First build -- The inVADER -- scratch build

[FeelinLukey]

I know this post will likely be TL;DR but look at the pretty pictures and I have some questions in the “Things I still need to figure out ” section at the end if anyone has any suggestions. Thanks!

Greetings all,

Firstly, I am brand new to the forum and the hobby and I’d like to thank everyone on here for creating an amazing resource and community that has already answered so many question I didn’t even know to ask.

Two months ago this idea popped into my head and like a Space Invader its been quickly gaining speed as it draws closer to my laser cannon (okay so this metaphor didn’t hold up...) I’ve decided to build this cabinet full size and from scratch.

Bit of History:
For the last few years I’ve been hosting a weekly video game tournament at my house. In these tournaments we play everything  we can get our hand on from first to seventh generation games, but some of the best tournaments we’ve held were rediscovering old and forgotten titles. I would like to build a cabinet that can be used in my tournaments to play some of these classic and discontinues titles the way they were meant to be played. We call our tournaments VADER (or Vader’s Acronym Describing Electronic Recreation) and so I’ve named my project The inVADER.



Design:
I have been working on a design using Google SketchUp by frankensteining together a couple plans I’ve seen around the internet. I want this cab to look classic all black with light blue T-molding and some tucked away color LEDs casting down from under the cab and control panel.



Control Panel:
Here is my test layout I built into a cardboard box just to test some theory.



I’m still working on the button layout, I know that 8 button per player is a bit ridiculous but I want this thing to be versatile.




I also plan to make the control panel modular in that it is easily removed and replaced with any other controller I may design in the future, e.g., steering wheels, spinners, and 4 Player variants.


State of the Project:
I have an old PC (Which I’ll likely upgrade during the project.)
27” Samsung CRT  http://www.abt.com/product/18854/Samsung-TXR2765.html
40’ of T-Molding
Enough joysticks and buttons for a 2 player control panel.
I-PAC 2 board
I will be using ¾” MDF for the body.

Tools collected:
I’ve been buying everything I can’t borrow. So far I have a router, drill, jigsaw, circular saw and sander.

Things I still need to figure out
• I’m not sure if there are any rules of thumb about CRT screen angles. I know some cabs mount them almost horizontally. My current design angles the screen about 16º.

• I’m having trouble getting the CRT and the Video card to play nicely together. The Video Card has VGA HDMI and DVI-D out and the television has S-Video, Composite and Component (technically its 1080i ready) Currently I’m using a box to convert the VGA out to S-video, and the 800X600 resolution looks pretty good for my purposes. However, to my dismay, I’m finding that  the converter box i’m using loses its setting between power cycles and causes the image to go all wonky (‘wonky’ is a technical term.) I’m wondering if I should just switch to an older video card that does S-video out natively. If anyone has any better ideas I’d love some input.

• I’d really like to get the computer outputting to the CRT in Component 1080i but all of the converter boxes I’ve tried are total junk.

Not sure on all the blades and bits I need.
•Which circular or jigsaw blade cuts MDF the best?
•I have the correct routing bit for the T-molding but what other bits do I need for the joystick and side matching?

Any other ideas or suggestions are welcome. Like I said I’m pretty inexperienced at the hobby or with any woodworking for that matter.

That's it for now. I'll be further documenting my project here once construction begins.

Thanks for your time!

[PL1]

Welcome aboard, FeelinLukey.   

•I have the correct routing bit for the T-molding but what other bits do I need for the joystick and side matching?

There are several good threads in the woodworking forum that can provide some details and recommend router bits and saw blades.

The bit that allows you to "match sides" is a flush trim bit.

Any other ideas or suggestions are welcome. Like I said I’m pretty inexperienced at the hobby or with any woodworking for that matter.

1. Keep reading.

2. Practice your woodworking techniques on scrap wood.


Scott

[Drnick]

You should be able to use a simple HDMI to component convertor box.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HDMI-Component-Video-YPbPr-Converter-Box-PSP-XBOX-360-PS2-WII-Projector-/281009098606?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D290799482036%26ps%3D54

[FeelinLukey]

You should be able to use a simple HDMI to component convertor box.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HDMI-Component-Video-YPbPr-Converter-Box-PSP-XBOX-360-PS2-WII-Projector-/281009098606?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BIEW%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D290799482036%26ps%3D54

Thanks for the link. Wow, that's a lot cheaper than other converter boxes I've tested and ultimately returned. Have you used this one on a CRT before?

[FeelinLukey]

2. Practice your woodworking techniques on scrap wood.

Thanks. I plan on getting an extra board of MDF to play with before I start the real cuts.

-Lukey

[Drnick]

Thanks for the link. Wow, that's a lot cheaper than other converter boxes I've tested and ultimately returned. Have you used this one on a CRT before?

I haven't used it on a CRT, I had an older flat screen, but if your TV can handle 420I, 720I or 1080I you shouldn't have a problem.  Just set the resolution of the HDMI output to whatever the best your TV can handle is and you should be golden.  I was using mine with a PS3 & 360 and didn't notice any lag or anything.  I think its a fairly simple circuit in the box as it is not upscaling or anything. It basically outputs whatever is put in. unlike vga-s-video.

[PL1]

2. Practice your woodworking techniques on scrap wood.

Thanks. I plan on getting an extra board of MDF to play with before I start the real cuts.

-Lukey

BTW, forgot to mention it earlier, but DO NOT forget to use good respiration protection and only work on MDF where you don't mind the ultra-fine dust getting EVERYWHERE.

That's some nasty stuff.


Scott

[JOHN HOWARD]

Looks pretty good so far, as for screen angle. I modeled mine so the screen is perpendicular to my line of sight when standing and playing. Not sure if other people do this but works for me

[FeelinLukey]

Update:
Finally picked up the wood the other day, 4 sheets of 4'x8' 3/4" MDF. Also got a all the blades and bits I'll need to start the cutting.
In my 3D model I lay out where all the pieces will be cut from, they're color coded so I remember where it all goes, with plenty of extra wood for all the ef-ups .
     

Theres been a slight redesign of the final cabinet. The front bottom panel and the marquee have been slightly inset (they were flush before.) I like the way the inset looks on other cabinets. I also redesigned the base/skirt to incorporate the 5" Casters I picked up. The gray cubes represent the space the swiveling casters will need to rotate. I have 2 fixed and 2 swivel with locks.
     
The skirt leaves about 1/2" of clearance from the Cabinet to the floor... Hope that's enough

In other news I've spent the last few days practicing on some scrap MDF. As stated previously I don't have much wood working experience, but I'm pleased to report that the new tools are working out great and have been yielding excellent results.

My days off are Wednesday-Thursday so I'll start the real cutting then...

[stavros693000]

looks awesome dude.

cant wait to see finished product

[a1pharm]

Congrats on joining the scratch build club, you're gonna like the way it looks.

Some comments:
-8 buttons for your CP will enable you to emulate N64, PSx, and Dreamcast properly
-Cupholders will lead to drinks being spilled on your CP (it's just a matter of time), you may want to mount them to the side of the cab, to save you the trouble of having to rehab a damaged CP.
-You will need lots of clamps (spring clamps and grip clamps)
-You will need a 1/2" diameter flush trim bit (tri-fluted ones are nice, and essentially the same price as 2 fluted bits) for the router
-You will need a 1/4" cutting bit if you plan on recess mounting the sticks
-You will need 1/2" cutting bit for general cutting
-Try to use your router to make all precision cuts, use the circular saw for cutting the 2x4's or 2x2's you will use for internal supports
-Use the reciprocating saw to make all rough cuts (try to leave less than 1/2" between your target line and the cut, this will make less dust when you do the final precision cut with the router)
-Mount your monitor between 15 and 20 degrees, this is how most ergonomic cabs are designed (see my blueprint: 15degrees is perfect for a 5'10" person in my plan) if you are taller, make it closer to 20 degrees
-Make sure the downward slope of your CP is 5degrees, this results in the least amount of wrist strain
-Get an older AGP/PCI video card with S-video or composite video output, this will probably outlast any converter box, and cost next to nothing (ATI Radeon cards have better 2D graphics than nVidia cards)
-You will need a 1 1/8" drill bit for the buttons on the CP, and probably a 1" bit for your stick (if you undermount it)
-Get LEDs off of ebay for your marquee light: they are very cheap, versatile, and will last longer than every other option.  Plus you can use the computer's power supply to power them
-Get a woofer/subwoofer, it's TOTALLY worth it
-Your CRT (if it is a TV) will NOT display 1080i, it will display 480i (and maybe 600i at its best)
-DO NOT USE your MDF as internal support for your cab, bite the bullet and buy 2x4's for $2 each, your cab will collapse on you at some point if you use MDF as load bearing supports

Read my cab post (link in my sig), it was my first woodworking attempt, and I tried to document all of my newb discoveries.

Again, welcome to the club, good work so far!

Cheers!
 

[FeelinLukey]

Thanks for the response a1pharm!

A lot of great information and I look forward to reading your build thread.

-8 buttons for your CP will enable you to emulate N64, PSx, and Dreamcast properly

This is exactly what I was thinking.

-Cupholders will lead to drinks being spilled on your CP...

I know there's a risk.... I was going to look into way to make the thing more or less water tight, possibly adding rubber gaskets and sealers. When It comes time to make the CP I'll probably decide its too much of a hassle.

Get an older AGP/PCI video card with S-video...

That's actually what I've ended up doing! Found a nVidia GeForce 9800 GT with S-video out, refurbished on amazon for under $30. I was hoping to end up with something a little more powerful, but this should run everything up to 6th generation.

-Get LEDs off of ebay for your marquee light

This whole time I'd been thinking I would be installing a florescent bulb but after seeing your build I'll be going LED, great results.

-DO NOT USE your MDF as internal support for your cab...

Thanks. I did pick up some extra wood for the furring/screwing strips and what not. Do the furring strips end up carrying the majority of the weight? Is there a particular wood type that you used in your build?

And for all the other information a big thank you, I'll be incorporating a lot of this stuff as I build.

I cut the two sides this past Wednesday and it went great! I'll do a post on that a bit later.

[a1pharm]

I used 2x2 pine for my supports.  I used laminate on my build, which was kind of a hassle (I like that I did it, but I won't do it again).  Be sure when you attach your supports to your MDF that you use wood glue.  Put the glue on the MDF, place your 2x2 on top of the glue, then use your grip/racheting clamps to secure the pine in place, and compress the glue, then use 2-3 screws  to lock the 2x2 in place, after a few hours, you can remove the clamps, and it will be load bearing ~24 hour afterwards (sorry for the run on sentence).

Cheers!
 

[FeelinLukey]

So this past Wednesday I started the real cutting. I got the two sides done in about 4½ hours and picked up a lot of confidence along the way.

My cabinet design calls for all straight lines and I used the method from this video for all of the cuts:
_{Everything I know of woodworking I learned from YouTube...}

I marked out the first side the night before because I knew I wanted to start cutting bright and early the next day.

_{Click on any image to see it larger.}
I ended up using a Skilsaw with a  7¼” 60 tooth finishing blade for pretty much every cut and the jigsaw with a 10 teeth per inch jigsaw blade to finish off the corners so there were no over-cuts. Both cut the ¾” MDF like butter.


Here’s me cutting side #1:



Here’s the completed side:



_{It helps a lot to have an assistant for the lifting of the heavies, moving of the clamps and taking of selfies.} 

I lay Side #1 on top of where I’d be cutting Side #2 and then traced the edge with a pencil so that they’d match. Then when cutting Side #2 I purposely cut it about 1/16”-1/8” larger so I could go back over it with the ¼" diameter tri-fluted flush trim bit.

You can see the slight overlap with the larger side #2 on top. The router generates the most sawdust by far.

After routing I went over all the edges with a power sander and 120 grit sandpaper to give everything an even finish. I rounded out the corners as I went.


I am really happy with the results. The two pieces are near identical and several people I’ve shown them to have said they look like they came off the factory line

The only big things left to cut are all the rectangles (base, front, back and top). I hope to get that going the next few days....

Thank for reading! And for all the input!