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| severdhed:
might i also suggest to not try and over-do it the first time. i'd recommend against doing control panel artwork and things like that, because unless you are absolutely awesome, (or easily satisfied) you will probably want to change a few things around after you use it for a little while. i am in the process of building my 5th control panel revision...i'm getting pretty close this time..but i figure, there is no sense in spending the money for a control panel overlay, only to find out that your button placement sucks and then you have to buy a new one. take your time, look at the examples, and dont be afraid to try something new. I too was more comfortable with the PC side of this project than the woodworking...that is why i bought an empty cabinet and modified it instead of building from scratch. the key to a successful build is having the right tools. my first control panel was built using nothing but a single speed drill, jigsaw, and a dremel. needless to say it wasnt exactly pretty. this time around i now own a circular saw, variable speed drill, orbital sander, and most importantly, a router. you dont need top of the line tools...cheap ones from harbor freight work just fine...but believe me, they make all the difference in the world. also, when drilling your buttons holes, do yourself a favor and buy a forstner bit...they are astronomically better than a spade bit or hole saw. good luck, and please post lots of pics of your progress |
| ViciousXUSMC:
--- Quote from: severdhed on February 11, 2009, 12:38:14 am ---might i also suggest to not try and over-do it the first time. i'd recommend against doing control panel artwork and things like that, because unless you are absolutely awesome, (or easily satisfied) you will probably want to change a few things around after you use it for a little while. i am in the process of building my 5th control panel revision...i'm getting pretty close this time..but i figure, there is no sense in spending the money for a control panel overlay, only to find out that your button placement sucks and then you have to buy a new one. take your time, look at the examples, and dont be afraid to try something new. I too was more comfortable with the PC side of this project than the woodworking...that is why i bought an empty cabinet and modified it instead of building from scratch. the key to a successful build is having the right tools. my first control panel was built using nothing but a single speed drill, jigsaw, and a dremel. needless to say it wasnt exactly pretty. this time around i now own a circular saw, variable speed drill, orbital sander, and most importantly, a router. you dont need top of the line tools...cheap ones from harbor freight work just fine...but believe me, they make all the difference in the world. also, when drilling your buttons holes, do yourself a favor and buy a forstner bit...they are astronomically better than a spade bit or hole saw. good luck, and please post lots of pics of your progress --- End quote --- Agreed, Im also new to the woodwork side (and have none of those tools or work area) but can handle the computer side and wiring with no issues. Though I did make that harder by deciding to hack some game conrollers and do a modular setup :( I found slagcoin.com has the best source for standard button & joystick layouts. So thought I would share that with you as it helped me greatly doing my cuts for the buttons today. I was very surprised using that forester bit today how slow it went through the wood though, I drilled a pilot hole first to make sure I did not lose my place and also as a place marker incase my template ripped off (and it did so good thing I did this) but even with a high speed power drill untill it got about halfway into a hole it didnt take much wood away at all, it just scratched the surface. Dont be like me and try to use a cordless drill with that bit :P I had to barrow a drill from my neighbor :P The router, I do not have yet but I saw a great deal at Lows today, marked down from $100 to only $69 is a middle of the line Skill Brand Router WITH a router table in a kit. I wanted it so bad but I already got the $25 cheap laminate trimmer on the way from harbor freight and I have no need for much if any routing in my very simple project. |
| DIYROMArcade:
Spinach – Thanks for the advice. I have been trying to find that fine line between over thinking things, and still pushing myself to create something I will really be happy with. You’re right though, I should keep in mind this is my first machine and I am still learning a lot about it. For the side art I am thinking about two things. I am fortunate enough to know two really great artists and I am going to approach them about the project in exchange for some free website work or something. One of my friends is a muralist (he started by doing graffiti) and I am going to approach him about the main paint job. Here is a piece he did (commissioned by the business) on the side of Good N’ Loud Music in Madison, Wisconsin. (It's about 13' ft high by about 30' ft long.) My other friend does graphic design work and illustration. I really like his stuff. This is a picture he did in Adobe Illustrator. He does comics and childrens books, and all sorts of other cool stuff. So I have a couple different routes I am thinking about. wooowman93 – Those stickers are actually on my game room wall. ^_^ Hehe. I think they would probably be too big for most DIY Arcade machines, but saved me a ton of time since I was originally considering painting them. I figure it would have taken me roughly 10 to 15 hours to paint my walls like that so it would have ended up costing me way more just in time alone. Here’s a full picture of my actual walls: Turnarcades – Thanks for the tips man. Like I mentioned above I am a newbie when it comes to wood working, and building so I have my friend helping me. I have been running people’s suggestions by him so that we have a good idea of what to do when we start. He is a commercial carpenter but a lot of the stuff I ask him for help with is kind of strange projects that he needs to figure out as we go also. Severdhed – I like to think I am absolutely awesome but it’s probably more accurate to say I am easily satisfied. LOL. For the controller artwork I am torn at the moment. I have two friends I will be approaching for help with the cabinet artwork, but I was thinking about doing the control artwork myself. I have been mulling over several ways to do it and it’s still currently up in the air. Thanks for the suggestions though, I never really thought about needing to redo the button placement, but I guess over time you would feel if a setup was good, or could use some tweaking. I think for a future project I may buy a cabinet and do some restoration and retrofitting but for now I am building it from scratch to do something smaller than normal (profile wise) to get the fiancée used to the idea of an arcade machine in the house and then *BAM* go for the full sized cabinet. Hehe. You know how it goes… * Fostner Bit added to supplies list. ViciousXUSMC – Thanks for the link! Every last one helps. I am still doing a lot of mulling over with the controller layout. I have really only worked out solid plans for the cabinet itself and once that has been built I will be working on controls that I can fit into the cabinet so I can change them out later if needed. (Update them or rebuild them, etc.) Yeah my cordless drill sucks. Hehe. The friend who is helping me has a full fledged workshop in his garage which is awesome. His comment to me when I moved into my house was “Sweet you have peg board… Now you have a place to hang your tool”. So needless to say I probably need to get a few things to expand on my hammer and drill combo. Thanks for all the great tips and feedback guys. This is by far one of the best forums I have seen because everyone here seems really active and eager to help each other. I will keep you guys posted on my system and hopefully will get some work done on the construction this weekend. |
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