The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Main => Woodworking => Topic started by: branded on July 22, 2018, 06:31:25 am
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Hi,
We are in the process of designing our arcade cabinet and we want to keep our joysticks high. Instead of routing a recessed rectangle under the CP top board, do think it's a better/easier to do the below? We don't have much experience in woodworking.
(https://i.imgur.com/REj47P3.png)
Also, if you think this will work well, do you think there will be problems routing the t-molding slot? The top piece of the board will be melamine MDF and the bottom piece will be straight MDF. What glue should I use?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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It will work, But will look a little odd having the bottom board with T moulding and not the Top.
Better to route it out but if you want to do it that way maybe get some thicker T moulding that will cover both boards?
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I think it will be easier to route the opening from underneath - Your drawing shows you routing the opening on the thicker section on top anyway..
My other concern is gluing 16mm to 3mm material may warp once you glue it since they are different thicknesses. I've had this happen with dissimilar panel thickness glueups.
If you decide to go that way - I'd normally just use standard wood glue (I use Titebond II)
Consider making a template and using a router with a pattern bit to create the recess and maintain a single panel.
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Route it underneath.
Also, I know I am wasting my breath, but an arcade is a place where people go to play video games. An arcade cabinet is the actual thing you want to build.
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It will work, But will look a little odd having the bottom board with T moulding and not the Top.
Better to route it out but if you want to do it that way maybe get some thicker T moulding that will cover both boards?
No, the t-molding will cover both pieces. I'll be routing the slot once I combine the two pieces.
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Route it underneath.
Also, I know I am wasting my breath, but an arcade is a place where people go to play video games. An arcade cabinet is the actual thing you want to build.
Fixed!
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Nice!
I don't know when people started calling an arcade cabinet an arcade, but it really bugs me. Maybe it is younger people who didn't grow up in an arcade. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I am not sure.
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Another great mounting option to consider is the "Under mount (support blocks)" method mentioned in the FAQ.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Joysticks (https://web.archive.org/web/20160809113045/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?title=FAQ#Joysticks)
(http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/images/thumb/8/84/Joystickmount-supportblocks.png/161px-Joystickmount-supportblocks.png) (https://web.archive.org/web/20160830044648im_/http://newwiki.arcadecontrols.com/images/thumb/3/3b/Under_Mount_Metal_Bars.jpg/375px-Under_Mount_Metal_Bars.jpg)
This method uses threaded inserts, machine screws, metal bars, and wood blocks.
It allows easy repeatable access to replace the joystick without having to destroy and remake the whole control panel.
Scott
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That is exactly how I did it on my first build, for the same reason. It worked extremely well.
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Nice!
I don't know when people started calling an arcade cabinet an arcade, but it really bugs me. Maybe it is younger people who didn't grow up in an arcade. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I am not sure.
I'm 40 soon, so I definitely grew up going to arcades. I normally call it a cabinet, I just accidentally a word.
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So are you building a full size cab or a bar top?
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Full size, 4-player cabinet.
This design is slightly old, but close to what it'll look like. It won't be Predator themed though. I took a lot of inspiration from the Flynn's Over-Ambitious cabinet, but it's heavily modified.
(https://i.imgur.com/zt7mrYS.png)
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Is there some kind of prize for the biggest control panel that I am not aware of? That thing is enormous.
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LOL... nobody's told me that yet. Thanks for your honesty.
You made me remember that I never scaled the buttons properly (they were too small in that render, making the CP look much bigger). They were just placeholders for now and I hadn't yet determined the exact layout.
I've now scaled the buttons so the plungers are 32mm to give you a better idea of the scale of the CP. Also, the CP is deeper than others because I pushed the monitor back as far as i could. When we did a cardboard mockup, the screen felt too close. Here's a new image with the buttons scaled properly and a side view which shows that the cabinet it's not too deep.
(https://i.imgur.com/hSVrITF.png)
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I guess I am the wrong person to ask. I like the look of classic arcade cabinets. These new slim designs with widescreens and ginormous control panels don't do anything for me. They just look wrong.
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With Players 3 and 4 off so far to the side and the monitor pushed all the way back can they see the side of the monitor closest to them without it being cut off so they have to move toward the other players in order to see the full screen or does it get blocked off like the side render posted ( and does your monitor have good viewing angles or do player 3 and 4 get a color shifted view ? :dunno
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The monitor I bought is a gaming monitor and viewing as Player 3 or 4 looks very passable. It's a large 32 inch monitor, so it wasn't easy to rectify this issue without making the cabinet look ugly.
Colours don't change apart from a slightly lower saturation when viewed by Player 3 or 4. I pushed the monitor back as far as possible to give a better viewing angle, created wider left/right bezels and cut into the side panels to allow viewing of the full screen. We created a mock-up and all is good.
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I use a 32 inch screen in my spinal tap cabinet, and it doesn't feel too big because most of the stuff on it is 4:3 anyways and doesn't use the full width. The glass over the screen is dark and you don't even notice it's a widescreen except during the boot up.