Meltman's Stand-Up Corner Coctail Hybrid

[meltman]

I came up with the idea to create a compact four player corner arcade with an inset monitor. I have never seen any other cabinets similar to my idea, so one night I began to build the cabinet.

I first taped out my idea on the floor with the donated 22" TV for the project.


With the size decided, I proceeded to make the structure of the cabinet using limited tools and limited wood (dont mind the recycled plywood):


Much test fitting was required for the screen to ensure visibility from all four player positions. Eventually though I found the angle I was working for.


After some very careful measurement, the top was cut and the cabinet began to take shape:


The "fail out box" was coined because my fraternity brothers thought it would cause everyone to fail out of school 

Sadly the project was put on hold for a year and was disassembled and placed in my parents basement until this year when it was resurrected. This is the last shot of the cabinet as it stood before I began working on it this year:

[CartmanDP1]

Meltman, WITH THE POWER TO..........................MELT!

[meltman]

Meltman, WITH THE POWER TO..........................MELT!

You got it! Action League ... NOW!

The project was brought back to life this year for a couple of reasons. The first being that my boss decided to trash a couple of 22" Diamondtron monitors. I snagged the unburnt in one and decided to use it in the arcade. The second reason to build the arcade was because I was sick and tired of trying to pull off special moves in Street Fighter Alpha on an xbox controller.

So here is the cabinet brought back from the dead, reassembled and test fitting the 22" Diamondtron:


Thank goodness absolutely NO modification was necessary to the cabinet for the screen to fit perfectly! In fact, the Diamondtron actually fit better than the old crappy Samsung TV that I had planned on using!


With that step completed I ordered the controls and began installing them where I thought they would be best. I couldnt help test fitting them and snapping a pic of the layout.


With the controls completed, it was time to add some "depth" to the top of the cabinet. With my limited budged I improvised the clamping a bit but achieved superb results. The depth is made of 2 layers of super thin 1/8th MDF board.


Here is another shot of everything drying nicely and my toothpick clamps 


Heres a shot of the top on the screen before building the bezel around the screen.


The next step (and the one I was least sure of how to do) was to create the bezel for the screen.

[meltman]

The bezel took a few tries to create. It ended up being made of the same 1/8" inch MDF that the "depth" of the top was made out of. I forgot to snap pics of all the dead cardboard I used to make a template. There was quite a bit of trial and error. Its not 100% perfect but I figured that with the monitor case black, no one would notice.


Another angle:


Here's a shot of the underside as I was filling in all of the gaps between the bezel and top with wood glue followed by construction adhesive.


More gluing...


I didnt take any pics of me woodfilling the hell out of everything and sanding. No one would be interested in that anyways...

[CartmanDP1]

I like the design a lot, is it easy to see the monitor from all playing positions? I know you're in college if you are drinking Nattie, hope that thing survives the frat house.

[meltman]

Yeah, you can see perfectly from all angles.

I'm not in the frat house anymore, so damage shouldn't be an issue. I'm saving up some cash for a trackball right now.

[meltman]

Ok, continuing on...

Here are a couple of shots of the beast primered:


And one of the overall:


With that work out of the way I finished it off with rustoleum satin black enamel. It was harder to apply smoothly than I had anticipated. I'm still not 100% satisfied with the smoothness, but i suppose its fine since artwork will cover most of it anyways eventually.


Here's a shot of my texture problem when rolling the top... Maybe I should have thinned it some more? Either way, I wetsanded it between coats and got a decent finish at the end.


After it was all dry it was time to wire it. I opted to use an LPT switch because I needed so many inputs and I like to make stuff like that.


Here's a shot with the parallel cable in place. Lots of little diodes...


Lots of hard work wiring later:


And again, more wiring work: Looks like some sort of nero-optic-brain for a terminator or something


Here's me attaching the piano hinge to the top:


And a pic of how it stands right now:



So, there are still TONS of things to do...

1. First, the holes on the side need to be covered with an "L" strip of some kind. They could not be filled because the cabinet MUST be take-apart-able. It will not fit through most doors if its not taken apart.

2. I need a plexiglass top to protect the screen and hold the artwork (that still needs to be made).

3. The speakers need to be mounted (and upgraded). I'm planning to mount them to the back side of the cab to reflect off the walls in the corner.

4. Trackball

5. Coin door.

6. Maybe some underglow for the control panel.

[GadgetGeek]

Nicely done.  Always good to see someone think outside the box.

Question...what happens first time a beverage spills down the bezel?  Or will you be putting in some tinted glass so the whole top is flush?

Again, nice work.

[meltman]

Nicely done.  Always good to see someone think outside the box.

Question...what happens first time a beverage spills down the bezel?  Or will you be putting in some tinted glass so the whole top is flush?

Again, nice work.

1/4" plexi over the entire top surface is the plan. I would tint, but I want CP artwork. I'm looking at options for this.

[Timoe]

I cant see the photos.  Are they directly uploaded here at BYOAC or are you linking them from somewhere else?

[BobA]

Looks like a university account.   Limits imposed every 24 hours.  Should be ok after midnight
central time. KSU time I think.

[theCoder]

1/4" plexi over the entire top surface is the plan. I would tint, but I want CP artwork. I'm looking at options for this.

Plexiglas on a flat tabletop surface will scratch pretty easily.  You could go with 1/4" tempered glass for the majority of the surface, with a 10" swath of Plexiglas at the Joystick & buttons.  Just an idea.  Novel design.  Very nice.

[shardian]

I love this cabinet. Very eye catching.

Can't wait to see it with all the bells and whistles.

[jfunk]

I don't see pictures..? 

[arcadefever]

me either   

[Timoe]

Just upload the pics here.  I need them 

[rlemmon]

I cant see the pics either

[meltman]

Totally sorry about the pics. I didn't realize my bandwidth would get taxed nearly that fast. I'm used to boards that dont allow uploading of pics. 

[patrickl]

Nicely done.  Always good to see someone think outside the box.

Question...what happens first time a beverage spills down the bezel?  Or will you be putting in some tinted glass so the whole top is flush?

Again, nice work.

1/4" plexi over the entire top surface is the plan. I would tint, but I want CP artwork. I'm looking at options for this.

Maybe use 2 layers? One tinted bit over the screen (slightly sunken in) and a fully transparant part over the whole surface to make it flat.

[arcadefever]

  this is really unique ...first time to be honest that i see such a design 
i have to say that after looking at the pictures foe a while, i really like it ...

great 

[Timoe]

oh snap, look at that thing!   


(I'll be in my bunk)



= good job

[jfunk]

SWEET!

[IG-88]

Great job! That must have been a major pain-in-the-arse to get that bezel figured out. How did you get those pieces to stay still long enough to secure them together from underneath?

[BobA]

A unique cab construct.  Great idea for a brand new type of cab.  

[CheffoJeffo]

Very nice design ..great stuff!

Cheers

[meltman]

Great job! That must have been a major pain-in-the-arse to get that bezel figured out. How did you get those pieces to stay still long enough to secure them together from underneath?

There are little silver screws hidden in the pictures. I just sanded and wood filled them after the glue on the bottom had dried.

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

[danny_galaga]

very nice work. great shape and angles (",)

[jhanson]

Very nice!  I like the unique design.

[Havok]

Nice design - I really like the way the monitor sits in there with the bezel. Very professional looking.

 

[MameMaster!]

YOU'VE BEEN RETROBLASTED!

RETROBLAST.COM

Nice job! 

[meltman]

YOU'VE BEEN RETROBLASTED!

RETROBLAST.COM

Nice job! 

Thats pretty cool. Didn't expect that.

[blueznl]

Just spotted this one, nice setup. Did you get a chance yet to work on speakers, trackball and glass yet?

[phines]

Nice design!
Very original!  Can't wait to see it with plexi/glass and artwork!

How about some LED accent lighting under the control panel... you can hide the
LED behind the skirting to give it a floating look.. Just an idea.

Great Cab!

[Arcades R Fun]

Fantastic Cab design! Great job so far.
I know I could never do that kind of detailed wood work.
 

Looking forward to the finished game!