Cardcade - Slim Cab Based on Knievel's Design

[JamesKY]

Greetings all!  This is my first post here but I've been doing a lot of reading and am happy to announce that I'm ready to begin work on my first MAME cabinet.  A friend and I recently completed another ambitious project which you can read about here. Now thanks to all of the great information I've gotten from this site and others, I'll be ready to start this project after I finish some bookcases for the wife this weekend.

The cabinet I'm building is based on Knievel's fantastic design.  I wanted a slim cab that would be easier to move and find space for since I have several other hobbies which take up room in our basement as well as the previously mentioned bookcases.  My wife and I are big University of Louisville fans so that's the theme I'm going with.  I've only designed the marquee art so far but I will most likely design something for the control panel and sides at some point.

Here you can see the design I built in Sketchup based on Knievel's plans:



Now if you looked at my link above, you know I have a penchant for putting beer dispensing apparatus into furniture so you may be asking, James why not put a beer tap into your arcade cabinet?  Double points if it works as a control for Tapper.  While this would be a very cool idea, I wouldn't be able to fit everything inside the slim cab and I already have a kegerator that will be sitting in close proximity to the cabinet.  Rest assured, cold beer will only be a few steps away.

So at this point, I've already ordered most of the stuff I'll need from GroovieGameGear and I'll be heading to Lowes to pickup two sheets of MDF as soon as I finish these darn bookcases (having this MAME cab serve as motivation made me finish them in record time!)  I'm really looking forward to having a lot of fun building this thing and I'm sure I'll make many many many trips to these forums to research or ask questions.  I'll be sure to post pictures once a week or so.

Wish me luck and thanks to everyone who's made very informative posts and given me inspiration to build my own arcade cab!

[Rick]

I checked out the site - LOVE the gaming table.  For a moment, I said, "well, that's a strange layout for poker"...  ...and then I saw the dice and paper.  Now, the table is SO MUCH BETTER than I'd first thought!  (Poker is overrated.  Gimme some Rifts any day of the week.)

 

[JamesKY]

Rifts is great.  We're playing a Dark Heresy campaign at the moment but Rifts might be next.

[JamesKY]

Finally got to start on this project last Sunday.  I took the week off so it was a great time to get some work done.

I have the rest of the panels cut but haven't attached them yet.



Here is the PC that I put together from extra parts I had lying around.



My assortment of buttons, joysticks, and other goodies.

[JamesKY]

Got a lot of work done this past week.  Here is where I am right now.


Closeup of the control panel.


Hopefully we'll be able to get it painted in two weeks.  My friend is going to bring over his sprayer so we can get a nice professional finish on it.  Between now and then I'll be cleaning it up (and my house from all the dust).  I'll also go on and order the glass to cover the monitor and the marquee and control panel art.

[emphatic]

Lovely choice with those SUZO 500 sticks. Doesn't get much better than that, even though most people find them very ugly.

[JamesKY]

Lovely choice with those SUZO 500 sticks. Doesn't get much better than that, even though most people find them very ugly.

Haha I actually ordered the wrong sticks by mistake but I think these will work out fine.  I obviously don't need the 4-way to 8-way switch since I'm putting in a dedicated 4-way but if I ever decide to replace them, I'm sure I can use them in another project.

[JamesKY]

Completed another big step this weekend by painting the cab.  We got delayed by the weather on Saturday slightly but still managed to get it all done.  We used Killz Primer along with Coronado Rust Scat Satin Finish.  First we sanded the edges and joints with 80 grit sand paper to even everything up.  Then we sprayed a coat of Killz and filled the cracks with caulk.  Finally we sanded all surfaces with sanding blocks (not sure which grit).  We sprayed on three coats of paint giving it about 2 hours or so to dry between coats.  It all resulted in a very nice finish which should look great with the red T-Molding I bought.

This is the sprayer we used.


The cabinet all sanded and ready to go.


The primed CP top.


The primed cabinet.


The painted cabinet.


I tried to get a closeup shot to show the finish better but the light outside made it kinda difficult.


I'll give it a couple of days to cure before I start putting it all together.  I still need to order the glass that will go over the monitor as well as the marquee art and back light.  I'll probably start working on wiring up the CP this week and maybe have it in a playable state by the weekend.

[JazBrown]

HVLP? Real live drop clothes?!

I smell a painter

[JamesKY]

Haha not a painter but my buddy is a carpenter and has that amazing sprayer so I decided to take advantage of the situation.

Got everything mounted to the CP tonight.  Didn't get a chance to do any wiring yet but that will be the next step.

[JamesKY]

I installed the marquee backlight this weekend.  I used the NovaMatrix Linx from GGG.  I ordered the gray tinted glass that will hide the monitor bezel from a local glass shop the and marquee art from Game on Grafix yesterday.  Once I add those, the cab will be pretty much finished.

Picture of the cab as it is right now but without the marquee backlight.


The NovaMatrix Linx mounted in the cabinet.  The instructions recommend 6"-12" of distance between the marquee and the lights but I'm really closer to 5".  Hopefully I have them spread evenly enough that it won't make much of a difference.  I can always add a diffuser if needed.

[JustMichael]

Cabinet painting looks wonderful EXCEPT for the monitor bezel.  It looks like cheap cardboard that was painted black. I hope this isn't the final bezel and is just a temporary one.  I am not sure if the glass will hide it enough.

[JamesKY]

I'll evaluate it and replace if necessary after the glass is in place.  If it doesn't hide it well enough then I'll make a better one.

*Edit*
Also, the bezel is 1/4" birch plywood that I had left over from another project.

[JustMichael]

I hope the glass hides it or smooths it out more.  If glass doesn't hide it, you could paint the backside of the glass.  Glad to hear you are using what you have.  I don't know if it is just the picture making the grain stands out or what.  I bet it shows less in person.

[BobA]

If you are covering with glass then painting the bezel on the back of the glass will give you a superior look.   It is easy and works well.

[JamesKY]

You were right JustMichael, the glass doesn't cover up the bezel well enough to hide the imperfections so I'm gonna have to make a new one at some point.  It's not a big deal though.  Like I said, I just used some extra wood I had laying around figuring it would be hidden so now I'll actually take some time to make a nicer one.

[Rick]

If you are covering with glass then painting the bezel on the back of the glass will give you a superior look.   It is easy and works well.

I say go this route.  Spend a little (LOT OF) time taping off the spots you DON'T want to paint, and paint the back of the glass with a matte black spray paint.  Make sure you use good painter's tape and a very sharp x-acto knife/razor blade to cut the edges - incorporate a nice curve into it while you're at it - and this will look amazing and save you rebuilding later.  I plan to do this for mine, if the TV edges show through a bit too much.

[JamesKY]

Installed a new power supply and did some cable management this weekend.

[javeryh]

You could go to an art store and spent like $2 for some black matte board (with a black center - this is important) and then use a razor to cut out the monitor hole.  This works GREAT and is way less effort than more painting.