Dynamo conversion (most likely very blue)

[RandomCitizenX]

One thing I have learned about these project threads is that they are much more enjoyable when there is a story involved, so I figure my thread should include one as well. Be warned that this isn't the most happy of stories. Feel free to skip to the end for the hardware bits. I have been wanting to build my own MAME based machine for a long time, but life kept getting in the way of the hobby. Things took a dive toward an all time low when a year and a half ago my now ex-wife decided she wanted a divorce. Money and time became even tighter as I dealt with the fallout of credit card debt she had amassed and trying to keep things calm for the sake of out daughter (who was two at the time). To help escape the stress of it all I started to use sketch up to work on plans for an arcade cabinet. Once I had what I felt was a good design I began to gather tools and supplies, only to discover my woodworking led much to be desired. With everything on hold once again, life started trying to pile more on my shoulders. My ex-wife was remarried within a week and a half of the divorce being final, my job was becoming more and more miserable, and the house that my ex and I owned was still sitting on the market. The one good thing that came out of this time was a wonderful woman entered my life. She was beautiful, funny, sincere, and supportive... she also had ostesarcoma that had spread to her lungs. She helped me get things for the house sale in order and actively encouraged me on several ventures including the MAME project. The one thing she couldn't do was beat the cancer. She passed away just before Christmas. She pushed me so hard to work on this project that when I found an old and beat up Street Fighter cabinet on craigslist I knew I had to jump on it. It wasn't like my woodworking skill had magically improved. After a brief exchange with the guy who listed it I received these pictures via email.



It was obvious that the thing was going to need some work, but in my particular area of Louisiana finding any old arcade cab is a rare thing. After finally getting the cabinet back to my place, the amount of work that would be needed has become much more clear. Earlier today I took a few more pictures with my cell phone to illustrate what needed to be fixed.



First obvious problem is the particle board chipping along the bottom as well as the need for new t-molding. It looks like some sort of wood filler had been used once upon a time in some areas, but it has all crumbled away now.



The next problem I noticed was the cracked marque. This isn't too much of a problem since I would have to replace it anyway, but I had been hoping to trade or sell the Street Fghter II CE Turbo Hyper marque and board to recoup some of the cost.




The controls all appear to be stuck and worn, while the CP overlay is coming up. Once again not a big problem, since I have replacement sticks and new buttons.



The monitor is burnt out so I am going to most likely put an LCD in there to cut down on weight. I'm still not sure what to make of this odd gap between the bezel and the CP.




There are annoying security brackets and the coin doors are a bit worn.



But at least the coin mechs seem to be in order.




When I first started gearing up for this project I ended up securing a fair number of blue components. In addition to the two examples I have pictured I also have a minipac and a utrak pearl that I will light with a blue led. If I can get the layout to work I will also be picking up a spinner with an anodized blue top to match the sticks. I am also leaning on using the light blue t-molding that I saw at either Terry or Divemaster's web store. I am also considering repainting the entire thing white. I don't have a firm idea on what I want with the art, but I know it will most likely be Mega Man themed since Amber had suggested that, and will involve robots on ladders as well since that was an inside joke we shared with the friend who introduced us. I still need to decide on which wood filler to use, so any suggestions there would be appreciated. My next step is going to be gutting the old monitor, wiring,and other electronics in prep for rebuilding and repainting it.

[mgb]

Hey, sorry to hear about the tough road to where you are today. Hang in there. It's good to hear that you got into sletchup and arcades to deal with the stress instead of drugs and booze (Though drugs and booze may be cheaper).
You can use Bondo on the damaged wood. But sometimes when the bottom of a cabinet is that bad, you may be better off cutting out the damaged area and replacing it with new wood. Theres alot of good info on the web about those repairs. Be sure to keep looking in the restorations section too.
You've definately got your work cut out for you.

Good luck

[Donkbaca]

I hop it turns out great, this hobby is great for bringing smiles to people's faces, and it will be good for your soul to create something amidst all the rubble and destruction going on around you.  As an added bonus, your daughter will be awesome at Street Fighter 

It seems most people use bondo.  Look at the Taito widebody project that is going on right now, he had a pretty beat up cab he rehabbed.

Honestly though, that thing is in such bad shape, it may be easier to just build a new one.  Woodworking is like anything else, you only get better at by doing it.  You could always use the existing panels on the cab as a template.

  Does the monitor work?

[dugg8]

I recently re-did a Dynamo cab and turned it into a street fighter cabinet. At some points it can become frustrating but let me tell you, its worth it. My advice, don't go too fast......take your time and plan accordingly.

Here's my Dynamo cab finished

[dawolv]

I hop it turns out great, this hobby is great for bringing smiles to people's faces, and it will be good for your soul to create something amidst all the rubble and destruction going on around you.  As an added bonus, your daughter will be awesome at Street Fighter 

It seems most people use bondo.  Look at the Taito widebody project that is going on right now, he had a pretty beat up cab he rehabbed.

Honestly though, that thing is in such bad shape, it may be easier to just build a new one.  Woodworking is like anything else, you only get better at by doing it.  You could always use the existing panels on the cab as a template.

  Does the monitor work?

Well said Donkbaca, I couldnt agree more. I think it will be a healing experience if you remember to take your time and be patient it will also be a wonderful thing for you and daughter to enjoy.
For your woodworking adventure: My advice always use test pieces before applying it to the big picture. 


Cheers! 

[RandomCitizenX]

I wanted to thank you guys for the encouraging words. My brother in law and I were able to get the Cab into the workshop before we had to go back to work (I work seven days on/seven days off) but that was about it. The good thing about this work schedule means I that when I am working on the cab I can devote big chunks of time and enjoy the process. I've been thinking about if I should splice the bottom or use wood filler, and had the idea of possibly sealing the damage (maybe with a silicon caulk of some sort) then putting a kick plate around the bottom. I'm not sure I would like the look, but it would work well if I decide to put a pedal/pedals. Hopefully I will be able to pull the monitor out on tue/wed and post some progress when I am no longer stuck at work.

[mgb]

When repairing water damaged particle board or any area where the particle board is shredded, Minwax wood hardener works pretty well to hold the fibers together.
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?rlz=1T4RNTN_enUS329US329&q=minwax+wood+hardener&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=11831499565786443329&ei=gUNgTc6DLoL-8AbpqcDuCw&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDcQ8wIwAw#

[SithMaster]

Cheapest way to hide the gap is by Bezel.  I'm sure its just the monitor shelf not directly meeting the control panel and that's why the gap is there.

[RandomCitizenX]

Finally have been able to gut the busted monitor and other contents of the cab. It turns out that the gap was just the Bezel that had shifted. The old buttons are proving to be stubborn to remove, but I am almost done with that. Only problem is it makes me realize that the CP had some odd things done to it. The 2p joystick had an additional hole cut for it instead of using the premade hole for the normal Dynamo CP, this makes it slightly lower than the 1p joystick.



 I'm currently looking into ways to fix it up to give the new overlay some more support once I get to that stage. If that fails then I will either try and buy a new metal CP or build a wooden one.

After talking to my younger brother, who is currently in art school, I've decided to get him to hand paint the side art. He is very excited about the project and said he would be working on sketches this upcoming week. This leaves the rest of my week off to get started on the sanding and maybe start filling in the chipped wood (which does appears to be more wear and tear than water damage)

[Donkbaca]

I bet that CP was a Smash tv at some point, if you look at it, you can see the outline for 4 joysticks.

Why does that make the 2p stick lower?

Just go all hulk hogan on the buttons, new happ buttons like that are cheap anyway. 

You won't need a new CP.  Just strip the overlay, and bondo and sand flat any holes you don't want to use.  The new CP overlay will hide all of that stuff.

Keep at it!

[RandomCitizenX]

 I finally got all of the buttons out of the CP. It only took a set of channel locks and some language that would most likely be  . As far as the joysticks not lining up, I guess my picture just doesn't have the right angle to show it properly. After examining it several times it seems that the first player stick is using an original hole while second player stick had a new one cut for it. The new hole was cut at a slight diagonal to the original which makes the two not line up at all. 

I never thought of using bondo to plug the holes, but that stuff sure seems to be the goto product when it comes to fixes in this hobby. 

[Donkbaca]

Oh I gotcha.

look at the CP bottom, you can see that origianlly ther was only one start button, and you can see the outline of 2 more joystick mounts where the buttons were.  It must have been a 1p smash tv or other dual joystick game.

I see what you mean, what a sloppy job. 

What kind of button layout are you looking to do?

[RandomCitizenX]

I am going to use the street fighter layout (I may shift the lower row to the left slightly) with a spinner in the middle since my utrak doesn't seem like it will fit.

[SithMaster]

Perhaps modifying the panel to function similar to a galaxian panel.  I'm pretty sure that it was two pieces of metal with the piece all the controls attached to being bolted to the main cp in addition to wood underneath.



The main problem I see with that idea though is the edge towards the player won't be clean.