Author Topic: Project Mame - 95% done. Renamed Lunarcade (Read 31383 times)

Silas (son of Silas) · « **on:** July 05, 2009, 02:37:28 pm »

Ever since I discovered Lokesen's Project MAME on this forum I have played with the idea of building my own.

My life is a little complicated as I work about 120 miles from my home, so I leave home at 5am and don't usually get home until quite late. Add to that the fact that for the last 9 months I have been on day rate, so if I don't work a day, I don't get paid. That doesn't really leave much time to build arcade machines, and after spending up to 5 1/2 hours a day driving, the time that is left is usually spent trying to recover $:-\$

After some cool words of encouragement from my wife I have finally taken the plunge and started building my own cab. I also took last week off work, the first time I have had any days off in 9 months and below are the results.

Progress will be limited to fits and starts of activity as and when I can find time to work on it and it is also limited by funds (naturally). I expect to see my next flurry of activity hopefully coincide with my next paycheck

Edited to add: The guy in the photo is my good friend Steve who cut out the side upright profiles for me.... credit where credits due. Thanks Steve!

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #1 on:** July 05, 2009, 02:40:39 pm »

More Pics:

jeef · « **Reply #2 on:** July 05, 2009, 05:47:36 pm »

"encouragement from my wife" is not something often spoken around here

You've made some quick progress though! Look forward to seeing this progress

splunkett · « **Reply #3 on:** July 05, 2009, 06:28:53 pm »

You have everything else going against you so the wife's support is great

I used to have a very similar nightmare commute so know the feeling but the project will keep you going on the long drive home. Having just got my first cab playable in the last few days I can say its well worth the pain and after spending a few hours today playing Commando (and taking unreasonable satisfaction in thrashing my teenage sons on it!) there is a great prize at the end of it all.

Keep going and post the pics, it keeps the pressure on in a good way.

And I can guarantee you that by the end of the process your new creation will be known as "that damn arcade machine" by your wife so enjoy the support while it lasts!

Steve

Ond · « **Reply #4 on:** July 05, 2009, 10:20:22 pm »

Nice and clean work so far, when time is really scarce every bit of progress is like a mini triumph! Keep posting your own work and ideas and vewing other ppls as well to keep the energy flowing.

Ond

severdhed · « **Reply #5 on:** July 08, 2009, 04:44:37 pm »

good progress so far, keep it up. i like the cabinet shape.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #6 on:** July 09, 2009, 10:32:03 am »

Another step forward....
I have been sketching out control panel layout on graph paper today and rapidly came to the conclusion that I need some controls actually in my hands so I can realistically have an idea of what layout will suit me best. I have ordered a 57mm trackball, a joystick and some buttons.

The MDF CP that is on the cab at the moment is just for me to work out layouts and angles. The actual CP will be a punched and formed sheet of stainless. Once the stick, ball and buttons arrive I will decide on a layout and punch and form the CP.

The other joystick, remaining buttons, I-Pac etc will have to wait until next pay day :-(

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #7 on:** July 30, 2009, 05:40:01 pm »

So things are moving along at a crawl. I have been occupied lifting and laying new floor boards in my kitchen and having the walls plastered. Next stop fitting new kitchen cabinets, worktops etc. :-(

My thoughts however have not been very far from my arcade and i just snagged a Yamaha Subwoofer from eBay for it for the princely sum of £12.50

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #8 on:** October 05, 2009, 06:17:28 am »

Having a spare couple of hours yesterday and the weather was good, so I decided to roll out the cabinet and make some progress. I have been deliberating what to do at the back of the machine for access to the PC internals and the subwoofer. After browsing a few woodworking forums and learning about circular saw plange cuts I decided to give them a go. My plan is to cut 2 doors top and bottom, retaining the pieces I cut out to use as doors.

I only managed to cut one so far. I'm quite pleased with how it came out. If I get some time next weekend I'll cut the other one.

Shortbus · « **Reply #9 on:** October 05, 2009, 07:28:12 am »

When I started to read, I thought I was reading my life story, I commute 102miles each way and know EXACTLY how crappy that is, by the time I get home, I can't commit to anything but eating and family time for a bit, sleep, then back to do it again. So I totally relate. Your project looks good so far...keep it up, love all the pics....

I was a victim of the economy and downsizing, which made me take a job further from home, but the new president has promised us hope and change.

I miss George......

take care and hang in there, 5hr power shots keep me awake during my long arse commute....

Peace,
Shortbus

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #10 on:** October 16, 2009, 01:33:34 pm »

I had a couple of afternoons at home so I have finished hanging the doors. I had mooch around a few woodworking forums for a while I found a really neat trick for hanging flush MDF doors without it splitting or the screws pulling out. The magic lies in Ronseal Wet Rot wood hardener. Like it says on the tin "sets rock hard'

Also picked up a pair of 10cm 2-way speakers that were half price in Halfords yesterday. They'll come in handy

I can't wait to take this all apart, laminate it then re-assemble with glue and screws rather than just screws.

My coin door is due to arrive from the US of A next Wednesday... Progress Progress

Some pics of my progress.

Epyx · « **Reply #11 on:** October 16, 2009, 01:46:34 pm »

Quote

I had a couple of afternoons at home so I have finished hanging the doors. I mooch around a few woodworking for a while I found a really neat trick for hanging flush MDF doors without it splitting or the screws pulling out. The magic lies in Ronseal Wet Rot wood hardener. Like it says on the tin "sets rock hard'

Very interesting, how do you apply this? Do you just brush it on above below and side where you are screwing in?

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #12 on:** October 16, 2009, 02:24:08 pm »

It's the thinnest liquid you can imagine, it drips and runs everywhere. The screws are 3.5 x 40mm. I drilled 39mm deep pilot holes with a 3mm drill, test fitted the hinges taking care not to over tighten or split the MDF (not screwing in the last 1mm) disassembled then painted the edge of the MDF and surrounding areas with the area until it would take no more, then left in the shed to dry, then re-assembled.

on the final assembly after I have laminated it, I will squirt some PVA into the screw holes, assemble and forget forever.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #13 on:** October 25, 2009, 10:31:32 am »

Much to my delight my coin door arrived from the US, complete with $0.25 coin mechs

All I need do now is work out where I'm going to get hold of 20 bucks worth of quarters in the UK?

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #14 on:** October 30, 2009, 05:35:10 pm »

I've been playing with colour schemes for the cab. I just threw this together in GIMP. I have also started thinking about what to call it. The jury's still out on both.

Epyx · « **Reply #15 on:** October 30, 2009, 06:34:48 pm »

Quote

Much to my delight my coin door arrived from the US, complete with $0.25 coin mechs All I need do now is work out where I'm going to get hold of 20 bucks worth of quarters in the UK?

Depending on the mech you should be able to adjust it (remove magnets etc) to accept tokens.

Chicken McNobody · « **Reply #16 on:** October 30, 2009, 08:52:21 pm »

I think the color and the name are both nice. It has a mix of classic and current design, but it feels like a new take rather than a copy, and it still feels unique as well. If you don't use it, I will. . .

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #17 on:** October 31, 2009, 04:43:16 am »

Quote from: Epyx on October 30, 2009, 06:34:48 pm

Quote
Much to my delight my coin door arrived from the US, complete with $0.25 coin mechs All I need do now is work out where I'm going to get hold of 20 bucks worth of quarters in the UK?

Depending on the mech you should be able to adjust it (remove magnets etc) to accept tokens.

Ahh.... yes, I could do, but like most of us I am trying to re-create a bit of their childhood, which for me is pumping quarters into arcade machine on my summer trips to the US. That's why I specifically bought US coin mechs rather than our own British currency.

Unfortunately the idea of putting 10p pieces into my arcade makes me think of miserable seaside holidays in Cornwall, sticks of pink rock, 'kiss me quick' hats and never ending rain.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #18 on:** October 31, 2009, 04:44:46 am »

Quote from: Chicken McNobody on October 30, 2009, 08:52:21 pm

I think the color and the name are both nice. It has a mix of classic and current design, but it feels like a new take rather than a copy, and it still feels unique as well. If you don't use it, I will. . .

A compliment

!!

Thanks Chick'McNo'

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #19 on:** November 06, 2009, 07:41:37 am »

Woo-Hoo.....! I have audio

I have been picking up audio bits for a while, The cheap eBay sub, Pair of 2-way car speakers and today my eBay sourced Lepai TA2020 2 channel amp arrived from Hong Kong (£13.50 inc. postage)

I just wired everything up to check it works and it sounds fantastic. The Lepai amp is only handling the mid to high range and the amplified sub handles all the BASS. I am sooooo chuffed with how well this has worked out.

12 quid for the sub, 15 quid for the car speakers and 13.50 for the amp. 40 odd quid for a sound system that sounds AMAZING. I am Uber Happy

HaRuMaN · « **Reply #20 on:** November 06, 2009, 08:21:31 am »

I'm sure someone would be willing to send you some quarters from the US...

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #21 on:** March 13, 2010, 03:35:38 pm »

Looking out the window on a brand new day, neither work nor a cloud in sight I wheeled out the arcade to begin again. It's been a few months, but hopefully things will pick up pace again now there are a few more dry days coming my way.

Today's objective was to finish off a few odd's and sods that I have been fiddling with. These being:

Find some way of mounting that huge sub out of the way but off the floor
Figure out how to let the sub 'breathe' out of the cab
Work out where/how I can get a coin box in the cab with the afore mentioned sub
stick in a shelf over the sub to mount the PC guts
Fit the speaker panel at the front

Edited to add: I also solved my coin problem; a friend at work gave me 20 bucks in quarters

Epyx · « **Reply #22 on:** March 13, 2010, 07:38:49 pm »

Quote

Looking out the window on a brand new day, neither work nor a cloud in sight I wheeled out the arcade to begin again. It's been a few months, but hopefully things will pick up pace again now there are a few more dry days coming my way.

Lucky man! Enjoy and GL on the rest. Will be nice to see this finished!

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #23 on:** April 05, 2010, 01:04:49 pm »

More work today : -

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #24 on:** April 10, 2010, 01:24:03 pm »

The sun was shining, a whole free day to work on the arcade machine WOOHOO!

Splitting headache, stiff neck and strange dizzy spells. Not so woohoo $:-\$

I picked up some black and ridiculously bright yellow laminate this week, so thought I would make use of the fantastic sunshine. I also decided on my final CP layout.

After the black is completed I'll fit the CP which will be a metal 1 piece with punched holes and stud welds for the joy's and the trackball. Once that's in place I'll laminate the outside with the yellow and fit the orange T-molding.

Epyx · « **Reply #25 on:** April 10, 2010, 02:13:28 pm »

Looking classy!

Laminate looking great so far, really curious to see how the yellow will look.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #26 on:** April 10, 2010, 02:50:32 pm »

Quote from: Epyx on April 10, 2010, 02:13:28 pm

Looking classy!

Laminate looking great so far, really curious to see how the yellow will look.

Thanks buddy. For my cab to be described as looking classy from the creator of the Aliens cab is high praise indeed!.

I think the yellow will fall into the love it or hate it category. I am guessing most people on here will hate it. We don't exactly seem to be drowning in yellow cabs on here. I love really bright colours on cabinets like the green Taito Jungle King cab and the yellow and black on Qbert.

My next cab is going to be an upright driving cab. Exactly the same profile as this one but laminated in Altofina Orange 001 (see below) This cab will be Altofina Yellow 001. If people find the yellow garish, the orange will really raise an eyebrow.

Eventually I plan to build a 3rd and final cab in woodgrain. Chicken McNobody was kind enough to give the dimensions of his gorgeous cab, so I plan to clone it.

korbitz · « **Reply #27 on:** April 10, 2010, 03:08:35 pm »

Nice looking cab, great workmanship also. I almost wish i could start again with mine, so many things i would love to change that i initially rushed through, oh well, plenty ideas for my next cab then

I think yellow on a cab works, not sure about the full sides though, but it will be different at least

saleem · « **Reply #28 on:** April 10, 2010, 06:48:13 pm »

how did you manage to laminate the insides of the cab ie:the insides of the sides.

i love laminate,i used it on my bartop and i decided to start another one with the left over mdf and used the left over laminate on that also.just running out of laminate,so no 2 sides with laminate this time unfortunately.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #29 on:** April 11, 2010, 05:23:14 am »

Quote from: saleem on April 10, 2010, 06:48:13 pm

how did you manage to laminate the insides of the cab ie:the insides of the sides.

I designed the whole cab so that it can be assembled and disassembled from the outside with the intention that I would remove each side individually, laminate the inside (the bit you are referring to) then laminate the panels in the middle such as the panel with the coin mech, speaker panel etc then reassemble leaving only the outside of the cabinet to be laminated.

When all the middle and inside of the cab is completed, I plan to remove the monitor, subwoofer, bezel etc the lay the cab carefully on its side (on some carpet) and laminate the sides, thereby covering up the screw heads and leaving the cab assembled forever with no visible screws anywhere.

The method I use to laminate is the same as Epyx uses in his tutorial for laminating control panels (i.e. with a bottom bearing flush trim bit, rather than a top or dual bearing bit.) The only disadvantage of trimming such a large area with a bottom bearing bit is making sure that you constantly blow away the dust or it gets trapped between the router footplate and the laminate and can scratch it. The laminate I am using has a very slight texture so it tends not to scratch as easily as perfectly smooth laminate. I chose it for that exact reason.

Encryptor · « **Reply #30 on:** April 11, 2010, 07:32:03 am »

Quote from: Silas (son of Silas) on April 10, 2010, 02:50:32 pm

Eventually I plan to build a 3rd and final cab in woodgrain. Chicken McNobody was kind enough to give the dimensions of his gorgeous cab, so I plan to clone it.

Did you ever draw up the plans for this cabaret cab?

Encryptor

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #31 on:** April 11, 2010, 04:57:41 pm »

Quote from: Encryptor on April 11, 2010, 07:32:03 am

Quote from: Silas (son of Silas) on April 10, 2010, 02:50:32 pm
Eventually I plan to build a 3rd and final cab in woodgrain. Chicken McNobody was kind enough to give the dimensions of his gorgeous cab, so I plan to clone it.

Did you ever draw up the plans for this cabaret cab?

Encryptor

Mostly. I have a few nights away on business over the next couple of weeks with nothing better to do. If you'd like a set I can finish drawing it up if you'd like a set?

Encryptor · « **Reply #32 on:** April 11, 2010, 05:13:27 pm »

That would be great. Thank you very much.

Encryptor

Chicken McNobody · « **Reply #33 on:** April 12, 2010, 11:57:35 pm »

Quote from: Silas (son of Silas) on April 11, 2010, 04:57:41 pm

Quote from: Encryptor on April 11, 2010, 07:32:03 am
Quote from: Silas (son of Silas) on April 10, 2010, 02:50:32 pm
Eventually I plan to build a 3rd and final cab in woodgrain. Chicken McNobody was kind enough to give the dimensions of his gorgeous cab, so I plan to clone it.

Did you ever draw up the plans for this cabaret cab?

Encryptor

Mostly. I have a few nights away on business over the next couple of weeks with nothing better to do. If you'd like a set I can finish drawing it up if you'd like a set?

Did the "dimensions" that I gave you help enough? If needed, I can try to give more details, let me know. It's nice to see my girls cabinet being used to inspire others. My daughters love playing on it, and are going to make all the boys jealous that they have not only there own arcade machine, but an arcade in the basement.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #34 on:** April 15, 2010, 08:52:02 am »

Quote from: Chicken McNobody on April 12, 2010, 11:57:35 pm

Did the "dimensions" that I gave you help enough?

I think so. I started drawing it up and I don't recall having any missing dimensions or angles that I couldn't get from the photo's.

Talking of drawing up, I have some progress on my control panel. Hopefully will get the metalwork completed in the next week or so.

badgerjohn · « **Reply #35 on:** April 16, 2010, 04:45:41 am »

Hi Silas,

Hope all is still going well, mine's moving along nicely now too! I'm thinking of getting the same coin door as you. Is yours this one from Happ?:
"40-0008-00
Standard Door, Double Entry w/o Harness, Meter or Box Assembly - $103.90 "

Also, if it is then can you tell me how wide it is?

Cheers
John

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #36 on:** April 16, 2010, 06:36:38 am »

Hi John,
Yes, that's the door and mechs that I bought (there's photo's of it further up this thread.) I paid £104.59 (note the pounds not dollars) including 2x US 25c coin mechs in Oct 2009. I am guessing that unlike me you won't have the hassle of special ordering coin mechs from the US, so the price will be different for 10p/20p/whatever mechs.

Suzo-Happ UK can be contacted here:

Suzo-Happ Group (UK) ltd
Units 1 & 2
King Georges Trading Estate
Davis Road
Chessington
Surrey
KT9 1TT Phone:
Fax:
E-mail: (+44) 208 391 7700
(+44) 208 391-7760
sales@suzo.co.uk

The dimensions for the aperture are:

mwong168 · « **Reply #37 on:** April 16, 2010, 10:35:52 am »

How much is laminate and is it easy to work with?

javeryh · « **Reply #38 on:** April 16, 2010, 11:04:18 am »

Quote from: mwong168 on April 16, 2010, 10:35:52 am

How much is laminate and is it easy to work with?

It is expensive ($60-$80 per sheet) but VERY easy to work with.

Silas (son of Silas) · « **Reply #39 on:** April 16, 2010, 11:17:47 am »

Quote from: javeryh on April 16, 2010, 11:04:18 am

Quote from: mwong168 on April 16, 2010, 10:35:52 am
How much is laminate and is it easy to work with?

It is expensive ($60-$80 per sheet) but VERY easy to work with.

+1 It is expensive but it looks fantastic and as long as you take your time, use a nice sharp router bit for trimming, make sure you keep the foot plate of the router flat on the workpiece at all times it's actually so much easier than I had anticipated.

I use spray contact adhesive too, which is so quick and easy compared to regular contact adhesive. I'm pretty good at painting (as in respraying cars) and I would never consider painting a cabinet. The amount of time and effort it would take to get a comparable quality finish just wouldn't be worth it.


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