Wood work on marquee.....

[cheko]

Hi guys,

I'm kind of frustrated right now, I'm building my first bartop arcade, and I didn't have any plans or anything, I don't have any experience working with wood and making cuts, but I think that I did a good job so far. The only problem that I saw this morning, is that the space where the marquee should go its way to small, and I don't know how to fix it, or how to set it up so it can look symetrical, please guys HELP!!!!! I'm hyperventilating right now 

[yaksplat]

ummmmmm, well that's quite a situation that you got yourself into there.  Since this thing is going to be painted, it doesn't matter how much filler you end up using, so it's possible to 'add wood' to your project.  Somethign that you really cant do when making furniture and hide it well.

You can take one of your sides and use that as a pattern on another piece of mdf, that will give you a match for the curve that you have there.  From there, you can redesign the marquee and top edge.  Once you get those pieces cut out, just attach a 4" wide board that you'll be able to glue and screw the new and old pieces to.  Use a 2" overlap to handle any stresses that are generated.  Be sure to use glue on all mating surfaces to ensure the strongest possible bond.  You can also use dowels or biscuits between the new and old side pieces for additional strength.

Once you have it together, you can just use wood filler to fill in the gap and to cover up any screw heads.  Once sanded smooth and painted you shouldn't even notice your previous error.  With the addition of the top and back panels, the whole cabinet should be rigid.

When going thnrough this process, keep in mind where any additional boards will be going for supports.  These may have to be modified due to the above rework.

Good Luck!
Woodworking is practice based.  If you're not making mistakes, you're not learning.   

[Vigo]

If you only got a narrow marquee space, That is an issue you can still work without re-cutting, as long as you are willing to make some style changes. 

Since you would be losing an inch or more with a marquee retainer on the top/bottom, you can consider going with an unlit marquee. Just use a decal. Then you can utilize the entire marquee space. It would still be narrow, but I  think it would look cool with your style bartop cabinet.

You can also expand your marquee from its normal boundaries. Again, it would be an unlit marquee, but there are a few commercial machines made where the marquee was simply a plaque mounted on the top of the machine and was taller than the actual cabinet. You would be breaking from the mold (which I think is a good thing), but you could do something like the Escape from the Planet of the Robot Monsters cabinet:



I bet a simple arched marquee plaque might look nice with yours. 

[yotsuya]

Hi guys,

I'm kind of frustrated right now, I'm building my first bartop arcade, and I didn't have any plans or anything, I don't have any experience working with wood and making cuts, but I think that I did a good job so far. The only problem that I saw this morning, is that the space where the marquee should go its way to small, and I don't know how to fix it, or how to set it up so it can look symetrical, please guys HELP!!!!! I'm hyperventilating right now 

I've seen bartops with similar marquee areas. How big were you hoping to go with it? I think you'll be OK.

[cheko]

Than you very much for all the tips, I'm not sure if I'm going to go with the filler or the unlit marquee, decisions decisions  .... I'm not sure how big I want it, as long as it is symmetrical, also another problem that I have is how to choose the art work and where to choose it from. I'm planning on painting the whole cabinet black, but since I bought black buttons, I think I have to put a very bright and psychedelic artwork on the panel.

What would be the order in which you build your arcade? I mean, first design it, then cut it, add filler, etc.. Thanks a lot guys 

[yaksplat]

Design, Cut, Build.

No Filler 

[SavannahLion]

Design, Cut, Build.

No Filler 

Actually, I think it's supposed to be this way

1) Design
2) Measure
3) Measure
4) Cut
5) Measure
6) Repeat Steps 1-5 because you screwed up
7) Post on forum
Repeat Steps 1-5 because you saw OND's work.
9) Assemble the wood
10) Repeat steps 1-5 because you forgot to measure the monitor. OR Run out and scour Craigslist for a smaller monitor
11) Install computer and controller interface.
12) Test the games
13) Two years after testing games, decide you want to paint the cab.
14) After painting, you realize you don't like the design anyways so you sell it on Craigslist for $2000
15) Repeat steps 1-15 as appropriate

[cheko]

hahahha, 2000 holy guacamole.... well, Now I'm on the painting stage, I heard that after every layer of paint you should sand it, how true is this?

and how many layers of paint should I use?

[GibsonRiddler]

Design, Cut, Build.

No Filler 

Actually, I think it's supposed to be this way

1) Design
2) Measure
3) Measure
4) Cut
5) Measure
6) Repeat Steps 1-5 because you screwed up
7) Post on forum
Repeat Steps 1-5 because you saw OND's work.
9) Assemble the wood
10) Repeat steps 1-5 because you forgot to measure the monitor. OR Run out and scour Craigslist for a smaller monitor
11) Install computer and controller interface.
12) Test the games
13) Two years after testing games, decide you want to paint the cab.
14) After painting, you realize you don't like the design anyways so you sell it on Craigslist for $2000
15) Repeat steps 1-15 as appropriate

      I think you forgot some steps

[Ond]

hahahha, 2000 holy guacamole.... well, Now I'm on the painting stage, I heard that after every layer of paint you should sand it, how true is this?

and how many layers of paint should I use?

This is true and 3.

@ SavannahLion's 15 step program