Donkey Kong Replica: Scratch build using Gaetan's plans - 95% done

[jdbailey1206]

There's also the option of buying the vanity kits from Mikes Arcade and modifying the Nintendo button holders to turn the eject buttons into Coin up buttons.

Who would do something so absurd?

You would, 
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,135095.msg1423439.html#msg1423439


chopperthedog too...
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,128979.msg1318195.html#msg1318195

I still think this was pretty ingenious on choppers part....

[johnrt]

Today I made a template for the CP part of the side panel (actually I had to make two until I was satisfied), and routed the template using this new template.






Then I found that the round leftover piece when using on of my hole saws was exactly 50mm in diameter. Enough to use that part to route the back bottom corner:






And at last I found a plastic box that was 88mm in diameter, exactly what I needed to route the upper front corner:




Now I need to find something that is 76mm in diameter to route the bottom front corner of the side panel.
The cuts are as perfect as they can be using these simple methods.

[ChanceKJ]

I find it utterly fascinating how much effort you put into your templates.  I mean, you haven't even cut wood for the cab yet and theres enough sawdust to crush a camel.

[yotsuya]

I find it utterly fascinating how much effort you put into your templates.  I mean, you haven't even cut wood for the cab yet and theres enough sawdust to crush a camel.

Yeah, I didn't think anyone could out-anal-retentive Chance, but here you go. Great job. 

[wp34]

Brilliant!    I love how you made that template.

Today I made a template for the CP part of the side panel (actually I had to make two until I was satisfied), and routed the template using this new template.






Then I found that the round leftover piece when using on of my hole saws was exactly 50mm in diameter. Enough to use that part to route the back bottom corner:






And at last I found a plastic box that was 88mm in diameter, exactly what I needed to route the upper front corner:




Now I need to find something that is 76mm in diameter to route the bottom front corner of the side panel.
The cuts are as perfect as they can be using these simple methods.

[ChanceKJ]

Brilliant!    I love how you made that template.

  Why did you quote all of his pictures too

[wp34]

Because they deserve to be seen again.   

Brilliant!    I love how you made that template.

  Why did you quote all of his pictures too

[johnrt]

There will be a little pause in this build for a week or so. I'm going to Berlin tomorrow attending the IFA fair (http://www.ifa-berlin.de/en/).

[Generic Eric]

How thick is the plywood supposed to be?  Also, which of the files from here are the ones to have printed at 1:1?  How much is a good price to pay? On what medium?

[johnrt]

How thick is the plywood supposed to be?  Also, which of the files from here are the ones to have printed at 1:1?  How much is a good price to pay? On what medium?

15mm
http://www.arcadecab.fr/Donkey%20Kong/Plans/Gaetan/Donkey%20Kong%20Cab%20-%20Gaetan%20-%20Coupe%20(1.1).pdf
Pay for what?

[Generic Eric]

How thick is the plywood supposed to be?  Also, which of the files from here are the ones to have printed at 1:1?  How much is a good price to pay? On what medium?

15mm
http://www.arcadecab.fr/Donkey%20Kong/Plans/Gaetan/Donkey%20Kong%20Cab%20-%20Gaetan%20-%20Coupe%20(1.1).pdf
Pay for what?

To have it printed? Did you pay to have it printed? If so, I just wonder how much?  So I have something to compare to.  Thanks.

[johnrt]

To have it printed? Did you pay to have it printed? If so, I just wonder how much?  So I have something to compare to.  Thanks.

I know a guy... :-) I don't know how much it costs

[Generic Eric]

To have it printed? Did you pay to have it printed? If so, I just wonder how much?  So I have something to compare to.  Thanks.

I know a guy... :-) I don't know how much it costs

Word

[johnrt]

Too much work-related crap and too bad weather at the moment. Template is as good as finished so all I need is some plywood to get me started.

[ChanceKJ]

Bonus points you make this thing in 9/16th ply like the old Japanese cabs. I can give you measurements of the battons and closeups of the interior if you want as well.

[johnrt]

Bonus points you make this thing in 9/16th ply like the old Japanese cabs. I can give you measurements of the battons and closeups of the interior if you want as well.

There's one thing you can count on: I will nag you about that Nintendo cab until you're begging for mercy! :-)

[yotsuya]

Get a room.

[johnrt]

Get a room.

.

[ChanceKJ]

Ugh.


Haha, yeah, no worries, let me know if you have any questions.

[johnrt]

So today I finished the template. The last corner was routed using an old hair styling box:


The finished template:


And I got WOOD! I bought 3 sheets of 15 mm plywood (It just HAVE to be plywood!):


Next I roughly cut the side panels and screwed (!) the template onto it:


After some routing I now have two exact copies of Gatean's Nintendo side panel:


Tomorrow I'm gonna cut the slots for the T-molding. But I haven't decided whether to apply T-molding all the way around... what do you guys think?

Ohh... And I haven't ordered the T-molding either. Any recommended place to order 15mm flat T-molding?

[vwalbridge]

Any recommended place to order 15mm flat T-molding?

ChompingQuarters.com. But it is a U.S. vendor.

Also, note #6 on that page "Approx. 15mm wide"  (Not sure how APPROX that is)

[johnrt]

Any recommended place to order 15mm flat T-molding?

ChompingQuarters.com. But it is a U.S. vendor.

Also, note #6 on that page "Approx. 15mm wide"  (Not sure how APPROX that is)

Thanks!

I also come to think of I once ordered flat 9/16" T-molding from www.t-molding.com. I'll see if I can find that one and try it on the plywood.

[vwalbridge]

You are lucky that you are building your own DK cab and can slot cut it down the center.

I have a DK cab that uses the bazaar off-set T-molding and ChompingQuarters is out of stock. AFAIK, they are they are the only guys making off-set.

[ChanceKJ]

There's a guy on KLOV looking to make more offset too. Can't find the link right now. But it's in the main forum.

[ChanceKJ]

There's a guy on KLOV looking to make more offset too. Can't find the link right now. But it's in the main forum.

Oh, found it. It is CQ....

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=356218&highlight=Nintendo

[vwalbridge]

There's a guy on KLOV looking to make more offset too. Can't find the link right now. But it's in the main forum.

Oh, found it. It is CQ....

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=356218&highlight=Nintendo

Yep, thanks Chance. I signed up for a set on that list a couple of weeks ago. 

[yotsuya]

You are lucky that you are building your own DK cab and can slot cut it down the center.

I have a DK cab that uses the bazaar off-set T-molding and ChompingQuarters is out of stock. AFAIK, they are they are the only guys making off-set.

Bondo the slot and cut a new one. 

[vwalbridge]

You are lucky that you are building your own DK cab and can slot cut it down the center.

I have a DK cab that uses the bazaar off-set T-molding and ChompingQuarters is out of stock. AFAIK, they are they are the only guys making off-set.

Bondo the slot and cut a new one. 

Dude...seriously. Do you think that I can get the bondo squeezed down far enough? I've REALLY been considering this but I wonder how it will hold up when I go back to slot cut it again.

[yotsuya]

You are lucky that you are building your own DK cab and can slot cut it down the center.

I have a DK cab that uses the bazaar off-set T-molding and ChompingQuarters is out of stock. AFAIK, they are they are the only guys making off-set.

Bondo the slot and cut a new one. 

Dude...seriously. Do you think that I can get the bondo squeezed down far enough? I've REALLY been considering this but I wonder how it will hold up when I go back to slot cut it again.

Mofos do it all the time. Just use Bondo and let it dry. Hell, I've done it with regular  Elmer's wood filler with great results.

[vwalbridge]

You are lucky that you are building your own DK cab and can slot cut it down the center.

I have a DK cab that uses the bazaar off-set T-molding and ChompingQuarters is out of stock. AFAIK, they are they are the only guys making off-set.

Bondo the slot and cut a new one. 

Dude...seriously. Do you think that I can get the bondo squeezed down far enough? I've REALLY been considering this but I wonder how it will hold up when I go back to slot cut it again.

Mofos do it all the time. Just use Bondo and let it dry. Hell, I've done it with regular  Elmer's wood filler with great results.

Suh weet! Thanks Yots! I have to bondo the snot out of the entire cab anyway so might as well.

And thanks johnrt for the mini derail.   

[ChanceKJ]

Mix the bondo a little "light" to keep it as viscous as possible but with enough hardener to still activate. Use a can of compressed air with a little bit of pressure to drive the bondo deeper into the groove. I do it with white glue on edges that delaminate in Plywood.

[johnrt]

About the CP: I see that they are using the same T-molding in front of the CP as for the rest of the cab. So is the total thickness with plexi overlay 15mm or is just the wooden part 15mm?

[Gaetan]

About the CP: I see that they are using the same T-molding in front of the CP as for the rest of the cab. So is the total thickness with plexi overlay 15mm or is just the wooden part 15mm?

The plexi haven't the same dimension than wood for control panel.
The plexi don't come touch the T-molding.
So it's 15 mm wood like the T-molding.

If you order flat Nintendo T-molding I'm interesting to know exactly his dimensions in millimeter and if it's good for a 15 mm thick wood.

[johnrt]

The plexi haven't the same dimension than wood for control panel.
The plexi don't come touch the T-molding.
So it's 15 mm wood like the T-molding.

Do you know the plexi dimensions?

[vwalbridge]

I just took some measurements on my DK cab this morning for you:

I used the depth gauge on my caliper to measure the thickness of the cpo:


The thickness of the cpo plexi is 1.88mm


I also measured the width and height of the cpo plexi and it comes out to:

Width: 549.275mm
Height: 174.625mm

Another item to note is the total thickness of the control panel with black laminate installed (on my reproduction CP) is: 16.03mm


Here is a shot of the front edge of my original DK control panel. You will notice that the t-molding does not cover the entire edge but is slighly off-set and favors the top laminated side


Here are 2 more shot of my reproduction DK panel and you will notice that the t-molding favors the top side to avoid a sharp edge where you wrists might hit.


Here is a really good shot showing the very small exposed edge on the bottom side. But the top edge of laminate is nice and flush with the top edge of the t-molding.

[johnrt]

So the CPO covers the whole CP? Is that normal originally, or is it variations from game to game?

[vwalbridge]

So the CPO covers the whole CP? Is that normal originally, or is it variations from game to game?

No, the cpo does not cover the entire cp.

Here is a top-down shot of my control panel.


Here is another shot of the control panel outside of the cabinet. (Not mine) The cpo is smaller than the control panel and mounts over the top with 8 small carriage bolts.

[johnrt]

Ok. Thanks. Then I presume the size of the CPO plexi matches the CPO artwork.

[vwalbridge]

And just so we are all on the same page:

This is a DK Control Panel Overlay by itself:


And this is a DK Control Panel by itself:


Just want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

[vwalbridge]

Then I presume the size of the CPO plexi matches the CPO artwork.

Yes. In fact, reproductions are normally sold with the artwork silk-screened to the back of the polycarbonate plastic.

This is the one I will be buying. As mine is cracked in the corner.