Well, I finished the cab back in July, but I just haven't been able to get around to posting about it.
I absolutely love the way it turned out... plus my teenage sons called it "sick" when they came to visit, so that's really all that matters.
I am happy, though, that my friends love it as well, as it's a great excuse for them to just come over and shoot the breeze.
This is the exact cab I wanted to build. I wanted something that looks good that lets my friends and I play all our favorite arcade games growing up (read Double Dragon through MK3 and all the 4-player games in between). I have zero desire for a cab dedicated to one game, but I certainly understand the charm of those machines if that's what you want. For other folks interested in MAME cabinets, I strongly recommend RGB LEDs if you can afford it. To me, that's what makes the cab.
I'm not sure I can offer the forum any real advice other than the following general information. Also, I don't consider my build anything exceptionally novel, so I won't spend a lot of time detailing my build, but I'm happy to answer any questions, and provide the following lessons learned.
- Required tools: jigsaw, router, drill, a butt load of clamps, value-sized container of Gorilla Wood Glue, my pneumatic brad nailer came in handy while letting the glue set, but probably wouldn't consider it a requirement.
- I'm pretty sure that straight cuts with a jigsaw are a myth, and that anyone telling you otherwise followed up the cuts with a flush trim bit on the router when the camera was off.
- Having the cab on 4 locking casters seemed like a great idea at first, until you actually use the cab
I quickly took off the front casters and replaced them with legs.
- I skipped the bezel. The tv mounts nicely in the opening and everything around it is black, so to me it wasn't worth it.
-I bought some cool RGB "insert coin" buttons. They look nice, but I'd skip this for a MAME cab if I could do it again.
Budget:
- Controls cost about $700. (used Ultimarc and Groovy Game Gear) - 32 RGB LEDs aren't cheap, plus I bought one servo stick and controller (I also had to pay for like 3 or 4 separate shipping charges, because I'm not smart enough to figure everything out ahead of time)
- LED Blinky was $25 and is worth every penny. Thanks, Arzoo!
- 2 sheets of 3/4" birch cost about $100
- Art cost about $200 (used GameOn Grafix). The CP overlay and marquee are worth it. If I had it to do over again, I'd skip the side art. I think the cab looks almost as good with the sides black as it does with the art.
- 32" Westinghouse TV was free (sitting unused in a closet)
- Win10 i5 computer was free (friend donated)
- speakers are L, R and subwoofer of a Logitech surround sound setup I had laying around. (let me know if anyone wants a center channel or rear surround speakers)
- random bits, blades, and other expendables which are one-time use or most likely won't get used again .... wild ass guess is about $100
I have a light up marquee and a light up front bottom panel. I essentially built them like a picture frame in case I want to swap out the art later.
The speakers were tricky. I wanted to finagle a way to use the pre-enclosed speakers I had (long story, but I'll detail with photos/narration if interested), so I essentially routed out grooves for them in the speaker panel, and wrapped the whole panel in speaker fabric. I honestly like the way this turned out with minimal lines rather than speaker grilles. Very hidden, but looks like a bookshelf speaker if you inspect it closely.
Big thanks to each of the vendors I mentioned above as well as Arroyo, DJO_Maverick, wp34, and most of all PL1. Thanks, Scott!
The colors look weird on the photos (both for the buttons, and for the light-up panels), but that's par for the course.