Cocktail: Knights of the Arcade Table [IT WORKS!! (8.17.06)]

[currygoat11]

After I secured to the hinged door side, I was pretty confident and raised the side into place. I mean yeah it's a heavy CRT, but I used 6 or 7 large wood screws for each shim on the side door. So it was pretty darn secure.

in regards to your predictament, I can see your approach working - like you mentioned gluing shims to tabletop then somehow clamping the monitor frame to the shims creatively. That will work. It's not ideal but it will work.

L-brackets for more support? wow, okay. I mean it will not hurt to do this. Added piece of mind I guess esp. if your tabletop shim solution isn't durable enough.

[javeryh]

Looking Good 

Thanks!!  This has been really fun so far - I can't wait to start another one!

After I secured to the hinged door side, I was pretty confident and raised the side into place. I mean yeah it's a heavy CRT, but I used 6 or 7 large wood screws for each shim on the side door. So it was pretty darn secure.

in regards to your predictament, I can see your approach working - like you mentioned gluing shims to tabletop then somehow clamping the monitor frame to the shims creatively. That will work. It's not ideal but it will work.

L-brackets for more support? wow, okay. I mean it will not hurt to do this. Added piece of mind I guess esp. if your tabletop shim solution isn't durable enough.

Heh, you've got more guts than I do.  I also used 6 wood screws to secure the shims to the side panel and I glued each piece in place too after using sandpaper to rough up the inside of the door (I finished it for some reason).  It is definitely not going anywhere.  I'm afraid that the piano hinge will fail when I move the monitor into place without securing it to the top due to outward pressure.

L-brackets might be overkill but I already have some extra ones and it would probably give me peace of mind.  The trick will be to get the shim secured in the proper position.  I really wish I could get this finished but I haven't been able to find the time to work on it.

[gamecreature]

After this is over I should have you come over and secure the monitor inside my cabinet. I can't even figure out how to get it out of its case!

[javeryh]

After this is over I should have you come over and secure the monitor inside my cabinet. I can't even figure out how to get it out of its case!

The secret is to buy the monitor without the case and then you don't have to worry about it!   

[javeryh]

Here are a few more miscellaneous pictures:

These shots are from the underside of the long CP.  The red button is the power on and power off switch.  One press turns everything on and one more press turns everything off (thank god for the smart strip!). 

It was pretty easy to install - I used a 1-1/4" forstner bit to drill a hole about 1/2 way into the bottom panel (from the inside/top) and then using the center mark left by the bit, I just drilled a hole all the way through for the shaft of the button (note the tear out    - I'll touch it up later).  The reason for the "two-step" drilling of the hole is so I could get my fingers around the shaft of the button to turn the nut that secures the button in place.  It also made wiring it up a little easier.

You can't see it at all where it is located and no one will even know it is there unless I tell them.  Also, the button is quite tough to press so I'm not worried about an accidental press by someone's knee during play...

[javeryh]

Here are a couple of shots of the table top with the bezel in place.  I want as snug of a fit as possible around the edges and I think once the weight of the glass is on there everything will fit together nicely.  Mounting the monitor and getting the bezel just right has definitely been the hardest part of this project for me so far.

The bezel is not glued into place or anything and right now it is just held in place by painter's tape as you can see.  The edges around the monitor do look nice though and I think the screen is centered.  The monitor does allow me to move the picture around so if it's not perfectly centered when I turn it on I can tweak it. 



Thanks for looking! 

[currygoat11]

Curious:  How does your computer shutdown when you press the button?  Is it a hard shutdown (like pulling the plug?). Thanks.

[javeryh]

Curious:  How does your computer shutdown when you press the button?  Is it a hard shutdown (like pulling the plug?). Thanks.

Nope.  You can set XP to shut down the computer normally when you press the power button.  It goes through the logging off process and closes all programs and everything before shutting off.  It really works well.  I had to ask the question here actually: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=55597.msg545125#msg545125.  This is all I needed to read and I was able to set everything up:

Most modern motherboards are ACPI compliant, assuming yours is, you can go into the Power icon under the control panel and go to the advanced tab and set the options for what your PC does when you hit the power button while the machine is running.

[camsauce]

Looking sharp, I can tell you took some time and effort planning out the inside.  Keep up the good work!  I'm thinking I'll have to build a cocktail cabinet next..

[kickngas]

Great looking cocktail!  Where did you get plans, or did you make them up yourself? 

[97thruhiker]

I really like what you have done so far.  You have inspired me to build a cocktail cabinet.

By the way who is that a picture of in your avatar?

[Potts]

Very clean, beautiful job - 

lots of respect coming from me  - great job javeryh

Potts

[javeryh]

Looking sharp, I can tell you took some time and effort planning out the inside.  Keep up the good work!  I'm thinking I'll have to build a cocktail cabinet next..

Thanks!  Planning the inside was a little tough.  I had to make sure everything fit and the CD tray opened and closed.  Plus, the wires took up way more space than I thought they would.  I relied heavily on currygoat and pharaoh's cocktail cabs - they set the standard!

You should definitely build one of these if you are interested.  I'm building an upright next and something tells me I should have done that first...

Great looking cocktail!  Where did you get plans, or did you make them up yourself? 

Thanks!  I definitely did not make the plans myself.  I originally wanted a 27" monitor so I built a cabinet to accomodate and it was just too big for my living room.  I was frustrated and didn't want to start over so I ended up using an arcadedepot kit for the body (http://www.arcadedepot.com/).  I highly recommend them - everything was well packaged and they respond to questions pretty quick.  I assembled it pretty much following the plans that came with it except I modified the control panels to accept a smooth vinyl overlay instead of the plexi that shipped with it.   I also designed the CP layouts myself and some other miscellaneous things like speaker and fan placement, etc. 

I really like what you have done so far.  You have inspired me to build a cocktail cabinet.

By the way who is that a picture of in your avatar?

Thanks!  I will be following your build very closely.  If you have any questions I'll gladly help (if I know the answer!  ).

The avatar picture is Alyson Hannigan - she is super hot.

Very clean, beautiful job - 

lots of respect coming from me  - great job javeryh

Potts

Thanks!  I'm almost done - I can't wait to start playing this thing!

[97thruhiker]

I really like what you have done so far.  You have inspired me to build a cocktail cabinet.

By the way who is that a picture of in your avatar?

Thanks!  I will be following your build very closely.  If you have any questions I'll gladly help (if I know the answer!  ).

The avatar picture is Alyson Hannigan - she is super hot.

I'd have to agree with you on that one  .  I did a quick google image search with her name and expected to find some canned publicity shots.  Well needless to say I was pleasently surprized  .

[javeryh]

The PLUG

OK, not much to report as far as progress goes, unfortunately. I'm having a bit of trouble with the monitor mount. Attaching the monitor to the tabletop is proving to be far more difficult than I thought it would be... (Here's a tip:  definitely predrill the holes in the tabletop)

As I've said plenty of times throughout this process, I want to make this thing look as "clean" as possible and not homemade in any way other than its uniqueness (to the outside world - not here  .

Once I figured out where to place the Smart Strip within the cabinet, I had to figure out where to drill the hole on the outside for the power cord. I decided on the lower left side of the cabinet underneath the hinge for the access door. This simple decision turned out to be a bigger problem than I had ever envisioned.

I carefully measured the plug every which way I could and determined that it was 1" in diameter. So, in order to make this thing look "finished" I needed to drill a 1" hole in the proper location, feed the cord through the hole and then put a grommet of some kind around the hole to thread the cord through so it will look nice. Simple, right? Wrong.

The first problem I encountered was finding a 1" grommet. I looked all around at Office Max, Staples and Home Depot for something but the best they could do was a 2" grommet and it was going to be huge. I decided online would be my best bet and I eventually found one at Modern Office Interiors for approximately $10 ($3.75 + shipping). Kind of a rip off but at this point I just want to finish.

As I was waiting for the part to arrive I drilled the 1" hole using a hole saw attachment for my drill. When I tried to thread the power cord through the opening, it didn't fit. The hole was about 1/16" too small and there was no way to redrill it (and the grommet was already on the way). I ended up taking a razor and shaving off the rubber around the plug prongs until I could squeeze it through. I was able to get it through after about 10 minutes of tweaking. Whew!

A few days later the grommet arrived and I was anxious to get it installed, however I quickly realized that a 1" grommet only has a 1-7/8" interior diameter - there was no way to get the power cord through the grommet opening! I wanted to scream! Fortunately, a solution quickly presented itself. I thought about it and decided to take a razor and cut the grommet down the side. There was just enough play in the plastic to open up the grommet wide enough to slip the power cord in there. With the grommet cover in place you can't even see where the cut was made. Hopefully the pictures provide enough detail.




I think it came out nice in the end and just how I initially pictured it in my head. I just have to touch up a little tearout from drilling the hole with some leftover blue stain (that's what I get for using an old hole saw!). It was worth the trouble!

[currygoat11]

Interesting. Know what I did? I actually disassembed the Smart strip power strip, then cut the AC cord in half (near where it attaches inside the casing), then I could insert the cord thru a tiny hole in the side of the cabinet. I then had to rewire it into the power strip with those little plastic twist-it caps. I'm trying to remember if I included that detail on my website...  anyhoo your solution turned out just fine. Looks good.

[leapinlew]

The PLUG
The first problem

Yes! I love this statement. Thats how much of my stuff goes. The first problem... I need to insert A into B, but before I can insert A, B needs to be refitted. To refit B I need tool C which need part D that needs to be ordered online.

Keep up the good work.

[javeryh]

Interesting. Know what I did? I actually disassembed the Smart strip power strip, then cut the AC cord in half (near where it attaches inside the casing), then I could insert the cord thru a tiny hole in the side of the cabinet. I then had to rewire it into the power strip with those little plastic twist-it caps. I'm trying to remember if I included that detail on my website...  anyhoo your solution turned out just fine. Looks good.

Wow that's way too complicated for me.  It would have been my preferred solution but when I opened up the Smart Strip I saw a whole mess of wires that didn't look so easy to splice or cut apart.  Plus, power plugs scare the hell out of me.  I really did want to go that route but in the end I wussed out. 

The PLUG
The first problem

Yes! I love this statement. Thats how much of my stuff goes. The first problem... I need to insert A into B, but before I can insert A, B needs to be refitted. To refit B I need tool C which need part D that needs to be ordered online.

Keep up the good work.

   Exactly!  That has pretty much been the way the entire build has gone so far but I sure have learned a lot.

Last night I couldn't wait any longer and although I had to get up for work, I stayed up until 1 a.m. fitting the monitor into place and firing up the cabinet.  It worked!!!  I have a TON of software tweaking to do with the front end, boot up sequence, rom management, etc. but I was able to play a few games of Ms. Pac-man, Galaga and Mr. Do! with my wife (unfortunately I had to run everything with a keyboard sticking out of the coin door).

Tonight I'm going to see if I can clean the glass and install the clips.  I took a few pictures but the cabinet glass is covered in sawdust and really looks ugly.  Plus, the monitor looks washed out and there is a ton of reflection.  I need to figure out how to use my camera!

This is so exciting!!!

[TehJefe]

Wow. Its eerie how our similar our designs are... Imsocreepedout. We made all the same parts and ordered all the same parts... and mostly from the same places..
WEIRD.
Im so envious of how much faster you are than me, though.. I wanna see the light at the end of the tunnellll...

I was even gonna go with a trackball in the middle of my arcadedepot third-side at first, but I didnt think one would fit
So
1. What size track ball did you use?
2. It IS a standard sized 3rd panel, right?
3. Is the trackball accessable there? Like.. not too close to the joysticks or the coin door wall?

[javeryh]

Wow. Its eerie how our similar our designs are... Imsocreepedout. We made all the same parts and ordered all the same parts... and mostly from the same places..
WEIRD.
Im so envious of how much faster you are than me, though.. I wanna see the light at the end of the tunnellll...

Heh, I think I started this thread in August of 2005 and I know I did the initial glue up of the cabinet in April 2005 so I don't think I'm exactly fast...   My next one is going to be a breeze though because I think I finally have the wife stamp of approval after she got to play a little bit for the first time last night.  I don't think she "got it" before then.  I built this thing mainly on weekends where my wife went to her parents which was probably only 4 or 5 times over the past 15 months so work on it was very spread out.

I was even gonna go with a trackball in the middle of my arcadedepot third-side at first, but I didnt think one would fit
So
1. What size track ball did you use?
2. It IS a standard sized 3rd panel, right?
3. Is the trackball accessable there? Like.. not too close to the joysticks or the coin door wall?

To answer your questions:

1.  I used a 2-1/4" trackball that I got from Ultimarc
2.  It is a standard sized CP but I designed the layout of everything
3.  I'm not sure what you mean by accessible... it is comfortable to use if that's what you are asking (not too close to the joysticks).  The coin door is completely out of the way underneath the CP.

To be honest, if I could start over I would scrap the third CP all together.  It works but I think in the long run I'd rather have a horizontal stand-up (which I'm building next) in addition to a vertical cocktail table.  There's just too much going on design-wise.

[TehJefe]

I didnt mean the actual coin door, but the cp is mounted on the same wall, right? I dunno.. I always kinda wondered if either the top of the cabinet or whatever wall is exposed would get in the way of good trackball use.

[theCoder]

I think I would have just cut the cord, passed it through, then soldered it back together.

My second cab went much faster than the first, even though it was much trickier.  I'm hoping my next one goes even faster.

You've got a huge advantage, having a wife that enjoys gaming.  Good catch.

Good luck on your next build.

[javeryh]

I didnt mean the actual coin door, but the cp is mounted on the same wall, right? I dunno.. I always kinda wondered if either the top of the cabinet or whatever wall is exposed would get in the way of good trackball use.

Well, you can't really get into a crazy game of Golden Tee but other than that it works pretty well and nothing gets in the way at all (yet).

I think I would have just cut the cord, passed it through, then soldered it back together.

My second cab went much faster than the first, even though it was much trickier.  I'm hoping my next one goes even faster.

You've got a huge advantage, having a wife that enjoys gaming.  Good catch.

Good luck on your next build.

Heh, I was just too scared to cut the power cord - although I'm pretty sure I'll accidentally set the house on fire at some point I don't the arcade cabinet to be the cause.   

[javeryh]

IT WORKS!!!

I'm so excited!! Like I said, earlier this week I finished mounting the monitor and I was able to attach the hinge and fire up the cabinet for the first time!! I don't have any good pictures but here's one of the thing all closed up with a game running. The flash on my camera combined with the dust on the glass tabletop really ruined the picture. When I get a few better pictures I will definitely post them.

[gamecreature]

Congratulations! Now go play some games.