Design Questions about the Ultimate Arcade 2

[popester]

Howdy,

I just picked up a really great 27" CRT TV, so I'm almost ready to build my own cab around it.  I was initially thinking of buying the UA2 plans, but I have a few concerns/questions:

1) Why the two piece design?  It seems like the connection point and the screws holding the pieces together is going to be painted/laminated/art covered, which negates the positive benefit.  Am I missing something?

2) It seems like there is very little or bad access to the inside of the cab once its built.  I don't see a door mechanism and the back pieces seem like they're also screwed in from the sides which means that they'll also be covered with paint/laminate/etc.

Any thoughts on the above two issues?  My wife is a mechanical engineer and is a whiz with CAD so I don't think it would be too hard to convert the basic design to be a single piece and incorporate a back "door" into the equation...

[yaksplat]

I personally don't like the design.  I think it was made that way so it can easily come apart and be moved.  I really don't know.

Have your wife draw it up in cad.  Then you'll know exactly what you're going to get when you're done.  No mysteries.  There's also some additional pride in doing your own thing start to finish and not using some  elses plans.

[kahlid74]

I'm also not a fan of the design.  It's moving parts just screams something breaking to me.  I like cabinets that are in one piece.

[Firebat138]

thats what I built and it is a great plan...  I only put art on the top piece, as the art close to the floor gets lost anyways in my dark room.  plus it enabled me later on to put in a larger screen when I could.  the back of min is OPEN up top, so I have easy access to everything...  Mine is in the basement, so I would have had to take it apart to move it up and down...  not that I ever do that, but just thinking for the future...  See my sig for my pics of mine... 

[Trip]

I came really close to doing the UAII, I also wasn't a fan of the 2 piece design.  I suck at woodworking though, so decided to get an old stripped cab.  Very happy with that decision, but ultimately would of preferred to design and build my own cab.  If your wife can do that for you, definitely go that route over prebuilt.

[WindDrake]

I've got a UAII, so I'll weigh in. Granted, mine was purchased as the kit, not built from the plans.

The back doors are screwed in from the rear, which means you have to unscrew them to get at the guts. My 3-Koam Z-Back is the same way (Real Cabinet!). They are not secured from the sides.

The cabinet splits in two via internal camlocks if you want it to. It's very sturdy, however. I've beaten the crap out of mine.

The design is definitely not like any "Real" cabinet out there, but I love it. It plays well.

[nemesismachine]

I think it was made that way so it can easily come apart and be moved.

It's not meant to come apart.  The instructions say to fill the screw holes with putty/bondo before priming, just like all restorations. I bought the plans and built one with a buddy, and don't like how it turned out.  Bottom back is open, top back is sealed.  Last I checked TVs get hot, so we  added a 120mm PC fan as a precaution.