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paulscade - First Build - MAME - Blastoff!
paulscade:
I had a little trouble deciding where to mount the controls for the monitor OSD. I ended up placing it just above the keyboard drawer. It's really intended to be mounted against some sheet metal... with just the buttons poking through... but this will work fine.
At work, I plotted the control panel layout 1:1. Here it is sitting on top of the real control panel. If everything works as planned, I start cutting/routing the panel tomorrow.
paulscade:
I dropped in the bezel for a photo op... here's 90 hours into the project:
paulscade:
I've been cutting/routing/boring the control panel top over the past few days. I decided top mount everything to get the most out of the stick length.
I measured the thickness of the joystick/trackball metal mounting plate (1/16") and routed out a recess for each of the sticks and the trackball.... then I realized I need to go deeper. I plan on having the dust washers from the sticks sit BELOW the CPO. I also had to account for some sort of mounting bolt head. I decided on a 5/32" recess (1/16" for the metal plate, 1/16" for the dust washer, and 1/32" for some additional clearance.
I ALMOST routed the trackball recess the same depth but I caught myself just in time. The trackball mounting plate only needed a 1/16" recess.
The holes for the buttons and the spinner were no problem at all to bore out using a 1 1/8" Forstner bit with a drill guide that I bought at Harbor Freight.
I'm using 5/8" MDF for the panel top... with the "usual" 1/8" Lexan to make it 3/4" total. I routed a 1/16" slot 11/32" from one edge of the CP top. Once I add the Lexan, the T-molding will line up perfectly.
Some things that I learned/comments:
- A Forstner bit doesn't leave a "plug" like a hole saw. It completely eats up the material that you're drilling through.... and it leaves big piles of shavings. :)
- High speed seems to work best with the Forstner.
- It's close to impossible to route a straight line freehand. I had a guide clamped in place but it was too much hassle so I removed it and went freehand.
- Using a dull (ish) router bit will burn the wood and not cut so great... use a sharp bit! I was already in gear for the project so I didn't want to stop once I started... I should have paid closer attention to the bit before starting (like the day before).
Drilling some holes (my cordless drill really wasn't fast enough for the job... so I went with the old standby [a Craftsman electric drill that must be 20 years old]... which worked great):
Nice, clean holes:
The panel (don't laugh at my routing):
notanoob81:
Looks cool, although I must admit, your button layout looks a little uncomfortable.
paulscade:
Ha!... [notanoob81]... I just knew that someone was going to comment on my button layout.
Here's my logic:
I wanted the 4 in a row for NeoGeo. I wanted 6 in a group for [6 button games]. Now the twist... I wanted 4 in a diamond pattern for other emulators (like Nintendo, etc.) so I could program them like the original controller.
I liked the arched button layouts. (and I'm guessing that you're questioning the 4th "thumb button" being located to the right instead of the left)... hey... my thumb is on the other side my hand. :)
If I had moved the last button (in the row of 4) to the left, it would mess up my arch and I would have to turn my arm to hit all the buttons (the diamond pattern would "force" me to locate the button too low on the panel). When you're playing with two players... you're really not standing right in front of the cabinet... you're, sort of, playing at the corners of the cabinet anyway... so the sideways arm position is more natural.
I found the layout comfortable in my controlled lab testing (my testing consisted of laying out my 1:1 plot of the controls and pretending to play). :P
Anyway... that's my logic... right or wrong.