Semi Slim Cabinet Scratch Build (COMPLETE!) with LCD Widescreen, LOTS of pics!

[javeryh]

Damn - what size slot cutter did you order?  Next time, test it on a scrap piece before actually cut into your cabinet!  Everything looks great so far.   

[topher0002]

Thanks,  yeah the mistake I made was I did test it on a piece of scrap for cutting,  and it worked great,  never thought about the size of the slot being wrong I guess,  oh well.

Here are just some pics of the lock and acrylic over the bezel after cutting it to size.

The last pic is where I mounted the Volume control for the speakers,  this worked out perfect I think,  no one really sees it but its easy to get to if you need it,  I found this to be really handy as alot of the games seem to be at different volume levels.  Its mounted directly underneath the control panel underneath in the upper corner.

[topher0002]

Here are some pics of how I mounted the speakers,  worked great.

[topher0002]

The acrylic:

For the button holes:  used a 1 1/8 in fostener bit,  worked great.  I sandwiched the area I was drilling before every hole to keep the acrylic from flapping around,  I think thats the key to not messing up,  make sure its clamped down and close to the hole.

For Cutting The shape of the control panel and Bezel from Acrylic:    Used a fine tooth    jigsaw blade and jigsaw.  Same rules with the Clampdown.

For the Trackball Hole:  used a 3 1/8 inch holesaw but it was too big,  i figured i would need a little extra since the trackball was a 3 inch trackball but that was not the case,  Should have gotten the 3",  there is a small gap around the trackball that kinda sucks.
This did work but I think next time I will use a flush trim router bit and a template.   Not sure what my thinking was here.

[topher0002]

I threw everything together again just to see how it was all fitting together, really dusty and a lot of touch ups needed at this point but you get the idea.

At first the plan was to put the acrylic behind the bezel but you will see later I changed my mind and put it on the front,  it looks much better that way....and i can cover up  my cutting mistake 

I then  painted the bottom side of the acrylic for the control panel blac,  this turned out AWESOME, it looks great.   Also it completely covers the mounting plate for the trackball, etc.  you will see that in later pics.

[topher0002]

just more painting.

[topher0002]

Ok, Im going to back track here a bit,  I missed some pics that could be useful so I will throw them in here.   

The red cup used below was just to draw lines around the corners of the control panel and cut them.   Some people like to use a compass but Zog like Red cup, compass nowhere to be found.     

Other pics are just after drilling holes with the paddle bit (1 1/8 in)

[topher0002]

Another problem I ran into that I will mention,  is that when I rounded the corners of the control panel on top obviously the box corners are now visible and ugly.   I basically choped them off with a jig and covered them with sheet metal,  looks kinda cool really,  I will show pics of this later but thought I would mention it.

Below is just the Door Cut out.

[topher0002]

This is also out of order,  I did the t-molding slots before construction of the cabinet obviously....here are those pics.

[topher0002]

Here is the control panel after buttons in place and wiring done,  starting to look like a nice cabinet minus the dust

[topher0002]

Full cabinet pics with CP.

[topher0002]

As you can see above I basically painted the acrylic with the outline of the TV Screen on put it on the outside,  It looks MUCH better then behind the bezel.   

The pics below are of the back of the cabinet,  with computer and such,  I am running Mameway by the way for a front end.

[topher0002]

I was going to do one single Power but I just decided to do two ,  I know theres ways to do it,  but honestly I just didn't feel like it.     So here is what I did.   

I cut two button size holes in the back of the cabinet all the way to one side using my 1 1/8 in. paddle bit.   I cut the computer power wire to where I had  most of the length coming from the mother board.   I patched in some regular wiring with each of the two power switch wires (white and blue in this case) and wired them to a regular arcade button like I would on the control panel.    Thats the black button you see below.

The empty hole you see below is just where I mounted the power strip on the inside of the cabinet,   i lined the power switch on the power strip up with that hole so u just have to stick your finger and flip the switch,  then push the black arcade button and power we have to everything.

The black button just controls the computer nothing else,  the power strip being turned on turns Everything else on that needs power.

I think this worked out fine.

[topher0002]

In some of the pictures above you can see gaps in places such as the lid of the control panel,  and above/below the bezel maybe.  I used the foam tape pictured below and it worked awesome,   however around the bezel I went ahead and tack nailed it so it wouldn't ever come off.

This worked out better then expected,  I will post pics of that soon,   note there are lot of scratches and nicks and such that I will be touching up in some of the later pics too,  so these are very rough. 

The corners pictured on the cab above with the screws/bolts is the sheet metal i used to cover up the corners that I had to round off,  I painted the sheet metal black,  drilled pilot holes and locked it in. Worked awesome.

[topher0002]

Ok now for the artwork,  for the marquee:

I basically used a file off of free vector library site,  modified it some changed the bacground moved and resized the characters, etc.    I cannot take credit for the artwork,  just manipulated another.

Here is what I came up with though. 

I would attach the vectorized AI file but it wouldnt let me so I am attaching the JPG export of it.   If anyone wants the AI file just let me know and I will email it to you if you would like it,  anyone can use it, I dont care.

[topher0002]

I got my marquee printed, its printed direclty on the acrylic which is awesome but I should have made the background white instead of transparent.  I added paper behind it later to make it look right,  but it turned out very very cool. 

Also I added a second light because I thought the one was just not bright enough.   This was kind of a pain as I had to get them screwed down in that tight spot where the marquee holds.  Would have been easier with a powered angled screw driver instead of the pliers and phillips drill bit, and painful fingers I used, but it got the job done.

[topher0002]

You will notice that Donkey Kong and his barrels are mostly black,  This was because of the missing white background,   later it looks fine after thats added.  Unfortunately the guy I built this for picked it up before I could get any more pics of it.   It was a fathers day present for someone so time was out.

[topher0002]

The artwork on the sides of the machine above is all printed vinyl,  I had to cut each character out which was tedious but it looks good.  Its nice that the stickered vinyl would let you put them on and then take them off without it tearing,  however after getting them in the places I wanted and after a few humid days in the garage they started to come off.    Basically I went back with 3M adhesive and applied to each individual sticker,  there not going anywhere now.   Although I did have to go back with some goo be gone and clean up the edges.

WARNING!  Goo be Gone will destroy acrylic,  keep it AWAY.    I used it a tiny bit to get rid of a couple of places on the front glass for the screen and it left some ugly streaks that will not go away.    Ultimately I had to replace the screen over the TV.   



It worked great on the wood though,  but heavy use will remove paint.

[topher0002]

I found also that the computer was getting too hot in the cabinet so I decided to buy a Fan to put ont he back of the cabinet to help with that.   Below I basically j ust drilled group of holes for air to pass through and installed the fan on the inside.   Works great,  next time though I think I will use Speaker mesh or something to make it look more professional.

[topher0002]

Heres some pics of the other side of the cab with slightly different art then the other.

[topher0002]

I zip tied the remote inside the cab just in case its ever needed.   Here just a couple pics of the finalized back of the cabinet.

[severdhed]

looks good

[topher0002]

I wish I had a final pic after I cleaned up the cabinet really well and put the white background on the marquee but the pic below is the closest to final pic I have.   I was really happy with it except for the trackball hole.   

Here are the my lessons Learned:

- Use 3/4 inch MDF instead of 1/2 inch

- Do not cut trackball hole too big

- Budget $150 more then originally planned for Misc Costs
 
- Make sure t-molding fits securely with the slot cutter you bought on a scrap piece of  wood....you do NOT want to have to glue this stuff in, its a major pain.

- Be VERY careful with Goo-Be-Gone or other products that are similiar,  they can ruin parts of your project and cost you time, money and aggrevation.  Light use on wood is fine,  keep it FAR AWAY from your Acrylic or Plexi.

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I think thats about it,  thanks to everyone for checking out this build.   Hopefully I have let some first timers know what not to do.   I have learned a lot from the people on this forum and I thank you all.    My 4th build is just a gutted cabinet I am putting together for a friend at his house,  that one will not probably be documented....my 5th project will be a Scratch Cocktail or jukebox ,  but first I have to focus on finishing my basement.

THANKS!