Be gentle, it's my first time.

[Raktageno]

Good people. I've been a lurker here for quite a while, and have been researching and researching the cab I want to build, then something happened. A friend knew I had been interested in making this dream come true, and had noticed someone in his neighborhood was throwing away an empty cabinet.

Let me emphasize that. THROWING IT AWAY.

I hopped over there and knocked on the guy's door who was happy to give it to me as it saved him from chopping it into pieces to fit into the trash. Come on dude, even if you hated the thing it's still MDF in good shape. Needless to say, I took it home, laughing all the way.

I cradled the cabinet into my garage and took some pictures.



It took a sports minded friend to inform me that's a University of Miami logo on the side.

It's in pretty great shape. It has some wear from what looks like being dragged on the ground, but overall seems really good. It has a coin door with no buttons, opening back access, a marquee light assembly, and single speaker in the top.

I plan on giving it Joust side art with a custom control panel. I'm using a Dell Inspiron 1525 as the brain and got two bat style joysticks and a set of buttons for my birthday. This morning, I ordered a minipac with USB connection and wiring harness.

The plan is to get a CRT from someone maybe on craigslist and then all I've got to do is make it look pretty.

I'm diving in folks.

[skjerk]

Wow! that's awesome! 
Looks like it in excellent shape too!
Do you want it to run MAME only - or? - What frontend do yoy plan for?

[yotsuya]

That's a Williams cab. Take good care of it. 

[mgb]

A guy down the road from me chopped a Pac Man cab into 3 pieces and put it out in the trash.

[Raktageno]

A guy down the road from me chopped a Pac Man cab into 3 pieces and put it out in the trash.

That should be illegal!

That's a Williams cab. Take good care of it. 

Thanks! So Joust will look great on it!

Wow! that's awesome! 
Looks like it in excellent shape too!
Do you want it to run MAME only - or? - What frontend do yoy plan for?

I have Hyperspin set up on the laptop brain, but I don't totally love it. I feel like I've done too much work to change my mind at this point though.

[Slippyblade]

Total score.  Those are laminate sides, aren't they?  Very nice.  You going to do full vinyl on the sides or what?

[Raktageno]

Total score.  Those are laminate sides, aren't they?  Very nice.  You going to do full vinyl on the sides or what?

I think it's thickly layered paint. I've been looking today at options for removing it to see what's underneath. Otherwise I'd love to do vinyl sides, but my money tree doesn't seem to be sprouting.

[pbj]

Looks pretty clean, I'd just leave the artwork alone personally.

 

[Raktageno]

Looks pretty clean, I'd just leave the artwork alone personally.

 

It could use some work. Upon close inspection, it appears the T-molding is black and was painted over. Not being a fan of that team, I'm planning on making it my own anyway. Who knows, I could be wanting Joust artwork and it could be under there, or Defender or Robotron. Worst case scenario, I have to cover over it and maybe get new T-molding. I'm willing to take the risk.

[Asmotron]

High five on wanting Joust side art.  I forgot how much I love Joust until I got MAME running.  I have been playing it a crap-ton.

[Raktageno]

High five on wanting Joust side art.  I forgot how much I love Joust until I got MAME running.  I have been playing it a crap-ton.

It's so cool! My wife, however, was confused as to why I wanted that as my side art. She will soon see the awesomeness.

[404]

University of Miami cabs? Sheesh

Are you located in Miami by any chance?

[RabidRabit]

Total score.  Those are laminate sides, aren't they?  Very nice.  You going to do full vinyl on the sides or what?

I think it's thickly layered paint. I've been looking today at options for removing it to see what's underneath. Otherwise I'd love to do vinyl sides, but my money tree doesn't seem to be sprouting.

I used CitriStrip to remove the paint from a Midway cab to reveal near pristine MKII sideart.  That art is silkscreened though, probably wouldn't work for painted side art.  Some people have had success with Motsenbocker's Graffiti Remover as well but again don't know how well that would work with painted art.  Worst case scenario though, you can get the stencils and put it on yourself.  Not as cool as original but it would still be Joust side art which in and of itself rocks!

Good luck and nice score.

[Raktageno]

University of Miami cabs? Sheesh

Are you located in Miami by any chance?

Ha no, I'm in Oklahoma City!

[Raktageno]

I got a little anxious to see what's underneath last night and started chipping away on one edge. This is NOT a method I plan to continue. It tore right down to the wood, but did leave a slight spot of brown. If this is actually a Joust cabinet already I'm going to crap a paving stone!

From here I'll try the graffiti remover that Rabidrabit recommended. I've seen other posts around about it here.

[Raktageno]

DHL just called, my minipac will be here today! I'm also planning to go to Lowe's in a little while to get some graffiti remover.

I'm in a weird predicament. I want to wire the buttons but don't have a design picked out for the control panel so I have to wait until I'm done with that. I want to stray a little from the Joust design as I plan to have a two player setup with bat style joysticks and six buttons each with one and two player buttons somewhere on there.

Regardless, barring my wife's desire to put up Christmas decorations, there will be progress today!

[PL1]

I want to wire the buttons but don't have a design picked out for the control panel so I have to wait until I'm done with that. I want to stray a little from the Joust design as I plan to have a two player setup with bat style joysticks and six buttons each with one and two player buttons somewhere on there.

Slagcoin button layouts + cardboard box + controls = test layout.   


Scott

[Raktageno]

I didn't get the graffiti remover as planned the other day, but fortunately there's a Lowe's close enough to my work to go on my lunch break! Tonight, magic may happen.

[Zzap]

Looking forward to the reveal!

[Raktageno]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

There have been few moments in my life when I have completely nerded out and completely squeed like a little girl.

Tonight was one of those times.












Bear with me, the outer layer is really tough, and I went from using a paper towel to a sponge attachment on my drill to a piece of rigid plastic for scraping. This is my progress so far.










That's right. IT'S A JOUST CABINET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raktageno]

Thank you yotsuya for pointing out that this was a Williams cabinet, it gave me the push to see what was underneath.

I have a long way to go, and will need to touch up after getting the top paint off as I'm starting to take it down to the wood in some parts. Still, this is a dream come true!

[yotsuya]

Good for you, bro! 

[Raktageno]

A note about the Motsenbocker's graffiti remover. I found it at Lowe's, and there are two types (one for latex based and one for water based paint). I'm pretty sure now the outer paint on this cabinet is latex based and I got the one for water based. It still works, but is a pain in the butt.

It works by loosening the outer layer of paint from the one below, but it won't just come off like a sticker, it takes lots of effort to get it off. Reapplying helps continually loosen the paint, but be careful of the layer you want to preserve. I'm already down to the wood in a few parts. I only cleared out that small area after a few hours of work.

One thing to keep in mind. This stuff is ripe. I suggest wearing a mask AND using it in a very well ventilated area. My lungs hated me at one point last night. It smells like high octane nail polish remover, and the smell hangs around. It's doing the job, though, so I'm not complaining. Also, I found that paper towels don't work so great as it builds up. Using a sponge attachment on a drill (like those found in car headlight cleaning kits) is slightly effective but does end up smearing some of the loosened paint. A sander doesn't like to discern between layers and can cause more problems than good. A scraper (I'm using a piece of rigid plastic) is most effective but can take off too much if you're not careful.

Overall, the stuff is working. As soon as I get maybe a weekend day to continuously tackle it, I should have this cabinet back to its original glory.

[mgb]

Congrats on the find.
Just for your info in the future, latex paint is water based paint. The other is oil based paint.
Are you planning on re-stenciling the cab after stripping the top coats?

[Raktageno]

Congrats on the find.
Just for your info in the future, latex paint is water based paint. The other is oil based paint.
Are you planning on re-stenciling the cab after stripping the top coats?

Thanks. Yes, I do plan to go back over it after.

[harveybirdman]

Thunder up bro, I'm in the 918.

Looking good so far!

[Raktageno]

UPDATE!

Firstly, sorry if this is a double post. After Tapatalk's last update I've had trouble logging in.

I finally got the chance to do more scraping today, and I'm calling the first side done. It's not perfect, but the edges are visible enough for me to go back over. I think I've got enough space cleared to get a good match on the colors as well.

Picture time!

[Raktageno]

More work done today. I'm calling the second side done now as any more work I was doing started taking it down to the wood. This side's paint has come off more evenly. I have to admit, I did have a moment when I uncovered that Williams logo.

[Slippyblade]

Oh man, that's downright sacrilege there.  Painting over Joust with a college logo?  Someone has offended the arcade gods.  I will do my part to appease the powers that be by going home and playing some Joust with the wife right after work!

[Raktageno]

Now that I've seen the comparison of the two sides, I think I'm going to go back over where the front foot and Williams logo are on the first side just to uncover them more. Plus, I do still have some of this bottle of graffiti remover left, that makes two. The scraping has gone much easier with the help of a grill scraper I found in my shed. One side has a scraping edge and the other a wire brush, so that made things much easier. With that little work, I'm closing the door on what I'm now referring to as phase 1a of this build/restoration.

I don't plan on making this JUST a Joust machine, though it would admittedly look great. Even if I did and sold it, I don't know if what I got out of it would be worthwhile. I'm going ahead with Hyperspin and the two-player, six-button configuration that I've been planning. My intent is to have this finished by end of January as my resolution for this year is to finish projects I've started (those include this, a cardboard Transformers costume, and hopefully a Ghostbusters proton pack.)

Phase 1b will consist of some minor sanding, then repainting the side art. I'm not the most skilled artist, but this will be mainly a tracing job so I feel I'm up to the task. I did grab a few color swatches while I was at Lowe's today, but I'm wondering if someone here might have info on what the exact colors are? Anyone?

While I'm asking questions, do you have tips on painting a cabinet like this? How many coats do you think? Should I do a clear coat on top?

[Raktageno]

Oh man, that's downright sacrilege there.  Painting over Joust with a college logo?  Someone has offended the arcade gods.  I will do my part to appease the powers that be by going home and playing some Joust with the wife right after work!

You, sir, are one of the good ones. I'm doing my part to right its original glory.

[Raktageno]

I pulled off the T molding last night to see if scraping the paint off would be easier off of the cabinet. Out of curiosity, I looked at tmolding.com and the prices aren't bad. In fact, I'm still questioning whether I scrape the molding I have back down to black, buy new black, or buy the gold.

I feel like it's okay to stray from authentic because I'm only restoring the side art. The cp and (eventually) marquee will be custom. I think the gold and brown will look good together too.

This is an old cabinet, though. It's taken a beating in its lifetime, so I'm not sure if I want to invest in more T molding when I already have some.

To show the rough life this cab has had, here are some pics of the bottom.

[SNAAKE]

IVE BEEN OFFENDED

[Raktageno]

The plan is to paint this weekend. I found the colors: here http://www.gamestencils.com/index.php?sc_page=41

Copying and pasting only gives me the text, but here it is.

Joust Brown
Valspar Ultra prem Interior Semi-Gloss  101-1Y27.5 / 109-28.5 / 113-0.5 / 115-39.5
Quart, Base 4

Joust Cream
*UPDATED*  Valspar ultra prem Interior Semi-Gloss   103-0.5 / 107-0.5 / 111-13.5 Quart, Base 2 Color from Leon Essex

Joust Orange
*UPDATED* 
 Valspar ultra prem Interior Semi-Gloss   107-16 / 1112Y17.5 / 113-11.5 / 116-2
Quart, Base 4
Color from Leon Essex
 
Joust Red
*UPDATED*   Valspar ultra prem Interior Semi-Gloss   109-11.5 / 113-4 Quart, Red Base   Color from Leon Essex


So paint is a go. Before I dive in and trace the original, is there a technique that might help?

[wonderalex]

Nice find Raktageno - better shape than mine - minus the CP of course.   

First - I'd install proper wheels so that you can more easily maneuver the cab.

Second - I'd make sure your repair the wood surface - including that water/moisture damaged bottom and fix any other wood working.

In other words - I'd wait for paint. The last thing you want to do is scratch a paint job while working on some other part of the cab.

Fix all the cabinetry issues first - including the CP - I'll be sending you those dimensions tonight, it has been a killer week for me.

For the stenciling - I can post a step-by-step guide to stenciling (I've done floors, walls and tables) if you like - but I'm sure you'll find arcade-related guides online and on you-tube. In a nutshell - find a roll of stencil paper and trace the artwork, one colour per sheet. Make sure you reference the position of the original artwork, because your base side panel colour (joust brown) will cover all of it. Then carefully cut them out. Do one colour at a time and use spray glue (low-tac) to hold it in place while you spray or roll paint over the stencil.  REMOVE the stencil BEFORE the paint dries (two-person job). Let the paint dry then repeat for each colour.  Looking at the artwork - I'd start with the yellow and finish with the red.

Also - make sure you've got a clean even surface to stencil on, last thing you want is paint running underneath the stencil because of a nick, scratch or other imperfection.

BTW, you can purchase proper side art stencils at GameStencils.com.

Be seeing you,

WonderAlex
 

[Raktageno]

I'm all for wheels and repairing the wood. Fortunately, the damage doesn't really go beyond the bottom. I would like to install locking casters so I can bring it out when we're entertaining and keep it from rolling away.

I like the stenciling technique, but I'm not going to spend as much as that website wants for them. I'm jazzed about the cp though, and I'll take anything you want to throw my direction!

Thoughts on the tmolding? Should I try and salvage what I have or buy new?

[wonderalex]

Yeah I forgot how expensive those stencils can get. Still cheaper than printed side-art though (BTW, my williams still has no side art).

As for the t-molding, depends on the condition of the t-molding, if you can clean it well enough without scratching the surface and it works then by all means go for it, at worst you can always upgrade the tmolding later if you find you've got room in your budget - it's cosmetic after-all.

I went with new on mine, the tmolding on mine was black, old and cracked in places. It wouldn't even stay in the groove anymore.

Be seeing you,

WonderAlex

[Raktageno]

At the start of this year, I resolved to complete my projects by specific dates. After putting an "end of January" deadline on my cabinet, I came to a standstill with the painting because of the cold temperatures and condition in my garage. To me, it meant putting the project on hold because I have to lay the cabinet down to paint, and I wouldn't want to do that with a screen and guts installed. Fast forward a month and a half, and the frosty grip of winter has loosened, and I've been painting!

I decided to go freehand after taking WAY too long to tape pieces off and paint around them. Honestly, I'm pretty proud of myself.

[Raktageno]

Doubling up posts here because Tapatalk still doesn't work without a workaround. I finished the second and third coats of freehand on the knight and steed last night. I'm thinking three should be enough, but I have plenty of paint left if I change my mind and decide to do thirty. If all goes well, I should be able to finish the brown edging tonight and call this side done!

[Raktageno]

More progress was made last night. I took pictures, but I don't want to load your feed with every little step. 

Side #1 is as done as I'm going to make it. I kept going back into the garage last night and finding a spot here or there that I wanted to go back over, finally having to restrain myself. I think it looks pretty good. My only concern now is making the Williams logo perfectly round. Anyone have tips on this?

I feel like the experience I've gained already doing this side will make the other side go more smoothly. Plus, side #2 is starting out in better shape, so it should paint up nice. This paint dries quickly so I might have a fully painted cabinet if I can find some time to myself this weekend. She who must be obeyed is already making plans for all of our free time.

Anyway, to my question. Original Joust cabinets used a 19" screen and one heck of a bezel. I want as much screen space as possible. I've done some measuring and approximations, but I'm hoping someone here might have some better specs I can use. So please....

Does anyone know the largest (CRT) screen I can fit in this cabinet?

I can fashion a bezel later to work, my concern is getting as much screen as possible. This is an original Williams cabinet. Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.

[Malenko]

Does anyone know the largest (CRT) screen I can fit in this cabinet?

Measure the distance across the opening, then use the Pythagorean Theorem?

[Raktageno]

Does anyone know the largest (CRT) screen I can fit in this cabinet?

Measure the distance across the opening, then use the Pythagorean Theorem?

I've done that, but I'm hoping someone will already have experience with this type of Williams cabinet. I just want to be sure before I pull the trigger.

[Generic Eric]

Does anyone know the largest (CRT) screen I can fit in this cabinet?

Measure the distance across the opening, then use the Pythagorean Theorem?

I've done that, but I'm hoping someone will already have experience with this type of Williams cabinet. I just want to be sure before I pull the trigger.

Its been several times that someone measured, thought it was big enough, decided it wasn't and de-cased it so it would fit.

[Raktageno]

Its been several times that someone measured, thought it was big enough, decided it wasn't and de-cased it so it would fit.

I don't mind decasing. That might actually give me more screen room.

[markc74]

Measure the width between the sides. I'm fitting a 25" tv in a gap that is 62cm (24.5") wide and there's probably about 2" of leeway. Ymmv.

[Malenko]

Measure the width between the sides. I'm fitting a 25" tv in a gap that is 62cm (24.5") wide and there's probably about 2" of leeway. Ymmv.

a 19 or 20" will fit for sure.  a 25 will prolly be impossibru! unless you mount it vertically, like how I mounted a 32" CRT into a KI2 cab.

[opt2not]

Two things to consider:

1. With that type of cabinet, and the angle of which the monitor is mounted, it'll be tough on the eyes to have anything bigger than 19".  Williams cabs have such upright angled monitors, and with a smaller CP you stand closer to the cab than that of say a Dynamo or Midway cab. It's a much more intimate distance.

2. You'll have to fabricate a new shroud to fit a bigger monitor.  (Shrouds are the things that hide the back of the cabinet -- made of plastic in this case, but sometimes cardboard, Bezels are the framing around the monitor, most of the time being populated with artwork).

But #1 is the main concern for comfortable play.

Good job on the hand-painting.  If you can, use a circle template to assist you with the Williams logo. Find a something big enough (like a big can of tomatoes), or perhaps fabricate one.

[Raktageno]

Thank you! I hadn't even thought about the angle.

[Generic Eric]

Thank you! I hadn't even thought about the angle.

I agree

5 years to the day since I saw this picture I thought a test set up like this would be a great idea.

[mgb]

I agree with Malenko. Pretty sure your not gonna fit something like a 25" in there, even deceased.
My cab is 24" wide between the sides and I was unable to fit a 25" arcade monitor horizontally in it.
I ended up doing a 27" vertically so verticals are great and horizontal games are equivalent to a 19 or 20" monitor. 
At largest, you'll be able to do something like a 21" or something

Remember typical monitor sizes will be 19", 25" or 27" but there are some other sizes of PC VGA monitors like 20 or 21" but you'll will definitely need to make a custom bezel.

[Raktageno]

I'm going to scour for a CRT. My painting is almost completely done!

[Raktageno]

I finished painting today, and have moved it into my office where it will live. And so, pictures!

[opt2not]

It looks friggin' great. 

Even though the Williams logos could use a bit more touching up to get 'em rounder, I really think this has turned out superbly. Stencils-shmencils! 

[Raktageno]

Has it really been two months? Maybe I should make an update! I FINALLY went to Dave & Buster's last night to do some research on control panel layouts to find out how I want mine. That trip was USELESS! There was only one cabinet there, and it was some Pacman machine that's been redone several times, so it had one stick and four buttons total in strange places. I feel like I've been dragging my feet too long, and haven't gone out to get a CRT, but I just swapped my second monitor for a projector so I'm using that screen for this cab. I have a printout of what I think will work for the CP, but I'm going to a local arcade tonight to see my options.

[RetroGreg]

That paint job looks amazing. I love Williams cabs   

[Raktageno]

GUYS. Guys, guys, guys, guise, big news.

It's been a while since I posted, and in that time some big things have come about. I have a friend with access to metal cutting/bending technology who made my control panel, it's beautiful! We put a hinge on the bottom, and I used magnets I cannibalized from old kitchen cabinets to keep it attached. That was the major breakthrough this project needed to finish the ball rolling.

I already had everything else I needed: a Dell Insprion 1525 laptop, a separate monitor, some speakers, a keyboard, a mouse, all necessary arcade buttons/joysticks, and a minipac controller for the buttons. Yes, I listed a lot of extraneous parts, and some may ask "why all the external parts that laptops already have?" Well, I already had those items and wouldn't prefer to open up the laptop unless it was absolutely necessary.

The nice long weekend gave me the opportunity to put it all together, and run every diagnostic/renaming protocol needed to make my Hyperspin frontend run smoothly. Right now, NES and SNES titles run well with only a few rough edges that can be ironed out.

Ladies and Gentlemen, you've been with me through this project and the long time it's taken to get here. I am now calling this arcade cabinet fully functional! I can move on to making final touches (plexiglass for mounting the monitor, a marquee, etc.)

Thank you all for your support and encouragement.

Pictures!

[Raktageno]

You'll notice the wires are kind of everywhere. I'm going to go back through them to smooth things out in the final stages. I believe I'll also put another button on the under side of the control panel as Hyperspin makes pretty common use of an "escape" command. Other final touches may include lit coin buttons possibly attached to the "coin" command in MAME emulation, a power button for all of it after commanding hyperspin to run on startup if I decide to move it out when we're entertaining. On that same note, adding casters to the bottom is a possibility. The speaker in the cabinet isn't currently attached to anything, so I may wire it to the computer in addition to the speakers I'm already using if I really want to, but it's not a must right now.

Overall, it works. I even had my wife play a fighting game with me while we both button-mashed as much as possible with no problems. I can finally stop stressing about "finishing" it, and enjoy playing it!

[Rick]

I LOVE that this was an original Joust, and was also completely offended that a) someone painted over a classic like that, and b) would ever consider just throwing it away!

You've worked hard to bring the old girl back to life. Good on you, sir. I can't wait to see everything done!

[Raktageno]

I'm doing my best. I think I'll glam it up a bit as the metal control panel would go with more of a silver T-molding. For the marquee, I'm thinking of finding a way to honor my friend who found it and also happens to be the same guy who made the control panel.

[yotsuya]

I LOVE that this was an original Joust, and was also completely offended that a) someone painted over a classic like that, and b) would ever consider just throwing it away!

You've worked hard to bring the old girl back to life. Good on you, sir. I can't wait to see everything done!

Love the panel. I have access to fab my own. Much better than working with wood.

Oh, and that igloo is HELLA BIG!

[Raktageno]

So as to not overload with new stuff once my T-molding comes in today, I have an update! I went to a local plastics place and got them to cut some smoked plexi for my screen and marquee. I haven't come up with a marquee design just yet, but this is a nice place holder. Apologies for the potato quality.

You may notice that my monitor is not mounted directly up to the plexi. It's currently on its own stand, and isn't really a problem. I'll be moving the whole thing out to the living room for a party this weekend to see how it can handle abuse.

[Raktageno]

And now for a further update! I just got the T-molding in tonight, and it looks AWESOME! This chrome looks so great, oh man. The first two are before I took off the blue coating, and the final is the masterpiece that it now is.

[Mordwaffe]

I have always loved the Joust side art, love the resto work you've done.

[mgb]

looking good.
Chrome T-molding looks great.
I love the metal control panel

[Raktageno]

The metal control panel is great, but now seems a little bland in comparison to this shiny t-molding. Would it be worth painting/coating it? Maybe putting vinyl or artwork over it? In that case, would it make sense to match the coin door with the control panel?

[dkersten]

At the minimum I would clear coat it.  But wouldn't it be cool to get it dipped in chrome..?  Fingerprint mayhem but damn cool when shined up..

[yotsuya]

Wait, you weren't planning to put a control panel overlay on it? 

[Raktageno]

Wait, you weren't planning to put a control panel overlay on it? 

Still thinking about it. What do you think, just vinyl? Where, oh where would someone around here find control panel overlays?

[yotsuya]

Wait, you weren't planning to put a control panel overlay on it? 

Still thinking about it. What do you think, just vinyl? Where, oh where would someone around here find control panel overlays?

This stuff is great and very durable:

http://www.twistedquarter.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=219_223&products_id=513&zenid=5rhf3v42u8l9g0922gq196s8e1

[mgb]

yes, cover it.
go to gameongrafix.com

[AzureKnight]

Looking good, I have to say it makes me really happy a cabinet like this finds a home where it is truly loved.  For this thing to find it's way to a guy who wanted to do a Joust theme....incredible.  Nice work on the paint job!

[Raktageno]

Looking good, I have to say it makes me really happy a cabinet like this finds a home where it is truly loved.  For this thing to find it's way to a guy who wanted to do a Joust theme....incredible.  Nice work on the paint job!

Thanks! It is a big source of pride for me. I'm no carpenter or electrical engineer, but I know a few things. This project hasn't been too daunting, and I've learned a lot along the way. I'm certain this cabinet will be the source of many exciting moments and headaches to come (hopefully more of the former). One thing I'm certain of, this will definitely not be my last.