in the mid 90s when most ops still had warehouses full of 19" cabinets, those are mostly gone now). I have literally owned over 200 machines and not a single one came from a distributor and only ONE came from an operator (that one I purchased off the back of his truck while he was waiting in line to unload at an auction, I said, "how about I just give you the $100 that game right now" and he said sure and we moved it to my truck.

You can get a cabinet within a couple hours driving distance with a little looking, guaranteed. If you live in any actual town or city with an actual population then you won't even have to drive far at all.
ark_ader:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 17, 2008, 08:53:23 pm ---Guys, I wasn't giving advice from a vacuum, I have done over 30 conversions and several scratchbuilts and I do have woodworking skills (and tools).

The conversions almost always come out better looking. Even starting with a crappy cab I can usually get better results than a scratchbuilt. Yes, there are a few woodworking guru's out there that can produce factory quality cabinets in their garage, but that isn't most people. Also, realize that those amazing looking scratchbuilt cabinets you see in the project announcement threads don't always look so perfect in person (I have seen plenty of scratchbuilt cabs in person).

A lack of arcade distributors in your area is MEANINGLESS. Distributors haven't been a good source of cabinets for over a decade now (despite what the FAQ say, all of those FAQ about ops and distributors were written in the mid 90s when most ops still had warehouses full of 19" cabinets, those are mostly gone now). I have literally owned over 200 machines and not a single one came from a distributor and only ONE came from an operator (that one I purchased off the back of his truck while he was waiting in line to unload at an auction, I said, "how about I just give you the $100 that game right now" and he said sure and we moved it to my truck.

You can get a cabinet within a couple hours driving distance with a little looking, guaranteed. If you live in any actual town or city with an actual population then you won't even have to drive far at all.

--- End quote ---

What a load of pants.

Everytime I wanted a nice cabinet for Mame I go to a distributor.  Odds are he has several in different guises that are un-sale-able like the back has been damaged or someone had a go breaking into the coinbox.

I got a cool cab with artwork and no monitor ($100 extra) for $50.  I'm sure he will have some more laying about or being ready to get the axe.  Ops get them all the time from the most wierdist places.

So sorry Paigeoliver, but that statement is just pants.   ;D
Havok:
I'm with Paigeoliver - he's absolutely right. Anyone that is in a city with a decent population can find cabinets for good prices if they're not too picky and are patient. I got a pristine Pole Position upright for free, just because the board stopped working. (imagine that, huh?) I also got my first cockpit, Space Tactics for free, someone I know here on the boards hooked me up with a Turbo cockpit for $50, complete - just needed some cosmetic work and a little solder work on the steering encoder - $50 and about an hour of diagnostics got me a 100% working cabinet. I then proceeded to locate someone local who had two Hard Drivin cockpits - I worked out a trade for the PP and Turbo, and the guy delivered one to my house!

There are deals, you just have to work a little, wait, and find them. Make friends, develop contacts, watch CraigsList and Ebay. CL is a crapshoot, but every once in a while it pans out; that's how I got the PP, which was 15 minutes away from my work. I picked it up on my lunch break!

 :cheers:
paigeoliver:
The fact that one CAN get machines from operators and distributors does not mean that it is the best place, nor that a lack of them somehow keeps one from getting machines. The situation you describe doesn't exist everywhere and will continue to become more and more uncommon as time goes on. However there are machines in basements and garages in every part of the country.

Although I am not exactly sure why a broken back door or a busted in coin box makes a game unsaleable, both are cheap fixes and both are really only relevant when operating a machine, and good luck purchasing ANY machine and operating it for an actual profit these days.


--- Quote from: ark_ader on April 17, 2008, 10:22:33 pm ---
--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 17, 2008, 08:53:23 pm ---Guys, I wasn't giving advice from a vacuum, I have done over 30 conversions and several scratchbuilts and I do have woodworking skills (and tools).

The conversions almost always come out better looking. Even starting with a crappy cab I can usually get better results than a scratchbuilt. Yes, there are a few woodworking guru's out there that can produce factory quality cabinets in their garage, but that isn't most people. Also, realize that those amazing looking scratchbuilt cabinets you see in the project announcement threads don't always look so perfect in person (I have seen plenty of scratchbuilt cabs in person).

A lack of arcade distributors in your area is MEANINGLESS. Distributors haven't been a good source of cabinets for over a decade now (despite what the FAQ say, all of those FAQ about ops and distributors were written in the mid 90s when most ops still had warehouses full of 19" cabinets, those are mostly gone now). I have literally owned over 200 machines and not a single one came from a distributor and only ONE came from an operator (that one I purchased off the back of his truck while he was waiting in line to unload at an auction, I said, "how about I just give you the $100 that game right now" and he said sure and we moved it to my truck.

You can get a cabinet within a couple hours driving distance with a little looking, guaranteed. If you live in any actual town or city with an actual population then you won't even have to drive far at all.

--- End quote ---

What a load of pants.

Everytime I wanted a nice cabinet for Mame I go to a distributor.  Odds are he has several in different guises that are un-sale-able like the back has been damaged or someone had a go breaking into the coinbox.

I got a cool cab with artwork and no monitor ($100 extra) for $50.  I'm sure he will have some more laying about or being ready to get the axe.  Ops get them all the time from the most wierdist places.

So sorry Paigeoliver, but that statement is just pants.   ;D

--- End quote ---
Zobeid:

--- Quote from: paigeoliver on April 17, 2008, 08:53:23 pm ---The conversions almost always come out better looking. Even starting with a crappy cab I can usually get better results than a scratchbuilt. Yes, there are a few woodworking guru's out there that can produce factory quality cabinets in their garage, but that isn't most people. Also, realize that those amazing looking scratchbuilt cabinets you see in the project announcement threads don't always look so perfect in person (I have seen plenty of scratchbuilt cabs in person).
--- End quote ---

Even though I'm sure it's all true, I find this paragraph bothersome for a couple of reasons.

For one thing, the original poster was wanting to make a bartop machine, and later changed his plans to a video pinball machine.  In neither instance is it helpful to suggest conversion.

But more to the point. . .

Scratch-building cabinets is one of the major activities here on BYOAC, and it sounds like you are dumping on it and the people who do it.  It almost sounds like we're all a bunch of dummies who built our own cabinets because we didn't know any better.

My cabinet is my first woodworking project ever.  And no, it's not perfect.  It has a few minor gaps, and a few bits that should be perfectly parallel and are not.  Most of this I think I can conceal.  So. . .  How perfect does it need to be?  I never set out to create a paragon example of fine furniture.

I live in a small town (about 2700 ppl) in a rural area.  Even here I think I could have gotten my hands on an old Klax machine for cheap.  I looked at it. . . but you know, that wasn't what I wanted.  I am building what I wanted.  And it has been fun, it's been tremendously satisfying.
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