Mini Cocktail Table - Will Post Pics - Help Always Appreciated

[GSXRMovistar]

I avoided black for the top purely as it didn't match the room it lives in (lots of light greys).

Guess final style/colour depends on whether you want it to look like a piece of furniture or a full on arcade machine.

I can't tell what wood you have used for the frame but with a glass black top the below frame and controls combo would look cool:-

[hahnchen]

Primer going on. 


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[hahnchen]

Control panel holes precisely drilled!


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[hahnchen]

Graphics printed


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[hahnchen]

Update on control panel. T-nute used just under the poster of Star Wars. for the joysticks. I opted to print graphics at Costco vs vinyl as it was much cheaper. And with the plasic cover, I am pretty sure you could not see the difference.




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[hahnchen]

Backside of control panel. Routed for joysticks and forrester drill bit for holes


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[hahnchen]

Getting closer.  Side panels are on. These where tricky and time consuming to cut all the acrylic/plastic the exact size of the opening. Graphics are smashed between 2 pieces of acrylic. There was no need to place another spacer in the middle as the plastic ended up being very straight. This meant no need for a screw in the middle of the graphic 



There are spacers in front of the larger blocks, so that is why you see those countersunk holes. Within the holes are t-nuts to accept the screw from the other side.


Close-up of the graphics. They turned out sharp. With a screw there, I am able to remove and replace graphics in future if I get bored of those ones.



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[hahnchen]

95% done. I


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[Locke141]

I'm not sure about the ergonomics of it, but I generally like the build quality.


I would sagest finding a better way to install the side art. 


Not adding to the look.

[markc74]

Agree with Locke about the screws. The finish could look better if you capped them with something like these (as an example):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Hinged-Piece-Plastic-Screw/dp/B00H14ALHK/ref=pd_lpo_60_tr_img_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=XQAB4M3R7PH6XVVA7WFH

Pretty nice build though. I like the artwork mashup.

The controls do look a little low though - how does it play?

[Mike A]

I like the way this one came out. I have to wonder at the choice of Star Wars for the control panel though. It seems out of place on a cocktail.

[hahnchen]

Thanks for the replies.

There was no easy way to mount the side art. The screws are countersunk and backed with t-nuts. I like this because I can change out art easier. Open to other easy ways to mount?

The screw caps are cool. Not a bad option. To be honest you don't really even see the screws unless you get in your hands and knees.

The ergonomics are actually not bad at all. I have not had a long session, but hands rest just at the level of the controls. I think they are as good as you can get for coffee table arcade.

The control panel was hard to decide on the theme. Star Wars marquee was long and facilitated in the design and that is why I went with it. Again easy to change, so I'll have to think about. But for now, I like.

You've got to remember there are numerous challenges with building a coffee table arcade. Most of all is that there are not a lot of them out there to leverage ideas and designs. Also the structural integrity of the table is much different. With a standing cabinet, the box is bigger and thus adds to less complexity from a variety of angles. A coffee table has an entirely different structure. For instance, I have not seen another coffee table arcade with side art marquee. This was tough to add. Trust me it would have been so much easier to add MDF on the sides and added vinyl stickers. But I love the look of the marquee above cabinets and wanted to carry that look over to the coffee table.




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[woosdom]

Great job. i like it with the marquee on the sides.  You see other coffee table arcade builds and they look like tables, which is nice, but i think you may have started something new with this build.  The graphics really let you know this isn't just any ordinary coffee table.

As for the marquee mounting, is it possible to have the acrylic pieces a lil larger and screw them into the frame from inside of the table so that the screws won't show?  having the pieces cut larger than the size of the hole will allow for this method but the art may be just a bit farther back.

[hahnchen]

Thanks for your post and feedback.

Good idea on the marquee. I would have had to the consider that prior as the sides butt right up to the inside side of the control panel. No space between the supports (kinda hard to explain). But thanks for suggestions. Always room for improvement.


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[GSXRMovistar]

That's turned out really well. 

Do you have anything retaining the glass at the moment? If not I'd recommend something like these:- ttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Advanced-Soft-Grip-Pad-Glass-Table-Self-Adhesive-Rubber-Feet-Shop-Hotel-Refits-/221817048208?var=520687709935&hash=item33a5538c90:m:mHbm-WhlCVOTC5sCiR61Q1w

[hahnchen]

I tried rubber pads on all four corners. The glass held the same with or without. It really does not want to move around either way. I guess even without pads there is too much friction.


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[hahnchen]

Random Question:

I finally got my 2 joysticks + all the buttons working for my mame-liberto roms. The key was to update my retroarch.cfg to include the below adjustments!

However my joysticks for ROMs in my mame-mame4all folder DO NOT WORK. The ROMs loaded in this mame-mame4all folder work. When I enter into the menu screen via keyboard "tab" and try to edit the player1 UP button, it does not recognize my joysticks or start/select buttons. It does recognize my action buttons. Anyone know a fix? BTW I am using RetroPie / EmulationStation.


Adjustment to my retroarch.cfg for all systems.
input_player1_joypad_index = 0
input_player2_joypad_index = 0
input_player1_a_btn = "5"
input_player1_b_btn = "4"
input_player1_y_btn = "1"
input_player1_x_btn = "2"
input_player1_start_btn = "18"
input_player1_select_btn = "17"
input_player1_l_btn = "0"
input_player1_r_btn = "3"
input_player1_left_btn = "29"
input_player1_right_btn = "31"
input_player1_up_btn = "30"
input_player1_down_btn = "28"
input_player1_l2_btn =
input_player1_r2_btn =
input_player1_l3_btn =
input_player1_r3_btn =

input_player2_a_btn = "13"
input_player2_b_btn = "12"
input_player2_y_btn = "9"
input_player2_x_btn = "10"
input_player2_start_btn = "7"
input_player2_select_btn = "16"
input_player2_l_btn = "8"
input_player2_r_btn = "11"
input_player2_left_btn = "23"
input_player2_right_btn = "22"
input_player2_up_btn = "20"
input_player2_down_btn = "21"
input_player2_l2_btn =
input_player2_r2_btn =
input_player2_l3_btn =
input_player2_r3_btn =