X Project to begin this weekend... wooo hooo

[versapak]

Not going to be anything fancy or original, but it will be mine none the less.


I will be using the UAII plans, Xbox for the brains, &  27" tv for the display.


I now have all 4 of the Pelican Real Arcade sticks who's guts will make up the control of my control panel. 4 players w/ 8 buttons + 3 (heheh maybe I should call it DOS project) .

I will be heading to Home Depot later this afternoon/evening to purchase the bulk of the rest of my materials needed.


Anyway... YAY!!! Finally I get to start (I could see the wife's eyes well up with tears, as she knew it would prolly never end).  



I will try and take plenty of pictures to document the occasion, but I have never been much good at documenting things. The attempt will certainly be made though.

[allroy1975]

Good luck!  keep us posted!


Allroy

[CthulhuLuke]

ewww pelican parts!! oh god!!   umm yeah besides using those horrible pelican parts, awesome man!  arcade cabs are very cool, I HIGHLY suggest you mod your xbox if its going in a cabinet, especially with all of the emulation that xboxs support now a days.  read up on www.xbox-scene.com for all the info you need, and yes you can still play on live even if you mod it *get a chip with a toggle switch*
   keep us posted definitely, pictures are also important.  If you get the money I HIGHLY suggest you pick up some Happs arcade parts, whether from ebay, www.therealbobroberts.com or www.happcontrols.com, believe me on this one: it will be worth it.

[versapak]

The xbox going into it has been modded for a few years now.



I personally am usually not a big fan of the brands like Pelican, but they really did a great job with their Real Arcade sticks. They use actual arcade (style) parts, so they are extremely easy to gut and put right into the cab. If any of the buttons or sticks do ever fail, it is nothing more than a simple swap with something ordered from happs or wherever.


Plus it is compatible with PS2, Xbox (with Xbox communicator port for live) , GC, and PC (modded xbox breakaway to usb cable), so if I decide to change the internals no controller change is required.


I can't wait to go get the rest of my stuff and start... I really suck at this patience thing.

[versapak]

Well...


You know...


You see countless warnings about double checking measurements before you make the cut...



OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOPS!!!



We managed to really bugger one of the top sides. Fortunately the Ultimate Arcade II plans are not very condensed. We managed to rearrange everything, and were able to pull a replacement out of the materials we had. The buggered piece transformed nicely into the front panel which normally would house the coin door (not putting one in yet).


I would have taken some pictures, but this was my first time ever using MDF. What does this have to do with anything you ask?

Well WOW! That  MDF is some messy stuff. The amount of dust produced was quite the handful, and needless to say... My camera wasn't entering that room no way no how. We got all the pieces (and boy does it turn out to be quite a few more than one pictures in their head before the project) cut, and I figured there prolly wasn't much interest in seeing just the pieces of an already well known plan cut by a talentless hack like myself.

[Edgedamage]

Remeber mdf dust is not good for you.

[versapak]

A warning I thankfully took seriously from the start.


I am an asthmatic already, so any further deterioration of my breathing ability is a most unwanted hinderance. Though even with having worn a mask my breathing has been pretty crappy today. As I was mostly only wearing the mask during cutting, and for little time after. Not taking into account the incredible amount of dust still floating in the air for hours. Couldn't imagine what my breathing would be like had I not worn a mask at all.

No doubts in my mind that my next project will not be done, unless I have the extra bit of money to go with some quality plywood instead. MDF is definitely a new enemy of mine.

[javeryh]

Is plywood a better choice if you are planning on painting or does it matter (aside from all the dust).  I'm picking out my cabinet materials and MDF is 1/2 the price of the birch plywwod...

Oh yeah - post some pics of your cab when you get the chance... I'd love to see it!