Honerbrink MAME cabinet (DONE with video)

[emb]

EDIT: THE CAB IS FINALLY DONE!



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After lots of reading and and posting, I finally decided to get a start building my new MAME cabinet.

It will be made out of premium grade oak plywood. They sell 3/4" 4x8 sheets at around $40 each.

I will be staining the wood instead of painting or laminating. My wife wants something that looks more like a piece of furniture.

The design was inspired from the famous woody (although it won't be s slim).

I have been very skeptical of having a woodgrain finish. I have seen many failed attempts. I have also seen many stained cabinets that turned out to look pretty amazing.

While I have high hopes that this cabinet will turn out well, it could turn into a miserable failure. Either or, maybe it will help some people learn from my upcoming experiences.

The cabinet will be held together by glue and a small frame using pocket screws.

The cabinet width will be 25.25".

I am a novice woodworker. I currently have a jigsaw recently purchased a router. This will be a great learning experience.

Here is my sketchup of what I am envisioning:

[sapro]

Sounds like a cool idea, good luck with the build.

I really think you're going to want access to a tablesaw. Most of the cuts need to be straight and without the tablesaw they won't be. Can you rent one from Homedepot / Lowes in your area?

[emb]

Sounds like a cool idea, good luck with the build.

I really think you're going to want access to a tablesaw. Most of the cuts need to be straight and without the tablesaw they won't be. Can you rent one from Homedepot / Lowes in your area?

My brother in law has a table saw and circular saw.

[scream1973]

Wow where you live that sheets of 3/4 oak plywood are 40 a piece..

I ended up getting mine at that price for veneer core because they discontinued particle core and did a price match on the last price they had in the system

I am just finishing up my cabinet build done in oak ply based on the UA II plans

[emb]

Wow where you live that sheets of 3/4 oak plywood are 40 a piece..

I ended up getting mine at that price for veneer core because they discontinued particle core and did a price match on the last price they had in the system

I am just finishing up my cabinet build done in oak ply based on the UA II plans

Menards. They do sell standard grade for around 30 per sheet.

[Donkbaca]

22 inches deep seems pretty slim to me, considering the original woody was 16 inches at the base and flared to 20 inches at the CP base.  I assume you are using an LCD monitor?

Since I am in the midst of my never ending wood grain cab I can give you a couple of tips that I learned:

1) be careful with the glue, and wood filler.  Even if its "stainable" it won't stain the same as the rest of your wood.  Be careful with that stuff.  I built my CP first, and was a little sloppy with it, and there are all these issues I have had to deal with on the finish of it.  As a rule, don't get any glue or wood filler on anything you intend on staining and letting other people see.

2) The finish will take forever to do right.  It just will.  Apply in multiple, thin layers, steel wool in between coats.  It takes like 5 hours or so for a coat to dry, you are looking at 2 coats, plust 2 more of poly, that is a solid week of stain, dry, wool, stain, dry, sand...

Mine is 24 inches wide, I didn't want a huge bezel around my monitor, and since my screen is like 17 inches wide, 24 leaves a 3.5 inch bezel on each side, which I think is fine.  Not saying that the extra 1.5 inches is a huge difference, but consider, 24 inches is really easy to measure, versus something like 25.5.  Its easy to find the middle (only 12 inches, versus 12.75) 24 is a nice easy number to deal with, I would advise moving to 24 inches, or up to 26.

As a general rule, build your cab around your monitor.  Having a large bezel makes a cab look bad in my opinion.

[emb]

22 inches deep seems pretty slim to me, considering the original woody was 16 inches at the base and flared to 20 inches at the CP base.  I assume you are using an LCD monitor?

Since I am in the midst of my never ending wood grain cab I can give you a couple of tips that I learned:

1) be careful with the glue, and wood filler.  Even if its "stainable" it won't stain the same as the rest of your wood.  Be careful with that stuff.  I built my CP first, and was a little sloppy with it, and there are all these issues I have had to deal with on the finish of it.  As a rule, don't get any glue or wood filler on anything you intend on staining and letting other people see.

2) The finish will take forever to do right.  It just will.  Apply in multiple, thin layers, steel wool in between coats.  It takes like 5 hours or so for a coat to dry, you are looking at 2 coats, plust 2 more of poly, that is a solid week of stain, dry, wool, stain, dry, sand...

Mine is 24 inches wide, I didn't want a huge bezel around my monitor, and since my screen is like 17 inches wide, 24 leaves a 3.5 inch bezel on each side, which I think is fine.  Not saying that the extra 1.5 inches is a huge difference, but consider, 24 inches is really easy to measure, versus something like 25.5.  Its easy to find the middle (only 12 inches, versus 12.75) 24 is a nice easy number to deal with, I would advise moving to 24 inches, or up to 26.

As a general rule, build your cab around your monitor.  Having a large bezel makes a cab look bad in my opinion.

Donkbaca, thanks for your constructive feedback.

Maybe the cabinet should go an inch deeper (although it may only help a little). May the depth on the top half could be trimmed by an inch to make it less top heavy.

 I am aiming at this depth to save cut costs from buying an extra sheet of plywood (4 x 8 ). I am also aiming at this width for enough comfort for 2 player fighter games. It seems to be a large enough of a width for 2 people to see the screen. Also the marquee I would like to reuse is 23.75 wide. The control panel will be somewhere between 28 to 30 inches.

 Maybe I could throw some weight at the bottom of the cabinet if stability becomes an issue.

 The cabinet will have an LCD monitor, although I have not picked one out yet. I'll have to a little more research in this area.

The cabinet will be assembled using glue and pocket screws using a kreg jig. Everything will be screwed from the inside so no drill holes will be visible from the outside.

Thanks for your feedback on staining the oak. I will really take my time on that part.

Depending on the weather, I'll be making my way to menards to pick up some wood for the side panels on Sunday. In the mean time, maybe I should do a little brainstorming with the cabinet depths.

[Donkbaca]

For reference my cab base is 16 inches deep, this widens to 29 inches at the cp. My cab is 25.5 inches wide, the internal width is 24 inches since I use 3/4 inch ply.  My monitor area narrows to about 8 or so inches. My cp is 33 inches wide, I think and 13 inches or so deep, 5 inches tall in the back, 4 in the front.

It's plenty stable. 3/4 ply is pretty heavy it's not very deep, but it's plenty wide. Not top heavy at all, my LCD weighs like 15 pounds. The pc, subwoofer, etc are more than enough weight

[emb]

Finally had a couple hours to work on the cabinet again. Today I created the template for the router. There was a minor change compared to the drawings. A (knievel) slant was added to the lower front of the cabinet. The base is now at 20 inches and protrudes out to 22 inches where the control panel will be mounted.

The template was cut from a 2' x 8' sheet of plywood purchased from menards for $13. For some odd reason no other places had thin enough MDF. Also, I was a little weary from some people mentioning that MDF can "mushroom" up on you if you are using it as a routing template.

The template was cut out entirely with a jigsaw. If I were to do it again; I would definitely used a circular saw for the longer strait cuts. Sanding the template to have flat edges took up more time than anticipated.

Even with that, I am still pretty surprised how little time it took to make.

[drventure]

As a general rule, build your cab around your monitor.  Having a large bezel makes a cab look bad in my opinion.

Amen to that!

[emb]

Well, I finally picked up two sheets of premium grade red oak plywood (4' x 8' x 3/4") for $44 a sheet at Menards.

I also noticed that they had some premium grade red oak mdf, although all of the boards were chipped and mushroomed a bit. In hindsight, I could have just "trimmed the fat" and purchased the MDF version.

One other concern that just came up was that it appears there is some thin layer of veneer on the plywood, about 1/32" thick. I am somewhat concerned if this may end up being a pain to evenly stain with a dark finish.

Also, since it appears that there is a thin layer of veneer on the plywood, I think I may have to rely more on screws to support the cabinet with the glue. I am no wood expert, but will the glue seep through the veneer to get a sturdy bond when assembling the cabinet?

I am also hoping that routing a t-molding slot on the plywood will go over well 

[Donkbaca]

Routing t-molding in plywood is easy in my opinion. The slot cutter I have goes through it like butter, and it's easy to center because you just line up the blade with the middle layer

[emb]

Routing t-molding in plywood is easy in my opinion. The slot cutter I have goes through it like butter, and it's easy to center because you just line up the blade with the middle layer

Awesome!

[javeryh]

Make sure you use some scrap before you do the t-molding slot on your cabinet sides.  Try centering the slot cutter using your eyes and then cut a small section of your scrap.  Then flip the scrap over and see if the slot cutter will fit - if it does you have a perfectly centered slot.  If it doesn't make slight adjustments and try again.  Using this method will guarantee that your slot is centered.

[emb]

Make sure you use some scrap before you do the t-molding slot on your cabinet sides.  Try centering the slot cutter using your eyes and then cut a small section of your scrap.  Then flip the scrap over and see if the slot cutter will fit - if it does you have a perfectly centered slot.  If it doesn't make slight adjustments and try again.  Using this method will guarantee that your slot is centered.

Great idea. Thanks!

[emb]

All I have to say is "routers are the BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!"

I had a couple hours to cut out the side panels. I first cut them out with a jigsaw then cleaned them up with my router and template that I created the other week.

I am absolutely amazed how well it turned out, let alone amazed how quick and easy it was to do. I was very worried about the quality of the wood before hand. Looking back...I am not too sure why.

I believe my next step is to cut out the front, back, top, and control panel. Then I can start staining and eventually get to the cabinet assembly.

[alfonzotan]

All I have to say is "routers are the BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD!"

I had a couple hours to cut out the side panels. I first cut them out with a jigsaw then cleaned them up with my router and template that I created the other week.

I am absolutely amazed how well it turned out, let alone amazed how quick and easy it was to do. I was very worried about the quality of the wood before hand. Looking back...I am not too sure why.

I believe my next step is to cut out the front, back, top, and control panel. Then I can start staining and eventually get to the cabinet assembly.

Looks much better than mine.  Therefore, I hate you.   

[Donkbaca]

looks good so far.  Its a great shape!

[emb]

I made some more progress today. All of the wood has been cut out and the main base has been created. It was interesting (and fun) doing this without a tablesaw and circular saw (which I don't currently own). I instead used a jigsaw and router with a flush bit for everything. It took a little more time although turned out surprisingly well with nice 90 degree angles. Unfortunately the pictures I took do not give it enough justice.

The base is glued and screwed together by 2x4s with a 1/2" sheet of plywood left over from when i created my template. I have yet to add some braces to the side panels and glue everything together. I think I stain the cabinet before I do that.

I still have not yet cut out the control panel yet as I am kind of baffled on how to make a quality CP box. I went to Lowes, Home Depot, and Menards. None of the places had a chamfer bit to cut 45 degree angles. I do not want to go and buy/rent a mitre saw just for 4 cuts.

I could do 4 flush cuts, although then the insides of the plywood would be visible from the sides. I am not sure I would like to do that. either. I would like to try to get away with not using t-molding on the box (although it will used for the top of the control panel edge).

 Anyone have any suggestions on creating a good control panel box without 45 degree cuts and using plywood? Or does anyone have any other techniques to make a nice control panel box?

[javeryh]

If you can't mitre the corners of your CP box, just use butt joints and then some bondo on the ends.  With a little time and patience you will be able to get a nice even surface for painting and you won't ever see the joints.  You might be able to get away with using a $5 mitre box though assuming your CP box isn't super thick.  You should be able to get some nice looking joints the old fashioned way!

[emb]

If you can't mitre the corners of your CP box, just use butt joints and then some bondo on the ends.  With a little time and patience you will be able to get a nice even surface for painting and you won't ever see the joints.  You might be able to get away with using a $5 mitre box though assuming your CP box isn't super thick.  You should be able to get some nice looking joints the old fashioned way!

Aah, a miter box... Why didn't I think of that! The cp box is 5.25" tall, 30" wide, 12" deep using 3/4" wood.

 I would consider using bondo except that I will be staining the cabinet.

[emb]

Some more updates. Created the control panel box and glued the 2x2 supports to the side panels. I still need to cut out the control panel and molding slot. After that I'll be spending some time staining the cabinet followed by gluing the entire thing together. Attached are some screenshots as it stands right now.

Overall, I am impressed with how well this has been turning out. And surprisingly, my wife gave me a thumbs up too.





I decided to take the easy route out with the control panel box by using 90 degree angled cuts instead of 45 degree cuts.

The box turned out ok except for some glue seeped out in a corner. Hopefully it will sand out before I stain it... although I am not too confident as the glue may have seeped deep into the wood. Any suggestions?

[Donkbaca]

The areas that got the glue on will not take the stain as well as the other wood.  You can't really sand because you'll take off the first layer of the veneer. If you use a gel stain, you might be able to layer over it and hide it. With a regular stain, you are out of luck

[drventure]

Dude! Shoulda sprung for a cheap mitre box. They're not hard to use. Ah well. What's done is done.

You might consider buying some sheet veneer and laying it over those end panels. That would completely hide those butt joints +and+ mask any glue squeeze out problems. Donk is right about staining where you got glue. It'll be tough to avoid blotches.

Otherwise, looking good. I love those slim woody style cabs.

[emb]

Dude! Shoulda sprung for a cheap mitre box. They're not hard to use. Ah well. What's done is done.

You might consider buying some sheet veneer and laying it over those end panels. That would completely hide those butt joints +and+ mask any glue squeeze out problems. Donk is right about staining where you got glue. It'll be tough to avoid blotches.

Otherwise, looking good. I love those slim woody style cabs.

That's a good idea. That would also help hide those seams.

[emb]

Dude! Shoulda sprung for a cheap mitre box. They're not hard to use. Ah well. What's done is done.

You might consider buying some sheet veneer and laying it over those end panels. That would completely hide those butt joints +and+ mask any glue squeeze out problems. Donk is right about staining where you got glue. It'll be tough to avoid blotches.

Otherwise, looking good. I love those slim woody style cabs.

That's a good idea. That would also help hide those seams.

Wow... That stuff is a little pricy. In fact it is more pricy than the plywood I bought (per square foot) which has veneer on both sides.

They sell 12 x 24" at menards for about 20 bucks. I think I could wrap this around the 3 front sides of the control panel box. It Might end up looking even better since I can now hide the seams.

http://www.menards.com/main/home-decor/mouldings/veneer/12-x-48-red-oak-veneer/p-1296488-c-3607.htm

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

It will almost undoubtedly be cheaper to do it right the first time than to fix it after the fact.

[emb]

It will almost undoubtedly be cheaper to do it right the first time than to fix it after the fact.

I agree, although my wife denied my request to get a mitre saw. Given all things considered, a $20 sheet of veneer is cheaper than a $100-$200 mitre saw and blade (although I still wish I had a mitre saw)

I think the veneer will turn out ok. I'll post my results when I work more on the can later this week. If it doesn't look good, someone will hopefully learn if I end up failing.

[emb]

Dude! Shoulda sprung for a cheap mitre box. They're not hard to use. Ah well. What's done is done.

You might consider buying some sheet veneer and laying it over those end panels. That would completely hide those butt joints +and+ mask any glue squeeze out problems. Donk is right about staining where you got glue. It'll be tough to avoid blotches.

Otherwise, looking good. I love those slim woody style cabs.

I also couldn't find a mitre box that could fit a 6" wide piece of wood

[emb]

Made some more progress over the week and took lots of pics. Beware if you have a slow internet connection. 

I finally had time to stain all of the panels except for the control panel. The stain used on the cabinet was a Verathane wood stain (Golden Mahogany). Overall I am very impressed with the results. The staining was a breeze. It seemed like it was quicker to stain the cabinet than to paint it. There were no issues with blotching or color variation from board to board. The panels were sanded with 260 grit before applying the first coat. Two coats were applied. I just followed the directions, use a rag to put the stain on the cabinet against the grain, then wipe off with the grain. I still need to apply polyurethane.





It was finally time to tackle the ugly edges on the control panel. I need to send out a thanks to drventure for suggesting veneer . It was about $20 bucks for 1 12"x24" sheet; and it was worth every penny.   The edges look wonderful in person. It was pretty simple to apply. Use two coats of contact cement on the back of the veneer, and two coats of contact cement on the sides of the control panel. After they dried, I just smacked them together and cut with a razor blade. It couldn't be any easier.




Since I was running low on wood, I figured it would be best if I created a template with some scrap particle board and used that as a template. The rounded shape was created with using some corner wall molding. It was the only thing found that was in my garage that was flexible enough.



Love the hacked jig for creating the rounded corner edges:


The template:


Used a flush trim bit on the red-oak plywood:


Over the next week I will create ventilation holes, create a joystick undermount, and stain the control panel, and apply the polyurethane.

Hopefully the thing will be glued together sometime next week.


 

[Donkbaca]

Looks Good!

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Personally, I'm not wild about the grain patter on the sides of your cab, but I do like the look of the CP, and that veneer looks great.

[Donkbaca]

That's typical for oak though.  My only concern with the veneer is it staining and looking like rest of the cab

[emb]

Personally, I'm not wild about the grain patter on the sides of your cab, but I do like the look of the CP, and that veneer looks great.

I can see where you are coming from. Actually, I used to HATE cabinets that had the wood grain finish until I seen one in person. The camera shot of it did not give it enough justice.

Although I lot of cabs on the internet have that rough surface which I do not like. Quite often, they used cheap plywood.

I look at the camera pic and think it looks way different looking at it in person. There is something mesmerizing or hypnotic about the wood.

I cannot argue, the wood grain finished cab is something you either love or hate...well...except for Knievel's woody, everyone loves that.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

Personally, I'm not wild about the grain patter on the sides of your cab, but I do like the look of the CP, and that veneer looks great.

I can see where you are coming from. Actually, I used to HATE cabinets that had the wood grain finish until I seen one in person. The camera shot of it did not give it enough justice.

Although I lot of cabs on the internet have that rough surface which I do not like. Quite often, they used cheap plywood.

I look at the camera pic and think it looks way different looking at it in person. There is something mesmerizing or hypnotic about the wood.

I cannot argue, the wood grain finished cab is something you either love or hate...well...except for Knievel's woody, everyone loves that.

My cabinet is also a wood grain cab (see sig), it's just a different grain pattern. I usually prefer less contrast between the depth of stain, but I'm sure once you've got some glossy polyurethane over it, it's going to look great. (:

[emb]

That's typical for oak though.  My only concern with the veneer is it staining and looking like rest of the cab

BTW, Your thread topic on "stain is a pain" was helpful. There were a couple panels that was a slightly different shade. It's in the nature of wood

[Donkbaca]

Thanks!  Glad I could help.  A lot of the reosurces make it all seem so simple, and it is, you just need to know what you are going to get.  It will look way better with the poly on it. 

[emb]

Thanks!  Glad I could help.  A lot of the reosurces make it all seem so simple, and it is, you just need to know what you are going to get.  It will look way better with the poly on it.

Yep. I'm looking forward to applying the coats.

[emb]

Put the first layer of stain on the control panel and applied the first coat of poly on the other panels today. The grain contrast shows up more in the pic than in person.

I will apply the second coat of stain on the control panel and the second coat of poly on the rest of the panels tomorrow.

Sorry if the pics are scaled a little too large, I took them with my iphone.

[drventure]

Nice job on the CP box. Glad that veneer worked out!