First cabinet build, Evolution based slim cab ***UPDATED 6/03/13***

[epac90]

Hi guys,

This may be my first post, but I'm a long time lurker here on the BYOAC forums.  I ran across this site a couple of years ago, and when I seen some of the amazing cabinets people have made, I knew I had to make one.  After countless hours of researching cab after cab, I have decided to go with an Evolution based cabinet.  I love everything about the Evolution cab, Knievel really did an amazing job on this design (also I have a pretty small house, so a full size cab is out of the question).  I basically used most of the dimensions from the sketchup file floating around here on the boards, but made some very minor changes.  I hope to have the cabinet ready for paint in a week or so. Here is my progress so far, and any words of wisdom that you veterans would like to share is always welcome 


My 2 sides, I added 2 extra inches of depth to it as I was a little worried about stability.



I took the door idea straight out of OND's Metropolis design.  I really didn't like the idea of the front door under the control panel.  I think I would like to be able to have full access to my cab, and door on the back really seems like the way to go IMO.


Don't worry about that top piece yet, it was just a temporary piece to hold the cab together while I put the back on.  You can see where I tested my slot cutter out on it lol   

[Brian74]

Looks good man, keep it up

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

[epac90]

Thanks Brian.  I'm really happy with how it's turned out so far.  Trying to get the cabinet completely finished before I even start on the control panel ( I could see how a fully functional panel could cause alot of delay in finishing the machine) 

[kahlid74]

Did you have a sketch-up/dimensions for your cab?  I realize it's based of Evolution but It looks a little different so I would be interested in seeing it drawn up.

[epac90]

There is a sketchup plan based on an evolution/woody hybrid that I believe Evilnuff made, and it's floating around somewhere on these boards (maybe in the woody or evolution project thread).  I took it and used all of the dimensions to make a CAD drawing of the sides.  I did round the corners a little more than in that sketchup file and I also added an extra 2" of depth to it, the other one just looked too thin, and I was worried about stability issues.  Anyways here is my dimensions that I drew up for it.  I really don't have anything else besides the sides, as the rest I am kinda just getting ideas from the sketchup/winging it.

[TopJimmyCooks]

Great minds think alike.  I also did an Evo 18" deep at the base with rounded corners. 

[epac90]

Great minds think alike.  I also did an Evo 18" deep at the base with rounded corners.

 

VH is my favorite band, and Top Jimmy is also my favorite song off of 1984, coincidence? lol 

How stable is your cab?  I was kinda worried about the weight of the CP maybe causing it to be front heavy when I first stood my cab up. After adding the back, top, and front piece though, it is feeling very sturdy now. 

[dfmaverick]

I haven't looked at the sketchup of Knievel's Evolution, but Looking at the actual pics of Knievel's Evolution build, it looks to be similar to yours or perhaps even a couple extra inches of depth since Knievel mentioned, "the side panels are about 24" deep. 6" deeper than the Woody cabinet."


If I ever get around to building another cabinet, it will definitely be this shape over the woody. I just like the look. Very nice looking build thus far. Kudos. 

[epac90]

Update.  Got a little more done, including my top marquee piece and my monitor bezel.  Also been working pretty hard on some artwork.  I know it's been done 1000x times before, but I still like it alot.  I went with the old Cosmic Frostbite photo and basically copied Knievel's Neon Mame artwork.  Had to do some redesign as I'm going with a Sega player 2 style layout and also a different button layout.  I really didn't wanna try and do anything completely custom as I am a terrible artist, and really just don't have the patience for it.  Anyways, here's a few new pics.

 





This bugger flew in on me while I was trying to chamfer my monitor bezel.  At first I thought it was a bird, these moths are huge!  Something so beautiful I couldn't just kill it, so I scooped him up and put him back outside. 

[epac90]

After alot of bondo'ing, sanding, and painting, the cabinet is basically complete!  Got 2 coats of oil based primer on it with 3 coats of paint with the good ole white foam roller combo, and the results were pretty nice.  Hopefully will get the t-molding put on in the next couple of days, then i'll start on the control panel.  I can't wait to get this thing working   

[epac90]

Well, got the t-molding installed finally and also brought it home.  The cabinet is basically complete, time to start filling it up and building the control panel!  Progress is pretty slow at the moment, work is keeping me very busy.  Anyways, here are some pics.  What do you guys think?  I'd like to hear some input on it.  Also, what kind of marquee retainer should I get?  I don't have perfect 90 degree angles, but I was thinking about getting a couple of pieces of 1/8" aluminum angle from Home Depot and maybe trying to bend them to the correct angle.  Any better ideas?

P.S.  Sorry about the poor photo quality.  I'm taking these pics on my phone but it doesn't do too well in low light conditions (which I've been in the whole time).  Also excuse my media room please,  It is filled with all kinds of crap for projects that I hope to eventually get to lol.

[jbenesh]

Looking really good.  You can get aluminum angle thinner than 1/8th at Home Depot.  It might be easier to manipulate.  I would love to build a similar cab but as of right now my basement is being occupied by my brother and I have no other place to put one.

[dohertym1]

Just bumping this to see if you have any updates.  I was wondering what dimensions you are using for the CP.  Thanks!

[EMDB]

It looks like the monitor should have been angled more...