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Pixel Troll Arcade (COMPLETE!)
saurian333:
--- Quote from: drventure on January 09, 2010, 09:58:51 pm ---Are those real stained wood sides on that cab? If so, I gotta say I think I'd refinish them, not paint em black.
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Definitely agree. I think it would look great with some work. That's a pretty unique-looking cab, and it would be a shame to hide that.
--- Quote from: drventure on January 09, 2010, 09:58:51 pm ---If you do go paint, you may want to check out that "spray bondo" that's been mentioned around the forum. It does an excellent job of filling grain. Just check out Ond's Retro Futuristic Arcade build thread.
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Well, you should check out that thread regardless, actually. ;D
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88912.0
Dafu:
I had a few hours this evening to work on this cab.
I started by opening the back panel, and gutting the inside. The inside of the cab was almost perfect, there are few small dark stains on the bottom of the cab in the corners, they should come off easily. I have the cab sitting on a little cart with 4 swivel casters, I built it just for this project:) It's very helpful.
The cab was supposed to be mostly gutted already, so I was surprised to find a number of things inside that I can make use of. I kept:
- Coin door in good condition, with the whole mechanism and coin bucket (with $2.00 of quarters inside!:).
- Marquee light
- Marquee black plastic retainer, and plexi glass in good condition
- Two plywood boards in excellent condition that I used as a base for the TV
- A yellow standard pushbutton in great condition, attached to the coin door mechanism inside the cab, not sure what it was used for?
- Little plastic clips that screw onto the cabinet and let you run a plastic ties through them to hold wires in place
- Power jack
By the end of the night I had the cab nicely cleaned out, and I installed a very solid stand for my 27" TV. It fits in perfectly without having to decase or modify it in anyway, I'm very happy with it. It might be on a slight sideways tilt, maybe I messed up the measurements or the support moved a little as I was screwing it on, its hard to tell, putting a level to it seems to be ok, but maybe the cart is a little warped too:) No big deal, I can always shim it later. I sure put a lot of holes in the sides of the cab to hold the TV support, 16 on each side.
As for refinishing the wood instead of painting. I really don't want to do that, I'm willing to do what it takes to make it painted black and smooth. This spray on putty sounds interesting.
saurian333:
Nice! Bonus quarters!
I think the refinishing idea was personal preference on our parts. If black is what you definitely want, then go for it, for sure.
Are you going to spray? If you haven't decided and think you might go with a latex wall-style paint, I must suggest a "mini" roller. They come in 2-6" lengths and are only about 1" or so in diameter, usually foam. I wish I had bought one before I started; I used it on my last coat and got much better results than with a standard roller. If you're spraying, then never mind that.
Either way, I didn't have the best luck with wood putty to cover my screw holes, and you obviously have lots of those to worry about. If you have experience with that and can make a puttied hole perfectly smooth, that's great; I had mine perfectly smooth and flush with the surface, and they still showed through the first two coats of paint, so I must have been doing something wrong. I think I'd try Bondo next time. Don't have any experience with the spray-on Bondo stuff that was mentioned, but it does sound like it would be the way to go if you're trying to smooth a wood surface.
Was that pushbutton actually wired to the coin mech? I wonder if it was a credit button, for testing/maintenance or something.
Anyway, looks like you're off to a great start. Your monitor shelf looks very sturdy.
Dafu:
Tonight I didn't work on the cabinet itself, rather I spent 1 or 2 hours cleaning up, and hanging up a plastic sheet to enclose half of my garage where the mdf cutting will happen. I bought the plastic sheet in a roll, not realizing that its thinner and weaker than your average grocery bag, but it should stop some of the dust, if I don't accidentally tear it up first. My garage is still a huge mess, what I wouldn't do for a proper workshop...
I also took photos of the coin mechanism that came with the cabinet. Anyone familiar with this type? There is also a metal bucket, and metal insert for it. Is this the whole thing? How do I test it out? How do I adjust coin weight/size?
saurian333:
--- Quote from: Dafu on January 11, 2010, 12:10:34 am ---Tonight I didn't work on the cabinet itself, rather I spent 1 or 2 hours cleaning up, and hanging up a plastic sheet to enclose half of my garage where the mdf cutting will happen. I bought the plastic sheet in a roll, not realizing that its thinner and weaker than your average grocery bag, but it should stop some of the dust, if I don't accidentally tear it up first. My garage is still a huge mess, what I wouldn't do for a proper workshop...
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Ugh, I bought a plastic sheet "dropcloth" like that before I started painting. What a scam. Can't even get it unfolded without tearing it to shreds. I got a better one at the dollar store.
--- Quote from: Dafu on January 11, 2010, 12:10:34 am ---I also took photos of the coin mechanism that came with the cabinet. Anyone familiar with this type? There is also a metal bucket, and metal insert for it. Is this the whole thing? How do I test it out? How do I adjust coin weight/size?
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I have zero first-hand experience with those things, but it looks to me like it could be all there. They vary quite a bit; some of them, I understand, are designed to only accept quarters (or tokens, I suppose), and can't be adjusted. But I think most of them are adjustable, from what I've seen. If you can find a model number or something to Google, you can probably turn up a manual. Someone else might be able to help more with that.