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Infinicade (fka My Cab Without a Name)
andy p:
That looks fantastic!
Keep us posted!
TAG:
Thanks to everyone for the kind words of encouragement!
The cabinet back was the next point at which I went off the book’s plans. I wanted a removable door on the back, one that allowed for plenty of ventilation. But I also wanted the back to be sturdy and to help hold everything together. So I decided to use two 2 x 6s across the top half and bottom half, with a piece of MDO in the middle. Then I would use pegboard over the top and bottom openings, and the pegboard would attach to the 2 x 6s with quick release pins.
Here are the progress pics for the back:
I decided to wait to attach the pegboard until after the top parts and the monitor shelf were finished.
For some reason, the back took longer than I had anticipated, even without attaching the pegboard yet, so I’ll have to save the top parts for next time. I suspect the cold weather will slow my progress even further. But at least we have a new furnace to keep us warm!
TAG:
Before attaching the speaker shelf to the cabinet, I wanted to cut the holes for the speakers. I figured that it had to be easier to do it ahead of time, rather than trying to cut them after the shelf was installed.
With some helpful guidance from Ldsfunaz’s post, I cut out a 2 inch hole in some scrap MDO to use as a template. The hole was easy to cut with a Dremel and a circular cutting attachment (although I probably should have used a thinner board for the template, and I’ll plan to do that when I cut the template for the trackball hole). After I had the template, I measured where the holes would go on the speaker shelf, clamped the template to the shelf, and cut out the holes using the router and the flush trim bit.
Again I have to say, what a marvelous tool that router is!
Once the holes were cut, I mounted the speaker shelf on the supports.
Next up, I attached the top of the cabinet and the back angled piece as per Project Arcade:
The back angled piece wasn’t a perfect fit against the top piece, but it was close enough that testing it with a flashlight inside the marquee area suggested that no significant amount of light would be getting out. As you can see, I also cut a hole for the power button that will run to the computer. That way, I won’t have to open the front door to turn on the cabinet!
That’s enough for this time, since I’m guessing that the monitor shelf will be a headache, so I’ll need to save it for when I’m fresh. Plus, well, it's the Christmas season, I had time off from work, and my family didn't need me spending the whole time building an arcade game!
TAG:
Happy New Year, everyone! I hope 2009 is treating everyone well, so far!
Moving on to the cab...The monitor shelf was probably my biggest deviation from the Project Arcade plans, since I wanted to make sure that it was sturdy enough to hold the 27 inch TV I was going to be using. I decided to use a shelf that went the entire depth of the cab, including the CP support. Since I planned to attach the CP with bolts, and to be able to remove the CP to attach add-ons like a steering wheel, etc., this seemed to be an ideal way to do it.
First, I attached 2 x 2s to the sides, then glued and screwed the monitor shelf to the 2 x 2s.
Next, I put a 2 x 4 under the monitor shelf, spanning the width of the cab, and attached it to the sides with glue and screws.
Then I used 12 inch (or were they 14 inch?) shelf brackets under the monitor shelf, as per Saint’s book.
After that, I continued the overkill theme and attached 2 x 4s vertically to the sides, providing still more support for the shelf.
At this point, I suspect that it will take a force of nature for the shelf (and the TV) to collapse, so I feel pretty secure.
As expected, that all took awhile, so further work will have to wait until next time.
You know, I’m glad I’m not keeping track of the total number of hours I’m spending on this thing, because it might depress me more than keeping track of the money I’m spending on it!
TAG:
Okay, time to work on the riser for the TV. The plan was to cut four right triangles out of a 2 x 12, attach a 1/4 in. thick board to them, and attach all that to the monitor shelf. Sadly, this step took A LOT longer than I had expected it to. Cutting out those triangles took forever, since the 12 inch width of the board didn’t leave a lot of room for clamping the sawboard. I’m sure there was an easier way to do it, but I have no idea what it is!
At any rate, here’s the completed riser, which will raise the front of the TV far enough off the monitor shelf to clear the administrative panel, and the front slope of it should be parallel with the front slope of the cab sides.
I also cut the hole in the monitor stand for the CP cords to go through (before attaching the riser, obviously). Rather than use a grommet sleeve, I used a round-over router bit on the hole edges, which should eliminate any kind of sharp pressure on the cords.
Before I closed up for the day, I went ahead and cut out the opening for the coin door, using a spade bit for the rounded corners and the flush trim router bit for the edges.
Then, just for kicks, I put the coin door (Thanks, Ponyboy!) in it temporarily just to see how it looks.
I have to admit that I got a real shiver of excitement when I looked at it! Sure, it was just an unpainted door and a coin door, but the whole was definitely greater than the sum of its parts!!
That’s enough for today. I hope to get the pegboard back and the administrative panel done next time. I’ve realized how much longer this is taking than I expected, so I’m setting my sights a little lower as far as what I can finish each time.