Here's the current (2016-07-07) goal:
This was modeled up in 3DS Max with all the appropriate sizes of wood panels, controls, and all the furring strips I thought I would need in order to actually build this guy.
The design is based heavily on the Vigolix cabinet here:
http://www.instructables.com/id/A-Super-Easy-Arcade-Machine-from-1-Sheet-of-Plywoo/ but I've scaled things up by 1.5 times to bring it up to using essentially a full sheet of MDF.
I'm using a single sheet of 3/4" MDF and a bunch of 1x2" and 2x2" furring strips and the control panel is 30" wide to accommodate the 32" Sharp LED-backlit LCD that I'm using.
What follows are a ton of photos I've taken during the process so far, as well as comments explaining what's going on.
Here's what started the whole process:
I made this monstrosity somewhere around 2000-2001 using a Happ Super joystick and Happ buttons. It was originally connected up to a SNES controller, and it had a brother, although it was never finished and I don't have photos of that one. I wound up giving both of these to a buddy of mine in August of 2009 because I assumed I'd never get around to actually playing them. Fast forward nearly 7 years and another buddy of mine decides he's going to build a cabinet and I get the urge to build one as well. I contacted the first buddy and after much patience and waiting, was able to get both joysticks and most of the buttons back from
his friend whom he'd given them to years earlier.
Initial button layout testing in scrap wood
Inexpensive encoder bought from Amazon (shipped in the wrong box, which I found odd.)
All wired up for initial testing
No reason we can't play PC games on this thing, right? Broforce is freakin' awesome by the way...
When your straightedge isn't long enough, you tape two straightedges together and make due
Don't ruin your lungs, kids. Wear protection.
I don't have a proper shop, or garage, so the back patio and makeshift "workbenches" will have to do.
More makeshift workbench stuff - clamped both sides together and cut out the back wedge piece.
While still clamped together, I used an orbital sander to get both pieces equal.
This is what happens when you don't follow through with your circular saw and it kicks back a bit. Nothing a little wood filler won't fix later though.
First screws finally driven! This is the floor of the cabinet with screws going into 2x2" furring pieces.
Starting to look like something now! I'm doing all this by myself, so I'm using
really long clamps to hold things in place while I screw them together.
Testing my TV mount solution. This is just another piece of 3/4" MDF with a 4" square of holes. I got some long M4 machines screws at home depot to replace the short ones that came with the TV.
Test fitting the TV (like a glove) with the pieces that are already put together.
Testing the control panel height using one of those long clamps I spoke about earlier.
In its half-finished state, it wound up being an excellent standing desk...
Using my 3D model, I created a control panel layout and printed it using the poster mode of Acrobat. I wish I had included the locations for all the controls I planned on adding, instead of just what I had at the time. I wound up having to make more templates later.
No going back now! Careful spotters will notice that the layout of the action buttons changed a bit. I printed out several templates from slagcoin and this layout felt the most comfortable for me with my arms and hands in a relaxed position.
Controls mounted for testing. My buddy lost my P1 button, so I wound up having to order a replacement along with a bunch of other stuff later.
Temporarily mounted for testing with a long clamp. The trackball is a Golden Tee TV game that I hacked together with a mouse. It wound up working, but it wasn't great, so I opted to hunt for a proper Happ trackball to add instead of hacking the Golden Tee TV game any further. Also, my wife got me stools for father's day! I think they're going to be a bit tall, and I want to get some padding for them, so I'll just cut the legs down once everything is set.
Testing stuff dismantled and back to further construction. Here, the front panel has been mounted.
Showing off the furring technique I'm using around back.
Checking, double-checking, and triple-checking that the control panel is level before screwing it in.
Control panel mounted! Also, I've got pieces added to the sides and front of the control panel.
Used Happ trackball from eBay. I feel like I got a pretty good deal, but the bearings are a bit crunchy and probably need to be oiled or replaced.
Microsoft Intellimouse + Happ Trackball = working wonderfully.
More holes drilled for coin buttons, the dedicated 4-way and its action buttons.
Trackball template!
Mounting holes and main hole cut for the trackball using a jigsaw. Really nerve-wracking when the rest of the control panel is already done.
Trackball mounted!
Final button layout and trackball mounted. I plan on playing a lot of Neo-Geo games, so I wanted the 4 Neo-Geo buttons to have their proper colors.
A trip to Home Depot at 9:00PM for some T-Nuts and bolts to mount the joysticks.
I wish I wasn't so impatient to get this part done. The bolts I bought wound up being a bit too short, so I had to really counter-sink the T-Nuts to get them to mesh. I'm hoping some wood filler will take care of this, but I don't have high hopes.
Final control panel layout (until I can afford a spinner to put in that big open space to the right of the 4-way.)
Some more testing of stuff before filling holes, paint and t-molding.
All wired up for testing. I'll make all this neater after it's painted - didn't make sense to make it pretty when I know I'll just be taking it apart again.
6-year-old approves.
I still have much to do, but I think I've progressed pretty well in a month considering I have a full-time job, a wife going back to school and a 6-year-old keeping me busy
Let me know what you guys think, and please post any questions or comments you've got. This is my first woodworking project ever, so I'm learning along the way and would love any input you may have.
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Topic: My first build - a full-size-ish Vigolix cabinet. (Read 6048 times)
