The Sharkade - My First Arcade Cabinet

[L4E3L]

So here's my now completed project.  It was titled by my 6 year old (b/c of the gray stain choice) THE SHARKADE.  It took about 8 weeks from design to build, and could not have been accomplished without the following guiding lights from a1pharm:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,129725.0.html
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,143724.0.html



Here are some relevant details:

Birch 3/4" Plywood Construction
Gray furniture stain from Minwax
32" LG LCD TV
XBOX - CoinOps 6
Zippyy Joysticks & Buttons from GroovyGameGear
2 Kades for interfacing controls - (Big thank you to Kevin @ kadevice for getting me a replacement KADE when I busted one! )
Internal DIY "Power Strip" that turns on/off with a light switch on the back of the cab

Here's the full album if you want to check it out.  Just want to also state how important/awesome this forum was to get this projected started and completed in a short amount of time!

http://imgur.com/a/3ErCQ

[reptileink]

Looks a lot cleaner than my first arcade...lol. Great job, smooth all around, but I can't help but notice the lack of plexi/bezel. Do you have plans to add one? Also, what are you running on the Xbox? Speakers? Does the marquee light up?

[L4E3L]

Yes, the bezel is the final piece to this puzzle, which will have a gray outline rather than black.  I've got a small amp running some old sony speakers that I broke down to insert behind the marquee.  It is mounted in front of your typically led string lights.



I'm running the CoinOps 6 as the front end.

[L4E3L]

Here are some other pics during the build:

[Slippyblade]

I was gonna mention the lack of bezel, then read the thread.    Good job, this looks awesome.  You and the kiddo happy with it?

[RxBrad]

I can't decide if the grey-stained wood or the 1P/2P shark buttons are the coolest part.

[reptileink]

Could you link where to get that LED setup for me?

[pbj]

You need to modify your BIOS to get rid of that Xbox splash, dude.

[tomstewdevine]

Beautiful build, I really like the stained grey look. 

But this thing is not a completed cab without that bezel, it just looks like a really nice tv stand. Can't wait to see the thing when she is all sewn up.

Ridiculously cool theme though.

[matt24601]

Very nice build.  You have rough dimensions on the finished project?

[a1pharm]

Awesome job!  I really like that you used stained plywood instead of MDF - VERY SHARP!!!

Cheers!
 

[L4E3L]

I'm glad that a1pharm replied, because I copied nearly to a "t" his designs.  Anyone interested in the specs should check out his builds, which could easily be altered for any LCD screen.

 My compromise with the wife was the stained furniture look, and I think it came out pretty great!  I'll have an updated picture up this weekend with the bezel officially installed - I've been nervous to spray paint the plexi but need to finish.

[tomstewdevine]

I'm glad that a1pharm replied, because I copied nearly to a "t" his designs.  Anyone interested in the specs should check out his builds, which could easily be altered for any LCD screen.

 My compromise with the wife was the stained furniture look, and I think it came out pretty great!  I'll have an updated picture up this weekend with the bezel officially installed - I've been nervous to spray paint the plexi but need to finish.

Just use a quality tape and you wont have any problems, and since you are using plexi, you can take a pencil eraser and touch up any paint spots you need to.

[pbj]

Personally, I'd do something besides black.  Why not ocean waves or something on the bezel?  You could probably even cut out designs and overlap them slightly and just churn the things out from your printer at work.

[SavannahLion]

Personally, I'd do something besides black.  Why not ocean waves or something on the bezel?  You could probably even cut out designs and overlap them slightly and just churn the things out from your printer at work.

I was thinking the same thing. A nice bezel would make the cab really stand out without clashing with the decor.

[sharpfork]

Looks great!
How was the unveling?  This is Kevin BTW, nice to have met you in person.

[L4E3L]

So here is the "final" final build with the bezel installed!  The kids are having a great time with it, and so is Dad when everyone goes to bed. 

I wanted to keep a fairly simple, plain bezel to match the grey theme.  The marquee is the only really "flashy" piece to the whole thing to try to keep with the furniture aesthetic I was hoping for. 

Also, I put on some white, rather than black, dust washers to finish the all white look of the controls.  Eventually I'll put some vinyl inserts in the administrative controls rather than the paper ones I cut out, but I wanted to wait and see what admin controls I want/need.  I'd love some feedback on anyone that has some better places to find different washers b/c these are much smaller than what I was hoping for.  They cover up the holes, but when the joysticks are being used you can see the holes.  I'm worried about something dropping in there!

[tomstewdevine]

Super Clean.

[yotsuya]

There are a few vendors who sell dustwashers. You can buy some larger ones to replace the ones you have. You could also email some directly and see what they have to offer.

This guy does customs: http://tefightstands.storenvy.com/

[deano71]

Really like it mate

[nanoflower]

So here's my now completed project.  It was titled by my 6 year old (...)

Good job, I am very impressed 

What are the dimensions of the cab (total height and width) and what is the distance from the floor to the lowest point of your CP?

/nano

[a1pharm]

VERY clean - I love the black bezel (oftentimes less = more)!  You should be proud of this rig!

Cheers!