Well, it’s about time...
I have built, as the kids say, a "murdered-out" or blacked-out bartop. I like that style as it matches the last pair of cars I have owned, as well.
Ok, well, it’s not my FIRST cabinet. I am actually dragging my feet on my Knieval Woody that is about 75% complete. I started that one
BEFORE I got all of my fancy tools, so it is sitting in a friends shop right now waiting to be stained. Soon, baby, soon!
But I digress; this post is about the BARTOP!
This sort of project was always in the back of my mind to do. I am building this for my Dragons Lair-era older brother. I'm not sure if I'll GIVE it to him yet, or just let him play it when he is here
The Back story:One day when my brother was at my house (he is from AZ, I am in SD), I showed him a mock-up of a CP I did. He was impressed that this culture existed. The second I showed him Dragon's Lair, his eyes lit up like that 12 year old kid at the arcade with a pocket full of quarters. He had to have one. He wasn’t sure what "one" was, but he knew he wanted it. He was such a Dragons Lair nerd that he used to have the paperback book on how to win at it.
Major tools I am using:------------------------
Craftsman Professional 10" portable table saw with a Freud Diablo 80T (ohhhh baby)
Sears Router (Old one from BEFORE they were called Craftsman)
2x Flush Trim Bits (one top mount bearing, one bottom mount bearing)
Slot-Cutting Bit
Makita Jig Saw
DeWalt 18V cordless drill
Misc drill bits/spade bits
Various hole saws
Dewalt 18V cordless impact gun
Dremel rotary tool
Bostitch SB2in1 brad nail gun
Major components of the build:-------------------------------
Free 5/8" particle board (yeah, I know)
Black Laminate
Dell Optiplex 280 de-cased
Dell 17" monitor
Dell Speakerbar w/ hacked power adapter
MicroXP
Happ Super joystick
13x Happ black buttons
Nuetrik USB module
92mm Scythe exhaust fan
92mm black fan filter
60mm black fan filter
Hacked Dell Keyboard
Hacked generic USB Gamepad
2x 12V LED Strip lights
Marquees (printing @ EMDKAY)
Black 3/4" T-Molding
.080 Clear Plexi for CP/Marquee
Tinted Plexi for Monitor Bezel
Misc screws, brads, threaded inserts, L brackets, wood glue
Basic Dimensions of the Bartop:-------------------------------
CP is 15" wide
...No exact plans available, but inquire for any specific measurements...
The pics below may not be in EXACT order, so please don’t critique me on that.
Introduction:I based my plan off of the WeeCade project. I just had to convert the Metric measurements to standard and modified it some to the size I wanted. Thanks so much to lokesen for making the plans available.
http://www.koenigs.dk/mame/eng/stepweecade.htmThe project didn’t really get started until I got my hands on some free materials and my table saw (thanks online price mistake!). At work they were throwing a couple shipping crates made of 5/8" particle board away and I spotted that were in pretty good shape, so I saved them from destruction. I know it’s not the preferred material, but it was free.
But Joe... particle board sucks!!IT WAS FREE, OK? The aforementioned Woody I am making is made of furniture grade maple plywood, so BACKOFF!
I made a template from some scrap plywood and made up the sides with a flush-trim bit.
After that I started cutting and measuring for the other panels and of course, fitting along the way.
After getting the bulk of the panels done, I fit it together and realized this was going to be pretty kick-butt.
I pondered what buttons to include and I decided to keep it clean. I don’t want to end up on the CrapMAME site, do I?
I am going to be using Maximus Arcade, so I went with the very basics:
Front Panel: -----------------
Coin
1P Start
Pause
Exit
Top/back admin panel: ----------------------
TAB
Power
If I'm going to make any other adjustments, I can plug in a keyboard/mouse. No biggie. The TAB key is enough for me.
I went with a 1P setup because I liked how much more slender it made the cabinet and that it will probably get most of its use in 1P mode anyhow. The plan after this is done is to make a dedicated CP box for P2 as well as for HTPC use.
This next part of the project is where I unfortunately didn’t take too many pictures. Basically I spend my time cutting, gluing, screwing and drilling the parts.
After reading horror stories about others trying to paint particle board, I decided to laminate it.
I had to laminate the panels first as well as the visible parts of the insides. Overall, laminating is an amazing look and very easy to do. I got in good with the local counter-top biz near me and they sell me the smaller scraps dirt cheap. To them anything less than 4’x8’ is a scrap since they make very big counter-tops. I got a 10’x12’ of gorgeous wood-grain laminate for free simply because there were a few scratches on it. Nice.
After laminating the panels and inside, I started putting it together. Things went fairly well. I didn’t have the back figured out yet because I wanted to add the access door back there. I originally thought about having access from the front too, but I decided against that.
I screwed the panels to the sides from the outside and counter-sunk the screws so the outside laminate would cover them. I also added a few brads to each panel just to make sure they held. Glue was used wherever wood touched wood.
I laminated and trimmed the sides, and wow, it’s starting to come together!
As a woodworker here is the best part after assembly… SQUARE!
After the parts were together and the sides were laminated/trimmed, it was time to tackle the back door. I was very nervous because I knew this could make or break the cabinet.
The back panel was to be cut into 2 pieces. The top would be there for stability and the bottom would hinge and open for access. After some measuring, chamfering and precise cutting, I was able to make it look pretty dern good, if I can say so myself.
I was planning on using some salvaged chrome fan grills for the fans, but I decided they were too flashy.
I decided to order some black filters instead. This way it will hide the exposed wood from the hole-saw cut.
I used a Hole Saw to cut an outlet for a 92mm fan and an inlet below for adequate airflow. The other smaller holes will be for a Neutrik USB module and a power module.
Hinges and lining up doors is stressful to me. I wanted it to be perfect. After buying 3 different types of hinges, I was able to find what I needed.
I tested them out on scrap pieces to make sure the clearance was right. After that was a success, I figured it was time to jump in and just DO IT. I had to trim the door so it would fit as close as possible without binding. I even chamfered the top so it would shut nice incase the hinges raise it up too much.
The door mounted great and the hinges are pretty-well hidden. I added a spring-loaded click release so I don’t need a handle. It’s looking Very nice.
There is a very little bit of a gap between the two panels, so I will take some of aluminum I used for the marquee bracket and attach it to the door. When it closes it should hide that.
Ran the T-molding and trimmed it down with an uber-sharp chisel. No frills on this step, but it made a lot of edges look much better.
When mounted the PC, I had to completely de-case a Dell Optiplex 280. I planned to just use the metal tray it is all mounted to, but the spacing was just off, so it had to go.
PC Before:
Remove the case/ tray/PSU bracket:
I used threaded inserts and MOBO stand-offs that I had from a spare ATX case. This way I can remove the mobo/PSU in case it ever fails. The possibility of this is high since Dell's have a lot of bad caps.
The PSU mounted beautifully too since it had screw holes already in to for the bracket I removed. A scrap of plywood, thumbscrews and 2 L brackets later and we are mounted!
A test-fit:
I also mounted a 3 1/2" HDD to the back of the monitor bracket. Near the exhaust fan so it should stay cool. I love threaded inserts. It just makes everything interchangeable in case things fail.
The speakerbar is going to be mounted up top. I found a small power strip to mount behind the marquee as well. I like the speakerbar because then I can counter-sink it into the panel so the volume knob is accessible. I also got a couple 12V LED bars and wired those up to the PSU with a female MOLEX connector for easy disconnect if they ever fail.
The to-be-mounted LED’s/Power strip/Speakerbar.
Marquee plexi test-fit
Some may be asking why I don’t use a smart strip. For one it’s too big, but the real answer is that the dell monitors are perfect for this setup since they stay in a constant “on” mode even when the power is off. When power is plugged back in, they just come back to standby.
I also was environmentally responsible and found that a sleeping Dell monitor draws 0 Watts. Same goes with the speakerbar when not in use. Now I don’t have to feel bad about leaving it plugged in!
I was looking for marquee brackets, but I needed a bracket to hold down the back of the CP as well, so I found some right-angle aluminum stock from a local big-box store. 8’ was $5. I just hack sawed it down and painted it black. It will go over the marquee quite nicely too!
-Pause for explanation/validation-OK. First off, I own an I-Pac for my soon-to-be-completed stand up cabinet. It’s a great tool. Very easy to use and set up. Some may blast me for not using one and hacking a GP/KB for the controls citing cost/ease/time, etc.
I love hacking small things like this. Soldering, decasing, etc is a lot of fun. Plus it gives me a lot more appreciation for the project knowing that I modified what I could for this project. The control pad was $6. The KB was free. It was a lot of fun to do too and works just fine. So there!
-Unpause for explanation/validation-I mounted the joystick/KB hacks and wire them up appropriately. I used spare CAT-5e cable to wire up the buttons and connected them to the screw-down disconnects that hook up to the hacks. You can also see the power strip soldered to the power module below (red heat-shrink tubing).
Wiring started!
I used a tinted plexi bezel and it is easily removable and is stays in place thanks to a very small lip I glued to the back of the CP. You can see it in the picture below of the guts. It stays in there nice and is very easy to remove if I need to swap the monitor out.
For anyone that wonders if tinted is the way to go…. IT IS!
Before I started stuffing the guts in the cabinet, I had to find the leads for the power button and the “on” LED to hook up to the power button. Thanks to some multi-metering, I found it and hot glued the connectors because they kept coming off.
I also hot glued the vid card for extra stability.
I also figured it would be better to round off an IDE cable for better air-flow, so I did that too.
I then proceeded to stuff the guts into the cabinet. Lining things up carefully and screwing down the mobo and PSU. Things fit perfectly, screwed down perfectly, and looked quite good. I had to cleverly run the power cables and I’m contemplating getting a 1’ VGA to alleviate more clutter.
I shortened a USB cable for the Neutrik module so there is no bulk there. Those things are slick. Glad I ordered 3 of them for future use.
I know the pic above sort of looks like a rats nest, but from other angles it looks pretty good. I still need to zip-tie some cables in place, but the door closes! Sorry about the finger-prints. They only show up on camera. They are hard to see in person.
I hacked my power button on top taking a cue from the great OND,
(
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=88912.msg971849#msg971849), I modified the power button to light up when the pc is on. This way, I don’t have to open the back door if there are any doubts!
OFF:
ON:
In the dark:
Thanks to Pongo for the button vinyl too. I’ve had them for a long time. Feels good to use them finally!
Well, here are the pics of how it sits now. I haven’t blacked-out the bezel yet, so you can see the guts and monitor LED. I just have to decide if I want to spray paint it or if I want to get some poster board and cut out a window for the monitor. Any suggestions?
If you read the entire log, I thank you. If not, it’s ok. I’m long winded, eh? After showing this off to people, everyone’s initial response is pure childhood love. Next will be the suggestion of manufacturing them. After I decline that, they start asking how much for one!
I hope to order the Marquee art soon as my bro flies in early this week and will be here for about a week. Its close timing, so hopefully it all works out. If not, he will be blown away by this anyhow.
I’ll post more as I change things and update when I have the marquee done. I have some MAJOR props to give out to Supadave
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=103549.0 and EMDKAY
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=98344.0 for the spectacular art they let me use. I can’t wait to see it printed!
I wanted to get this out there so friends of mine could read the log too. It’s been a great project. I can’t wait to do another, but I probably won’t until the stand-up is complete! Look for that in the future!
What’s left to do:
1. Figure out bezel (paint plexi or black poster board)
2. Order Marquee art (art is 90% ready)
3. Apply remaining button vinyl labels
4. Cover speaker holes with cloth (chipped the laminate drilling them out)
5. Test!
6. Whittle game list down
7. Build custom MA skin
8. Build Player2 breakout box
9. Build Spinner breakout box
I know it’s been a long first post, but I wanted to get some work done before I posted anything. Hope to hear what you all think so please, let me know!
Joe