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Author Topic: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)  (Read 236944 times)

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thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #160 on: March 23, 2011, 01:51:02 am »
I swear I'm not dead!  In fact, here's a video of my Skeeball software to show that I haven't been completely worthless the last couple months.



1) Yes, I am aware that my laptop has a blue line in the screen.  I had a stuck pixel for years, but a few months ago it turned into a solid line.  Awesome!
2) The software is officially (I think) named Free Skee.
3) All of the sound in the game is just kinda thrown in... planning on a complete overhaul once the graphics and gameplay are done.
4) Bowling and Old School modes still need aesthetic work... I loaded up Bowling just to show the gameplay but visually it still sucks, and the Big Lebowski sound in the intro needs to go.

I trimmed a lot of the dead wood out of the software... I had a few games added that simply weren't very fun in their present form (mainly because they are games that had to be modified or simply aren't that fun with only one player), so I figured I would cut them out until I decide how/if I want to integrate multiplayer into the machine.  Honestly, it had too many game modes on the main menu and it seemed that half of them were never played.  Also, I removed the "Combo" on/off option, since it was wreaking havoc with hi-scores.  We would have people over playing different game modes and it was confusing to have them track whether or not the multiplier was on.  Instead, the game modes themselves dictate whether or not multipliers are enabled.  The basic "Free Skee" game is exactly like regular Skeeball except it tallies multipliers if you get the same ring 2, 3, or 4 times in a row.  In order to see which ring you hit last, I have tickets that pop out from the side of the screen that keep track of your rolls.  The other games have multipliers as well, with Flash Point's being indicated by the lights at the bottom and Bowling's being indicated by the number of neon pins lit on the bottom.  Old School will have the traditional Skeeball scoring with no multiplier.

Performance-wise I had to remove some very sweet glow / glare effects that I had on the LED scoreboard... it simply made things crawl even though it made it look very cool.  I also had a pretty sweet rolling scoreboard for ThreeTen, but again it made the game move like molasses.  Build-wise I put the kabosh on the Woot lights for the machine... they are a bit cheap looking and not really the look I want anyway.

Now for the important part.  Before I finalize the sides and throw paint on the machine, I have one last thing I want to add.  I just purchased an LED-Wiz 32-port USB lighting controller and 10 RGB-Drive pushbutton lights to run along the sides of the machine.  I am redoing the top of the sides of the ramp, and there are going to be 5 lights on each side that will hopefully be able to both interact with certain game modes as well as just race around changing colors and attracting people to play. 

Randy from GroovyGameGear.com provides an ActiveX control in order to use the LED-Wiz with your own software, but I read somewhere that Actionscript doesn't allow you to access ActiveX controls.  I really haven't done much research on this yet (literally searched for 10 minutes earlier tonight), but one option that I saw floated was to use Actionscript to communicate with JAVA and then JAVA to communicate with ActiveX.  This sounds like a huge pain that I will undertake if I have to, but if anyone knows how to better integrate ActiveX with my Actionscript-based software I would be incredibly grateful.

To mgb, yeah I am able to pop under the hood fairly easily and things do need a readjustment every once in a while.  Thanks again for all of the kind words and interest!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #161 on: March 23, 2011, 08:54:10 am »
That's awesome.  If I had the time and wordworking talent...  You need to write up some detailed plans and sell them or something  :)  Along with your software  :)

yuanyelss

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #162 on: March 25, 2011, 09:36:14 pm »
My guess is that it will hinder better than cardboard and bent. As the ball hit it, I would worry about hardboard again to crack down on the pressure. There may not be too flexible laminated all together...

drventure

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #163 on: March 25, 2011, 10:01:28 pm »
Oh, just had a thought. You need to steam punk that baby out!

You could use these for your flasher lights with the LED modules (brass door knob trim and old glass telephone insulators, I'm sooooo gonna make a few of these!)



 ;)

AlienInferno

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #164 on: March 25, 2011, 10:27:42 pm »
I have been following this thread for awhile and will use this as my first post in this thread.

AWESOME!

That is all!

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #165 on: April 11, 2011, 01:12:04 am »
This picture was taken today.   :dunno



I've recently made the decision to shi...err poop or get off the pot with my project(s).  I've had a "playable" arcade that was barely functional for over 5 years (you can actually see the wooden aircraft carrier control panel on the lower left of the picture), another barely built plug-and-play control panel with tv-out for 3 years, and a halfway built Skeeball machine for over a year now.  I decided that I needed to jumpstart things so I am scrapping everything but Skeeball and only saving the parts... literally throwing the other projects in the garbage since I have different plans for an arcade now anyway.  It was actually kind of cathartic to leave the half baked projects behind and focus my energy exclusively on this project.

Having said that, while the above picture looks like I am going backwards in terms of progress with Skeeball it is actually a sign that this thing is finally getting put together for painting.  I have custom-made rubber bumpers, a new lane material, a smoother and improved hop ramp, yellow t-molding and endcaps in the mail, an awesome net and frame, and a secret new feature that won't be given justice by words alone so I am going to wait to get pictures of it installed.

I squashed the idea of the RGB lights along the top of side panels, but I am now trying to think of a way to mount the RGB pushbutton lights to illuminate individual holes for different game modes... any ideas would be appreciated.  This is a feature that I'm most likely going to wait to pursue until after the rest of the machine is done, but I'm still intrigued by the idea.

drventure- That is a pretty sweet looking light!

Thanks for the kind words everyone.  I know this update was a bit scattered and vague, but I plan on some big updates soon.

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

DNA Dan

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #166 on: April 11, 2011, 10:53:25 am »
Keep at it man. This is one of those "epic" builds that I can't wait to see finished.  :notworthy:

Nimbus

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #167 on: April 11, 2011, 11:35:17 pm »
This project really is awesome. It stands alone because there aren't a lot of parts laying around or plans for these machines like there are with arcade machines. I am really excited to see how it turns out. I hope that you keep making progress!!!

I agree with the 'too many projects' issue too. When I got into arcades and rebuilding them, I got what I wanted and didn't buy anything else. I learned this from other hobbies. I tended to buy ANYTHING that was a good deal whether I needed it or not. In the end it all just took time and funds away from projects I should have finished long ago.

Best of luck to you with this. I also hope that you someday provide plans for this. I would love to build one but don't know where to start...

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #168 on: April 12, 2011, 01:06:39 am »


My ramp is now Made in China.



I absolutely love the way this fake wood looks on the ramp, but I am a bit concerned with the noise... this material is significantly harder than the vinyl flooring that I was using previously, and because of that the balls are louder as they land on it.  The nice thing about both materials that I have used on the ramp so far is that they are cheap and easily replaceable, so I think I'll wait until the machine is fully put back together before I decide whether or not to search for another ramp cover.

DNA Dan- That's very kind of you to say.. thank you!

Nimbus- It's nice to hear that I'm not the only one that gets sidetracked with a bunch of projects and has trouble focusing on one.  I will absolutely provide plans once this is done, along with a complete materials list.  I am going to wait until I am done because like you said, there aren't a lot of parts lying around for Skeeball and I have done a lot of trial and error (some days it feels like mostly error haha) in my purchases.

Tomorrow I cut the bumpers and prep them to be mounted!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

AlienInferno

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #169 on: April 12, 2011, 02:55:07 am »
That first post I thought you were going to say you were scapping skeeball.  I got scared.  I also take on way to many projects at once.  I can count 3 that have been going on for several years.  If I could just put all my time/effort/money into one at a time they would actually get finished.  Can't wait until you finish this and post the plans.  My wife loves skeeball and would hound me until I finish it.  That would be a good thing.  LOL!  Like the way it's looking so far.

crashwg

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #170 on: April 12, 2011, 05:31:51 pm »
I absolutely love this build.  I sure hope your software will be available so others (who can't code) are able to follow in your footsteps.

That being said...  On the Bowling game when the score changes from 2 digits to 3, the "display" shifts to compensate.  I think it would look better if the location of the numbers were constant.

I just watched the video again and noticed that the same happens on Cliffhanger.  I'm not sure how I feel about the "issue" on that version though due to the small space the numbers are in.  I think I'm still leaning towards having a set location for the digits would look better though.  Maybe if the font wasn't modeled after a segmented display?
« Last Edit: April 12, 2011, 05:36:13 pm by crashwg »
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justinjstark

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #171 on: April 13, 2011, 11:41:29 pm »
I absolutely love the way this fake wood looks on the ramp, but I am a bit concerned with the noise... this material is significantly harder than the vinyl flooring that I was using previously, and because of that the balls are louder as they land on it.  The nice thing about both materials that I have used on the ramp so far is that they are cheap and easily replaceable, so I think I'll wait until the machine is fully put back together before I decide whether or not to search for another ramp cover.

Would it help to lay down a thin sheet of padding under the "fake wood"?

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #172 on: April 14, 2011, 12:57:38 am »
crashwg- Good eye!  The 0 placeholders are going to be included on every led number in the game, I just haven't gotten around to copying the code to the other game modes yet.  The only game modes that I would officially consider done are "Free Skee" and "Flash Point"... others are pretty close like "310" and "Cliffhanger" (0 placeholders missing and a few small things)... and games like "Bowling" and "Old School" are really rough and going to get a complete makeover.

justinjstark- That's a possibility, but would be a bit of a pain since I would need to adhere the padding to the ramp and then worry about the fake wood on top of it... I think I'm going to wait until everything is put back together and playable before I decide if I want to make any changes... the way I have things laid out, the ramp cover will always be replaceable.

I've been getting the bumpers ready for the last couple days... basically I bought 8' or so of this rubber flooring off of a roll and then cut thin strips off of it.  It's real rubber (or at least labelled as such) and seemed perfect to wrap around a piece of wood to create a bumper.


I bought two 2"x2" pieces of wood, cut 1/2" off one side and then rounded the corners.


I began gluing the rubber on to the wood last night, and to make it easier on myself I am only gluing one side at a time.  Since each piece needs 2 sides glued and it takes 24 hours to set, the bumpers should be ready to mount by Saturday.






Bumpers, T-molding cuts, and a slight modification to the ball return on the ramp should be done this weekend, meaning that I can put the outer side panels back on and finally get the endcaps seated and attached correctly.  Slow and steady!

« Last Edit: April 14, 2011, 01:06:42 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

mgb

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #173 on: April 14, 2011, 07:38:52 am »
The progress is really looking good

DNA Dan

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #174 on: April 14, 2011, 11:47:56 am »
I think the ramp looks fantastic. I assume it's mostly the sound you are concerned about?

In regard of the noise, I would check out second skin audio. They make a product called Damplifier Pro which you could roll on the backside of the ramp. It's similar to dynamat, however this is probably the best product on the market for car audio enthusiasts. This product does wonders for taking out vibrational frequency in panels. Search for their stuff on youtube and you'll find some before and after videos of people using this on their cars. It makes a tin can sound like 12" of thick material! I plan on doing our traveler with this stuff once my arcade cab is completed.

Another thing to remember is typically skeeball units were lined up next to each other, so you'd hear a lot less noise from the roll as a result. Also the sounds in the arcade usually drowned out any noise.

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #175 on: April 15, 2011, 01:11:27 am »
Quick update:  Finished one bumper (still need cut off excess rubber and clean up some of the glue) and clamped it on to the machine to see what it looks like.  Loving it so far!  Also got my vinyl corner guards in the mail, so I placed them on and again I'm really loving how everything is looking.  T-molding came as well so this weekend will be busy!










So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #176 on: April 15, 2011, 12:59:27 pm »
Looks great. How do you plan to do the ball return?
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thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #177 on: April 18, 2011, 12:44:25 am »
DNA Dan- That's a good idea about the sound dampening material.  I'm definitely going to look into it!

yotsuya- I'll be redoing the ball return as soon as the ramp is done... I'm still figuring some stuff out but I'll post pics when I do it.

So I didn't get a lot done this weekend... caught something nasty and I've been congested and coughing like crazy.  Most of the stuff I wanted to do involved a table saw or a router, and I figured it may not be such a great idea to operate either when there's a chance I'll uncontrollably cough while using them.

I did finish creating the bumpers, but I still need to trim the excess white glue from the edges and trim the ends before I mount them.  I clamped them to the machine to see how they look (awesome!) and I figured I would put my most recent purchase on as well to see how it looked (even more awesome!).









My original plan was to buy white rope lights for the ramp, but I decided to go all out and purchased a 16' RGB LED strip, so I can illuminate the ramp any color that I want and change it in realtime.  I'm very happy with the results, and these pics really don't do it justice.  When the LEDs are mounted they will be about 1/4" higher than they are in the pics, which makes a surprisingly big difference in terms of their brightness.  When they are at the correct height the light appears brighter and more evenly distributed.

Second thing I did today was partially figure out how to integrate the lighting for the holes.  I plan on having the rings light up for different game modes (lighting the last ring you hit for certain games with the color changing depending on how many times you have hit the same ring in a row, lighting bonus rings for others, etc).  Adding this into the software will actually be really easy so I'm pretty excited about it.  I'm still not exactly sure how I want to actually mount the RGB LED's under the holes, but from preliminary placements I love them.






One issue that I'm now seeing is that this flooring that I used for the ramp isn't adhering to the frame that well.  There are certain spots (primarily on the hop ramp) that pop up a bit every few days.  I can push them back down and they stick for a while, but I want a permanent solution.  Does anyone have any ideas for adhesives that I can use on top of the sticky stuff that they included with the flooring?

Thanks for reading.  Hoping to make some big progress this week!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2011, 02:03:12 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

AlienInferno

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #178 on: April 18, 2011, 01:53:22 am »
That lighting will look fantastic in a semi-dark room.  You could even make them flash when a ball is counted (scorewise, etc.)  Maybe even an attract type mode of sorts.  Hmmm...a voice out of nowhere (circus announcer/fair game booth person).  "Ladies and Gentlemen come on down and try your hands at skeeball.  Win a prize with every roll!" While the lights flash in sync with his voice.  IDK.  Has potential anyway I would think.

Edit:  I was talking about the ramp lights for the most part.  Attract mode could be all of them though.
« Last Edit: April 18, 2011, 01:57:19 am by AlienInferno »

ricand

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #179 on: April 18, 2011, 02:32:41 am »
Does anyone have any ideas for adhesives that I can use on top of the sticky stuff that they included with the flooring?

I've had good luck with 3Ms Super 77 adhesive spray.   It does a good job of sticking odd things together.  I'm not sure how good it is at adhering adhesives though.  You might want to take the old adhesive off first with some acetone or something.


DNA Dan

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #180 on: April 18, 2011, 12:05:12 pm »
I have been using DAP Weldwood contact cement for my laminate and it's pretty strong stuff. http://www.dap.com/product_details.aspx?product_id=35 Can be found at lowes or homedepot. It applies very easily, just spread it on single coat, let dry then stick it. Roll with J-roller.

I don't know how well the water based version performs, but if you go original, be sure you have ventilation  :dizzy:

I think your lighting looks awesome. I want to roll one !
« Last Edit: April 18, 2011, 12:07:36 pm by DNA Dan »

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #181 on: April 20, 2011, 02:21:40 pm »
LOVE the RGB lighting! This is turning out to be one sweet ass skeeball!

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #182 on: April 21, 2011, 01:43:55 am »
Just spent HOURS installing / hooking up all these LEDs.  It sucked but I honestly couldn't be happier with the results!

Here is a video running one of the sample LED patterns that are included with the LEDwiz software (the little light spillage beneath each ring is going to disappear once I finish mounting them and then place the vinyl over the top).  I have already gotten the lights to work for a few game modes in the software, and they work great for indicating which hole the player should aim at.



I am incredibly thankful that RandyT gives the option to control the LEDwiz using the clipboard, since the OCX would have been a bear to integrate with ActionScript2.

Quick question for anyone that is electronics savvy... I would love to hook the RGB LED strips that I am using on the ramp section to this LEDwiz as well.  I've got the open slots, but my question is whether or not it's simply a matter of plugging the LED strip wires into the LEDwiz?  Right now it's just got a standard 12vdc 3000ma power supply that goes to their controller that I can interact with using a little remote.  It says that I can cut these LEDs every 3rd light, so in theory I could distribute the load into two parts for the LEDwiz.  How would I go about calculating the draw that each half would require and make sure I don't either A) blow the LED strips, or B) blow my LEDwiz?  Thanks in advance for any help.

Hopefully the weather will clear up tomorrow so I can get some cutting done!
« Last Edit: April 21, 2011, 02:33:08 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Nephasth

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #183 on: April 21, 2011, 07:15:33 am »
Sounds like you're using these RGB LED strips.
Their specs say:
 •Maximum 12V @ 60mA draw per strip segment
Which would be 20mA per color per segment (group of 3).
« Last Edit: April 21, 2011, 07:19:42 am by Nephasth »

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #184 on: April 21, 2011, 07:52:53 am »
Buy some solid state relays and you can hook up a lot more in the future :)
Convenient control voltage ranges and not that expensive if you browse around different suppliers.

By the way, this project is really cool and if I ever get the time I will do one myself.
Please continue sharing your ideas, progress and experiences made.
Building, collecting and playing arcade machines :)

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #185 on: April 21, 2011, 11:14:57 am »
Ahh thanks you guys are awesome.  Looks like I am going to hold off on any type of ramp light control with the LEDwiz for a while and instead use the default controller unit that the LED strips came with.  I'm already at 420mA on the LEDwiz with the ring lights and since I am using USB power I am capped at 500mA.  Even if I was using the PC power I believe that am capped at 500mA per output, which still wouldn't work for how many LEDs I need functioning on each side of the ramp.  At some point I may go back and try to tinker with controlling the ramp lights with the help of solid state relays (something I have ZERO experience in), but for now I'm just happy that I was able to achieve my main goal of lighting the rings.

Thanks for the input guys!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Nephasth

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #186 on: April 21, 2011, 11:27:59 am »
Well you could cut your strips into groups of 25 segments giving you 500mA draw per color per shorter strip and connect to PC power thus being able to control your strips via your LEDWiz. :)

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #187 on: April 21, 2011, 12:38:49 pm »
Go with the SSR's. They're pretty easy to work with. I should have used them to control my ELWire but I didn't know about them till I'd already built a circuit with a triac. Doh!

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #188 on: April 22, 2011, 12:25:30 am »
Nephasth- I think I'm going to go the solid state relay route, but I'm still keeping that idea in the back of my head as an option.

drventure- Do you know what type of SSR I would need for this purpose?  I am interested in going forward with the ramp lighting but I literally have no idea where to even start regarding the implementation of a SSR.  By the way I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with those glass insulators on your build!

Xiaou2- Those are some cool ramp ideas... you should go for it!  I'm loving the fact that the ring lights are working now... I had a bunch of game modes that I was toying with that were simply too complicated without lit rings to direct the player.

Got some important work done today but not as much as I would have liked.  When I was putting this machine together for the first time, I failed to plan for the fact that I would need to run USB and power cables from the bottom scoring area to the top.  In my rush to get Skeeball playable the first time around, I bored two holes in the back in order to run the usb and power cables from the bottom to the scoreboard.  Today I dismantled the whole scoring area and routed a channel for the cables to go where they will be hidden beneath the vinyl the covers the backboard.  Lots of areas that will need bondo before this thing gets painted!

I didn't put everything back together since I am going to route the slots for the t-molding tomorrow after work.  I've gotta say, even though I know that in the grand scheme of things I'm making progress, it's pretty disheartening to see the machine in so many pieces.  Looking forward to getting this thing looking like a Skeeball machine again!

I also bit the bullet tonight and bought "new old stock" OFFICIAL black wooden Skeeballs... they are from the 90's but never been used and from the pics I've seen they look really nice.  The Skeeball company doesn't make anything but their cheap plastic balls anymore (I even contacted them directly to confirm the bad news), so to get official wooden composite balls is pretty awesome.  I could have opted for reproduction brown composite balls which would have been cheaper, but the black Skeeballs will look nicer with the color scheme I'm choosing plus I like the novelty factor of having never-used Skeeballs from the 90's.  I paid out the nose for them but considering how much I have dumped into this machine there's no point in skimping out in the home stretch.

Too tired to post pics but I'll do a picture dump soon.  Cutting the slots for the t-molding and generally cleaning up inner guts of the scoreboard area tomorrow, and possibly finishing the ramp section if I have time.
« Last Edit: April 22, 2011, 02:22:24 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

AlienInferno

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #189 on: April 22, 2011, 10:46:28 pm »
Looks good man.  Those lights look great. 

Which LED strip did you go with?  Perhaps a link?  I'd like to check it out.

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #190 on: May 03, 2011, 12:53:34 am »
AlienInferno- Sorry for taking so long to reply... in regards to the LED lighting I bought a "Waterproof SMD 5050 LED flexible strip" from ebay.  Here's the link in case it is helpful: http://cgi.ebay.com/5m-5050-RGB-LED-Strip-12V-Remote-Controller-Power-/130493885818?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e620aad7a

Xiaou2- Just from seeing it put together outside of the actual machine I don't think it will be unclear as to what hole is lit up, but I'll see how everything looks under the lights before I decide one way or the other about marking the holes differently.

I've been making slow and steady progress, mainly on behind the scenes stuff like the ball return that I am redoing because the first time around I threw everything together to get it playable.  After getting the black Skeeballs in the mail and my unhappiness with the noise that the newer ramp cover made, I decided to scrap the whole "wood" theme for the ramp and go for something lighter that would compliment the dark Skeeballs and better accentuate the ramp and scoreboard lighting.

Only things left to do before I bondo and paint is to cut new top panels for the sides and mount the endcaps on to the sides of the ramp.  Sorry for the boring update this one is really more for me to keep the momentum I've got going.  Picture updates when I get a chance!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #191 on: May 09, 2011, 01:14:32 am »
I re-did the endcaps for the ramp... the thought of Bondo'ing all of the little kerfs on the old caps seemed like a bit of a pain in the butt, plus I was really pushing the strength of the wood to make that curve work.  I went with a much more simple solution that I didn't think of until a week or so ago.  I had originally taken a 1/4" piece of wood, kerfed it, then forced the wood to the curve after steaming it.  This time, I took two pieces of 1/8" wood, steamed them, and glued them together while clamped to the curve.  This way worked awesome because it holds the correct shape even when not clamped on to the ramp, while the previous method nearly straightened out completely without being clamped down.  Very happy with the result.  Oh, also installed the ends for the bumpers.  Here are some pics (please ignore the ridiculous amount of holes that I made to mount the side panels).








I also found a great material for the backboard of the ball return.  It's the "anti-fatigue" padded flooring and it does a killer job of absorbing the impact of the Skeeballs.  Still need to attach it correctly, but I'm going to do that after I throw a coat of black paint on the inside of the scoring area.  Also, routed a channel on the backboard for the wires to go from the scoreboard housing to the lower part of the machine.







Still need to re-cut the tops of the side panels and bolt them on, but after that I think this thing is ready to Bondo the hell out of and then paint!
« Last Edit: May 09, 2011, 01:21:37 am by thatpurplestuff »

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Xiaou2

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #192 on: May 13, 2011, 12:08:03 am »
Heya,

  I cant tell from the pictures what the material is like, but it looks like foam with a thin layer of plastic bonded the outside of it.

 If thats so, I would put a section of that vinyl strip that you used for the scoring loops on top of the foam where the balls drop on to it.

 The foam will still absorb the noise and impact, yet the surface wont be destroyed.  A thin surface wont hold up to the abuses of heavy rolling balls dropping on to it repeatedly.  Probably only a few weeks before it shreds without surface protection.




mgb

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #193 on: May 13, 2011, 08:12:06 am »
Man, this project is looking great.
much cooler than most skeeballs out there.

It probably says it and I missed it, but how are you handling the score sensors, are you using manual switches like old skeeballs or are you using optical?

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #194 on: May 19, 2011, 12:39:31 am »
fsfSaA fsdfSDAGFH GgdfgDFGDFGSDF dgfdhgsdfsdfSS  :dizzy:

Woah excuse me... I just used Bondo for the first time and holy crap that stuff is potent!  I'm filling the holes along the sides of the ramp and the back of the machine... I'll probably take a couple of days to do it because I made a BUNCH of unnecessary holes while making this thing and I've been a bit strapped for time recently.  Again no pictures, but after I've filled all these holes I should be just about ready to sand and prime.

Xiaou2- I've actually got black rubber left over from the ramp that I am going to put under the holes, mainly to mask the light grey from being seen from above but it should also serve to stop wear on the anti-fatigue mat.

mgb- Manual switches with the little wires on them.  Very pleased with the results so far, but I have no experience with the opticals so I have no basis for comparison.

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Xiaou2

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #195 on: May 19, 2011, 02:21:33 am »
Optical switches wouldnt work too well in this application.  Most optical switches are very short distances apart... and a skeeball is too wide for that.   The only way around that, would be a spring loaded switch activator.  But, that would only add more complexity and costs.  The physical switches are much better for this.

 Make sure you have adequate ventilation when using that stuff.  Use some box fans to help.. but much better, would be a respirator w/ the proper filter cartridges.  These chemicals can really wreck your health... and truthfully, theres nothing more important than your health and longevity.

 I got my mask from Harbor Freight.. and use it when I cut MDF.  Not sure if the filter carts Ive got would work with fumes though..

thatpurplestuff

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #196 on: May 24, 2011, 01:36:13 am »
Xiaou2- I actually went out and purchased a respirator since I plan on doing more Bondo'ing and sanding, and I've gotta say it is pretty cool.  When I'm wearing that mask, anything I'm working on becomes at least 50% more awesome.

Aside from a few spots near the ball return that need some Bondo touchup before the final sanding, the ramp is DONE!  I redid the tops of the sides of the ramp, and made the ball opening considerably smaller (the old cover left all 9 balls uncovered whereas the new cover leaves only 5 uncovered).


These pics show the ramp mostly put together (the bumpers are just resting on the ramp so they will be tighter to the sides and the lights have been taken out before painting).


I started doing some of the smaller paint jobs, namely the speaker grills (not shown) and the net clamps below.  The net clamps are just pipe clamps that come with rubber insulation... I'm stoked with how they look with the yellow paint.  I need to be able to pop the net off fairly easily since switches need occasional adjustment, so these clamps held on by knobs should work perfectly.  The store only had 3 of the knobs that I needed, so I've got an order placed for 3 more.


Now I just need to remount the scoreboard and install the locking mechanism, and then it's just a matter of waiting for the knobs from OSH to mount the net.  After the net mounting is finalized this beast is ready to be sanded and painted!  It feels great to be on the homestretch and be able to work on the small details.  More detailed updates later!

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Nephasth

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #197 on: May 26, 2011, 11:32:30 pm »
This is looking pretty awesome! Since I saw this thread I have been wanting a skee ball machine, and I just snagged one off ebay for $101 and the guy said he had another that he would throw in for an extra $50. Pretty excited about it, I think I might convert them to play multiple games like what you have going on with this build. Can't wait to see this thing in action! Bring on more pics!

Ond

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #198 on: May 27, 2011, 01:27:18 am »
When I'm wearing that mask, anything I'm working on becomes at least 50% more awesome.

 :lol sure you're getting enough oxygen?  hey, I've gotta say that new surface you've gone with looks the business! Apart from being fun to play this is (already) very nice to look at. 

 :cheers:

Ond

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Re: That's How I Roll! (Skeeball build)
« Reply #199 on: May 27, 2011, 04:31:44 pm »
Do you have plans to put in a coin mech for token and/or ticket dispensing?