About wood versus acrylic.

[Navyplanets]

So, next fall I'm gaining access to a laser-cutter, one that will cut acrylic.
I'm entirely new to cabinet building, and my woodworking skills are lackluster, to say the least.
My original plan was a wooden cabinet, of course - what could be better?
A day or two later, I learned of the acrylic option. I realized how much simpler it would be to make my cabinet with acrylic.
Should I wait for the acrylic cutter, or make a wooden cabinet?
I'm really torn about this.

[Generic Eric]

You'll have to consider what items are in your cab.  What is the weight of the monitor and can the acrylic support its weight.  What thickness to you intend to use? 

[lamprey]

This may sound silly, but is money a consideration?

If not, then I'd try an acrylic. It's going to cost a lot more to do a full size cab out of acrylic (assuming you meant a full size cab). As Eric eluded to, you are going to need thicker acrylic than you would for a mini-cab. I'm not sure what thickness would best as I haven't done a full size out of acrylic, but I'd guess you'd want 1/2" thick or better.

Given that, it might be cheaper to do out of wood and wood is more forgiving than acrylic. But, with a laser-cutter I guess there aren't too many mistakes other than sending it the wrong op codes.

[Navyplanets]

Sorry- I forgot to say that this was a bartop cab, and I think I've decided just to use MDF and make a boxy mess.
My computer design skills are just as bad as my woodworking skills, so I'll just try it and learn from it, I guess.

Thanks for the advice!

[Dataman]

1/2" or 5/8" Polycarbonate is expensive - on the up side if you opt for T-Molding it comes in 1/2" as well as 13/16" and 3/4".  It will still run from $0.21 Ft to as high as $0.86 Ft.
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So the cabinet is going to cost over $1,000 (the cost of Acrylic - aka" Poly Carbonate and Glue - the glue isn't cheap either).
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Where were you when I was building cabinets in the late 80's?

[Navyplanets]

Well, for one I wasn't alive yet.. plus I'm making it from MDF. I'm using plans I got online, and once I've actually got the wood and controls, I'll be making a post on Project Announcements.
I've already got a lot of the parts, so it won't be all that long of a time until posting.

[Dataman]

I apologize if I came off as condescending...
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I think an acrylic cabinet would be great - and would consider building one myself.
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But - I build MDF Cabinets, and the friends and associates I build them for probably would never buy an Acrylic cabinet - just because of the costs.  They would be intrigued and probably google over the acrylic - but would buy/pay for the wood cabinet in the end.
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The biggest obstacle to people building their own cabinets seem to be the control panels.  In the days of the Taito and Alladdin Game Cabinets (1970s thru the late 1980s) metal control panels were the norm.
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Now there are 4-6-Player cabinet designs that use wood player surface designs, but still have metal plates to hold the player buttons, track balls, etc.....
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Making a cabinet that is "playable" means more than just buttons and controls - it means a player surface that is comfortable to play.
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Like wise - the video screen needs to be viewable as well - meaning that it doesn't cause your neck to hurt or give you back aches (this also applies to the overall cabinet design - a short cabinet will make you back hurt when you have to bend over to play it, especially if your control panel is too low ....( 36" - 39" seem to be optimal with 39" being the most realistic control surface height).
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I am looking forward to seeing your cabinet project progress...
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If I can be of any assistance, just PM me...
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Dave R.