First arcade project. Stainless steel cab.

[yotsuya]

Good luck with your build.

[drventure]

My first thought was, yeah, Jukebox.

But, with a little creativity, some stain grade walnut veneer, or maybe cherry, I could see framing or trimming that out with some stained wood,then integrating a stained wood control panel and it looking quite good.

And I echo someone else's comment about just glueing plywood panels to the inside and screwing things down to that. Dealing with that stainless would be way too much trouble.

[BlueGhost]

I say throw on a Flux Capacitor and a Mr. Fusion and go for a Back to the Future/Delorean theme.

[Nephasth]

Isn't it that kind of out of the box thinking that has driven this hobby to the great level it is at today?

Out of the box thinking has driven this hobby to a great level. But other forms of out of the box thinking has also flooded this forum with some garbage builds. Is it possible to turn this cab into something cool? Absolutely. But I have little faith that a new comer has the ability to do so. Start with a simple project, get the basics down, then I'd feel confident in someone's abilities to take this thing to a point above the potential it has. Otherwise, it's just another crap-mame.

Seriously, a very similar cab was just discussed in Everything Else...

Speaking of junk on Craigslist. I just ran across this little gem this morning. Can this guy be serious?

[rablack97]

Isn't it that kind of out of the box thinking that has driven this hobby to the great level it is at today?

Out of the box thinking has driven this hobby to a great level. But other forms of out of the box thinking has also flooded this forum with some garbage builds. Is it possible to turn this cab into something cool? Absolutely. But I have little faith that a new comer has the ability to do so. Start with a simple project, get the basics down, then I'd feel confident in someone's abilities to take this thing to a point above the potential it has. Otherwise, it's just another crap-mame.

Seriously, a very similar cab was just discussed in Everything Else...

Speaking of junk on Craigslist. I just ran across this little gem this morning. Can this guy be serious?

Now that's a damn shame.........

[Cjax]

Haha wow. Now that's a lot of good ideas and opinions to catch up on. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reply, but between work and repairing my fence last night I honesty forgot to check back in.

Firstly I want to say that I didn't mean to come across as offended or disappointed in the early jukebox opinions. I was mistaken and thought the thread was moved where it wasn't. I'm open to all opinions and suggestions without being offended by criticism. I guess I should have given a little more information about myself and what my vision for the project is. I'm a machinist by trade so im not a complete stranger to working with metal lol. Honestly this fact is one of the major things that drew me to the metal can idea in the first place. That accompanied with the gas pipe accents I have planned for upstairs kind of fits my lifestyle a bit.

Secondly I know it's not the ideal build for a first time project, but the cab was given to me by my uncle who originally had the same idea planned. We're both going to play our part in making it come together. Will it be perfect? Probably not lol. But it was completely free and so will make a good learning experience.

Ideas I've loved so far: stained wood accents, the bear keg on the inside even though that's not gonna happen (always a fan of any beer idea), and the focus on only single player. It actually probably is a bit too small for 2 players. When I get a chance tonight I'll take some measurements and post all the dimensions.

Keep it going guys! I appreciate this already getting so much attention lol.

[drventure]

If you've got some metal work background, and the tools for the job, all the better.

One thing that just occurred to me.

I could completely see taking some sideart, transfering it somehow to the cab and etching the stainless with the side art. I personally have no idea how to do that, but, it could look cool as hell if done right.

Like you said, it's a free cabinet. So experiment on it, worst case, you toss it, and learned a few bits in the process 

[reptileink]

I really hope the OP wasn't scared off. I really wanted to see what could become of this cab.

If I had it, I would maybe steam punk it out (visible rivets, bolts, rusty paint job, the whole nine)

I honestly think this cab has potential. Hope the guy just doesn't toss it. Although, with all that stainless, he could probably scrap it and make enough to buy some MDF sheets. 

[vwalbridge]

The OP is still here. Check a couple posts back.

[Automark]

Bring it to a metal workshop, let them weld the cp to close the hole. Drill some new holes for the joystick and buttons, and a rectangle hole fore a marquee,  Some side art and tada,




 

[Typefighter01]

Colour and curves aside...

I would have that thing MAME'd, built and running in two days and wouldn't even think twice about it.

[reptileink]

The OP is still here. Check a couple posts back.

 

Missed that one....lol

[Cjax]

Any opinions on the type of monitor I should use? I'm not going for a purist set up and obviously I probably couldn't fit a classic tube monitor anyways. I was thinking the biggest Vizio I could fit in it or something flush mount? It's more square than it is rectangle so I'm not sure yet how that will work out or what I could get in there. As for the body design.... I'm not sure yet what kind of art I will do just yet, but I've considered some kind of vinyl art wrap or maybe some king of grinding or etched art. Way to early to decide that.

[dmckean]

What are the dimensions of the current monitor cutout?

[Cjax]

I'll have to check when I get home. I'm at work right now. I'll post dimensions right before I give it a good power wash. The inside is covered with sticking gunk and lord knows what else.

[Vigo]

I'll have to check when I get home. I'm at work right now. I'll post dimensions right before I give it a good power wash. The inside is covered with sticking gunk and lord knows what else.

If it is a time clock machine, you probably don't want to know. We get those kind of things shipped in our office routinely, and they smell of rancid food and piss.

I am kinda digging the wood accent idea as well, but instead of adding wood trim, I probably consider making a stripe design or something with that faux wood method used to make metal garage doors look wooden.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Throw the biggest 4:3 LCD that you can find in there.  A widescreen LCD would look weird.  You can find cheap deals with free shipping on ArrowDirect's website.

This one is $68.40 but with the coupon code ARROW you get it for $61.56 and FREE SHIPPING.
https://arrowdirect.com/ibm-6736-hc9-22.html

D

[mgb]

If you're gonna one player, I think it'd be nice as a vertical.
Slip in a 21" 4:3 and you're good to go (after reworking the monitor cut out)
Then you can either go with a dedicated 4 way or something like the ServoStik so you can still have 8 way for shmups.

Have you thought about what games are important to you

[DaOld Man]

Nice project. We have several stainless steel control and operator panels at my work.
I have had to cut a hole to add a new button, and trust me, it is not fun cutting into the stainless steel.

[Cjax]

If you're gonna one player, I think it'd be nice as a vertical.
Slip in a 21" 4:3 and you're good to go (after reworking the monitor cut out)
Then you can either go with a dedicated 4 way or something like the ServoStik so you can still have 8 way for shmups.

Have you thought about what games are important to you

Well as far as the games go I was hoping to cram as much in as I can. Pac-man, donkey kong, galaga, space invaders, mortal kombat, street fighter, etc etc. I'm not quite educated really on how all that works or what software to use when it comes to doing that. My uncle is the tech guy of the family and said he planned to set me up with MAME and as many games as I wanted. Was hoping to use this experience to start learning about how all of that works as well for any future set ups I might build. I'm assuming MAME will cover all that?

I'm excited to get home today so I can see what's possible as far as a monitor goes.

[dmckean]

If you're gonna one player, I think it'd be nice as a vertical.
Slip in a 21" 4:3 and you're good to go (after reworking the monitor cut out)
Then you can either go with a dedicated 4 way or something like the ServoStik so you can still have 8 way for shmups.

Have you thought about what games are important to you

Well as far as the games go I was hoping to cram as much in as I can. Pac-man, donkey kong, galaga, space invaders, mortal kombat, street fighter, etc etc. I'm not quite educated really on how all that works or what software to use when it comes to doing that. My uncle is the tech guy of the family and said he planned to set me up with MAME and as many games as I wanted. Was hoping to use this experience to start learning about how all of that works as well for any future set ups I might build. I'm assuming MAME will cover all that?

I'm excited to get home today so I can see what's possible as far as a monitor goes.

Some games like Pac-man, Donkey Kong, Galaga and Space Invaders have a vertical aspect ratio. The monitors in these cabinets were mounted vertically so the screen was taller than it is wide.

Other games like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and lots more have a horizontal aspect ratio. The monitors in these cabinets were mounted horizontally like a TV so the screen is wider than it is tall.

mgb was suggesting you mount a monitor vertically and focus this cabinet on playing vertically oriented games. You could install a single joystick and three buttons and still play and hundreds of games.

[Cjax]

Oh ok I got it. That makes a lot of sense then. The older games are what I would really like in it so vertical will probably be the way to go. Could the horizontally ratiod games still be played? It would just affect the image would it not? 

[vwalbridge]

I'm not quite educated really on how all that works or what software to use when it comes to doing that. My uncle is the tech guy of the family and said he planned to set me up with MAME and as many games as I wanted. Was hoping to use this experience to start learning about how all of that works as well for any future set ups I might build. I'm assuming MAME will cover all that?

I'm really trying to give some good advice here so please do not take this harshly:

Stop what you are doing right now and learn MAME and maybe even whatever FE you want to use. THEN start committing to building. I've seen others spend months getting prepared before ever "hammering a nail". You owe it to yourself to get a good understanding of both the hardware (construction) and the software.

Why?

In my opinion, your are going to be better off in the long run because you are going to understand the full marriage between software and hardware that makes a great arcade. If you design the cab and your uncle designs the software, you might have "pieces not fit well later"

This hobby really demands that you understand both hardware and software to really nail it. Unless others disagree, you are really going to thank yourself later having learned both, to understand full cabinet design.

If you run into any issues, how are you going to troubleshoot it? How are you going to know it's a software or hardware issue?

With the exception of art. (I'm all for outsourcing original art.)  I'd rather know every single inner working of my cab. Just makes life easier.

[dmckean]

Horizontal games could still be played, they will just be smaller with black bars at the top and bottom.

[Cjax]

I'm not quite educated really on how all that works or what software to use when it comes to doing that. My uncle is the tech guy of the family and said he planned to set me up with MAME and as many games as I wanted. Was hoping to use this experience to start learning about how all of that works as well for any future set ups I might build. I'm assuming MAME will cover all that?

I'm really trying to give some good advice here so please do not take this harshly:

Stop what you are doing right now and learn MAME and maybe even whatever FE you want to use. THEN start committing to building. I've seen others spend months getting prepared before ever "hammering a nail". You owe it to yourself to get a good understanding of both the hardware (construction) and the software.

Why?

In my opinion, your are going to be better off in the long run because you are going to understand the full marriage between software and hardware that makes a great arcade. If you design the cab and your uncle designs the software, you might have "pieces not fit well later"

This hobby really demands that you understand both hardware and software to really nail it. Unless others disagree, you are really going to thank yourself later having learned both to understand full cabinet design.

If you run into any issues, how are you going to troubleshoot it? How are you going to know it's a software or hardware issue?

With the exception of art. (I'm all for outsourcing original art.)  I'd rather know every single inner working of my cab. Just makes life easier.

I appreciate the advice. I should have been more clear, but I'm nowhere near ready to start cutting and actually working on this. I'm actually trying to do exactly what you just said. Learn about everything I possible can while taking in all of this great advice and suggestions. I'll definitely be getting with him before I start cutting and drilling and before anything is ordered.

[vwalbridge]

I appreciate the advice. I should have been more clear, but I'm nowhere near ready to start cutting and actually working on this. I'm actually trying to do exactly what you just said. Learn about everything I possible can while taking in all of this great advice and suggestions. I'll definitely be getting with him before I start cutting and drilling and before anything is ordered.

 

[stigzler]

+1 what vwal said. Seriously...